Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 2/2: Nat King Cole, “Almost Like Being in Love”
In Punxatawney, Pa., Phil the groundhog somehow saw his shadow through the snowflakes, meaning it’s six more weeks of winter. But the view from my window, snow blanketing anything, looked more like Feb. 3 in the Bill Murray film. That’s the point when this Lerner and Loewe tune from “Brigadoon” plays and the credits roll.
Song of the Day 2/1: Laura Nyro, “Stoney End”
For reasons that are obvious to me, if nobody else. Even more than Randy Newman, Laura Nyro was a singer’s songwriter. Despite her soaring mezzo-soprano voice and compositions that somehow blended Tin Pan Alley with gospel, blue-eyed soul and rock, she never recorded a hit or a gold record. Yet her first three LPs served […]
‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes: January 2021
Quite the grab-bag to start the year. For you newbies, the songs are listed in alpha order by artist’s name. Which tunes will Stand Tall by year’s end? Clean out your earwax and take a listen: Slow Dance!!: Hey, kids, it’s math rock! Good math rock. I’m in: What would a new year be w/o […]
Song of the Day 1/30: Lana Del Rey, “Fuck It I Love You”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona I believe there are some hipsters out there who still haven’t gotten on the Lana Del Rey bandwagon. Sure, the wagon leads to some darkish film-noir kind of places, but that’s a good reason to hop on. The reluctant might still be thinking about her disastrous debut on “Saturday Night […]
Song of the Day 1/29: The Rolling Stones, “Jigsaw Puzzle”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona Have you heard the news? This is National Puzzle Day. Alby, who usually fills this spot, would never embarrass himself by using National Puzzle Day as an excuse for a Song of the Day. On the other hand, he might if he knew he could get a two-fer out of […]
Song of the Day 1/28: Bonny Light Horseman, “Bonny Light Horseman”
Folk music has had either about a hundred revivals since the one in the ‘60s or it has never gone away. I vote for the latter. Styles seem to flow seamlessly from one to the other and before you know it folk music has a new sound. The flow has led to the American acts […]
Song of the Day 1/27: A-ha, “Take on Me”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona There’s a scene in the Oscar-winning movie “La La Land” where we see a musician noodling on a synthesizer in a band at a pool party. Played by Ryan Gosling, he’s really a sensitive jazz guy at heart, so we’re supposed to feel sorry for him stuck in this mess. […]
Song of the Day 1/26: Big Mama Thornton, “Hound Dog”
Editor’s note: Guest post by Nathan Arizona Many of Elvis Presley’s early hits were written and performed by black rhythm & blues artists. His first single, “That’s All Right Mama,” was written by Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup in 1946. Elvis already knew about Crudup and other black musicians. He had seen him perform (using a […]
Song of the Day 1/25: Gene Clark, “I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better”
Editor’s note: I’ve been under the weather — a kidney stone hailstorm — so Nathan Arizona has agreed to handle the Song of the Day for a spell. Gene Clark was probably the most talented member of one of the most important bands of the 1960s, the Byrds. Though Roger McQuinn, who founded the band […]
Song of the Day 1/24: The Vaccines, “If You Wanna”
Editor’s note: I’ve been under the weather — a kidney stone hailstorm — so Nathan Arizona has agreed to handle the Song of the Day for a spell. The vaccine is finally here. The Vaccines have already been here a while, since their debut a decade ago. The post-punk indie guitar band from the UK […]
Song of the Day 1/23: Peter Cooper, “715 (For Hank Aaron)”
Editor’s note: I’ve been under the weather — a kidney stone hailstorm — so Nathan Arizona has agreed to handle the Song of the Day for a spell. The great slugger Henry Aaron died yesterday and the accolades are pouring in. Here’s a song about Hammerin’ Hank, who passed Babe Ruth’s career home run record […]
Song of the Day 1/18: The Ronettes, “Be My Baby”
Phil Spector, the groundbreaking record producer and paranoid murderer who died yesterday at age 81, made an indelible mark on the recording industry by inventing the Wall of Sound. It doesn’t sound that complicated — just turn everything up to 11, right? — but when Phil Spector built his wall, he had just two tracks […]
Song of the Day 1/17: The Circle Jerks, “When the Shit Hits the Fan”
Though the song was written about America under Reagan, its core message remains true today: We all gotta duck when the shit hits the fan. The Circle Jerks formed in 1979 when vocalist Keith Morris left Black Flag and guitarist Greg Hetson from Redd Kross joined him. They became a seminal LA punk band, cited […]
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