I finally got around to watching the LCD Soundsystem film “Shut Up And Play the Hits” which chronicles the last LCD show from April, 2011 before James Murphy and company decided to pull the plug on the band. While I loved LCD, I always thought they were somewhat derivative of their inspirations including Talking Heads, […]
Song Of The Day – “Dinner Bell” by They Might Be Giants
Choosing the perfect Thanksgiving Song Of The Day is not an easy task. In the past, I’ve done the obvious with the all-American standby, “Alice’s Restaurant” by Arlo Guthrie. It’s something I’ve listened to every year on Thanksgiving ever since I was a kid, and I will be spinning it again (on vinyl, of course.) […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Where Was You At” by WAR
When they first began recording, it was Eric Burdon and WAR and War were billed as the backing band for Eric Burdon of the The Animals. The group was the brainchild of Burdon and Jerry Goldstein who was a member of The Strangeloves and co-writer of such classic singles as “I Want Candy,” “My Boyfriend’s […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Does Anybody Love You?” by Todd Rundgren
Rodgers & Hammerstein…Lerner & Lowe…Andrew Lloyd Webber…Todd Rundgren? Todd’s name up there with some of Broadway’s most illustrious composers is not so farfetched. Indeed, one can trace the Broadway sensibility Rundgren has harbored for years thorough tracks like “Can’t We Just Be Friends,” “It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference,” “Parallel Lines,” “Change Myself,” “Hello It’s […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Lord Of The Manor” by The Everly Brothers
When the Everly Brothers signed with Warner Brothers Records for ten million dollars in 1960, it was reported to be the most lucrative recording contract of the time. The Everlys were on a roll, scoring numerous hits for the Cadence label including such classics as “Bye Bye Love,” “Wake Up Little Susie,” “All I Have […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Crazy” by Bettye LaVette
Summer of 2006…the only song you heard ANYWHERE was “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley. The song was so prevalent, that while at Lollapalooza that August, no less than three bands performed it as part of their sets – The Raconteurs, Violent Femmes and, of course, Gnarls Barkley. Cee Lo Green has one of the greatest soul […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Golden Gate Gospel Train” by Golden Gate Quartet
What we have here is some prehistoric Doo Wop for you Sunday morning revelers. The Golden Gate Quartet consisted of Orlandus Wilson, Willie Johnson, Henry Owens and Clyde Riddick and started out as a Barbershop Quartet in Virginia back in the early 1930s. The group began performing for audiences and soon migrated to North Carolina […]
Song Of The Day – “Free Man In Paris” by Joni Mitchell
I watched the PBS “American Masters” documentary on David Geffen today for the second time. Geffen was the guy who signed one of my all-time favorite singer-songwriters, Laura Nyro, whom he championed and cut deals making sure that the likes of Three Dog Night, The Fifth Dimension and Blood Sweat and Tears recorded hit versions of her […]
Song Of The Day – “Medley: Yell Help/Wednesday Night/Ugly” by Elton John
By the release of “Rock Of The Westies” in 1976, the bloom was beginning to fall off of the Elton John flower. While “Westies” was indeed a very good album that debuted at the pole position of the charts, its release signaled the beginning of a long decline in the quality of the music and […]
Song Of The Day – “Cupid de Locke” by Smashing Pumpkins
Beautiful grunge may seem like an oxymoron to some, but in the hands of Smashing Pumpkins on their masterwork “Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness,” beautiful grunge is a reality. Case in point is this gorgeous, gentle melody – one of several that pop up on an album that Billy Corgan says was inspired by […]
