Cole Porter: Don’t fence me in
I always thought this was a cowboy song, knowing the version Roy Rogers sang sitting on his trusty horse, Trigger. But in fact the very singable Don’t fence me in was written in 1932 by the urbane jazz great Cole Porter. It’s not a “typical” Porter song – it uses a poem by an unknown […]
Lily Allen and the big fat gay collab
Lily Allen wrote that her song “Fuck you” (2008) “is not a direct attack at anyone, it was originally written about the BNP in the UK but then I felt this issue has become relevant pretty much everywhere, we are the youth, we can make coolness for our future, it’s up to us. Go green […]
Jailbreaker and Hank Williams
Write a one-sentence summary of this video. OR: Which sentence best summarizes this video for you? A sheriff manages to capture a jailbreaker. A jailbreaker meets an upright citizen who captures him. A short dog manages to outtrick a tall dog in a striped shirt. A poor fellow simply can’t win against someone who is […]
A Celebration by Mar
In Bray to the south of Dublin, Ruby dances to this pretty song by Mar just the way I did at her age. I had wings, too, but mine were covered in cream-colored lace. I still love fairs and ferris wheels and carousels and that floating feeling they give you. So: Who is coming to […]
Scott Matthews: Fractured
After his ubergorgeous song Elusive, where could he go? Songwriter Scott Matthews backed a series of Foo Fighters accoustic concerts in 2006, and his newish album “Elsewhere” exudes Foo-like pathos. It’s a concept album filled with longing and restlessness and a desire to hit the road or at least be someplace else – “elsewhere”. He’s […]
My Brightest Diamond
Shara Worden, aka My Brightest Diamond, is my soundtrack today. Her introspective mood, soaring voice and melodies and gritty guitar are right up my alley (= exactly what I like.) She comes from opera and still records chamber music. In this interview she talks about how very different it is to write and to perform, […]
Junior Brown: The Highway Patrol
Forget that Bruce Springsteen guy, Junior Brown is The Boss. Love how he gets down on his hybrid electric and lap steel guitar and makes you forget that this is, technically, country music. Here he’s the Law and Order man, just a-doin’ his job, he’s the Highway Patrol. I’m not exactly a Law and Order […]
