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Song of the Day 4/3: R.E.M., “Man on the Moon”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona In a post-Andy Kaufman world, it was perfectly natural for R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe to question the moon landing in “Man on the Moon.” The song is (sort of) about Kaufman, whose comedy was all about confusion between reality and fiction. You could see how that worked in the 1999 movie […]
DL Open Thread: Thursday, April 3, 2025
“It’s A Disaster”: Trump screwing the defenseless is one thing, but this, this, is a whole ‘nother thing: Markets around the world tumbled on Thursday after President Trump announced across-the-board tariffs on America’s main trading partners, including the European Union and Japan. Futures on the S&P 500, which allow investors to trade the index outside normal […]
Song of the Day 4/2: Killing Joke, “Pandemonium”
I’ll be traveling today, so I’ll be spared whatever freakout ensues from whatever bilious bullshit Trump spews. I am, however, assuming pandemonium as the baseline outcome. Killing Joke’s 40-year career has been better appreciated in Great Britain, where all but one of their 14 LPs reached the charts, than in America, where only one eked […]
DL Open Thread: Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Liberal Wins Wisconsin Supreme Court Race. Hope those newly-minted Musk millionaires cashed those checks already: The Democratic-backed candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court defeated a challenger endorsed by President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday, cementing a liberal majority for at least three more years. Susan Crawford, a Dane County judge who led legal fights to […]
Song of the Day 4/1: The Rolling Stones, “Fool to Cry”
Stock markets have been wobbly in anticipation of tomorrow’s Trump dumbfuckery. Crying or not, there are enough fools running American industry to cover not just today but every day of the year. “Fool to Cry” was the only single the Stones released from their 1976 “Black and Blue” album, which they made after Mick Taylor […]
DL Open Thread: Tuesday, April 1, 2025
B-b-b-but Hamas!: Palestinians held funerals Monday for 15 medics and emergency responders killed by Israeli troops in southern Gaza, after their bodies and mangled ambulances were found buried in an impromptu mass grave, apparently plowed over by Israeli military bulldozers. The Palestinian Red Crescent says the slain workers and their vehicles were clearly marked as […]
‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes: March 2025
While I always appreciate Nathan Arizona’s feedback, I’d like to hear from the rest of you. I know many of you listen each month, so whaddaya like? Or can’t stand? Ow-w-w-w!! Were I still booking shows at the Gild Hall, I’d be booking this guy: It may not be Favourite, but then, what is?: The […]
Song of the Day 3/31: Bruce Cockburn, “If I Had a Rocket Launcher”
Haven’t we all thought this in the past few months? Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn was a folkie who had written just a few political songs before he joined a 1983 trip, sponsored by the international relief organization Oxfam, to Guatemalan refugee camps in Mexico. He wrote of the experience, The refugees were the survivors of […]
DL Open Thread: Monday, March 31, 2025
Unholy Patrimonialism: This strikes me as explaining government under Trump–including its fatal weakness: Even those who expected the worst from his reelection (I among them) expected more rationality. Today, it is clear that what has happened since January 20 is not just a change of administration but a change of regime—a change, that is, in […]
Song of the Day 3/30: The Damned, “Smash It Up”
I don’t know whether to dedicate this one to Elon Musk or the protesters who are taking out their fury on his Tesla dealerships. It’s the signature song by the Damned, the most melodic and musically accomplished of the first wave of British punk bands. It was listed as “Smash It Up (Part II)” on […]
DL Open Thread: Sunday, March 30, 2025
Musk/DOGE’s Push For The Privatization Of Public Services: Mail delivery. Real estate. Foreign aid grants. The Trump administration is moving to privatize a sweeping number of government functions and assets — a long-standing Republican goal that’s being catalyzed by billionaire Elon Musk. The slash-and-burn approach of Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service is paving the way for […]
Song of the Day 3/29: Cheap Trick, “Surrender”
Major law firms are knuckling under to Trump, but Delaware lawmakers one-upped them: They surrendered to Elon Musk himself. Unfortunately, they fucked up by not following Cheap Trick songwriter Rick Neilson’s advice – when they surrendered they gave themselves away. “Surrender,” the first single from Cheap Trick’s 1978 LP “Heaven Tonight,” was the band’s first […]
DL Open Thread: Saturday, March 29, 2025
Meyer Signs Bill, Musk Does This. Coincidence?: Elon Musk said on Friday that his startup xAI has merged with X, his social network, in an all-stock transaction that values the artificial intelligence company at $80 billion and the social media company at $33 billion. Because both companies are privately held and controlled by Musk, the […]
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