Category Archives: pop music

Belated valentines for the broken-hearted


Swamp Rabbit was at my shack waiting to welcome me home from a long road trip that ended on the treacherous backstreets of York, PA. I drove through an intersection with a sudden slope and the car came down hard … Continue reading

Posted in apocalypse, arts, dirty rotten scoundrels, down and out, humor, mainstream media, pop music | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Love has come to town (one day only)


“What is this thing called love, Odd Man?” It was Valentine’s Day, and Swamp Rabbit was in a reflective mood. I told him there were all sorts of love, that he was probably referring to eros, the ancient Greek word … Continue reading

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Spotify’s big profits ensure ‘free speech’ for Joe Rogan


I told my neighbor Swamp Rabbit that the United States leads the world in Covid-19 deaths — we’ve passed the 900,000 mark — partly because of grifters like Joe Rogan, who has used his Spotify podcasts to channel bad medical … Continue reading

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Fifteen spirituals to help you get through 2022


“They ain’t spirituals,” Swamp Rabbit said. “Elvis was a rocker. Blind Faith don’t belong on no list with James Cleveland. Matthew Sweet got ain’t got nothin’ to do with Mahalia Jackson. You got gospel mixed up with rock ‘n’ roll.” … Continue reading

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How about a moat? And toss in some alligators


Swamp Rabbit and I were drinking coffee from tin cups, listening to a Jimmie Rodgers album and reading a surreal story in Guardian UK: Donald Trump discussed shooting migrants in the legs to slow them down, after ordering advisers to … Continue reading

Posted in humor, immigration, mainstream media, New York Times, Politics, pop music | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Don’t flip out, it’s only a movie


Swamp Rabbit was booing the selection of Green Book for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. “That movie sugarcoats racism,” he said. “They had to rewrite history so white peeps would like it.” “You’re a white guy, but you don’t … Continue reading

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Blowin’ smoke on Super Sunday


I was sitting on the porch with Swamp Rabbit, trying to nail down the silliest Super Bowl moment. Was it Budweiser’s “Blowin’ In the Wind” commercial or the halftime performance by Maroon 5? “Ain’t nothin’ silly about ‘Blowin’ In the … Continue reading

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Patti Smith to young artists: Brush your teeth


I was under-whelmed by Patti Smith’s landmark debut album Horses (1975), mostly because her voice was a mess and because I thought punk rock, stylistically, was a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing musical. But Smith wasn’t a punk … Continue reading

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Digging deep for ‘new’ Beatles gold


I blew my mind out in a car, driving home from a gig in Bethlehem, PA, listening to “Glass Onion” on the radio. First Ringo’s snare and then bang, the whole bad-ass rhythm section and John singing I told you … Continue reading

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If you’re going to lie, lie bigly


Republicans will totally protect people with Pre-Existing Conditions, Democrats will not! Vote Republican. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 24, 2018 I showed Trump’s tweet to Swamp Rabbit. “Do you believe this guy?  Have you ever encountered such a low-down, … Continue reading

Posted in arts, humor, liar, mainstream media, mid-term elections, Obama, Politics, pop music | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment