Category Archives: pop music

Happy Xmas — or is it Groundhog Day?


I run past Dan’s store on Passyunk Avenue, I see his Christmas trees for sale at curbside, breathe the scent of pine and hear “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” skipping from the speakers above his storefront. Each time … Continue reading

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‘I Wanted To Tell You’


From Matthew Sweet’s third and best album, Girlfriend, which appeared 20 years ago this Fall and proved that the age of hard-driving, well-crafted pop songs wasn’t quite over. It’s a catchy batch of rockers and ballads about crazy love and … Continue reading

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‘I’m Not Like Everybody Else’


And I don’t want to ball about like everybody else, And I don’t want to live my life like everybody else, And I won’t say that I feel fine like everybody else… Ray Davis was writing anthems about not fitting … Continue reading

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‘Frank’s Wild Years’


Well Frank settled down in the Valley and hung his wild years on a nail that he drove through his wife’s forehead… … he sold used office furniture out there on San Fernando Road and assumed a $30,000 loan at … Continue reading

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Yo, Dad, I think it’s a hit


  Do you hope to make her see you, fool?Do you hope to pluck this dusky jewel? The Doors didn’t even want to bother with “Hello, I Love You,” it was one of their first songs and they thought it … Continue reading

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Howdy, stranger. Every man for himself.


Coo coo it’s cold outside. Coo coo it’s cold outside. Ooo coo coo. Don’t forget your mittens. Hey Pal! How do I get to town from here? And he said: Well just take a right where they’re going to build … Continue reading

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Sleeping at the ‘Laundromat’


Well, I don’t have no clothes to clean To put inside the machine But it’s the craziest place I have ever been A long-overdue trip to the laundromat last Sunday started me on a week-long Rory Gallagher binge. Coincidentally, the … Continue reading

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Dinner with Nat King Cole


I don’t want french-fried potatoes, Red, ripe tomatoes, I’m never satisfied. I want the frim fram sauce with the ausen fay, With chafafa on the side. And I’ll have whatever you guys are smoking!

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Me and the devil and a Dallas church


Blues great Robert Johnson’s songs include “Me and the Devil Blues,” “Hellhound on My Trail” and “Cross Road Blues.” The latter explains how he sold his soul to Satan in return for guitar-playing prowess. It looks like some Christians in … Continue reading

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Robitussin and elderberry wine


Robo and wine sounds like a recipe for disaster, but add nostalgia to the mix and it becomes an elixir and a rallying cry for outlaws. Moby Grape was the epitome of outlaw energy and erratic creativity in 1960s rock … Continue reading

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