Category Archives: pop music

Some ‘Rain’ to keep us sane in Philly

Posted on August 20, 2011 by oddmanout215

At last the rain god intervened to clean the stinking streets — am I paraphrasing Travis Bickle? — after the hottest July on record in Philly. And now there’s a chance this will be the city’s wettest August on record. … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, humor, livable cities, Philadelphia, pop music | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

More songs about buildings and bikes

Posted on August 17, 2011 by oddmanout215

I was watching a sunburned woman with red hair in a thick braid. In the corner of my eye, a bike rider zoomed past and disappeared behind a bus. I stepped into the street for another look, but the rider … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, enviromentalism, Great Recession, humor, livable cities, Philadelphia, pop music, The New Depression | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Her fame was fleeting, but Jones’s songs endure

Posted on August 13, 2011 by oddmanout215

Mojo has been a better music magazine than Rolling Stone for a long time, and forget that there isn’t much good music to write about these days, that’s another story. The July Mojo profiled singer/songwriter Rickie Lee Jones, who debuted … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, mainstream media, pop music | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Father’s Day works better as fiction

Posted on June 24, 2011 by oddmanout215

[This one got lost in the shuffle, but I’m guessing my legion of readers won’t mind that it’s a week late.] One of the pleasures of writing a novel is you can decide when and how things happen. For instance, … Continue reading →

Posted in fiction, pop music | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

In praising Scott-Heron, Inquirer buries his message

Posted on June 1, 2011 by oddmanout215

Gil Scott-Heron, the African-American poet and musician who died this week at age 62, was most famous for his recording of “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” a funny and uncompromising call-to-arms that envisions the downfall of the corporate masterminds … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, economic collapse, globalization, Great Recession, mainstream media, Philadelphia, Politics, pop music, taxes, unemployment, Wall Street, world-wide economy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Subterranean homesick Bob

Posted on May 25, 2011 by oddmanout215

I tried, but the hundred Inevitables dogged me all day. By the time I got back to the bunker the medicine man was gone and Beethoven had unwrapped a bedroll with Ma Rainey. I’d missed my chance to give Bob … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, economic collapse, Goldman Sachs, Great Recession, Iraq war, mainstream media, Obama, Politics, pop music, unemployment, Wall Street | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On the road to Johnny Brenda’s w/ Nicos Gun

Posted on April 5, 2011 by oddmanout215

You’re achy and pissed when you pull into Roadkill, AL, or wherever, and sick of looking at each other, of the smell of each other in that RV you’re rattling around in. But South by Southwest in Austin was sweet … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, Philadelphia, pop music | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

To get to an Arizona bigot’s heart…

Posted on March 19, 2011 by oddmanout215

…hit him in the wallet, real hard: Arizona established itself over the past year as the most aggressive state in cracking down on illegal immigrants, gaining so much momentum with its efforts that several other states vowed to follow suit. … Continue reading →

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Anti-unions bill OK’d. (Don’t sit still for it, Tom.)

Posted on March 10, 2011 by oddmanout215

Because these wings are no longer wings to fly But merely vans to beat the air The air which is now thoroughly small and dry Smaller and dryer than the will Teach us to care and not to care Teach … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, economic collapse, Great Recession, mainstream media, Obama, Politics, pop music, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A song for Charlie Sheen?

Posted on March 9, 2011 by oddmanout215

Listen all you fools out there Go on and love me I don’t care Oh it’s lonely at the top — Randy Newman, “Lonely At the Top,” 1972 People say it’s lonely at the top, but I sure like the … Continue reading →

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