Spitball Army

My very demanding computer ordered me to update its iTunes program recently, so I did it, rather than face the unknown consequences of not having an updated iTunes program. The last thing I want is to not be able to access the tens of thousands of mp3 files on the hard drive. Yes, there are […]

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All accounts suggest that Elton John and Bernie Taupin wrote “Teenage Idol” as a tribute to glam rocker Marc Bolan of the band T.Rex.

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Besides other humans, dogs are probably the smartest animals that we come in contact with on a daily basis. I’ve known some dogs that are most definitely smarter than some humans I’ve known, but that’s another story. Dogs play with us, they keep us company, and they make us happy. It is no surprise, then, that after humans (in, for instance, love songs and murder ballads), the next most popular animal represented in song is man’s best friend.

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In 1988, A&M Records released an album entitled Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films.  Popular musical artists of the day – the majority of them “independent” – covered songs from the early animated and live-action features of the Disney Studios, under the producer’s wand held by Hal Willner.  One of the tracks was “Castle […]

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When I first heard “Alicia Ross,” my initial impulse was to play it over again immediately.  I did.  Then I played it again.  The narrative voice in the lyrics was so strong that I wondered if it was perhaps based on a true story.  A quick googling of “Alicia+Ross” gave me a series of websites, including […]

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This semi-satirical, talking blues folk tune is…a call to action to control and limit the proliferation of atomic weapons. It is, indeed, that rarest of early Cold War tunes, the anti-Bomb song.

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So, I cautiously opened James Taylor’s Covers CD when my review copy arrived in the mail, already acknowledging my disappointment at the absence of original songs. My opinion of the album only worsened when I read the song list. Track number one: “It’s Growing.” No, I thought to myself, it can’t be.

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We were having an unseasonably warm, if slightly wet, day in Alabama, and Ben was wrapped in layers, as if he had prepared for the worst or, at least, a deer hunt.

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[audio:Spain___Make_Your_Body_Move.mp3] “Make Your Body Move” by Spain, from I Believe (2001) Fill in the blank: This song drips with __________.

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It was a busy day today, and I was on the move for most of it. The constant? My iPod was working overtime, and though I did listen to a couple of albums full through, it was mostly a Shuffle-All-Songs day. The little random song machine did a bang-up job of entertaining me. Here are some of the day’s lesser-known musical highlights that you might enjoy as well as I did:

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