(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on April 11, 2026)
I swear, Paul is everywhere, man. This documentary premieres on BBC-2 tonight:
Damn, I wish I could get BBC-2 here in the colonies; that’s right in my wheelhouse (yes, I know there are various “ways” to tap into the live feed, but I get the impression they all involve hoisting the pirate flag to the toppermost of the poppermost before setting sail).
Oprah shared a great Macca story with Stephen Colbert this week:
Playing the first of two nights at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood Friday night, Paul McCartney acknowledged the tiered arrangement that had VIPs up in the balcony and the hoi polloi down on the floor. “Hello, you people upstairs, in the posh seats,” he said early in the show, and then, “You poor people down here have gotta stand up.” It almost seemed as if he might be alluding to a similar, famous speech given when the Beatles played for British royalty in 1963 — “The people in the cheaper seats, clap your hands, and the rest of you, if you’d just rattle your jewelry.” That was John’s thing, back then, but leave it to both Beatles to have a bemused sense of class consciousness.
Of course, when the world’s most celebrated living musician is playing at a 1,200-capacity venue, everyone in attendance is feeling like a VIP. Maybe most of all those on the floor, who, perhaps more to the point, had reason to feel like lottery winners. While there were some guest-listers at ground level as well, most of those in attendance had made it through a system in which they pre-registered with AXS and were selected for the opportunity to purchase $200 tickets (or a more expensive tier with exclusive merch bags). […]
Although they also got the chance to buy freshly minted merch with the logo of his forthcoming album, “The Boys of Dungeon Lane,” he did not premiere anything from that impending set, nor even play “Days We Left Behind,” which was just released Thursday as his first new single in five and a half years.
McCartney did mention “Days We Left Behind,” which led to the expectation he was about to play the nostalgic ballad, before he set the crowd straight. “We’re in the process of learning it, so don’t ask us to do it” he said, going on to explain what was giving him a little trouble in getting it down for live purposes. “And it’s in B, but I wrote it in C, but for some reason it’s in B.. I said, no, too much for me!” he quipped, apparently writing the disparity off as an Andrew Watt thing. Nonetheless, there were appreciative shouts about the new song, and McCartney replied, “I’m glad you love it.”
The new single is quite lovely, actually:
I daresay, at 83, Paul is starting to act his age:
Looking back at white and black
Reminders of my past
Smoky bars and cheap guitars
But nothing built to last
[CHORUS] Nothing ever stays
Nothing comes to mind
No one can erase
The days we left behind
See the boys of Dungeon Lane
Along the Mersey shore
Some of them will feel the pain
But some were meant for more
[CHORUS]
[BRIDGE] We met at Forthlin Road
And wrote a secret code
To never be spoken
I stand by what I said
The promise that I made
Will never be broken
[CHORUS]
In the skies, the skylarks rise
Above the sounds of war
Since that day, I knew they’d stay
With me for evermore
He had me at “…along the Mersey shore”.
Then there’s the new Wings doc that recently dropped on Prime Video:
Yeah, I know…this poor bloke doesn’t get enough coverage. That said, Morgan Neville’s intimate, candid portrait is an absorbing watch; beginning with the dissolution of the Beatles and covering the entire span of Wings’ history (1971-1981). The story of Paul and Linda’s relationship instills the film with a deeply emotional resonance. Worthwhile for fans.
Oh…and Sir Paul will be the musical guest on SNL on May 16th.
You can “OK Boomer” me until the troops come home, but as fucked-up as the world is right now (and on so many levels)…the fact that NASA is back on trackand Paul McCartney has released a new one assures me that somewhere, out there in the ether…hope remains for humanity.
(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on April 4, 2026)
Earth from space, photographed by an Artemis II crew member
For those of us of “a certain age”, that is to say, old enough to have actually witnessed the moon landing live on TV… the fact that “we” were even able to achieve this feat “by the end of the decade” (as President Kennedy projected in 1961) still feels like a pretty big deal to me.
Of course, there are still big unanswered questions out there about Life, the Universe, and Everything, but I’ll leave that to future generations. I feel that I’ve done my part…spending my formative years plunked in front of a B&W TV in my PJs eating Sugar Smacks and watching Walter Cronkite reporting live from the Cape.
Those particular memories resurfaced recently as I watched Richard Linklater’s charming 2022 animated memoir Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood, which I stumbled across on Netflix:
Of course, 10 year-old Linklater didn’t land on the moon and return safely to the Earth just ahead of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin; that’s the fantasy part of his tale. It was the earthbound elements of his narrative that triggered an emotional sense memory of being a kid again, living in suburbia in 1969 (and watching the moon landing on a boxy black and white television set).
This past Wednesday, those memories came flooding back to me like a hot flash from the end of a Saturn V rocket:
One “teeny, tiny curb” for a human…one giant leap for humankind. Flick my pocket protector and call me a space geek, but we seem to have lost that collective feeling of wonder and curiosity about the cosmos (people are too busy doom scrolling to look up and stargaze anymore). As far as I’m concerned, the Artemis II mission is a good thing.
With the madness and mayhem dominating the current news cycle, the timing of NASA’s first manned lunar mission since 1972 couldn’t be better. Frankly, it’s been a minute since I’ve had a reason to feel pride in being an American. Surely, this is a galvanizing moment for our politically fractured country; something we can all get behind, yes?
President Donald Trump released a budget blueprint on Friday calling for a 23 percent cut to NASA’s budget, two days after the agency launched four astronauts on the first crewed lunar mission in more than 50 years.
The spending proposal for fiscal year 2027 is the opening salvo in a multi-month budget process. Both houses of Congress must pass their own appropriations bills, reconcile any differences between the two, and then send the final budget to the White House for President Trump’s signature. Fiscal year 2027 begins on October 1.
The White House requested a similar cut to NASA last year. The Republican-led Congress resoundingly rejected the proposal and kept NASA’s budget close to its level in the final year of the Biden administration. Like last year’s budget, the proposal from the Trump administration will undergo major changes as Congress weighs in over the coming months.
In a document explaining the NASA cuts, the Trump administration said it seeks to slash funding for “unnecessary and overpriced activities.” Under the White House plan, NASA will focus on the administration’s priority of landing humans on the Moon before the end of Trump’s term in office, then building a Moon base.ch was already effectively canceled last year due to cost overruns. […]
The most severe cuts are aimed at NASA’s science programs. The Trump administration proposes reducing science funding by nearly half, a $3.4 billion reduction compared to fiscal year 2026. The budget would cancel more than 40 “low-priority missions.” The budget overview released by the White House on Friday does not identify which missions would be terminated, other than Mars Sample Return, which was already effectively canceled last year due to cost overruns.
The White House asked for a cut to NASA’s science budget of a similar magnitude for fiscal year 2026, but Congress balked.
The Planetary Society decried the cuts as “draconian” in a press release on Friday.
And yes, I’ve seen the friendly fire on social media regarding the cost of the Artemis II mission. I “get” what some of my fellow well-meaning social progressives are saying, but here’s a little perspective. The 2026 fiscal budget for NASA was $24.44 billion. Granted, that is a hefty chunk of change, but a mere pittance, compared to this:
President Donald Trump has proposed boosting defense spending to $1.5 trillion in his 2027 budget released Friday, the largest such request in decades, reflecting his emphasis on U.S. military investments over domestic programs.
The sizable increase for the Pentagon, some 44%, had been telegraphed by the Republican president even before the U.S.-led war against Iran. The president’s plan would also reduce spending on non-defense programs by 10%.
“President Trump promised to reinvest in America’s national security infrastructure, to make sure our nation is safe in a dangerous world,” wrote Budget Director Russell Vought.
The president’s annual budget is considered a reflection of the administration’s values and does not carry the force of law. The massive document typically highlights an administration’s priorities, but Congress, which handles federal spending issues, is free to reject it and often does.
Trump, speaking ahead of an address to the nation this week about the Iran war, signaled the military is his priority, setting up a clash ahead in Congress.
I don’t know about you, but I would much rather see my hard-earned tax dollars go toward exploring strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before…as opposed to empowering the baser instincts of an earthbound species that has been hell-bent on self destruction since Day 1.
Back to the mission at hand-a musical voyage to the far side of the moon, and returning you safely back to the Earth. Take your protein pills and put your headphones on:
Frank Sinatra – “Fly Me to the Moon”
Moxy Früvous – “You Will Go to the Moon”
Jonathan King – “Everyone’s Gone to the Moon”
Rush – “Countdown”
David Bowie – “Space Oddity”
Elton John – “Rocket Man”
Harry Nilsson – “Spaceman”
Deep Purple – “Space Truckin”
Montrose – “Space Station #5”
Kate Bush – “The Big Sky”
Prism – “Spaceship Superstar”
Yes – “Starship Trooper”
Moody Blues – “Floating”
The Rolling Stones – “2000 Light Years From Home”
The Orb – “Backside of the Moon”
The Police – “Walking on the Moon”
Ian Gillan Band – “Five Moons”
King Crimson – “Moonchild”
Nick Drake – “Pink Moon”
Paul McCartney & Wings – “Venus and Mars”
Jefferson Starship – “Have You Seen the Stars Tonight?”
(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on March 28, 2026)
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made
And crowns for convoy put into his purse:
We would not die in that man’s company
That fears his fellowship to die with us
— from Henry V, by William Shakespeare
Five to one, baby, one in five:
OK-it wasn’t exactly the St. Crispin’s Day speech, but close enough.
On his MSNOW show this morning, Ali Velshi highlighted a fascinating bit of civil rights history, recounted in this PBS article:
Imagine climbing up 83 steps. Perhaps that doesn’t seem like such a big deal—but that’s likely because you’d be walking. What would you do, though, if you couldn’t?
That was the premise behind the Capitol Crawl, a now-iconic protest to demand the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA was a landmark civil rights bill aimed at providing basic amenities and protections to some 40 million mentally and physically disabled citizens. Today we take many of the ADA’s changes to society—curb cuts in sidewalks and closed captioning on entertainment, to name just two examples—for granted. But the act’s passage, in 1990, was anything but guaranteed.
By spring of that year, the ADA had been trapped in legislative limbo for months. Despite the strong support of then-President George H.W. Bush, the act was languishing in Congress, caught in the deliberations of House subcommittees. Many U.S. Representatives balked at the expense and complication posed by the ADA’s requirements.
Enter ADAPT—American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit—a grassroots disability rights organization that had been staging protests across the country even before its official founding in 1983. On March 12, 1990, ADAPT led a procession of more than 500 marchers, including other disability activists and lobbyists, from the White House to the west side of the U.S. Capitol. There, in the kind of guerrilla civic action for which the organization had become known, scores of marchers dropped to the ground and began the long journey up the hard marble stairs leading to the “People’s House.” They climbed backwards or on their hands and knees, step-by-painstaking-step. “As I’m seeing the people around me,” recalled Anita Cameron, one of the ADAPT activists who made her way up that day, “I’m like, ‘whoa, we are doing it. We are really doing it. We’re, like, crawling into history.’”
Rolled up in their pockets, protestors carried copies of the Declaration of Independence. Once they finally summitted the stairs, ADAPT reps delivered those scrolls to members of Congress as a reminder of the ADA’s importance. And while media coverage of the event wasn’t extensive, but the publicity that was garnered by the Crawl was impactful. “The pictures were striking,” said The New York Times several days later, “just as they were intended to be: Children paralyzed from the waist down crawling up the steps of the Capitol.” Six months later, following the bill’s now-remarkably swift passage through the House, President George H. W. Bush signed the ADA into law.
“We did it to show that we disabled people, as second class citizens, needed change. And the vehicle for how it was going to change was the ADA,” Cameron told American Experience, reflecting on the Capitol Crawl’s significance. “But I think a lot of people forget that the ADA was the floor. It was not the ceiling. So it was the beginning of rights for us, but it was not the end.”
One of the youngest participants in the Capitol Crawl was 8 year-old Jennifer Keelan:
(engage shame mode) For the life of me, I don’t remember hearing about this action at the time; Velshi’s retrospective today was my first awareness (and let me tell you-it certainly turned on the waterworks). How could I have missed it? It really bothered me; I turned it over in my mind. It wasn’t like I wasn’t aware of world events (I was working in radio…I announced news stories gathered off the AP wire as part of my weekday morning show, for god’s sake).
I contemplated further. In 1990, I was 34. Over the previous 2 years, I had shed 75 pounds, and had walked, jogged, biked and cross-country skied myself into the best physical shape of my adult life. So I wasn’t thinking twice about everyday physical activities like walking up and down stairs, stepping on or off curbs, or simply walking, for that matter. Consequently, like most able-bodied people, I didn’t stop and think about what it was like to be one of those folks who find such everyday physical activities a genuine challenge (if not insurmountable).
But nowadays, as I am “one of those folks” (stairs and curbs are a challenge, and I can’t walk far without some kind of assistive device)…I “get” it. Hence the waterworks when Ali Velshi ran the clip of Jennifer Keelan reaching that top step; I instantly grokked that it was thanks to the courage of activists like that little girl and her cohorts that I have the dedicated access to parking, transit and buildings that I take for granted as a (now) disabled person (pushing 70).
I also connected the dots between 88 year-old Jane Fonda and 8 year-old Jennifer Keelan:
They aren’t/weren’t too tired to keep pushing for change.
It’s in that spirit that I tip my hat to everyone hitting the streets today to exercise their First Amendment rights and (peacefully) push for change, and humbly offer this mixtape to perk them up should they feel…tired.
Bruce Springsteen – “Streets of Minneapolis”
Billy Bragg – “City of Heroes”
The Beatles – “Revolution“
Frank Zappa – “Trouble Every Day”
Elvis Costello – “Night Rally”
Green Day – “American Idiot”
The Clash – “Clampdown”
Woody Guthrie – “All You Fascists Bound to Lose”
Bob Marley & the Wailers – “Get Up, Stand Up”
The Doors – “Five to One”
Graham Nash – “Chicago“
The Style Council – “The Whole Point of No Return”
Tracy Chapman – “Talkin’ About a Revolution”
John Lennon – “Power to the People”
Sly & the Family Stone – “Stand!”
Heaven 17 – “(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang”
Public Enemy – “Fight the Power”
Gil Scott-Heron – “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”
(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on January 28, 2026)
“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.”
— Victor Hugo
On April 7, 1968-just 3 days after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., Nina Simone performed this song in New York:
Simone’s bassist Gene Taylor had composed it right after Dr. King was killed; the song (and Simone’s emotional performance) is all the more remarkable for being at once so timely, and timeless.
In 1968, music was our social media. Otis Spann was another artist who paid musical tribute to Dr. King, writing and performing two songs about the slain civil rights leader just days after his death. His “Blues for Martin Luther King” gives us the news and preaches the blues:
On May 4, 1970, 4 students at Ohio’s Kent State University died when National Guard troops opened fire on protestors. When Neil Young saw the photos of the incident in Life magazine soon afterwards, he was moved to write the now-iconic protest anthem “Ohio”, which was recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young just two weeks later and rush-released as a single one month to the day after the killings:
The following year, Bob Dylan felt similarly compelled to express outrage in song, after Black Panther leader/author/prison activist George Jackson was shot to death by guards during an escape attempt at San Quentin (there was contention over whether or not his killing was a set-up). Dylan’s single “George Jackson” was released just three months after the incident:
Flash forward to 2026. Folk singer Phil Ochs once said, “A protest song is a song that’s so specific that you cannot mistake it for bullshit.”
When they came for the immigrants
I got in their face
When they came for the refugees
I got in their face When they came for the five year olds
I got in their face…
You may be thinking: “Those lyrics could have been written this week!”
If that’s what you’re thinking…you’re right. They were written this week, by political song smith extraordinaire/activist Billy Bragg, who posted this song on YouTube yesterday:
And we got this memo from the Boss today, posted on BlueSky:
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Stay free.
You can’t mistake that for bullshit. It’s tough not to despair right now, but as Kris Kristofferson advised:“Don’t let the bastards get you down.”
(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on January 24, 2026)
In my review of the documentary Antarctica: A Year on Ice, I wrote:
For decades now, my long-time Alaskan friends and I have speculated as to why no one has ever thought to produce a documentary about the unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience shared by the thousands of men and women who worked on the massive Trans-Alaska Pipeline construction project back in the 1970s. From 1975-1977, I worked as a laborer on the project (that’s right…Fairbanks Local #942, baby!), doing 6-to-10 week stints in far-flung locales with exotic handles like Coldfoot, Old Man, Happy Valley, and the ever-popular Pump Station #3 (now that was one cold motherfucker).
These remote work camps, frequently the only bastions of “civilization” for hundreds of square miles in all directions, developed their own unique culture…part moon base, part Dodge City. It’s a vibe that is tough to explain to anyone who wasn’t actually there. Traditionally, I usually cite the sci-fi “western” Outland as the closest approximation.
They don’t call Alaska “The Last Frontier” for nothing. Yippee ki-yay.
Yes, the subarctic can be harsh and otherworldly. Yet, there is also poetry there…as these verses from Robert Service’s “The Spell of the Yukon” attest:
I’ve stood in some mighty-mouthed hollow
That’s plumb-full of hush to the brim;
I’ve watched the big, husky sun wallow
In crimson and gold, and grow dim,
Till the moon set the pearly peaks gleaming,
And the stars tumbled out, neck and crop;
And I’ve thought that I surely was dreaming,
With the peace o’ the world piled on top.
The summer—no sweeter was ever;
The sunshiny woods all athrill;
The grayling aleap in the river,
The bighorn asleep on the hill.
The strong life that never knows harness;
The wilds where the caribou call;
The freshness, the freedom, the farness—
O God! how I’m stuck on it all.
The winter! the brightness that blinds you,
The white land locked tight as a drum,
The cold fear that follows and finds you,
The silence that bludgeons you dumb.
The snows that are older than history,
The woods where the weird shadows slant;
The stillness, the moonlight, the mystery,
I’ve bade ’em good-by—but I can’t
I second that emotion. From my review of the documentary Happy People: A Year in the Taiga:
As I was watching the film, a certain sense of familiarity began to gnaw at me. It was something about the stark wintry beauty of naturally flocked spruce forests, the crisp contrast of white birch against blue skies, and the odd moose galumphing into the frame. Or maybe it was the relentless vampirism of swarming mosquitos during the short but intense sub-arctic summer. Then it dawned on me. I had lived there! Was this a past life memory? Then I remembered that I don’t believe in that sort of thing…so I Googled a map of Siberia, which solved the mystery: the village of Bakhta lies roughly on the same longitude as Fairbanks, Alaska, where I lived for 23 years. I couldn’t see Russia from my house, but I now feel a spiritual kinship with these hardy Siberians. Okay, I’m not a survivalist (if I were to venture out on Gennady’s trap line; I’d end up like the protagonists in Kalatozov’s Letter Never Sent). But I think you catch my drift…
Winter Storm Fern could etch itself into weather history in four different ways across the South, Midwest and Northeast.Some winter storms affect only a relatively limited area. Not Winter Storm Fern.
Fern is expected to dump significant snow and/or ice over 34 states affecting over 220 million people in the U.S. That’s almost two out of every three Americans, according to population estimates.
Fern will also dump significant snow in parts of southeastern and Atlantic Canada.
This storm will lead to widespread dangerous travel for days, and “catastrophic” ice accumulations in the South could lead to widespread power outages and tree damage, according to NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center. […]
This could be the region’s most widespread, damaging ice storm in at least several years, with damage that could take days to recover from.
Weather forecasters are also warning about possible snow accumulations of 12 inches or more in some areas, as well as record cold temperatures.
I’ve bade ’em good-by—but I can’t.
I do not know how long in the snow I wrestled with grisly fear;
But the stars came out and they danced about ere again I ventured near;
I was sick with dread, but I bravely said: “I’ll just take a peep inside.
I guess he’s cooked, and it’s time I looked”; … then the door I opened wide.
And there sat Sam, looking cool and calm, in the heart of the furnace roar;
And he wore a smile you could see a mile, and he said: “Please close that door.
It’s fine in here, but I greatly fear you’ll let in the cold and storm—
Since I left Plumtree, down in Tennessee, it’s the first time I’ve been warm.”
–from “The Cremation of Sam McGee”, by Robert Service
Don’t try that at home, kids…but do what you can keep warm, and stay safe. In the meantime, grab yourself a cup of hot chocolate (those directly in path of the storm may want to add a splash of Kahlua), a good pair of noise-cancelling ‘phones, and curl up with my wintry mixtape. As usual, best enjoyed in the order presented:
“The Immigrant Song” – Led Zeppelin
“Waiting for the Winter” – The Popguns
“Hazy Shade of Winter” – The Bangles
“Baby it’s Cold Outside” – Pezband
“Snowman” – XTC
“Winter in the Country” – Cleaners from Venus
“Valley Winter Song” – Fountains of Wayne
“Life in a Northern Town” – The Dream Academy
“Skyway” – The Replacements
“Snowstorm” – Galaxie 500
“Winter Song” – The Screaming Trees
“Winter” – The Rolling Stones
“South Side of the Sky” – Yes
“Rangers at Midnight” – Crack the Sky
“The Northern Lights” – Renaissance
“Snowbound” – Genesis
“I Am a Rock” – Simon and Garfunkel
“California Dreaming” – Mamas and the Papas
“Sometimes in Winter” – Blood, Sweat, and Tears
“Wintertime Love” – The Doors
“Winter Winds” – Fotheringay
“Skating Away (On the Thin Ice of a New Day)” – Jethro Tull
(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on December 27, 2025)
All is quiet, on New Year’s Day. Except for this mixtape (you may adjust your volume per hangover conditions New Year’s morning). Cheers!
“This Will Be Our Year” – The Zombies – Starting on a positive note. Lovely Beatle-esque number from the Odyssey and Oracle album.
You don’t have to worry All your worried days are gone This will be our year Took a long time to come
At least…we can always hope, right?
“Time” – David Bowie – A song as timeless as Bowie himself. Time, he’s waiting in the wings/He speaks of senseless things…
“New Year” – Beach House – Could be…who knows? A lovely slice of dream pop from this Baltimore trio to usher in the new year.
Can you call it? See it coming? Just enough to tell a story ’bout a Portrait of a young girl waiting For the ending of an era
“1999″ – Prince – Sadly, it’s a perennial question: “Mommy…why does everybody have a bomb?”
“1921” – The Who – Got a feeling ’21 is gonna be a good year. OK, back to the drawing board …let’s make ’26 a better one.
“Time” – Oscar Brown, Jr. – A wise and soulful gem…tick, tock.
“New Year’s Day” – U2 – I know… “Edgy pick, Captain Obvious!” But it’s still a great song.
“The New Year” – Death Cab for Cutie – Did you ever wake up on January 1st, look around, shrug, and think to yourself “So this is the new year?” This one’s for you.
So this is the new year And I have no resolutions Or self assigned penance For problems with easy solutions
“Year of the Cat” – Al Stewart – Old Grey Whistle Test clip. Strolling through the crowd like Peter Lorre, contemplating a crime…
“Reeling in the Years” – Steely Dan – Taking inventory with a classic, featuring a killer solo by Elliot Randall.
Encore! Fantastic live version from 2002. Randall and the backup band are on fire.
“New Year’s Resolution” – Otis Redding & Carla Thomas – Ace Stax B-side from 1968, with that unmistakable “Memphis sound”. Speaking of which… check out my review of the Stax music doc, Take Me to the River.
“Same Old Lang Syne” – Dan Fogelberg – OK, a nod to those who insist on waxing sentimental. A beautiful tune from the late singer-songwriter.
Bonus track!
Not a “New Year’s song” per se, but an evergreen new year’s wish.
(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on December 20, 2025)
I’m guessing you’ve already had it up to “here” with holly jolly Burl Ives and Rudolph with his frigging red nose so bright wafting out of every elevator in sight. Christmas comes but once a year; this too shall soon pass. I promise I won’t torture you with the obvious and overplayed. Rather, I have curated 20 selections that aren’t flogged to death every year; some deeper cuts (and a few novelty items) for your Xmas creel.
Happy Crimble, and a Very New Year!
Alan Parsons in a Winter Wonderland – Grandaddy
The stockings are hung with irony in this California-based indie band’s rendition.
Gone away
Is the blue bird
Here to stay
Is the new bird
He records a love song
The production’s right on
Alan Parsons in a winter wonderland
All I Want For Christmas – The Bobs
The Bobs have been stalking me. They formed in the early 80s, in San Francisco. I was living in San Francisco in the early 80s; I recall catching them as an opening act for The Plimsouls (I think…or maybe Greg Kihn) at The Keystone in Berkeley. I remember having my mind blown by a cappella renditions of “Psycho Killer” and “Helter Skelter”. Later, I resettled in Seattle. Later, they resettled in Seattle. I wish they’d quit following me! This is a lovely number from their 1996 album Too Many Santas.
Ave Maria – Stevie Wonder
There are songs that you do not tackle if you don’t have the pipes (unless you want to be jeered offstage, or out of the ball park). “The Star Spangled Banner” comes to mind; as does “Nessun dorma”. “Ave Maria” is right up there too. Not only does Stevie nail the vocal, but he whips out the most sublime harmonica solo this side of Toots Thielemans.
Blue Xmas – Bob Dorough w/ the Miles Davis Sextet
The hippest “Bah, humbug!” of all time. “Gimme gimme gimme…”
A Christmas Song– Jethro Tull
Ian Anderson decries all the crass commercialization; gets drunk with Santa. “Psst…Hey, Santa. Pass us that bottle, will ya?”
Christmas at the Airport – Nick Lowe
Wry and tuneful as ever, veteran pub-rocker/power-popper/balladeer Nick Lowe continues to compose, produce, record and tour. This is from his 2013 Christmas album, Quality Street. I think a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nomination is overdue.
Christmas in Suburbia – The Cleaners From Venus
Despite the fact that he writes hook-laden, Beatlesque pop gems in his sleep, and has been doing so for five decades, endearingly eccentric singer-musician-songwriter-poet Martin Newell (Cleaners From Venus, Brotherhood of Lizards) remains a selfishly-guarded secret by cultish admirers (of which I am one). But since it is the holidays, I’m feeling magnanimous-so I will share him with you now (you’re welcome).
Christmas Wish – NRBQ
NRBQ has been toiling in relative obscurity since 1966, despite nearly 50 albums and a rep for crowd-pleasing live shows. I think they’ve fallen through the cracks because they are tough to pigeonhole; they’re equally at home with power-pop, blues, rock, jazz, R&B, country or goofy covers. This is from their eponymous 2007 album.
I Am Santa Claus – Bob Rivers
Funniest Christmas parody song ever, by the “Twisted Tunes” gang.
I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas – Yogi Yorgesson
I first heard this tune about the “joys” of holiday gatherings on “The Dr. Demento Show” . It always puts me in hysterics, especially: “My mouth tastes like a pickle.”
Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring – Leo Kottke
In 1969, an LP entitled 6- and 12-String Guitar quietly slid into record stores. The cover had a painting of an armadillo, with “Leo Kottke” emblazoned above. In the 50+ years since, “the armadillo album” has become a touchstone for aspiring guitarists, introducing the world to a gifted player with a unique and expressive finger picking technique. Kottke’s lovely take on a Bach classic is a highlight.
River – Joni Mitchell
Not a jolly “laughing all the way” singalong; but this is my list, and I’m sticking to it. Besides, Joni opens with a “Jingle Bells” piano quote, and the lyrics are stuffed with Christmas references. Oft-covered, but it doesn’t make a lot of holiday playlists.
Santa – Lightnin’ Hopkins
Best Christmas blues ever, by the poet laureate of the Delta.
Now, I happened to see these old people learning the young ones, Yeah just learning them exactly what to do. So sweet, it’s so sweet to see these old people, Learning they old children just what to do. Mother said a million-year-ago Santa Claus come to me, Now this year he gone come to you.
My little sister said take your stocking now, Hang it up on the head of the bed. Talkin’ to her friend she said take your stocking, And please hang it up on head of the bed. And she said know we all God’s saint children, In the morning Ol’ Santa Claus gone see that we all is fed.
Sleigh Ride– The Ventures
I’ve never personally seen anyone “hang ten” in Puget Sound; nonetheless, one of the greatest surf bands ever hails from Tacoma. This jaunty mashup of a Christmas classic with “Walk, Don’t Run” sports tasty fretwork by Nokie Edwards and Don Wilson.
Sometimes You Have to Work on Christmas – Harvey Danger
Ho-ho-ho, here’s your %&#!@ change. We’ve all been there at one time or another. I have a soft spot for this music video (It’s a Wonderful Life meets Clerks) because it features one of my favorite neighborhood theaters here in Seattle-The Grand Illusion.
Stoned Soul Christmas – Binky Griptite
“Man, what’s the matter with you…don’t you know it’s Christmas?!” A funky sleigh ride down to the stoned soul Christmas with guitarist/DJ Binky Griptite (formerly of The Dap Kings). A clever reworking of Laura Nyro’s “Stoned Soul Picnic.” Nice.
2000 Miles – The Pretenders
A lovely live chamber pop rendition, and Chrissie’s vocals are sublime.
We Wish You a Merry Christmas– Jacob Miller (w/ Ray I)
An ire, ire, ire Xmas wish from the late great Inner Circle front man.
A Winter’s Tale – Jade Warrior
Not a Christmas song per se, but it certainly evokes a cozy holiday scenario:
Ivy tapping on my window, wine and candle glow, Skies that promise snow have gathered overhead. Buttered toast and creamy coffee, table laid for two, Lovely having you to share a smile with me.
A beautiful track from an underappreciated UK prog-rock band.
‘Zat You, Santa Claus? – Louis Armstrong
The great jazz growler queries a night prowler who may or may not be the jolly old elf.
Bonus track!
What begins as a performance of “Everlong” turns into a rousing Christmas medley in this 2017 performance by the Foo Fighters on Saturday Night Live. Good grief!
UPDATE 12/22/25: I was captivated by Chris Rea’s distinctive pipes the first time I played “Fool If You Think It’s Over” on my afternoon drive radio shift in 1978 and I’ve been a fan ever since. Sad to hear of his passing today. Equally at home with well-crafted pop, rock, and blues (and a tasty guitar player), he was a prolific artist who belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. R.I.P.
(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on October 18, 2025)
“When it gets down to having to use violence, then you are playing the system’s game. The establishment will irritate you – pull your beard, flick your face – to make you fight. Because once they’ve got you violent, then they know how to handle you. The only thing they don’t know how to handle is non-violence and humor.”—John Lennon
It’s nearly impossible to observe the disconnect of these privileged aristocrats carrying on in their gilded bubble while the impoverished and disenfranchised rabble sharpen up the guillotines without drawing parallels with our current state of affairs (history, if nothing else, is cyclical).
You can go back even further in time, and the same holds true. From my 2012 piece on the 1976 BBC-TV adaptation of I, Claudius:
While an opening line of “I, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus…” could portend more of a snooze-inducing history lecture, rather than 11 hours of must-see-TV, the 1976 BBC series, adapted from Robert Graves’ 1934 historical novel about ancient Rome’s Julio-Claudian dynasty, was indeed the latter, holding U.S. viewers in thrall for its 12-week run.
While it is quite possible that at the time, my friends and I were slightly more in thrall with the occasional teasing glimpses of semi-nudity than we were with, say, the beauty of Jac Pulman’s writing, the wonder of the performances and historical complexity of the narrative, over the years I have come to realize that I think I learned everything I needed to know about politics from watching (and re-watching) I, Claudius.
It’s all there…the systemic greed and corruption of the ruling plutocracy, the raging hypocrisy, the grandstanding, glad-handing and the back-stabbing (in this case, both figurative and literal). Seriously, over the last 2000 years, not much has changed in the political arena.
Case in point…just this week, I was reminded of a scene from I, Claudius. This was the trigger:
Q: "Are you considering strikes on land in Venezuela?"Trump: "Well, I don't want to tell you exactly, but we are certainly looking at land now because we have the sea very well under control."
Given the Current Occupant’s predilection to utilize the royal “We” as his preferred personal pronoun, coupled with His Imperial Majesty’s somewhat grandiose proclamation that “We have the sea very well under control” (not to mention the Romanesque optics of that gaudily appointed Oval Office), this is the scene that instantly came to mind:
“Your emperor is amongst you once again. All his wars successfully concluded, and the victorious armies brought back to Rome. He had thought, in his divine innocence, that the roads might be lined with cheering crowds; he had thought that the streets might be strewn with flowers; he had thought that there’d be messages to greet him telling him of triumphs to be awarded. And what did he find, this conqueror of the Germans, this victor of the mighty Neptune? The streets empty of crowds and flowers, no triumphs rewarded, no games, no celebrations–but three miserable, old, ex-counsels waiting at the gates to meet him, and a room full of cowardly, stay-at-home senators who have spent all their time in the theatre and in the baths, while he has spent six months, living no better than a private soldier!? Yes! Your emperor has returned! BUT WITH THIS IN HIS HAND! (produces a frighteningly large battle sword from his robes) (The terrified senators remain silent for a few beats, until one steps forward)
Senator: (cautiously) But Jove, you ordered no triumphs!
Caligula: (amazed at the senator’s stupidity) Well, of course I ordered no triumphs, do you think I’d ordered triumphs for myself?!
Senator: But you ordered us not to order any!
Caligula: Yessssss, and you took me at my word, didn’t you? Typical! It didn’t occur to you that I might be leaving it up to you for your love to show itself freely; didn’t occur to you that it might be my natural humility speaking! “I ordered you not to celebrate”. But you ordered celebrations for the anniversary of Actiom, didn’t you? Didn’t forget to celebrate the defeat of my great-grandfather, Marc Antony! How many bottles of wine did you open, toasting his murder while I was doing battle with the sea? (to his soldiers) Show them our booty! Show them the plunder we gathered from old Neptune! (Four soldiers quickly empty two trunks of their contents; everyone watches in silent horror as thousands of dry seashells spill out onto the floor.)
Senator: Seashells?!
Caligula: (chuckling to himself with delight) Yes! Spoils of the sea; loot from old Neptune! Hee-hee! He’ll not take me on again in a hurry…
“Do you think I’d ordered triumphs for myself?!” Which reminds me of another funny story… remember Trump’s counter programming to the first “No Kings Day” last June?
“He had thought, in his divine innocence, that the roads might be lined with cheering crowds; he had thought that the streets might be strewn with flowers…” Well, Mr. President…as your favorite campaign rally song goes: “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” – even when you order a $45 million military parade in honor of your own birthday (give some people an inch, they think they’re a ruler). Historical sidebar-the mad emperor Caligula actually did declare war on the sea. All one can say about that is that he is long gone, but the sea is still here.
But hey…if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Via Snopes this past Thursday:
As activists planned another “No Kings” protest on Oct. 18, 2025, to voice discontent with the administration of Republican U.S. President Donald Trump, a rumor spread on social media that the president was planning a “show of force” by launching missiles over California.
The rumor claimed the administration planned on closing Interstate 5 “to shoot out missiles from ships” and into Camp Pendleton, a training facility for the Marines about 80 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
Users across social media sites such as Instagram (archived), X (archived) and Facebook (archived) shared the claim. Some suggested Trump planned on using the excuse of a military showcase in order to intimidate “No Kings” protesters, citing the administration’s attempts to characterize the protests as anti-American.
Many Snopes readers emailed us to ask about the veracity of this rumor.
On Oct. 15, 2025, the Marines posted a statement on their official website announcing “a live-fire Amphibious Capabilities Demonstration at Red Beach, Camp Pendleton” that would be followed by “a community Beach Bash at Del Mar Beach on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, to mark the Marine Corps’ 250th birthday and America’s Semiquincentennial.”
The statement said “the capabilities demonstration will feature integrated Navy and Marine Corps operations across air, land, and sea” and assured the public that “all training events will occur on approved training ranges and comport with established safety protocols.”
The statement also confirmed “no public highways or transportation routes will be closed” and that the White House would be capturing the event on film for a Nov. 9 television broadcast.
Snopes reached out to the White House for comment on the assertion that Trump intended to use the demonstration as a “show of force” against protesters and will update this article if we receive a response.
You’ve gotta at least give the Prez credit for trying, bless his heart. Meanwhile, members of the Court of the Orange King have kept themselves busy this past week sounding the alarm:
But ahead of the “No Kings” rallies across the country on Saturday, the GOP’s effort has taken a rather stunning turn.
The Trump team and its allies suggested that the rallies, which are likely to draw millions of people, will essentially be chock full of antifa, terrorist sympathizers and even terrorists themselves.
It’s baseless and ugly, yes. But it’s also highly suspect strategically.
The GOP rhetoric surrounding this and the Democratic base more broadly has grown remarkably pitched.
House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana has called them “hate America” rallies and said it’s “all the pro-Hamas wing and, you know, the antifa people.”
“This interview proved that the Democrat Party’s main constituency are made up of Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens and violent criminals,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Oct. 16.
(Deep breath) Let’s see how the No Kings Day rallies are going so far:
No kid should ever have to protest or advocate for their friends’ basic humanity.But they’re standing up at No Kings anyway.
So overall (if I may paraphrase Huey Lewis) …things are rockin’ in DC, San Antone and the Liberty Town, Boston and Baton Rouge, Tulsa, Austin, Oklahoma City, Seattle, San Francisco, too. The heart of democracy is still beating. On that note, let’s keep the party going!
The Beatles – “Revolution”
Frank Zappa – “Trouble Every Day”
Elvis Costello – “Night Rally”
Green Day – “American Idiot”
The Clash – “Clampdown”
Woody Guthrie – “All You Fascists Bound to Lose”
Bob Marley & the Wailers – “Get Up, Stand Up”
Graham Nash – “Chicago“
The Style Council – “The Whole Point of No Return”
Tracy Chapman – “Talkin’ About a Revolution”
John Lennon – “Power to the People”
Sly & the Family Stone – “Stand!”
Heaven 17 – “(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang”
Public Enemy – “Fight the Power”
Rage Against the Machine – “Take the Power Back”
Gil Scott-Heron – “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”
(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on September 27, 2025)
Slade in Flame (BFI; Region ‘B’ only)
Akin to Mott the Hoople, it may be arguable among music geeks as to whether Slade was truly “glam” (they were a bit on the “blokey” side- as the Brits would say), but they are nonetheless considered so in some circles, and this 1974 film was released during the heyday of space boots and glitter, so there you go.
The directorial debut for Richard Loncraine (Brimstone and Treacle, The Missionary, Richard III) the film is a gritty, semi-biographical “behind the music” drama (don’t expect A Hard Day’s Night) about a working-class band called Flame (suspiciously resembling the four members of Slade, wink-wink) who get chewed up and spit out of the star-making machine (this just in: managers and A & R people are back-stabbing weasels).
It’s admittedly not a genre masterpiece, but the film is bolstered by a great soundtrack (all Slade originals, naturally) and the casting of Tom Conti (playing a soulless record exec with great aplomb). An amusing scene where lead singer Noddy Holder’s character gets locked into a stage coffin presages a similar hardware malfunction depicted in This Is Spinal Tap. Another memorable scene has the band risking life and limb to access the broadcast booth for an on-air interview at an offshore pirate radio station (the story is set in the late 60s).
BFI’s 2025 remastered Blu-ray edition is a vast improvement over Shout! Factory’s 2004 DVD, in both image and sound quality. Extras include a newly recorded audio commentary with the director and film critic Mark Kermode, a new 9-minute interview with Tom Conti, a 54-minute 2002 interview with Noddy Holder, and more. Note: Requires an all-region player.
(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on September 27, 2025)
Breaking Glass (Fun City Editions)
Released on the cusp of the Thatcher era, writer-director Brian Gibson’s 1980 film is a No Wave take on A Star is Born, with a nod to the classic UK kitchen sink dramas of the 1960s. 26 year-old singer-songwriter Hazel O’Connor delivers a naturalistic performance as a disenfranchised young gas station attendant who aspires to be a rock star…but strictly on her own terms. To wit, the lyrics she furiously scribbles into her notebook are not exactly “moon-June” love sonnets; take “Big Brother”, for instance:
They’ll tear out your heart, throw it knee-deep in a cart
Cause that’s what they do with the scum like me and you
And you feel as if you died, whilst you’re standing on the line
And you wonder all the time why can’t you cry?
But the people in control don’t care for you
They are just a robot with a job to do
And when your used, exhausted, they’ll be rid of you
As soon as look at you, go to the back of the queue!
Not destined to be a chart-climber, that one. Despite the ridicule and sexism she constantly weathers, she eventually gets the attention of a street-hustling manager (Phil Daniels) who sees her potential and helps her put a decent band together (including a young Jonathan Pryce on sax). However, when she lands a recording contract, the inevitable compromises begin once a more seasoned, smooth-talking (and weaselly) industry exec (Jon Finch) begins to wrest control of her career (let the eternal battle between Art and Commerce commence).
O’Connor does her own singing (she also co-wrote the songs with soundtrack producer Tony Visconti). I see the film as a companion piece to Lou Adler’s 1981 Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains and Gillian Armstrong’s 1982 rock musical Starstruck (I wrote about both films here).
Fun City’s 2025 edition is a bit light on extras, but boasts a long-overdue restoration, improved audio, and (most notably) reinstates the original UK cut (the previous Olive Films reissue was not restored, and featured the U.S. cut, which is 10 minutes shorter).
