The song of the day is The Crooked Kind from the 2013 album The Family Tree: The Branches by Radical Face (Ben Cooper).
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Motörhead
I’m not a fan of heavy metal rock music – not since the days of Iron Butterfly and the original Steppenwolf: two bands that, while not heavy metal, paved the way for it. But when I read that Lemmy Kilmister (Ian Fraser Kilmister), founder and frontman of English heavy metal band Motörhead, had died on December 28, 2015, from an “extremely aggressive cancer” that had been diagnosed only two days earlier, I thought I should post a song of the day that features him performing.
The song of the day is Overkill, an extended version of the song from Motörhead’s 1979 album Overkill. The song has been covered by several bands including Overkill, a band who took their name from the Overkill album by Motörhead.
The song of the day is Overkill, an extended version of the song from Motörhead’s 1979 album Overkill. The song has been covered by several bands including Overkill, a band who took their name from the Overkill album by Motörhead.
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
December
It’s been a messy, messy day. Rain and gloom all day long. Here in central Virginia, the day before Christmas Eve, the temperature is a balmy 72°F. The average high here in December is 50°F. The forecast calls for rain and thunderstorms through Christmas Day, then overcast for the weekend, then rain and thunderstorms next week. Wonderful.
Ever wonder why December is the 12th month, even though its Latin root decem- means 10? In fact, the same situation exists for the months of September, October, and November, which mean 7, 8, and 9, although they are our 9th, 10th, and 11th months.
It’s because the ancient Roman calendar had 10 months. The year started on March 1 and ended in December. At some point, January and February were added to the end of the calendar and became the last two months of the year. The calendar continued to evolve and by the time the Julian calendar was instituted by Julius Caesar in 46 AD, the starting date for a new year had become January 1. The original 10 months were pushed toward the end of the year by the two new months (January and February) but they kept their names. So December, originally the 10th month, is now the 12th month.
We no longer use the Julian calendar – we use the Gregorian calendar, named after the man who introduced it in 1582: Pope Gregory XIII. The Gregorian calendar kept the same months in the same order as the Julian calendar. Primarily, the Gregorian calendar changed the way leap years are calculated in order to make the length of a year more accurate.
Now you know. Aren’t you glad you asked?
Ever wonder why December is the 12th month, even though its Latin root decem- means 10? In fact, the same situation exists for the months of September, October, and November, which mean 7, 8, and 9, although they are our 9th, 10th, and 11th months.
It’s because the ancient Roman calendar had 10 months. The year started on March 1 and ended in December. At some point, January and February were added to the end of the calendar and became the last two months of the year. The calendar continued to evolve and by the time the Julian calendar was instituted by Julius Caesar in 46 AD, the starting date for a new year had become January 1. The original 10 months were pushed toward the end of the year by the two new months (January and February) but they kept their names. So December, originally the 10th month, is now the 12th month.
We no longer use the Julian calendar – we use the Gregorian calendar, named after the man who introduced it in 1582: Pope Gregory XIII. The Gregorian calendar kept the same months in the same order as the Julian calendar. Primarily, the Gregorian calendar changed the way leap years are calculated in order to make the length of a year more accurate.
Now you know. Aren’t you glad you asked?
Monday, December 21, 2015
M.I.A.
The song of the day is Borders by English singer, songwriter, director, and rapper M.I.A. (Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam).
Maya was born in London but was raised in Sri Lanka during a fierce civil war that lasted 25 years. Tens of thousands of Sri Lankans left the country to escape the violence. Maya’s English birth certificate enabled her and her mother to return to England as refugees. Maya learned English quickly, completed primary and high school, and eventually earned a degree in fine art, film, and video in June 2000 from London's Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.
Maya points out that the West’s film and music industries have long promoted a vision of life in the West that is very attractive to people trapped in difficult places around the world. Many of those people have decided, “Okay, yeah, I want the dream.” In a recent interview, Maya asked, “If the West is so deliberate in promoting its brands and is using art and culture to inspire people’s dreams, how can the West then turn people away?”
Maya was born in London but was raised in Sri Lanka during a fierce civil war that lasted 25 years. Tens of thousands of Sri Lankans left the country to escape the violence. Maya’s English birth certificate enabled her and her mother to return to England as refugees. Maya learned English quickly, completed primary and high school, and eventually earned a degree in fine art, film, and video in June 2000 from London's Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.
Maya points out that the West’s film and music industries have long promoted a vision of life in the West that is very attractive to people trapped in difficult places around the world. Many of those people have decided, “Okay, yeah, I want the dream.” In a recent interview, Maya asked, “If the West is so deliberate in promoting its brands and is using art and culture to inspire people’s dreams, how can the West then turn people away?”
Sunday, December 20, 2015
JoJo
The song of the day is When Love Hurts from the 2015 EP III (pronounced Tringle, a triple single EP) by singer, songwriter, and actress JoJo (Joanna Noëlle Blagden Levesque). JoJo’s debut album, JoJo, was released in 2004 when she was 13. Her debut single, Leave (Get Out) , reached number one on the Billboard pop songs chart, making her, at 13, the youngest solo artist to have a number-one single in the United States. Between 2006 and 2014, problems at her record label prevented her music from being released. In 2013 she took legal action against the label and was released from her contract in 2014. She is now signed with another label. More on the return of JoJo here.
Saturday, December 19, 2015
Scott Weiland
I happened by chance to read in the news that Scott Weiland died this month, on December 3, from an accidental drug overdose. During his career he had been frontman for both Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver as well as a successful solo artist.
The song of the day is Sour Girl from the 1999 album № 4 (sometimes referred to as No. 4) by Stone Temple Pilots. Sarah Michelle Gellar, who appears in this video, posted a tribute to Weiland on her Instagram, saying “Your music will always be remembered.”
The song of the day is Sour Girl from the 1999 album № 4 (sometimes referred to as No. 4) by Stone Temple Pilots. Sarah Michelle Gellar, who appears in this video, posted a tribute to Weiland on her Instagram, saying “Your music will always be remembered.”
Friday, December 18, 2015
Melanie Martinez
The song of the day is Carousel from the 2015 album Cry Baby by singer and songwriter Melanie Martinez (Melanie Adele Martinez).
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello
The song of the day is I Know What You Did Last Summer by Canadian singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes (Shawn Peter Raul Mendes) and Fifth Harmony’s Cuban-born vocalist Camila Cabello (Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao).
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