Apparently the big kick on social media right now is a sea shanty called “Wellerman,” a song about a New Zealand whaling vessel. Of late, the song has received newfound appreciation as performers like Nathan Evans have turned this song into a TikTok sensation. Now, of course, with all the “Bernie Sanders and his Mittens”…
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Did a 1979 song predict the 9/11 tragedy?
At one time, there were people who swore that Paul McCartney had died in a car crash, and that the distraught Beatles hired a look-alike, William Campbell, to replace McCartney on their records. But oh, they couldn’t keep this a secret from their most trusted fans, so they sprinkled clues throughout their album covers and…
Read MoreWait, Johnny Rotten was doing what – and he got bit by a WHAT on his WHERE???
Once upon a time, there was a man named John Lydon. For a short period in the 1970’s, he was the lead singer of the seminal punk band the Sex Pistols, operating under the nom de plume of Johnny Rotten. You might know their hits, “God Save the Queen” and “Anarchy in the U.K.” The…
Read MoreWait, now I get a new Goanna LP? Did I die and go to heaven??
Last Friday, I blogged about a brand new single from the Oz rock band Midnight Oil, a song called “Gadigal Land” that is a real ass-kicker of a track. Today, I found out that another of my favorite 80’s Oz rock bands – the folk-rock collective Goanna – has a new release as well. Goanna’s…
Read MoreThere’s a lot of mashups that haven’t been done … but just you wait … just you wa-a-a-a-a-ait…
When you have a cultural phenomenon like the Broadway musical Hamilton, it’s going to touch every aspect out there. People will make jokes that encompass the lyrics, maybe even hum a little “You’ll Be Back” from one of King George III’s solos, that kind of thing. So today, I was puttering around YouTube and, yes…
Read MoreTaylor Swift’s Two Versions of Copyright Protection
Taylor Swift is fiercely protective of the copyrights to her songs. From where they stream online, to her battles with her former management over the rights and ownership of her first six albums, she’s been an advocate for copyright protection. Which makes this latest news about her more perplexing. Recently, Swift released a brand new…
Read MoreA rock concert of 1,000 performers
I haven’t had a great few days of late. Maybe I’ll blog about the crises, maybe I won’t. But for now, I need some eyebleach. Sonic eyebleach, to be more precise. And that sonic eyebleach comes from a very unlikely source. A rock concert. In 2019, organizers in Paris held a massive stadium concert that…
Read MoreI see your Lady A, and your other Lady A, and raise you a Lady A.
All right, everybody follow along. Once upon a time, there was a blues singer named Anita White, who for the past twenty years has fronted her own blues band, and has performed on stage under the name “Lady A.” Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, a country trio who called themselves Lady Antebellum……
Read MoreSo Chuck’s return to radio … it’s really happening.
Background. During the current COVID-19 pandemic, my alma mater, Hamilton College, essentially shut down its physical campus. Students were taught via teleconference, and Hamilton’s usual extracurricular activities were culled for the year. All except one. The college radio station, WHCL, continued to operate. And that’s mostly because it was able to have a combination of…
Read MoreGEICO and the Mondegreen
A “mondegreen” happens when you mis-hear a lyric to a song, and what you mis-hear actually makes sense in the lyric, so to speak. Examples – When Jimi Hendrix sings “Purple Haze” and says, “Scuse me while I kiss the sky,” some people might hear it as “Scuse me while I kiss this guy.” There’s…
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Chuck The Writer 