World’s Strangest

There was a fascinating article in the New York Times the other day about violence in the Philippines and its thriving karaoke culture — and the deadly problems that can crop up when it comes to Frank Sinatra. In fact, it’s one Sinatra song in particular that seems to be the cause of so much [...]

OK, I have a confession to make: I’m a big wuss and I love Joni Mitchell. It’s almost all my mom listened to while I was growing up, so even before I started discovering music on my own, I was pretty familiar with most of her stuff from the late 60s through the 80s. A [...]

If you want to sing in a karaoke bar in the Philippines, be forewarned not to sing Frank Sinatra’s My Way … that tune by Ol’ Blue Eyes could just be your last … “I used to like ‘My Way,’ but after all the trouble, I stopped singing it,” he said. “You can get killed.” The authorities [...]

The “Three Kings of the Blues Guitar” are Albert, B.B. and Freddie King (no relation). The three of them are among the greatest bluesmen and most influential guitarists of the late 20th century and are veritable American institutions (just as, if not more, important than barbecue and baseball). For each of the Kings, we’ve got [...]

SuperSeventies has a nice index of the top ten songs of each year in the decade I discovered music. That was mostly via radio, and that decade saw quite a shift in popular styles, as you can see at the link. Each song is linked to an informative bio, with links to other information. I was [...]

I collect links to bizarre niche blogs. This one takes the cake for sheer randomness. Selleck Waterfall Sandwich delivers exactly what it says -a collection of images all combining actor Tom Selleck and a sandwich on a background featuring a waterfall. The site even has a theme song, if you can call it a song. [...]

I’m a longtime Morrissey fan. From the first time I heard The Queen is Dead by Morrissey’s band The Smiths in the 80’s, I was hooked. Morrissey’s music is generally very maudlin (if not straight-up depressing), but somehow it’s also hopeful and sweet. Below I have collected some terrific covers of songs by Morrissey and [...]

Last week, I stumbled upon Uke Springsteen’s MySpace. Uke, who by day is Pat Healy, an editor at the Boston Metro, is a one-man cover band, using his ukulele to strum out renditions of popular Bruce Springsteen songs. (His remix of “Atlantic City” rivals The Band for best cover of the iconic song.) Perhaps not [...]

Those of you who don’t watch American Idol may not have been privy to this little nugget of pop-cultural weirdness, and I feel compelled to share it. My wife likes to watch Idol, and though I’m not a huge fan of the competition itself, I do have a guilty-pleasure soft spot for the auditions, many [...]

I had no idea Megadeth song titles could be confused for Lifetime channel movie titles, but that’s the challenge of today’s Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss. I am an expert on neither, so I only scored 60%. You will do better! Link