Groundhog’s Day brought several songs about the rodent in the spotlight, bringing bad weather news. But our distain for ICE was reflected by several new songs about the deadly surge from Bruce Springsteen, Billy Bragg and Zach Bryan, augmented by songs that amplified the mood.
One person whose political songs fit in well with the theme was Graham Nash, who was turning 84. Other birthdays were noted for Eva Cassidy, Tommy Smothers, Stan Getz, Shakira and one of the Bellamy Brothers.
We noted the passing of Catherine O’Hara with a song from “A Mighty Wind” and ended the week’s episode with nine songs showing the range of work from reggae drummer Sly Dunbar, who died a week ago at 73.
Above are the links to the show (in three parts). The setlist follows:
Capital Radio February 2, 2026. 1-4:20 p.m. www.cygnusradio.com
- “Capital Radio Two,” The Clash
- “Groundhog [demo outtake],” Simon & Garfunkel
- “Groundhog (Blind Lemon’s version),” Doc Watson & Gaither Carlton
- “Ground Hog Blues,” John Lee Hooker
- “Ground Hog,” Spirit
- “I Am the Groundhog (And It’s My Day!),” The Happiest Guys in the World
- “I’m a Hog for You Baby,” The Kinks
- “I’m Hog-Tied Over You,” Tennessee Ernie Ford and Ella Mae Morse
- “A Kiss at the Rainbow,” Mitch & Micky
- “Streets of Minneapolis,” Bruce Springsteen
- “City of Ruins [live],” Bruce Springsteen
- “American Skin (41 Shots),” Mary J. Blige & Kendrick Lamar
- “City of Heroes” Billy Bragg
- “All You Fascists,” Billy Bragg & Wilco
- “Bad News,” Zach Bryan
- “Minneapolis,” Lucinda Williams
- “Alex Nieto,” Chuck Prophet
PART II
- “Minneapolis,” That Dog
- “Empire,” David Byrne
- “(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thing,” Heaven 17
- “Why We Build the Wall,” Anais Mitchell, Greg Brown
- “We Will Never Give Up,” Kristin Lems
- “March March,” The Chicks
- “Street Fighting Man,” Rod Stewart
- “Out in the Streets,” Blondie
- “Ohio,” Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
- “Immigration Man,” Graham Nash *& David Crosby
- “Military Madness,” Graham Nash
- “Chicago [demo],” Graham Nash
- “Give Peace a Chance,” John Lennon
- “My Old Man [live],” Smothers Brothers
- “Let Your Love Flow,” The Bellamy Brothers
PART III
- “Fields of Gold,” Eva Cassidy
- “Songbird,” Eva Cassidy
- “Girl from Ipanema,” Stan Getz featuring Austrud Gilberto
- “Samba de Uma Nota So,” Stan Getz
- “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” Shakira
- “Double Barrel,” Dave and Ansell Collins
- “Police and Thieves,” Junior Murvin
- “Right Time,” Mighty Diamonds
- “Punky Reggae Party,” Bob Marley
- “(You Gotta Walk And) Don’t Look Back,” Peter Tosh
- “Undercover of the Night,” The Rolling Stones
- “La Isla Bonita,” Sly & Robbie
- “Jokerman,” Bob Dylan
- “Pull Up to the Bumper,” Grace Jones
Capital Radio returns Feb. 9 at 1 p.m. ET until after 4 on www.cygnusradio.com. The show can also be heard via the cygnusradio.com app, available free at iTunes or GooglePlay. Recent shows are (usually) available on demand at cygnusradio.com. Older shows are posted at Substack.com/@rogercatlin.