The midterms hover over like a worrisome cloud, particularly in Washington. So an hour of songs about voting, change and democracy, that included two songs that put the Declaration of Independence and the Preamble of the Constitution.
Before that, a hat tip to the new month came before a brief memorial for rocker Donnie Iris and Anita Louis, a member of The Soul Children, who died in recent weeks. Nov. 2 marked 70 years since the death of bluesman Mississippi John Hurt, and 30 years since Eva Cassidy died, so we heard from them as well.
But it was also k.d. lang’s 65th birthday, the 79th for British folk rock bassist Dave Pegg, and the 75th for Go-Betweens drummer Lindy Morrison. Other birthdays include 11th President James K. Polk, early jazz bandleader Bunny Berigan, Cadillacs frontman Earl “Speedo” Campbell and influential jazz recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder, among others.
Here’s most of the archived show in three parts (the third part inexplicably stalls halfway through); the setlist follows.
Capital Radio November 2, 2026. 1 – 4:20 p.m. www.cygnusradio.com
- “Capital Radio One,” The Clash
- “November,” Tom Waits
- “November,” Real Estate
- “November Has Come,” Gorillaz with MF Doom
- “Ah! Leah!,” Donnie Iris
- “The Rapper,” Jaggerz
- “Hearsay,” The Soul Children
- “I Don’t Know What This World is Coming To [Live],” The Soul Children
- “After the Gold Rush,” k.d. lang
- “Constant Craving,” k.d. lang
- “You’re Only Lonely,” JD Souther
- “Pick Me Up on Your Way Down,” Charlie Walker
- “James K. Polk,” They Might Be Giants
- “Peek-A-Boo,” The Cadillacs
- “I Can’t Get Started,” Bunny Berigan & His Boys
- “After the Rain,” John Coltrane
- “Song for My Father,” Horace Silver Quintet
PART II
- “I’ll Keep It With Mine,” Fairport Convention
- “Hazy Jane II,” Nick Drake
- “Born into A Light,” Ryan Adams & the Cardinals
- “Streets of Your Town,” Go-Betweens
- “Draining the Pool for You” The Go-Betweens
- “Lucky Man,” Emerson, Lake & Palmer
- “Frankie,” Mississippi John Hurt
- “Candy Man,” Mississippi John Hurt
- “Angels Laid Him Away,” Lucinda Williams
- “Fields of Gold,” Eva Cassidy
- “V.O.T.E.,” The Chris Stamey Experience
- “Vote!,” The Linda Lindas
- “Vote ‘Em Out,” Willie Nelson
- “L.U.V. (Let Us Vote),” Boyce & Hart
- “Vote for Me,” The Move
- “Elected,” Alice Cooper
PART III
- “Democrat Man,” John Lee Hooker
- “Politician,” Cream
- “Democracy,” Leonard Cohen
- “We the People,” Ben Sidran
- “The Declaration / A Change is Gonna Come / People Gotta Be Free,” The 5th Dimension
- “We Expect Change,” Willie Nile
- “Make a Change,” Darlene Love and The Blossoms
- “Change,” Tears for Fears
- “No Kings Here,” Tom Paxton & Cathy Fink
- “No Kings,” Jesse Wells with Joan Baez
- “No More Kings,” Pavement
- “It Isn’t Nice,” Barbara Dane & The Chambers Brothers
- “We Will Never Give Up,” Kristin Lems
Capital Radio returns Nov. 9 at 1 p.m. EST 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 available on demand at cygnusradio.com. Older shows are posted at Substack.com/@rogercatlin. Art above by Shepard Fairey.