Capital Radio 2-20: Mardi Gras, Presidents
The death last week of Huey “Piano” Smith at 89 brought to light how much he brought to the New Orleans sound, just in time for Mardi Gras. He also…
Capital Radio 2-13-23: Celebrating Burt
Paying tribute to the ace pop songwriter Burt Bacharach, who died last week at 94, is an effort in curation, with thousands of possibilities to choose from. Yes, we could…
Capital Radio 2-6-23: Balloons and Bowls
Balloons and their occasional military consequences are reflected in songs from Nena's "99 Luftballoons" to the Pretty Things' "Balloon Burning." But many of the more than 20 balloon songs we…
Capital Radio 1-30-23: Tom Verlaine, RIP
The death on Saturday of the endlessly inventive guitarist and rocker Tom Verlaine at 73 meant we spent an hour going through his work in Television, live and in the…
Capital Radio, 1-23-23: Year of the Rabbit
The Chinese Lunar New Year brings us the Year of the Rabbit, so there are songs from Bright Eyes, The Cramps, Elton John and T. Rex about our long-eared friends.…
Capital Radio 1-16: Martin Luther King Day
It was Charlie Parker’s “Now is the Time” that helped inspire a key line in Martin Luther King’s 1963 speech at the March on Washington. So The Bird begins the…
Capital Radio, 1-2: Those We Lost in 2022
Did we lose more artists in 2022 than in a normal year? It certainly seemed so, especially after playing selections from 45 who died last year. We led with some…
Capital Radio 12-26-22: New Year’s Cheer
Started with some Monday morning post-Yule analysis, but the day after Christmas is also known as both Boxing Day and St. Stephen’s Day. Each odd designation was saluted in song…
Capital Radio, 12-19-22: Xmas Avalanche
Started with a six song salute to Hanukkah before the annual Christmas onslaught -- more than 50 songs about the holiday, or in the case of a couple of tunes,…
Capital Radio 12-12: George & Xmas
Began with echoes of the 50th anniversary of Big Star’s “#1 Record,” that was the occasion of a star-studded tour that just played town. Continued with some George Jones and…