A friend once explained to me that it was OK to like Eminem, because he wasn’t actually homophobic—he just acted homophobic because he knew it would sell more records. So pretending to hate gay people for money is better than actually hating gay people. Glad we cleared that up.
Month: December 2014
Elvis Presley
OK, look: If I left out every racially suspect white performer from the 50s, thiis would be a much shorter blog. Love him or hate him, it’s hard to argue that someone nicknamed “The King” didn’t have some kind of influence in popular music—at least on other racially suspect white performers.
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello started out all poppy and punky, and was just about the best thing on the radio. Then he went country (bad idea), then started hanging out with folks like McCartney (ugh), string quartets (?), and Burt Bacharach (!?!). Then he married Diana “I’m blond! I can sing the notes!” Krall. Needless to say, pretty much everything after the poppy punky stuff has sucked.
Elton John
Champion of dumpy white gay guys who wear glasses everywhere. We can even forgive “Sad Songs Say So Much.” And marrying that woman. And all the Disney stuff. Maybe.
ELO
When I was 13, ELO was my favorite band. My sister got me their new album for Christmas, and my uncles took me to see them at the Spectrum in Philly. Thirteen was a good year.
Ella Fitzgerald
For someone who is considered the greatest female popular singer of all time, you think you might have a more impressive theme song than “A-Tisket, A-Tasket.” Just saying.
Eighties Hair Metal
Calling Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, and company “metal” is kind of like calling Rhianna a “singer.” You have to stretch your definition really far to make it fit.
Eighties Alt Rock
Because I went to a foofy liberal arts university in the 80s, I should know all these songs by heart. Unfortunately, I was too busy listening to the Go Gos.
Earth, Wind & Fire
How awesome were Earth, Wind, & Fire? Even their obligatory dumb disco song, “Boogie Wonderland,” is awesome. Plus, when they performed it live with the Emotions, there were about 150 people onstage. The 70s rocked.
Eagles
The Eagles are probably my least-favorite band of all time. “Hotel California” is definitely my least favorite song. When they reunited in the 2000s (for the fans, not for the money), they called the album “Hell Freezes Over.” To my ears, a better title would have been “Back in Hell.”
Playlist of the Day 