Song of the Day: Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head, performed by BJ Thomas


Because today is Paul Newman’s birthday, I figured today’s song of the day should come from one of his films.  There’s a tendency amongst some critics to be dismissive of the use of Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and it’s true that it’s not really the type of song that brings to mind robbing trains and dying in South America.

(Though we all know that Butch Cassidy — and maybe the Sundance Kid, too — actually survived and eventually returned to America.  We all know that, right?)

But, you know what?  It’s a song that really gets stuck in your head and somehow, it just feels appropriate for Paul Newman, an actor whose life wasn’t always happy (his son overdosed in 1976) but who was still almost always described as being one of the nicest guys around.  Plus, look at Paul on that bicycle!  How can you dislike this song?

 

Music Video of the Day: Jamie’s Cryin’ by Van Halen (1978, directed by ????)


Today would have been Eddie Van Halen’s 71st birthday.

Jamie’s Cryin’ first appeared on Van Halen’s debut album and it was the third released single to come from that album.  Though it didn’t chart, it was a favorite of both Eddie Van Halen’s and David Lee Roth’s, with Eddie later saying that Jamie’s Cryin’ should have been Van Halen’s single.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Lipstick and Leather by Y&T (1986, directed by Michael Miner)


I wanted to share the video for Y&T’s Mean Streak but the person who uploaded the video to YouTube also disabled playback.  Why would anyone do that?  The video wasn’t age-restricted or anything like that.

Instead, here’s the video for another Y&T song, Lipstick and Leather.  This video’s director, Michael Miner, also directed the video for Mean Streak.  In fact, he did more than a few Y&T videos, along with doing videos for Alcatrazz and Marianne Mabile.  Miner also co-wrote the script that would eventually become Robocop.

Y&T stands for Yesterday and Today.  Lars Ulrich has said that seeing an L&T show inspired him to become a musician.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Whenever I’m Away From You by John Travolta (1977, dir by ????)


John Travolta sings!

Actually, I guess that’s not a surprise.  He did co-star in Grease and all that.  Still, it’s kind of interesting to see Travolta doing the sensitive singing teen idol routine.  Why is he dressed like Prince Valiant?  It was the 70s, I guess.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Profane Prophecy by The Black Crowes (2026, dir by Dagger Polyester)


Today’s music video of the day is the latest from the Black Crowes.  Enjoy it and spare a thought for those of us at the North Texas branch of Through the Shattered Lens because we are about to get hit by snow and 8 degree weather.

The last time we had weather this bad, we had rolling black-outs and were actually off-line for a few days.  So, if you don’t see me or Erin or Jeff around for a while, don’t worry.  We’re just waiting for the sun to come out!

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: A Real Indication by Thought Gang (1992, dir by David Lynch)


Thought Gang was a musical collaboration between two much-missed artists, David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti.  This video was directed by Lynch and it starred none other than Angelo Badalamenti himself!

Enjoy!