I’m always unsure if Convoy is a song that everyone knows by heart, or if my childhood happened in some kind of atemporal 19A0s, as opposed to the 1990s that everyone else my age grew up in. When I was 8, this piece of trucker-country was My Jam. Apparently, this song’s history features hamburger buns, a working class rebellion, middle-eastern politics, and everyone’s favorite christmas music.

At 90 years old, just before he passed away, Chuck Berry recorded an album of all new material. It’s due to come out next month. The first single is here, and it’s everything you’d want from a 90 year old rock legend.

Recently, I have been on a kick to find an album that perfectly encapsulates the way I feel when I watch old crime dramas. I came close with the non-album single Speaking of Happiness by Gloria Lynn, but it’s just one song, and it kind of steps away from the smokey crime noir feel at the end. Miles Davis’ 1957 soundtrack Ascenseur pour l’échafaud comes pretty close to scratching that itch, as does the soundtrack to Anatomy of a Murder.

DC folks, if you’re free on Friday June 2nd, I highly recommend you plan to attend this event on the Politics of Art in the Middle East from the Institute of Current World Affairs.