In June 2023, Karen Dió was a struggling Brazilian musician.
In July 2023, she had a badass single.
And just like that, there was some worldwide attention on the Brazilian punk scene thanks to this riot grrrl.
Formerly of Violet Soda (who broke apart in 2021), Karen Dió made the conscious choice to go solo this time, so she could keep the control. Kinda hard for a solo act to break up, eh?
Anyway, the song is great.
This song - written by drummer Kelly Keagy, who also sings and drums on the track, as a tribute to his sister, Christy (Jack Blades just thought it was Christian) - was released in March 1984.
I was 12.
The song was EVERYWHERE and unescapable on radio.
I couldn't stand the song. HATED it.
Well, time has made me see that the song is brilliantly constructed. The second single from their album Midnight Madness, it is by far their biggest hit.
When you hear "motorin'", you should think "cruisin'", as in going SO FAST.
I know, it's not March.
I hear you.
But also, this is my blog, and when a new artist releases a new album and one of their songs gets into heavy rotation for me, I'm gonna post about it.
And Shhugar, Baby Nova's fantastic debut album that was released in January of this year, is a good album to talk up. After toiling in the industry for a decade and a half, Kayleigh O'Connor finally has an album getting its due.
This song, its lead single released in 2025, was co-written by Baby Nova, Lowell and Gus Van Go. It should be giving you Lana Del Rey vibes.
So, it's kind of a funny song title.
It came from Sick of it All's 2018 album Wake The Sleeping Dragon. It was a comeback of sorts, and it was met with universal critical acclaim.
Pretty impressive for a hardcore band that was formed in 1986 by Lou and Pete Koller to still be making music that aggressive and that poignant more than 30 years later. And that's what Sick of it All's music is - aggressive, poignant, and in your face.
But you all see that Special Edition label. You know I ain't here with good news.
Lou Koller, primary vocalist for the band, had been suffering with esophageal cancer. Yesterday, the band announced his passing. Now, at this point, I always say "he will be missed" and that's true but this is different.
You see, Lou knew he was one of the elder statesmen of hardcore, and he took that seriously. He famously mentored and befriended other up-and-coming musicians. There are hardcore bands that exist and thrived largely because Lou was their mentor and partner. Lou was one of the good guys in a rough industry.
So yeah, I feature a song with a funny title.
The other reason I was so hesitant to post Quiet Light is because every time I searched for her I got "Quiet" by Lights.
I have been dragging my heels getting to Quiet Light, honestly.
Not because I don't like her music - her album Blue Angel Sparking Silver 2 is one of my favorites of the year.
Not because she has a stage name - her real name is Riya Mahesh. I post lots of those.
Not because I can't find live performances she's done of this song. I couldn't, but that'll change soon.
No, it's because it was so hard to pick a song to highlight. I chose this one because it was... quiet... and... light. And cool. Cool as heck.
Wikipedia calls her "indie folk" but I think she's a lot more than that. I hope you do as well.
Well, this was not the route this post was going to go.
It started off with me hearing a Whitney Houston song earlier that I had not heard in several years, but found myself enjoying (I didn't particularly when it was new).
I decided I would do a post about it this week.
So I started looking for the song on YouTube and I found THIS first.
An intensely personal French album?
Yes.
Woefully under-appreciated in the rest of the world because it's in French?
Also yes.
Going to get more attention on here because French posts do about 5% better than any others?
Strangely, yes.
Unapologetically, Noor's album 1900 jours is one of my favorite of the year, and I encourage you to seek it out. It is a very quiet album. It's absolutely sublime.
Us being here on a Sunday is not a good sign.
Last week, news spread that Jennifer Finch, bassist for L7, had an agressive form of brain cancer. Last night, she succumbed to that. She was the bassist for the band for most of its tenure, right up until July 13th. The band was planning a tour this coming October (I'm not sure they won't still do that), but Finch, who was originally supposed to perform, was forced to back out this week due to her cancer.
This song was from their 1992 breakthrough Bricks are Heavy, and was co-written by Finch and Daniel Rey. Even though she wasn't the primary vocalist for the band (that would be Donita Sparks), Finch also took lead vocals on the song.
Yes, Jennifer Finch will be missed.
When I featured Rebecca Black fourteen years ago, I thought for SURE that was going to be the ONLY time I would ever feature Rebecca Black.
NOPE.
Her second album, Age of the Exhibitionist, is coming in September, and this is the first single, released last Friday. It's pretty solid hyperpop, and she doesn't really seem to be asking which seat she can take or reciting days of the week.
Dave Kendall was a goddamn pioneer.
Before alternative music was mainstream, Dave Kendall brought it to MTV every Sunday at midnight and guaranteed that I would be blearly-eyed on Mondays.
The show was 120 Minutes, and it was groundbreaking.
But pioneers have their detractors, so in 1990, the Whitman Samplers combined cut-up samples of Dave speaking with AC/DC's "Back In Black" to make a rather funny song that amused Dave Kendall in life.
Heartbroken to hear about the passing of Dave Kendall.
— Matt Pinfield (@mattpinfield) July 14, 2026
Dave was one of the true believers. Long before alternative music found its way into the mainstream, he was there every week on 120 Minutes, introducing people to bands that would go on to define an era. He didn’t just host… pic.twitter.com/IVTHRV301i
I mentioned the Polaris Prize yesterday. But they aren't the only ones with a recent shortlist. The Prix Joséphine - a prize honouring French-language artists (mostly) - also has a shortlist that was dropped recently. I haven't listened to all of them yet - I will this week - but what I have heard so far is full of standouts.
One such standout is Belgian-Congolese dance artist Camille Yembe. Her latest album Jeune & Laide was shortlisted, and I have to say, it's REALLY good. Mostly performed in French, she does mix English language into her beats.
This is her latest single. Despite having nothing to celebrate, it is a spirited song. The video was recorded in Brussels.
Last week, the Polaris Music Prize shortlist was released. 10 great Canadian albums are on there. Well, in my opinion, 9 great Canadian albums and one good one. I would have personally chosen six of them myself, and I really couldn't fault the rest of them.
One that I wouldn't have chosen but has really grown on me is the latest by singer/songwriter Charlotte Cornfield. Her March 2026 album Hurts Like Hell is a beautiful piece of storytelling. This title song - so far longlisted for the SOCAN Polaris Song Prize - is a heartbreaking, lush piece that evokes thought of Courtney Barnett and Randy Newman.
By 1987. Foreigner was done really releasing new music. Lou Gramm, however, was at the top of his game, and so he released a solo album, Ready or Not.
It's weird to me that the guy I used to run into at the Webster Wegmans - this is not a joke, people - has a top 5 solo hit in 1987 that is broadly considered to be one of the most underrated pop-rock songs in history. He does still make music - even after a brain tumor impacted his voice - but this was his biggest solo hit. Written by Gramm and Foreigner bandmate Bruce Turgon, it really does endure.
I had a different post scheduled for today. No worries about that one - it'll go tomorrow.
You might remember I wrote a Bonnie Tyler special edition in HOPE that I wouldn't need it.
And I hoped I wouldn't need to write another one too soon.
Two months and one day later, Bonnie Tyler has passed away from that very illness that sent her to an induced coma. I honestly thought she was going to recover.
I chose for this day her last US top 40 hit - hitting #34 in 1984 - from the Footloose soundtrack. You forgot it was on that soundtrack, didn't you? It was a much bigger hit in the UK, where a 1985 rerelease brought it to the top of the charts.
Written by Jim Steinman and Dean Pitchford (he co-wrote every song on that soundtrack), the song became a Bonnie Tyler staple and one of her most recognized. She rerecorded the song several times, but it was never as successful as the original.
The more years we do this Darling Buds day thing, the more worried we get that we're going to run out of material. I mean, three four albums, plus an 2 EP's..... there's just not a ton to go on. And I blew it early on by posting three songs in one day.
Who knew this would catch on?
On June 5th of 2026, they released a new single that could just as easily sit on Pop Said... as any of the songs there. And, just like that, they gave us another year of this great celebration! For the record, it did sit on their fourth album, Same Sun / Same Sky, and it is honestly a highlight for me.
And now, our worry is abated, and this is a GREAT song.
Let's go, girls!
I have to admit, I had a much better, classier, more epic post ready for Canada Day. I briefly considered moving this song to that day and doing Ariane Roy next year.
However, the kids are doing baton and flag this year, and that means a routine well-oiled to match a particular song.
The song they picked is an American classic that just happens to be sung by a Canadian and co-written by that Canadian and her South African then-husband (Robert John "Mutt" Lange - who also produced this). The lyrics are by Shania and are about the time she had to raise her younger siblings in Timmins, Ontario as a child after their parents passed away.
I bet you didn't know the song was so dark, did you?
So, yeah, I'm gonna be hearing this song a LOT this summer, so I either better get on board with liking it or else I'm gonna hate life all summer.
Anyway, the song was a monster hit in 1999 - hitting #1 worldwide on both pop and country charts. And the video should look familiar if you've been paying attention this week.
I always thought about the Cocteau Twins as being this older, more refined band - the godparents of the 4AD label, I guess.
I wanted to open with this live performance from 1983 - about 6 months after their album Garlands was released. Elizabeth Fraser - the lead vocalist who joined the band in 1981 - is 19 here. She was 18 when the album came out and likely 17 when a bulk of the album was recorded.
They weren't the godparents. They were showing a maturity and depth of songwriting beyond their years.
I know my English language readers who aren't longtime hockey fans are pronouncing Ariane Roy's last night wrong right now. [ʁwa], for those linguistically inclined, is the correct pronunciation. But Montreal Canadiens fans and francophones already knew that.
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| Patrick Roy, no relation. |
What you don't know is that I really do sample my own supply. I listen to this music. And, one of my most listened to songs on Spotify in the month of March was "Apprendre Encore", by Ariane Roy, off her album medium plaisir. "Plaisir" translates to "Pleasure", for those of my anglophone readers who don't know that (I didn't).
(Editor's note (July 1): It STILL IS one of my most listened to songs)
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| On Repeat list from Spotify, July 1st, 2026 |
Well, I really really wanted to feature that song during #MapleLeafMarch. Unfortunately, there was no official video created for the song. What WAS created was a 5-song showcase live film, directed by Adrian Villagomez, released to commemorate the release of that album. And, since "Apprendre Encore" was included in the set (10 minutes in), but it was bigger than just one song, I went with it for today!
The whole performance is an absolute masterpiece and you should watch it. Yes, there's a significant cameo, but this was Ariane's show, and she was absolutely crushing it (and clearly enjoying herself).
