1 August 2025 - The Sugarcubes - Birthday / Sykurmolarnir - Ammæli

Most people didn't know the members of The Sugarcubes outside of Iceland.

However, for most of these musicians, this wasn't their first band.   It was, for most of them, at least their third, and some of their past projects had some renown in Iceland.  They were, by most measures, a supergroup.

This was their first English-language single that got some pretty heavy rotation on worldwide alternative radio.  It all started when renowned British DJ John Peel heard it and played the HELL out of it. Written by Einar Örn Benediktsson and Sigtryggur Baldursson, it literally was the catalyst that propelled Björk Guðmundsdóttir into such a superstar status that she could drop the Guðmundsdóttir. 

Also, the song is really cool and full of weird horns.  And some really odd lyrics.

But guys.  

They were Icelandic, not English.

The band was actually called Sykermolarnir. And this song was called "Ammæli".  

In a lot of ways, the song sounds more natural in Icelandic.  Probably because it was written in Icelandic and the English version is absolutely a direct translation.  Yep, that's right.  Those lyrics were there all along. That five year old girl was always threading worms on a string and keeping spiders in her pocket.

 

So, the Sugarcubes broke up in 1992, but they reunited for one night only in 2006, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of "Ammæli"! And yeah, Björk's voice and Einar's horns were just as fresh as they were 20 years prior. 

But yes, during their initial run, they did perform the song in English, and it sounded so amazing, too. It speaks to the talent of these musicians that they could so effortlessly perform in two languages. 

31 July 2025 - Hole - Violet

You know, I haven't posted much Hole on here.  

And the only other time I posted Hole, I remarked that I had not posted more Hole. 

Well, as part of my 1000 albums in a year project, I listened to their 1994 ill-timed breakthrough Live Through This.  I say ill-timed because it was released less than a week after Kurt Cobain a.k.a. Courtney Love's husband killed himself.

No, I don't think Courtney did it.

Anyway this song - reportedly about Love's pre-Cobain relationship with Billy Corgan - opens the album.  It is dark and bombastic and beautiful. 

This song was one of the first written for the album, and the band first started performing in live in 1991, a full three years before its official release.  I thought about sharing the 1991 Peel Session recording of this song, but I felt this 1993 live version better captured the raw energy of this song.

I actually saw Hole while they were touring in support of this album.  

July 26, 1995, Lollapalooza, Hartford, CT. 

I desperately looked for video from that performance (Courtney was CLEARLY grieving hard, so I remember the show fondly), but could not find it. I did find Lollapalooza footage from three days later..... and yeah, it absolutely kicked ass.

This song followed their cover of "Pennyroyal Tea" during the set, so if you want to rewind a bit to hear that, be my guest.

30 July 2025 - The Wanton Bishops - Sleep With The Lights On

As many of you know, I am presently going through a project where I am listening to 1000 albums in a year.  I'm past the 300 mark at this point, and I have discovered a LOT of music I would have never otherwise heard.  

One such band is The Wanton Bishops.  And, before you read any further, listen to this song.  

Great Delta Blues sound, right?

The Wanton Bishops is a band, but really, it's one guy - Nader Mansour - from Lebanon.  

The country.  Not Lebanon, Mississippi.  Which, to be fair, is a place that exists. But no.  He's from Beirut.  Mansour, however, DID travel to Mississippi to learn more about the sound - and he executes it perfectly.  

This song is from his/their debut album of the same name, released in 2015.  However, in 2025, he's still performing this song. And it sounds fantastic.  I really hope they tour the US soon, because I *need* to see this live myself.  

25 July 2025 (Special Edition) - Golden Earring - Twilight Zone

It's been a tough week.  

Adding to the body count this week, George Kooymans of Golden Earring passed away.  He wasn't a household name in the United States - Golden Earring were Dutch - but you know his voice and his work.  In the US, they were a one hit wonder.  This absolute classic, from 1982, is that one hit.   To let you know just the kind of band they were, this song was from their 16th album, Cut. 

Kooymans passed away from complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which forced his retirement in 2021.   He will be missed.

His energy live is really really gonna be missed.

24 July 2025 (Special Edition) - Chuck Mangione - Give It All You Got

Our last THREE posts are special editions.  What a terrible time. 

The most famous fluegelhorn player is best known for the megahit "Feels So Good", but the native Rochesterarian did a lot more than that.  For instance, he wrote the official theme for the 1980 Olympic Winter Games, held in Lake Placid, just a few hours from Rochester. 

And he performed it there, too.  But the poster won't let us embed that, so here's his performance of "Give It All You Got" from that Games's closing ceremonies. 

Mangione passed away this week, and he will be missed. 

22 July 2025 (Special Edition) - Ozzy Osbourne - Mama, I'm Coming Home

I was having a nice few days off.

And what did I choose to celebrate the life of the now-late Ozzy Osbourne?  

His only solo Top 40 hit, which reached #28 on the Hot 100 in 1991.  It's a power ballad that I ABSOLUTELY hated when it was new.... and I have come to appreciate. Co-written by Osbourne, Zakk Wylde, and Lemmy Kilmester of Motörhead, it was originally written on piano, but moving it to guitar really amped up the power. 

It is rare that we get such a soon final performance of a song like this.   But we have it here.

July 5, 2025.

It was to be his and Black Sabbath's final performance, and... well, you can tell he's weak, and he threw EVERYTHING he had into this performance.   

 

Ozzy Osborne has passed.  His voice will be missed. 

17 July 2025 (Special Edition) - Connie Francis - Where The Boys Are

Connie Francis - born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero in a time when Italians weren't exactly beloved in this country (hence the stage name), actress and singer, passed away yesterday at age 87 - and news has broken on this today.  

Now, modern music fans probably don't think much of this, but in 1960, when she first hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 - her first of three #1 hits - she was the FIRST woman to do that. She was also the first woman to have three #1 hits and that record held until 1979 (Donna Summer, for the record) .

She was a big deal, guys.   

This song was not her biggest hit - but it is an enduring one, from the movie of the same name (that she also starred in).  This song hit #4 in early 1961. 

By the way, in 1989, 29 years after the song's release, Connie Francis performed it on Today. 

In Fort Lauderdale, where the movie was set.

And she sounded great.

She would return to Fort Lauderdale Beach in 2010 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the movie. 

And yeah, she sang it again.

Connie Francis will be missed.