12 February 2021 - Green Jellö/Green Jellÿ - Three Little Pigs

Shockingly, just as soon as this Buffalo punk band got a little success, Kraft sued them and forced a name change. 

No matter.  This novelty tune - amazingly about exactly what you think it is, if you've never heard it - was a Top 20 MAINSTREAM POP RADIO hit.  Radio played the hell out of this song.  When the single was first released in 1992, it was ONLY available on video - it is the first known video single. Although it did get a CD release later, the sales of the video were enough to earn the single Gold certification.

Prepare to be entertained.

The YouTube comments of this live version include the comment "this song is heavier than it has any right to be."

Not wrong.

This performance from 2019 shows that they haven't faded in the quarter century since this was a new song.  

11 February 2021 - John and Mary - Red Wooden Beads

I saw John and Mary twice at St. Bonaventure University in the early 1990's - I want to say 1991 and 1992.  When I went to that first show, 

1) I had John Lombardo sign my copy of Hope Chest by 10,000 Maniacs - the same copy that Natalie Merchant signed and yes, he signed it first.  

2) I purchased their first album, Victory Gardens, and yes, they both signed it.

They were both exceptionally nice.  And exceptional performers.

When I went to that second show, they BOTH remembered my name.  And were happy to see me.  

Now, technically, I saw them a 3rd time at St. Bonaventure, in 1995, after Natalie Merchant left 10,000 Maniacs and that band appeared essentially with John and Mary instead of Natalie - a lineup that pretty much has stuck to this day (John is only a part-time member and Mary did leave the band for awhile), so there's not a lot of John and Mary music anymore, but they don't not exist and they still make music together.

This was their debut single and the song they opened with at that first show.  

10 February 2021 - 10,000 Maniacs - What's the Matter Here?

Seeing a theme this week yet?  

Well, we've got one.  

10,000 Maniacs formed in Jamestown, NY in the 1980s and quickly made a name for themselves on the Buffalo music scene, eventually getting a major label record deal and a broader audience.  

This was the band's 4th single from their 1987 album In My Tribe, and despite the heaviness of the song, it was a minor hit for the band.  Natalie Merchant and Peter Buck wrote the song, from the point of view of someone seeing a neighbor's child being abused.  

The band still performs the song live, with Mary Ramsey on the microphone now.  It's still just as poignant.

9 February 2021 - Ani DiFranco - 32 Flavors

If you live in Western New York, you know who Ani DiFranco is.  She's one of the first artists to eschew major label flirting with her and go off in her own direction.... and still remained financially viable and visible to big names in Hollywood. While she left Buffalo many years ago, that is where she grew up and recorded much of her earlier music. 

This song was from DiFranco's 6th studio album, Not A Pretty Girl.  A clear pun on Baskin-Robbins, it's likely her best-known song not performed as part of a Julia Roberts movie soundtrack. 

(Update: 5 September 2025) By the way, Ani still performs.  Here she is literally two days before I am writing this performing the song. 

8 February 2021 - Goo Goo Dolls - Name

This song is about Lisa Montgomery.  That one fact alone makes it worth a 2nd post in a day.  

8 February 2021 - Goo Goo Dolls - There You Are

A lot of times we post the first hits by bands.  This was one of the last songs by the Goo Goo Dolls that wasn't a gigantic hit - and on the first album where Johnny Rzeznik was primary lead vocalist (he had previously been an occasional vocalist and fulltime guitarist), which set up the big stardom to come.  This song is far more straight-ahead rock and less acoustic-driven than their later hits, but that doesn't make it bad.  Lyrically, it is a song of despair and anguish over a breakup. 

Primarily filmed at what was Pilot Field in downtown Buffalo, NY, the band's hometown, the band's first ever video serves as a tribute to Buffalo, showing a lot of familiar sites around the city (yes, I can mentally drive the first few seconds of the video). Bit of an "inside baseball" fact for someone who spent a fair amount of growing up in the Buffalo area - at 2:27, the video is filmed ON the border between the United States and Canada - something of a no-man's land, between the two flags on the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls. 

So, since they're big hit makers, I'm sure they don't play their old stuff anymore, right? 

Wrong.

5 February 2021 - The Beach Boys - God Only Knows

My mother would have been 74 years old today.   She passed away last year, in March, after a long battle with a disorder known as posterior cortical atrophy, so this is my family's first birthday of hers without her.  As something of a tribute, I felt it right to pay tribute to a band she enjoyed.

As a kid, and really, into adulthood, my mother's favorite band was The Beach Boys - she was a teen in the 1960's, after all.  Now, as a kid, I heard songs like "Surfin' USA" and "California Girls" and thought they were kind of cheesy.  As I grew older, though, I realized how difficult such harmonies could be, and I, too, gained an appreciation for them.  

And then I discovered Pet Sounds.  That is an amazing album, and if you haven't listened to the audio experimentation that's going on there, you need to go listen to it now.  It's an incredible albums - Brian Wilson's masterpiece.   That album helped me appreciate the earlier AND later works of the band as well.  

This song, co-written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, opened Side 2 of Pet Sounds and is regarded by many as the greatest song ever written.  This version, which was a top 40 hit, featured rare vocalist Carl Wilson on lead, which was a stroke of additional genius in an already great song.  

Of course, the song became a live staple.  Here is the band performing the song in 1980, the last time the original members of the band (Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson, along with Al Jardine) would appear on a UK stage together.

4 February 2021 - Black Eyed Peas ft. Shakira - Girl Like Me

Brace yourselves.  New BEP.

Kind of.  Shakira and will.i.am were working on this song in 2008, and finally got around to recording and releasing this fantastic, strangely intimate collaboration.  How many callbacks to old Shakia songs do you hear?  How many times is apl.d.ap using terrible Spanish?  All we know is, it's a fun song.  

The song is presently on the Billboard charts, as we write this, #35 with a bullet.  The video was filmed in Los Angeles (the Peas) and Barcelona (Shakira), and yet it looks like they're in the same room.

But you didn't come here for the video.

You came here for the TikTok dances.

3 February 2021 - Poe - Trigger Happy Jack

The mid-90's brought us a lot of angry-sounding female singer-songwriters, largely due to the appeal of Liz Phair.  Yep, I'm giving the credit to Liz.  Fight me in the comments.  

Some were excellent.   Some were awful.  

Poe managed to stand out from that crowd by bringing members of Suicidal Tendencies and Guns 'n' Roses into the studio with her.  Her music was - is - borderline experimental folk-punk.  Her first big single was "Trigger Happy Jack", a justifiably angry song that makes what I think is a pretty obvious statement in the chorus.

One great thing about Poe is that she is just as emotive live as she was on video. Watch her throw her whole body into this performance.

2 February 2021 - Mason Williams - Classical Gas

Believe it or not, this instrumental classic was written for a TV show.... by a comedy writer.  The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was the show, and Mason Williams was the head writer.  Williams wanted the song to be fuel for the classical guitar, so he titled his piece "Classical Gasoline".  It was abbreviated on the call sheet as "Classical Gas", and that's the title that stuck.  

The Smothers Brothers were interested in launching new musicians on their show, and so they gave Mason a chance to perform his song... which he did in 1968.  The song ended up being a massive hit, reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.  It also earned Williams a couple of Grammys - the song won three total.  

He's backed on vinyl by famed session musicians The Wrecking Crew, and on the show by the Smothers Brothers Orchestra - I think it was an orchestra? - and it's still so dense and layered and beautiful today.  

1 February 2021 - Tom Cochrane - Life Is A Highway

Tom Cochrane was already a star in Canada when this song become an absolutely gigantic hit.  But it almost didn't happen.

Cochrane used to be the lead vocalist and songwriter for a band called Red Rider, and he wrote a song called "Love Is A Highway".  The band never recorded it, because he considered it unusable...

...but picked it back up a few years later for his 1991 solo release Mad Mad World, retitled and retooled.  It was a fun and happy song that became a huge worldwide hit.

When Mad Mad World was reissued for its 25th anniversary, Cochrane included the original demo on the album.  You can hear that it's a very different song, but also, you can hear where the big hit came from.  

Also, this was hard to find, so you're welcome.  

 

29 January 2021 - Suzanne Vega - Tom's Diner

This is perhaps the oddest history of a song I have ever posted here.

I first heard the song in 1987, as the opening track on Solitude Standing, Suzanne Vega's 2nd album.  It was a crisp and clear acapella song... so clear that it was used to test the MP3 file format for clarity.  Yes, the answer to the trivia question "what was the first MP3" is "Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega.  I immediately loved it.

This live version captures the album version quite perfectly.

Fast forward to 1990.  Two British producers that called themselves DNA remixed the song with a thumping bass track.  They didn't ask anyone if they could do this.  They just did it. They went ahead and released the track to dance clubs in Europe.  Her record label - A&M - caught wind of this and did something remarkable.  With the approval of Suzanne Vega (who actually liked what DNA did with her song), A&M bought and released the remixed song.  

It would become Vega's second biggest pop hit of her career (after "Luka") and arguably her most recognizable.  

28 January 2021 - Depeche Mode - I Feel You

What do you get when you cross Depeche Mode with guitars?

One serious hot, rocking song and a huge hit song.

While Depeche Mode had a devoted fan base from their years of electronic-oriented music, this new direction for the band, which put a guitar in Martin L. Gore's hands and put Alan Wilder behind a drum kit, ended up bringing them one of their biggest career hits.  The unexpected bombast, as it turns out, resonated.

As bombastic as that song is, it is somehow more so live.  David Gahan somehow looks quite comfortable belting out the powerful, straight-ahead rock song.

27 January 2021 - Blondie - Heart Of Glass

A couple of days ago, I was writing some posts for Totally Covered in advance, and I decided to pull out a Miley Cyrus cover of a Blondie classic, as I am SURE I am going to be billing that on Twitter.  Then I realized that, although I had posted TWO covers of this song over THERE, I had never posted anything about the original.  There's no good reason for it, so let's remedy this.  

This song was built around a drum machine beat, which opens the song.  This was something that, in 1979, was not commonly seen in rock music.... but was seen in the popular disco music of the day.  As a result, Blondie did suffer a temporary backlash in the punk community that had supported them for so many years.  

Of course, this song was also Blondie's first Top 40 hit, making it all the way to #1..... and led to their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, so I think they made the right choice.  

Now, go to Totally Covered and check out not one, not two, not three, but FOUR different covers, all very different from each other, but all fantastic in their own ways.  

26 January 2021 - Raf - Self Control | Laura Branigan - Self Control

It is generally accepted that the Laura Branigan version of this song, which was worldwide (outside of Italy and Switzerland) a much bigger hit, is a cover of the Raf version. 

Since Raf co-wrote the song, I think it's a legitimate claim.  However, I'm including both versions on this post, and not shuttling Laura off to Totally Covered.   I'll explain that decision in a moment.  

But can we talk about this Italian classic?  This was the debut single of Raf - some consider it to be the biggest Italian worldwide hit of all time (Tarzan Boy might have something to say about that). This was a #1 song in Italy and Switzerland (more on that second one in a moment) and first hit #1 on June 24th, 1984 in Italy.

The Laura Branigan version first hit #1 in Germany, on June 17th, 1984.  Perhaps stranger, it first hit #1 in Switzerland on June 24th.  The #2 song that week was the Raf version.  The two songs switched places the next week, and switched back on July 8th, where this version would remain for the next seven weeks.  

The two songs were contemporary.  While the Raf version was recorded first, they were released at the same time.  Both had a large impact, contemporaneously, and for that reason, I am placing them both here.  

25 January 2021 - Aimee Mann - Labrador

I adore Aimee Mann. Over the last 10 years, Scott has seen her perform a handful of times. Happy to say that he saw her again on January 23, 2012! So let's go back to Aimee's "care free and light-hearted 80s days" in 'Til Tuesday.... that she remade shot for shot.

Today is my former co-author Scott's birthday.  Go to his Twitter and wish him a happy birthday..... and also read HIS original post.  

25 January 2021 - Noel Harrison - The Windmills of Your Mind

There's a lot you can say about Noel Harrison.   He was the son of Rex Harrison.  A champion of the giant slalom, Harrison went to two Olympics.

And his performance of this song won the 1968 Oscar for Best Original Song.  Featured in The Thomas Crown Affair, it is by far the biggest hit he ever had.  Here's a little bit of trivia for you - the 1967 Oscar for Best Original Song went to "Talk To The Animals" from Doctor Dolittle.   The performer on that song?  Noel's father, Rex Harrison.  

Enjoy one of the greatest songs written for a movie (according to the American Film Institute - that isn't just me making up superlatives).  

22 January 2021 - R.E.M. - Crush With Eyeliner

When Michael Stipe wrote this song, it is said he was inspired by the over-the-top style of the legendary New York City band The New York Dolls.  The song is fuzzy and glam-pop inspired....

...but can we talk about the video for a second?  Michael Stipe famously hated to lip-sync his songs for videos, and he was pretty bad at it.  So, for this video, he set it at a Japanese karaoke bar and had other people do the lip-sync for him!

I don't like posting stuff from Top of the Pops, because that show has a famous policy against live performance, instead forcing artists to lip-sync.  They aren't usually that fun.  But combine that with how terrible Michael Stipe is at lip-syncing, mostly because he hates it... well, yeah, it's entertaining this time.

Contrast this with live R.E.M., who are clearly enjoying the performance more....

21 January 2021 - Smash Mouth - All Star

I saw Smash Mouth live.  It was a miserable rainy day.  They didn't really seem to be enjoying themselves until this song.  

The song, featured prominently in the movie Mystery Men (hence the "superheroes" at the beginning - it is unclear why Janeane Garafalo did not appear), was one of the biggest hits of 1999.  And let's face it - it's darned catchy.  Heck, we could have even posted it in Positive December!

The band's hits might be in the past, but they are very much in the present.  Here they are performing the song live in 2015.

20 January 2021 - Fitz and the Tantrums - HandClap

I don't know if you were aware, but Fitz and the Tantrums are pretty sure they can make your hands clap.

The song is actually a love song - with the vocalist trying to convey enthusiasm with.... hand claps. Clearly pop and soul influenced, the song is immediately catchy and is used to get crowds fired up at sporting events everywhere to this day.  

19 January 2021 - Ednaswap - Torn

I loved having a cowriter on this blog, as well as my sister blog, Totally Covered.  Scott was an awesome partner, and we are still great friends.  He's welcome to come back and write for us anytime.

Today, I am going to tell you how we came to have the 2nd blog.

You see, Natalie Imbruglia had one big hit song in the United States, and on March 5, 2012, Scott wrote all about "Torn".  Someone made a comment that the song was a cover - which Scott had not mentioned, even though he was aware.  Since we knew we love covers, we started the 2nd blog the next week.  Yes, this one is far busier now, but I still post there as well, and you should check it out.  

The song was written by members of the band Ednaswap.  TECHNICALLY, theirs wasn't the first released version, but since they wrote it and did perform it prior to selling the song to other artists BEFORE recording it themselves, I felt they earned their place here.  

So, here you are.  Enjoy Ednaswap.  

18 January 2021 - Matchbox Twenty - Push

So you aren't hearing it, are you?  The D-A-B-F#-G-D-G-A progression doesn't exist in there at all.   I didn't hear it at first myself.  

Because Rob Thomas wrote it in a different key. Canon in F#?  Hear it now?

Well, because it was in a different key, I didn't post it last week, but I felt it was worthwhile to mention that.  

The song itself is not at all about abusing women, as a lot of people assume - if anything, the narrator of the song - be it Rob Thomas or whatever character he wrote - is the one on the receiving end of abuse.  The more likely interpretation, however, is that it's just about an adult relationship, with give and take, where there are good and bad times.  

To his credit, Rob Thomas, who not only wrote but sings the song, throws his heart and soul into the song.  Here he is with Matchbox Twenty (not 20.  They changed their name to spell out the number) in 2012, performing the song live.  

15 January 2021 - The Beatles - Let It Be

We could not end D-A-B-F#-G-D-G-A without including the single most iconic interpretation of the song in the modern era.  The song itself is an absolute masterpiece, as many Lennon/McCartney compositions were - but in this case, Paul got some help from Johann at the beginning.  

McCartney accomplished this chord progression on piano at the beginning of the song in a unique way, however.  His right hand was playing the chords.  His left was playing single notes.

The first four bars of "Let It Be"

Lyrically, the song was imagined during some hard times Paul's parents were having.  It's meant to be a comforting song - and the song nails that.

This particular version is what became the "Naked" version of the song, released in 2003.  This was originally produced by George Martin.

Compare that to the original SINGLE version - not the album version.  The SINGLE version - which was produced by Phil Spector.  We didn't lose the Canon, but we did gain a Wall of Sound.