13 November 2025 - Huey Lewis & The News - Heart And Soul

For our second California post....let's talk about the darlings of the San Francisco Bay area.  

We are talking about Huey Lewis and the News and NOT ANY OTHER BAND. 

This song was the band's second US Top 10 hit, reaching that in 1983 as the lead single from their album Sports. Written by songwriting team Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn, this song was originally performed by Exile, but this version was more popular and garnered a Grammy nomination (that lost to The Police).  

The song itself is one of my favorites of theirs, and would remain a fan favorite even as it was eclipsed by later hits. 

Huey's story has a saddish ending - he started going deaf and performed as long as he could, but he did eventually lose his hearing to the point where he could no longer sing.  A cochlear implant allowed him to hear speech, but not music and no longer allowed him to sing.

Which is a shame, because he never lost his stage presence, even 30 years after his hitmaking years.  

13 November 2025 - Doja Cat - Stranger

Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini was born in Los Angeles, California in 1995.  

You probably know her better as Doja Cat, and she is the quintessential Californian.  She gives a cool, multitalented vibe.

A couple of months ago, she released her latest album, Vie.  It is, in my opinion, unexpectedly excellent - one of my favorites this year, and a return to real pop music.  This is one of the album tracks that got a music video - a video with more than a little debt to North by Northwest.   It is indicative of how excellent the whole album is.   

12 November 2025 - Prince and the Revolution - When Doves Cry

I could not do Minnesota and not give a nod to Prince Rogers Nelson - whose middle and last name you may not have known.  

From his semiautobiographical movie Purple Rain and album of the same name, this song opens side 2 of the album.  It was clearly meant to be a (slower) dance song, but, in an unusual move for the period, there is absolutely no bassline.  It's unconventional, with just guitar, drum machine loop, and synthesizer.  

It's also a song I hated in 1984.  All these years later, I get it a lot more, and it's one of my favorites by him. 

As genius as the simple song was, the live version - this was from Japan in 1990 - may be even more dynamic. 

12 November 2025 - Soul Asylum - Somebody to Shove

Gosh, it was tough to choose what to go with when it came to Minnesota.  

Soul Asylum, a band I was listening to long before their breakthough Grave Dancers Union was released, and that album came out in 1992, a vulnerable time for me.  I was in a position in college where I knew who this hot band getting all the MTV airplay was - and trying to convince them that the earlier stuff was better....

.... which wasn't true. Grave Dancers Union is arguably their best album, so it's great that it was the one that broke through.  This was the first single - and a huge hit song.  Plus, it was boisterous while remaining accessible, which was something I liked about the band. 

I know, when I start posting these things, I always get asked "but, Tony, has your sister seen them live?"

Why yes, she has!!!! And they still sound great!!!

11 November 2025 - The B-52's - Dance This Mess Around

This is our 1900th post on this blog, and I can't think of a more appropriate song.

"Dance This Mess Around" was the third single from Athens, Georgia band The B-52's 1979 debut album.  Written by the whole band - which at the time was a five-piece - the lead vocals on this song were taken by Cindy Wilson.  

So, why did I choose a 1980 live version of this song to lead the post?  Because it very quickly became a live performance favorite.  You can see just how passionately Cindy Wilson performs the song.  It builds slowly and relatively quietly, but builds louder and faster as she expresses heartbreak over having no one to dance with.  The rest of the group picks it up and cheers her up, and it works! They don't even get a chance to do all sixteen dances!

There were a few years in the 1990s where Cindy Wilson left the band for awhile (her brother, Ricky, also a band member, had passed away in the mid-1980s).  During her time away, the band did NOT perform this song.

But when she came back, they performed the HELL out of this song. 

So, here we are, in 2025.  Do you think it's still a live favorite, even as there are only three members left (Keith Strickland no longer touring with the band)?

Yes.

The question you SHOULD be asking is if my sister saw them live - but you know the answer.  

Cindy Wilson calling herself out for being out of key is utterly charming - but also, the out of key desperation is the POINT of the song.  

10 November 2025 - The White Stripes - Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground

I remember the first time I heard the White Stripes (from Detroit, Michigan - which of course is today's state).  

October 19th, 2002.  Technically, it was probably October 20th, in the early morning hours.   My ex-wife and I were in bed and watching SNL. We saw the musical guest was someone we had never heard of, and she wanted to turn it off before the musical guest came on.  

I insisted we not do that.  And, for once, I won one. 

This is what we were greeted with.

She didn't like them. I LOVED it. (This may have been part of the reason she's my ex-wife now) I was completely into this, and wanted to hear more, so I that week went seeking out more of their music - including the studio version of this song, with lyrics by Jack White and music by Jack and Meg White.  

For the uninitiated, yes, those are their government names.  Jack was born Jack Gillis but took his wife's name when they got married in 1996.  And yes, Meg was that wife, and by this point, they had been divorced for two years - clearly amicably, but the band didn't last forever.

The destruction projected in this video tells me that it was a very personal song for both of them - it is speculated that it was about the end of their marriage, although neither has confirmed or denied that.    

Edit: They were literally just inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which I did not know when I wrote this post.  Congratulations!

7 November 2025. - Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. ft. Faith No More - Another Body Murdered

I've talked about a lot of these days being hard.  

I wasn't looking forward to American Samoa.  

However, it wasn't hard at all.  

Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. are a hip-hop group from American Samoa (although they were based in California for most of their career).  This was probably their best known song, a collaboration with San Francisco band Faith No More.  An early hip-hop/rock fusion song, it was a sign of things to come for music - a preview of later acts such as Limp Bizkit.  

And they bring pride to the islands.  

6 November 2025 - Garbage - Only Happy When It Rains

I know exactly what you're thinking right now if you know this band.

"Shirley Manson is Scottish."

She is.   

The other members of the band are NOT - and Butch Vig is from Wisconsin.  Garbage was formed at his studio in Madison, WI. 

That's true.  It was called Smart Studios, and it was founded in 1983.  

So, of course, with three producers and a hell of a dynamic vocalist, you know they put on a great live show..... and they did.  This was from a festival in 1996.

But I'm sure ten years later, at Glastonbury 2005, they slowed down.... right?

Wrong.

Don't be fooled by this 2017 performance, guys.  Keep listening.  They, again, bring the angst and energy.

They are currently on a tour that they are alluding to being their last.... in 2025.   But, let's be clear - they're not stopping the touring because of their energy levels.  It's economic conditions.  But I think they're not done yet.   

5 November 2025 - Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Refugee

Florida was too big a state for just one post - and people keep moving there.  

I don't know why.

They have alligators. 

However, they also had Tom Petty and his Heartbreakers (from Gainsville), who had a TON of hits, including this Top 20 hit from their 1980 breakthrough album Damn The Torpedoes.  Co-written by Tom Petty and Mike Campbell, it was reportedly a tough song to record, with perfect being the enemy of good and a LOT of takes needed to get the song just right.

But they DID get it right, and the results brought us a raw, noisy, brash song. 

This song was a live favorite, and every time they did a benefit concert of some sort - like Farm Aid in 1985 (and Live Aid, too, by the way), this song was a staple.

Petty consistently said that this song was really hard on his voice.

And yet, in 2012, when they were STILL performing the song live, he STILL sang it largely in the same key.

5 November 2025 - Pitbull ft. TJR - Don't Stop The Party

Nowadays, big cities have more than one area code.  

Miami, FL is no exception.  

But it's usually more prestigious to have the original one, from when there was only one.

Miami's was 305.  

Mr. Worldwide is also Mr. 305.  

That's it.  That's the post.  

It's not actually the whole post.

Pitbull has made a career representing Miami and making fun pop/dance music.  He's not making a career winning awards (although he has plenty - including a Grammy for his 2016 album Dale which, for my English speakers, has two syllables), but rather, making fun, exciting music and putting on a hell of a show.

And you cannot deny it - this is a hell of a show. 

4 November 2025 - Chappell Roan - HOT TO GO!

Darin Chappell is a Republican member of the Missouri House of Representatives.  He represents the state's 137th House District - which is the Springfield, MO area.  

He's probably better known for being Chappell Roan's (maternal-side) uncle, though.  She grew up in Missouri....

.... so when it came time to record a video for the seventh and final single from her debut album, The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess, it completely made sense that she'd be bringing it home to Springfield, MO - which is where this video was recorded.  Also, yes, those are really her grandparents.  No word if her uncle ended up on the cutting room floor.  

Also, this is a fun song.  C'mon now. AND IT HAS A DANCE!!!!

You know, there are a lot of live performances I could have chosen here.   

So why did I choose the one she did with Olivia Rodrigo in a guest starring appearance?

Because 1) Chappell Roan got her big break as Rodrigo's opening act - but this was well after that.  2) This looks like two old friends GENUINELY having fun together.   

3) I wanted to save this impressive performance from Reading 2025 with literally 90,000 people doing the dance for last.

3 November 2025 - Bobbie Gentry - Ode to Billie Joe

Choctaw Ridge is a REAL place in Mississippi.  So, by the way, is the Tallahatchie Bridge - it goes over the river of the same name in Money, Mississippi.

Literally Bobbie Gentry on the Tallahatchie Bridge in 1967

Bobbie Gentry was a great country songwriter who wrote this song.  The cool Southern Gothic classic would provide the title for her debut album in 1967, and it would go on to become her biggest (although not nearly only) hit. It was a top 20 country hit in the United States, but more notably, it was a #1 pop hit, and the #3 biggest pop hit of 1967.  

"Ode To Billie Joe" also won three Grammy Awards for Gentry - including Best New Artist in 1968. Although she'd be nominated again, she'd never win another. 

The song was a massive success and defined the rest of Gentry's career.   This performance from the BBC, interspersed with footage of her on... probably the Tallahatchie Bridge.... was lost for years, but it isn't anymore, and we bring it to you.

Here's another live performance from The Andy Williams Show in the early 1970s.  Her cool, raspy voice matched well with the literal true crime drama she wrote.... and this performance is captivating. 

31 October 2025 - Michael Jackson - Thriller

The music gods smiled on us when we set the order for this list, which seems arbitrary but is not.

Today, they gave us Indiana, and of course The Jacksons are from Gary.   This includes the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson, who had the biggest selling album of all time.  Its title song is the quintessential Halloween song.  

So yeah, we're doing that today.   

This song has been reentering the Billboard charts year after year.  Last year, it peaked at #20 and I expect it'll do the same this year by the time you read this.   It makes it on the charts everywhere, every year.  The song was huge in the 80s - a disco throwback at the time - and remains huge. 

I was never a huge fan of the song until I saw a live performance.  Michael really knew how to work a crowd, and does so masterfully in this 1998 performance in London.

30 October 2025 - Liz Phair - Supernova

Elizabeth Clark Phair was active on the cross country team and in student government at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois. 

Yep. Not a stage name.

This Grammy-nominated 1994 song, from her 2nd album Whip-Smart, got a fairly large amount of MTV airplay and represented her first visit to the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 78.  Her sweet spot was more the modern rock charts, and this was her biggest hit to date and in fact ever on those charts. 

The song is absolutely an exuberant exclamation of being in love.  

Why yes, she DID say the F word live and didn't just roll her eyes.

The woman literally wrote a song called "Fuck and Run", guys.  Of course she said it live. 

And when it's just her on an acoustic guitar...... yeah, she says it then, too.

But what about on the 2023 tour, celebrating the 30th anniversary of her debut album, Exile In Guyville?  Did she keep it clean?

No.

And, for the record, it opened her encore.  This song wasn't on that album, but since she opens most shows that aren't album tributes with this song, it made sense to play it. 

29 October 2025 - Conway Twitty - It's Only Make Believe

Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Conway Twitty.  

That was his original 1958 recording, which would reach #1 on the US Country AND Pop Charts.  He would never make the top 20 on the pop charts again, but would go on to post more than 30 #1s on the country charts through the late 1980.... and made some big hits into the 1990s, right until his death in 1993.  

By the way, if the sound seems Elvis-influenced, it's because The Jordanaires provided background vocals.  It's also in a rockabilly style, which served Twitty well throughout his career. 

Co-written by Jack Nance and Twitty, this song by the Arkansas native would remain his signature song throughout his career. In fact, here he is performing the song in 1990.... a full 32 years after its initial hit run.

Here he is in 1969 performing it.  By the way, his performances are pretty consistent, no? His voice was huge right until the end AND throughout his life. 

He also had a lot of humility about his biggest hit song, and frequently collaborated on covers of it (which ended up being hits in their own right), such as this mid-80's collaboration with Canadian country star Carroll Baker.

28 October 2025 - Alabama Shakes - Hold On

I do love the irony of bands being named after places they are not from.

That, however, is not the case today.  Alabama Shakes are, indeed, from Athens, Alabama. 

This is their only charting song to date in the US - peaking at #93 on the US charts in 2012.  The lead single from their debut album, Boys & Girls, it was also declared the best song of 2012 by Rolling Stone.... and I can't really dispute it.  It's huge. The song is huge.  The guitars are huge.  The vocals are absolutely monstrous.  

Written by Brittany Howard (she's the monstrous vocalist), the song was positively starmaking. 

Just about every live performance sounds exactly like the record.  They're that solid. 

But the end of the SNL performance of this song gives me literal goosebumps.

27 October 2025 - Devo - Whip It

Do you remember where you were when you first saw this video?

Well, this song, the best known one by Akron, Ohio-founded band Devo, is just as surreal and nonsensical as the video.... which leaned into the rumors of a masturbation subcontext in the song (which wasn't there - it was a weird motivational speech for Jimmy Carter). Co-written by Mark Mothersbaugh (the guy with the whip) and Gerald Casale (the guy on the keyboards), they also shared vocal duties.... and I bet you never noticed that there were ACTUALLY two vocalists on this song doing a call-and-response.  

Earlier this year, my sister saw Devo live on what I believe is supposed to be their farewell tour.   They're just as dynamic now as they always were. 

27 October 2025 - The Breeders - Shocker In Gloomtown

Look, if you read Totally Covered, you're going to recognize most of this post. I originally wrote this in 2012.  

The fact is, the most successful band ever to be based out of Dayton, Ohio, is clearly The Breeders.  Best known for their hit "Cannonball", which is a fun song, the group started its adult life - the name was from Kim & Kelley Deal's childhood band - as a collaboration between Kim Deal of the Pixies, Tanya Donnelly from Throwing Muses (both represented in this #AmericanAutumn), and Josephine Wiggs from The Perfect Disaster.  Well, Tanya left to go do Belly (also represented in this #AmericanAutumn), and Kim brought Kelley back to the band to play guitar.

This song is a cover by a song originally performed by Dayton, Ohio's best band, Guided by Voices.  The song was from the 7" - yes, it was on vinyl only - Head to Toe. Look closely in the video, which was shot in Kim's Dayton, OH garage.  The guys peeking in the windows of the garage in disgust?  Guided by Voices.

This was not the only cover on the 7".  A third song - Freed Pig - was also there, a cover of a song by the band Sebadoh.  If you get a chance, check it out - all three songs are among the best The Breeders ever did, including the original title track.

A little footnote to this story - the drummer for the Breeders was Jim McPherson.  He later joined Guided by Voices.

Here's something that wasn't anything I could post in 2012...  the Breeders doing the song live in 2018..... and sounding just like they did in 1994.  

Which is incredible.  I didn't think they'd ever do it live.

27 October 2025 - Guided By Voices - Teenage FBI

Robert Pollard, of Dayton, Ohio, was destined to be a rock star of Grace Potter dimensions. 

(Told ya)

This was the big first single off the 11th GbV album, Do The Collapse.  Known for being a lo-fi band, this album was slick, and produced by Ric Ocasek.  Yes, from The Cars.  This song was huge and had a polished sound - and let Pollard unleash his inner rock star.

Not that it was leashed before this.  But really, this song brings it differently.  Jim McPherson from The Breeders (more on them later) supplies the drums.

That album came out in 1999.

Pollard was still bringing THAT LEVEL of energy in 2019 to his live performances of the song.

By the way - I mentioned that this song was polished and released in 1999, and that's true.  

But also, it was a song that had been retired from their live sets in 1996 - and this is what it sounded like in 1996. 

\\

....and this is how it sounded in 2013 when they picked it back up again.

24 October 2025 - The Charlie Daniels Band - The Devil Went Down to Georgia

Yep, Charlie Daniels was from Wilmington, North Carolina and spend most of his childhood there.  His career spanned more than 50 years, starting in the 1960s and going well into the 2010s.  He had many hits, and won a lot of awards.

But c'mon.  You know him for this song.  This song - co-written by the band and his biggest hit on both the Country (#1) and POP (#3) charts by a country mile - started life an octave lower, as an instrumental by Vassar Clements called "Lonesome Fiddle Blues".  Daniels had performed on the original, and raised the song an octave, adding lyrics and a devil of a story... and making a hit.

Yes, I absolutely did share the uncensored version.  We can say "son of a bitch" on here. 

Unfortunately, they didn't let him say that on CBS.  Also, even in his older years, he played the hell out of that song.  

23 October 2025 - Minor Threat - Straight Edge

In the early 1980s, the hardcore scene in Washington D.C. was exploding, and one of its leaders was Ian MacKaye, the frontman and principal songwriter for the band Minor Threat (and later, Fugazi and other bands) - formed from the ashes of his band the Teen Idles.  

He also founded a great DIY record label that ended up being extremely influential - Dischord Records - on which his bands were releasing material that would end up selling exceedingly well.

One thing that MacKaye espoused as one of his philosophies was abstinence from drugs of any kind - and that wasn't unique to him, as the movement existed in the punk scene already.  However, that movement didn't have a name.  

Then MacKaye gave it a name. "Straight Edge" to this day refers to that way of life. 

It wasn't that live version that I blasted every time my pothead neighbors were blasting Pink Floyd, though.

It was this version.

22 October 2025 - Daniel Johnston - Walking The Cow

Daniel Johnston is very likely a name you do not know.  His origins were in the great state of West Virginia - and started making lo-fi music there in his teens.  He bounced in and out of institutions, and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

That didn't stop his musical output. 

Most of his musical catalogue was made up of homemade cassettes that he recorded on his organ in his home in New Cumberland, West Virginia.  This song - from his 1983 cassette Hi, How Are You, is one of his best known songs, with many other artists covering the song.  Written and produced by Johnston in its original form, it was inspired by a Blue Bell ice cream container. 

This version is live, a couple of years before Johnston's death (of a heart attack) in 2019, performed with Jeff Tweedy of Wilco.  Released as part of the Hi, How Are You project for mental health awareness, it's an absolutely beautiful performance.

His music brought him around the world - and his music just couldn't help but break out of his body.  Here he is in Argentina in 2013.

It sounds different in its original 1983 version, which features his organ. 

All of these versions are beautiful.  

21 October 2025 - Grace Potter And The Nocturnals - Paris (Ooh La La)

Grace Potter is from Vermont, and she formed her band in Vermont in 2002.   The band broke up in 2015, not coincidentally the same time Potter's marriage to the band's drummer broke up.  

Today's song is from their 2010 self-titled third album.  She was already a rock star of Robert Pollard dimensions (you'll understand that reference on Monday if you don't now), and this song, which became an adult contemporary hit and got some radio airplay, cemented that.  

Also, it's a fun, fun song.

Normally, I would go here and do a traditional live performance....

and not one they recorded in a San Diego hotel room.  

But here we are. 

And, unlike most unplugged performances, it may just come harder than the original electrified version.