4 December 2025 - Jewel - Foolish Games

Three guesses on her father's name.  

Juel Kilcher - yep.  Not Jewel at birth.  Indeed, she grew up near Homer, Alaska, singing and yodeling alongside her father.  

And yes.  She was on a few episodes of her family's show.  

This song - written by Jewel - the third single from her debut album Pieces of You, was nominated for a Grammy award and would go on to be one of her biggest hits and indeed, a song that still endures.

Did she perform the song live?  Of course she did, and you know I love featuring performances from the most unhinged festival of all time, Woodstock '99. 

No fires appear to have been started during her performance. 

On her Greatest Hits album, Jewel reimagined this song as a duet, with Kelly Clarkson.  They also performed it together - kinda - as a Zoom duet on Clarkson's talk show. 

By the way, she also has been known to yodel with her dad, even after her fame. 

4 December 2025 - Atz Kilcher - Can't Nobody But A Daddy Know

Atz Kilcher is best known for two things. One of them is being one of the stars of a Discover Channel reality show called Alaska: The Last Frontier - which is centered around the Kilcher family homestead outside of Homer, Alaska.  His sons - Atz Lee and Otto - also star on the show.   His daughter.... well, we'll get there (and some of you already figured it out).

He's also an accomplished singer/songwriter in his own right.  Here he is, in 2018 - at age 70 - just getting ready to start a national tour with his kids - it was a book tour, with a musical element.

By the way, he is also an accomplished yodeler....

3 December 2025 - Hands - New Heaven

Forget what I said about Wyoming yesterday.

North Dakota was really REALLY hard.

But I found Fargo's Hands, a Christian metal band who were really active in that community from 2007 to 2011.  

Today's very angry song is from their 2017 reunion EP New Heaven/New Earth, which is really excellent.

I have no idea if they are still together, but if they are, God bless 'em for making Christian metal.  

2 December 2025 - Chris LeDoux - This Cowboy's Hat

Wyoming was really hard, and this is one of those days I wish Scott - a country music lover -was still writing for us.  But I got it done.  

Chris LeDoux - from Wyoming - got a slow start to his music career.  

That's because he was a very successful rodeo cowboy.  But he did start recording while he was active in rodeo - in 1979, he released his first single, and released a few more prior to his retirement from the rodeo in 1986.  

This single, from 1991, was at the beginning of a string of minor country hits, which started in the early 1990s and continued for a few years.   

Sadly, LeDoux passed away kind of young, only aged 56, of bile duct cancer.  But his cowboy music lives on. 

If you really want to hear LeDoux play what would be one of his signature songs - I mean, he was a rodeo cowboy, for Pete's sake - try this performance from 1997.

1 December 2025 - Linda Ronstadt - It's So Easy

We're coming close to the end.  

Arizona was the 48th state.  

And huge hitmaker Linda Ronstadt is from Tuscon, Arizona.  

She had a string of hit songs in the 1970s - her huge voice bringing life to songs that would be both pop and country hits.  I'd say she was the Taylor Swift of her era... but literally every hit you know of hers is a cover.   

This song is one of them.  Originally recorded in 1958 by The Crickets - as in Buddy Holly and the Crickets - and written by Holly and Norman Petty, their version did not chart.    Ronstadt took their song to the top 5 in 1977 (and to the country charts, too!), adding a bit of a bite and snarl to the song.  

I have to be honest.  I grew up hearing this version of the song, and when I heard Buddy Holly singing it, it felt wrong.  This feels right. 

Of course she performed the song live.  Here she is with her band in 1980 - with the same snarl.

28 November 2025 - Nicolette Larson - Lotta Love

In a past life, this would have gone on Totally Covered. Or, maybe it did.  But I don't really think of it as a cover.   

Nicolette Larson was from Helena, Montana.   She was a backup singer for many artists, including Neil Young.... and she and Linda Ronstadt both sang backup on his 1978 album Comes A Time, which featured this song (Larson did not sing backup on that song).  Larson and Ronstadt have different recollections on how her version came to be.  Ronstadt said - in 2013, in her memoirs - that she made the suggestion and Larson's producer was appreciative.  

Larson's story is more colorful.  Her recollection was that she found a demo version of the song on a tape on the floor of Neil Young's car.... and he gave her the song.  

She took Young's melancholic song and turned it upbeat, with strings and horns.... and made herself a classic. Held until October 1978 - waiting to see if Neil would release it as a single (he did not - although it did end up being a B-side) - her version - her debut single - ended up being a top 10 pop hit, her biggest by far. 

It wasn't easy to find a real live version of this song.  A lot of her early ones were on TV and were lipsynced.

However, this performance from 1991 - six years prior to her untimely death - show that she still had it.

This live recording from 1978 is absolutely spectacular.  

27 November 2025 - Gelli Haha - Spit

Sometimes, serendipity plays a role.   Today is one of those days. And I am thankful for that!

Angel Abaya was born in Boise, Idaho, and joined the Boise music scene at the age of 18.  She's definitely Idahoan...

Her latest (not really debut) album - Switcheroo - was released under the stage name Gelli Haha, because it moved from her earlier work (as Angel Abaya), which was guitar-driven pop, to more electronic, playful pop. 

It was the right call. I have to say, I really enjoy this sound quite a bit, and the album is one of my favorites of the year. 

This song is a highlight of the album, with it's overabundance of 's' words..... and let's be clear, the red aesthetic isn't just a stage persona - it's a lifestyle choice for her.  

She has not performed live as Gelli Haha MUCH, but when she does, she leads with this song.  Stick around for the rest of the performance, because it very well might be the most fun you'll have listening to music this year. 

Also - was NOT joking about the red.

26 November 2025 - 7 Seconds - Young Till I Die (and a surprise)

7 Seconds formed in Reno, Nevada during the rise of punk in 1980.   Although there have been significant lineup changes, they're still around and still performing. And yes, Kevin Seconds and Steve Youth - the real life Marvelli brothers - are still there. 

This song is from their 1984 debut album The Crew - regarded by many as one of the greatest hardcore albums ever recorded.  And, really, it's raw and angry and energetic.... and somewhat stoic.  Written by Kevin Seconds, it has an almost straight-edge feel.... but it ain't straight-edge.  

So, this song was released in 1984.  

Thirty years later, they performed it in Moscow with arguably more energy.

But if you know them before this post, you probably know them for their cover of the Nena classic song "99 Red Balloons" (yes, the English version).

It's spectacular.

This is the one song they can't not play.   And it's always just as spectacular.

As Kevin says during this performance EARLIER THIS YEAR, they first performed this song in 1982.

In 2025.... 45 years after they formed.... it still sounds spectacular. 

25 November 2025 - Philip Bailey & Phil Collins - Easy Lover

Today, we talk about Colorado.  

We're not talking about Phil Collins.  We can discuss him another day.  

Philip Bailey was born in Denver, Colorado, which is why he's here today.  In his prime, he was known for a four octave vocal range - and served as one of the two lead vocalists for the legendary band Earth, Wind & Fire.  

But he also had a solo career - and while he had a few hits, none eclipsed this collaboration with the Genesis drummer, which was a huge hit worldwide.  The story behind this one is quite simple - Collins was also a pretty well-regarded producer, and he was hired to produce Bailey's 1984 album Chinese Wall.  At the end of the sessions, Bailey asked Collins to co-write a song with him.... this song.  They had a great time writing it, and so they recorded it right away (and you can actually hear in this video some of the raw sessions from that - which I love).  

It ended up being just great just as they did it.  

And, at this point, I'd usually overwhelm you with their individual live performances of the song.  

Not today.  This is #AmericanAutumn, not #UKNovember.  So, here's Bailey performing the song live with Kenny Loggins.  Kenny's just not as good a match - but Bailey's voice is fantastic.  

24 November 2025 (Special Edition) - Jimmy Cliff - Many Rivers To Cross

It was announced this morning that famed Jamaican singer the Honourable Jimmy Cliff OM, who had a career that started in the early 1960s, passed away today - from a seizure followed by pneumonia.  He was 81 years old.

That title refers to the Jamaican Order of Merit, an award celebrating great achievement by their citizens or by others that have had a huge impact on Jamaica in the sciences, arts, or any other endeavor.  He was the only living reggae musician to receive that honor. 

His career was full of hits and accolades, including this one, which he originally wrote and recorded in 1969.  Others - most notably Annie Lennox, UB40, and Cher - made this song into a much bigger hit that Cliff did (it was a French hit, oddly, a place where he had a lot of hits).  He certainly had much bigger hits.  

I chose this one as a fitting tribute because of this heartfelt and well-received performance from the 2003 Glastonbury festival.  

His voice and his passion will be missed. 

24 November 2025 - 311 - All Mixed Up

Did you know 311 were from Omaha?

And that THIS was actually both their biggest pop and airplay hit song, not "Down"?  Yep, it got more airplay in 1996.... although, let's face it, they both got a fairly large amount. 

I always kind of had a soft spot for 311, and even though I wasn't a fan of reggae, I liked this reggae-infused song quite a bit.  

The song - written by Nick Hexum and SA Martinez - gets its title and theme from an early Elvis Presley interview, where he described himself as "All Mixed Up" over his fame. Seriously/

The band is still together and largely unchanged. In fact, they did a pretty excellent Tiny Desk Concert at the NPR studios last year....on March 11th, by the way... and this made me realize something I didn't really notice prior...

The song is a duet - between the two songwriters (Martinez is wearing the jean jacket and bald head, with Hexum taking lead). How did I not realize that?

21 November 2025 - Kansas - Carry on Wayward Son

OK, this one's a little on the nose. 

Kansas, the band, is right from the state capitol of Topeka, founded in 1854 (that's the order, guys. Order of founding of the state capitol.  Now you know). 119 years later, a band called White Clover - which would become Kansas - formed there.  

This song, from their fourth album - 1976's Leftoverture - would serve as the lead single and the band's first top 40 hit, peaking at #11.  Written by guitarist Kerry Livgren, who wrote a LOT of the band's earlier music, it was the last song recorded for the album.  Livgren described the song as autobiographical and as being "beamed down to him" - foreshadowing a preachier sound that would follow his being born again in 1979.   

Anyway, this is one of the greatest classic rock songs ever written.  Fight me. 

AND THE WORD "MY" DOES NOT APPEAR IN THE TITLE!!!!!

Fifty years on, Kansas persists.  

This performance from 2009 features original vocalist Steve Walsh, who still has it (he did NOT when I saw him a few years later, but from what I could tell, it was an off night).  He would retire from performing in 2014, but he gave it everything he had until the end.

Kansas has had a few vocalists since Walsh left, (although Ronnie Platt since 2014) but still, they tour.  And they sound really good.

They even sounded good in 1982, after Steve Walsh left the first time - and John Elefante (chosen because he didn't take issue with Kerry Livgren's turn to Christian music) took over as vocalist.

20 November 2025 (Special Edition) - The Stone Roses - I Wanna Be Adored

Yeah, breaking the format for one post, because there's no way to fit him in.   

Mani, the stage name of Stone Roses and Primal Scream bassist Greg Mounfield, has passed away.  And, we really hadn't explored The Stone Roses or any of the Madchester scene yet, but now, looks like we're doing this. 

Mani wasn't a founding member of the Stone Roses, but he was a member for both its breakthrough in the late 1980s and their reformation in the early 2010s - which means his bass was key to defining their trippy, mellow rock sound that was so well respected for a short while.  

This was the first song on their debut album and an early single, and was a modern rock hit in the US and a pop hit in the UK and elsewhere.

The big surprise came in 2011, when they reformed after a 20-year hiatus.  That's Mani on bass, too.  

I am genuinely sad about this one.  He will be missed terribly. 

20 November 2025 - Neon Trees - Everybody Talks

When it came to Utah, you almost got more Carmen Rasmussen.  

Instead, you get Provo-based Neon Trees, best known for this song.  Now, this was by no means their only hit - they previously had a top 20 hit with "Animal" - but it is their biggest, peaking at #6 in the US in 2012 and becoming a recognizable hit worldwide. 

Primary vocalist (and songwriter) Tyler Glenn wrote the lyrics, and it had a real hidden meaning.  His ex-girlfriend had spread rumors that Glenn was gay....

.... which he WAS, but even when this song was released, he was not out of the closet yet.   He is now, and happy, and I could not be happier for him.  And, he got a great song and a story out of it. 

It's been awhile since I shared one of these, but remember when Taylor Swift used to bring out guests?

Newark, NJ.  Not Utah.  But still.  It's cool.  

It's also cool that Tyler Glenn is as sassy as Taylor Swift. 

But I happen to like the band's Guitar Center session the best.  The pregnant pause at about 1:20 is just..... joyous.

19 November 2025 - Soundgarden - Outshined

I'm not a monster.  Of course I'm gonna do a second Washington post and do one of those giants of grunge.

And of course I chose Soundgarden, mostly because of their recent Rock and Rock Hall of Fame induction. 

This song, written by Chris Cornell, was their crossover hit that put them on mainstream rock radio's radar.  One of the flagship singles from their 1991 Badmotorfinger album, the song is written in 7/4 time, which musicians are out there saying "wow, that's weird" to, and the rest of you are going "whatever". 

This video was set in a steel mill, and the band absolutely hated it despite its success - but this is what we've got. 

But all of my fans in Canada who watched MuchMusic probably don't recognize that video - which played a lot on MTV - because there is a yellowish-tinged video for this song that was played in Canada.   

So, we've got this, too. 

But THAT video was really THIS alternative video without a blue filter.

Seriously.  

So, we've got THIS, too.

What we no longer have is Chris Cornell, who passed away in 2017.

And, Soundgarden officially broke up in 2017 when he did pass.  However, the surviving members have reformed with a new vocalist - Shaina Shepherd - as Nudedragons, and yes, that's an anagram for Soundgarden.

They ain't bad.  

But she ain't Chris Cornell.

19 November 2025 - Mudhoney - Suck You Dry

Mudhoney - formed from the ashes of Green River - were among the godfathers of the grunge sound in Seattle, with their debut single "Touch Me I'm Sick" being their early defining single.

This song was from their 1992 third album and major label debut, Piece of Cake.  You can tell they didn't try very hard on this one - but still, the songs were energetic and fun and exciting and..... grungy.  This was the big single that got a lot of MTV airplay before grunge faded away with the demise of another band that shall remain nameless. 

Mudhoney didn't fade away, though.  They kept making grunge music and they kept playing.  This performance - on Seattle station KEXP in tribute to Sub Pop Record's silver jubilee - finds the band playing this song.... on top of the Space Needle?

The acoustics weren't bad, honestly. 

18 November 2025 - The Glenn Miller Orchestra - In The Mood

Glenn Miller was born in 1904 in Clarinda, Iowa.  

This recording, originally made in 1939 by his orchestra, would be one of the biggest selling swing songs of all time.   It is currently enshrined in the Library of Congress and the Grammy Hall of Fame.  

And it still slaps.  

Glenn Miller disappeared over the English Channel at age 40, in 1944 (why he was there during active wartime is another story entirely), ending a career that had one of the biggest highlights in music history.  

And that's why we're featuring a jazzy swing song today. 

17 November 2025 (Special Edition) - Todd Snider - High, Lonesome, and Then Some

I held this until Monday, even though Todd Snider died over this past weekend.  But, additionally, Todd Snider was born in Oregon, and in 2021, he was inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame. 

A little behind the scenes look - before his untimely death, as I was writing these posts, this artist and this song were absolutely in consideration for being the Oregon representative in their own right, before he died.  

It's kind of a shame that I had to put the Special Edition tag on this one, because he is also from Oregon, which is today.  

Anyway, this song was released just a few weeks ago, from an album of the same name.  If you'll excuse me, I need to go listen to it now. 

17 November 2025 - Everclear - AM Radio

How can Everclear - and specifically this song - a tribute to the mellow gold formats found on AM radio in the 1970s - and video - in which Art Alexakis is literally wearing a Portland Trail Blazer jersey - NOT be the representative for Oregon?

Just ignore Greg Eklund's Lakers jersey.  We're not paying attention to that. 

Written by the band, the song includes a couple of samples (and that meant more songwriters) and a ton of 1970's nostalgia.  See if you can catch all of it. 

Of course the band is still performing the song 25 years later - and it's still a crowd favorite.

14 November 2025 - Buddy Holly & The Crickets - Peggy Sue

You want one more from Texas?

What about this 1950s sensation - the Crickets - formed in Lubbock, TX in 1957.  Now, Buddy Holly was already established as a musician himself - and he co-wrote this song and released it as a single himself in September 1957, billed as Buddy Holly, and not The Crickets.  

Confused as to why I have "& The Crickets" in the title here? 

Because The Crickets were always there. 

This performance - from December 1957 and The Ed Sullivan Show - featured the band.  And, c'mon - Jerry Allison, another co-writer of the song (along with Norman Petty) was the drummer for the Crickets and on this song, which really leans hard on the eclectic drum beat to guide it. The rest of the Crickets also performed on the recording...

... which really sounded a lot like this.  So, enjoy this classic performance. 

14 November 2025 - Kelly Willlis - Don't Come The Cowboy With Me Sonny Jim

Kelly Willis is an extremely talented singer and songwriter who spent a lot of time living and performing in Austin, TX.  Actually, because of her nomadic background, I could have put her in Virginia (where she went to high school) , or North Carolina, or even Kansas.  But Texas is where she has made a lot of her music.

Besides, no matter where I put her, she'd be the second post of the day.  

Anyway, she's a fantastic singer/songwriter.  But she didn't write this one.  It's a cover, of a song originally performed by Kirsty MacColl - who is British.  It is a delightful folk song but Kelly Willis puts a bit of twang on it - and makes it her own, so much so that a lot of people think it IS hers.   

From her 2002 album Easy, here it is.  

14 November 2025 - St. Vincent - New York

Today is Texas day, so what better time for.... a song titled for another state?   Yeah, I didn't really think this one through.

But Annie Clark, a.k.a. St. Vincent, grew up in Dallas.  SHE is from Texas.  

And "New York" is not a typical St. Vincent song.  There's no amazing guitar solos.  It's an unironic piano ballad about the end of a relationship.  Originally featured on her Massseduction album, the song was co-written by Clark and Jack Antonoff, who also both produced the song (and album).

It's kind of a sad song, but also kind of beautiful.   It has become one of my favorite songs of hers.  

And yes.  She does swear. 

This is not the only version of "New York" that Annie Clark recorded.   

As a bonus track on the Japanese version of her Daddy's Home album, St. Vincent teamed up with Japanese musician Yoshiki to rerecord the song.  It's similar but not the same.   

More remarkable is the MassEducation piano version of the song - this album featured piano versions of the songs from Massseduction.  It's even more stripped down - a lot of it is acapella, honestly.   

This is my favorite version of the song. 

Of course, this is a song she's performed many, many times.  One of my favorites was her acoustic guitar rendition of the song from the BAM Virtual Gala in 2020.

Contrast this with her Austin City Limits performance, which is still emotional, but also far from stripped down.  

13 November 2025 - fIREHOSE - Walking The Cow

This is the only song during this whole American Autumn thing I'm doing that is being featured twice.

You see, this song was originally performed by and written by West Virginia's Daniel Johnston.  This version was from this San Pedro, CA band's album Flyin' The Flannel.  

For those unaware, fIREHOSE was formed from the ashes of The Minutemen - after leader d. Boon passed, a man named Ed Crawford from Ohio - you could say he's Eddie From Ohio but that's a different band - pestered Mike Watt to the point of moving to San Pedro and offering to be their lead vocalist..... which is where Ed fROMOHIO came to be and where fIREHOSE came to be.  

Anyway, Ed doesn't sing this song, although he is the guitarist.  Mike Watt provided vocals and boom stick.  George Hurley, of course, is on the skins. 

Mike Watt also had a solo career for a bit (probably still does - it's pretty econo, though) and recruited a lot of people to perform live with him - like Dave Grohl and Eddie Vedder - and yes, he did this song live.