7 January 2025 - The (Dixie) Chicks - Wide Open Spaces

I decided this year to go through all my drafts on this blog.  I have, not a joke, almost 500 of them, a large percentage intended for future March posts.  

Yes, my musical tastes skew a little Canadian. Sue me. 

This song was my oldest draft, and it'll surprise some of you that I actually enjoy the song, unironically.   A song about a young woman leaving home to live her life on her own.... it was written by award-winning songwriter Susan Gibson, from the alt-country group The Groobies - who would go on to RELEASE the song themselves in 1999.... after recording it a few years prior.

So how did the song get to the Chicks?

That album the Groobies was recording was produced by famed country producer Lloyd Maines, who happens to have a daughter named Natalie..... and he thought the song was a good fit for his daughter's new group's first album (which would also be named Wide Open Spaces).   (Also, anyone who thinks it's talent and not who you know that makes a hit - well, this is evidence to the contrary). 

Remember earlier when I mentioned Susan Gibson was an award-winning songwriter?  This song, which she loved and, by most accounts I found, still does, is a large reason for that.  Sure, it was deeply personal for her - but the fact that it resonated with another artist was something she not only understood, she appreciated. 

Anyway, this song, which ended up being the Chicks' third single, was a HUGE hit - and their performance was a big reason for that. 

OF COURSE they perform it live, and of course it is brilliant.

Now go to Totally Covered, because we have a more recent cover of this song there.  

3 January 2025 - Lights - Damage

"Hey, remember when you used to use that quote style in your blog posts?"  

"Yeah, that was kind of lazy.  It was usually a sign I was out of ideas."

"Kind of like when you try to sneak in a Lights post?"  

"Are you implying something?"

"Yeah, I'm implying that there is literally a relatively new Lights song you haven't posted featuring a video of her giving herself a haircut."

"I just assumed her hair would fit behind that LŪN mask easier if she cut it?"

"I mean, I guess that's true.  Want to actually say something of substance about this song?"

"It's kind of a throwback to older Lights, I guess, and even she's said it's Little Machines coded. "

"Seems like you're making an excuse to add another link here."  

"Just listen to the music."

"I mean, also, that's not her hair colour.  She probably was wearing a wig."

"This live video implies otherwise, buddy."

"OK, we stand corrected.  Sorry."

"Her tears at the end of that video were also real, buddy.  Wanna doubt that?!"

2 January 2025 - Taylor Swift - You Need To Calm Down

I think I've mentioned here that I thought Lover was a high water mark for Taylor Swift.  This song is yet another reason why.  Written and produced by Swift and Joel Little, this LGBTQ+ anthem is fun, funky and smart.  The song peaked at #2 on the pop charts in the US, blocked from #1 by the juggernaut that was "Old Town Road".   

But can we talk about this video?  So many cameos - and a lot of them are members of the LGBTQ+ community, which is wonderful.... but also, for all those people who thought "Bad Blood" was about Katy Perry must have been satified to see Ms. Hudson show up in this video wearing a hamburger and sharing a sweet moment with a fries-wearing Swift.  

The video is fun and completely unhinged.   

What would we be if we didn't include an Eras Tour version of this song?

1 January 2025 - Tommy Richman - Million Dollar Baby

What a weird song to start 2025 with?

Yeah.  It is.   

But also, it's unlike any other song released in 2024, and it was a HUGE hit.... Richman's first as a vocalist.  Strangely, it's a non-album single that does not appear on his later-in-2024 album Coyote, itself a decent piece of work.

Anyway, I don't post a lot of trap music, so when I hear something interesting and different, I am going to post it.  

This is going to be our biggest year yet, so stay tuned. 

31 December 2024 - Chappell Roan - Pink Pony Club

I have to admit, it has taken me a while to get into Chappell Roan.  

Yes, this is my 2nd post of one of her songs, the first in April of this year.  When I posted that, I really wanted to like her.  I posted that song, which was pretty good, because I really wanted to like her music. 

But then I got bombarded by her music - a lot of which, I didn't really intially like (I've come around on some of it since then).  So, I slept on her.   

So what made me come around?  First of all, her public persona is brash and charming, and that got me to give her a second chance. Second, as I did some research, I discovered this song - which was one that faded into the background for me as just noise.  

"Pink Pony Club", co-written by Chappell Roan and Daniel Nigro, was inspired by The Abbey, a real gay bar in West Hollywood, CA.  When she came from the Midwest, she considered The Abbey to be the first place to be herself.  The song is semiautobiographical - and I find that vulnerability to be absolutely riveting. (No, Chappell Roan wasn't a stripper).  

The song and video were recorded in 2020.  This was one of the first times she had been recorded performing - and you can see the nerves in her face.    

And, although the song and video were recorded in 2020, it did not enter the charts until 2024, peaked at #26 in the United States and higher elsewhere. 

When she performed the song on Saturday Night Live last month, the nerves were gone.  Hell, it gave me CHILLS when she got the SNL crowd to sing it!  This is absolutely something she does at every show - and this is usually the closing song - but this hit different.

So yeah.  I took an artist I struggled to get into, and made her my last post of 2024.  

And I want you to remember that this is generally her last song at a concert - and it in itself is an emotional rollercoaster - with a piano section, strings, and some pretty heavy rocking parts. And she brings THIS MUCH ENERGY.  

There are very few songs that get me actually choked up - and when she throws it to the crowd, this is one of them. 

This is the energy we're bringing into 2025.

30 December 2025 - Once A Tree - Whatever You Do Kid?

I have to be honest - I get so jazzed for Maple Leaf March that I write some of these posts six months in advance.  I wrote this in August - and will likely rewrite some of it.

And then release it three months early.   Because, well, this was my 8th most listened to song of 2024, and the highest ranked song for which no post previously existed.  

However, I wanted to share that I am a Spotify user, and this song - well, it's my most listened to for the last four weeks - and Once A Tree is my 5th most listened to artist all year.  

I'm now revisting this as the year-end list from Spotify comes out.   You see - Once A Tree was my 5th most listened to artist all year - which, completely believable.   I really dove right in on them.  They had a new EP come out this year that was incredible.  I'd argue that combining my Once A Tree listening with my Jayli Wolf (#2) listening - and they should ABSOLUTELY be tied together because, c'mon, don't make me say it - would make my most listened to artist by a mile. 

No disrespect to my Spotify-annointed #1, Charlotte Cardin, who I ALSO listened to a ton. 

Also, no disrespect to Hayden Wolf, who is absolutely the producer for both. 

I have been very curious about this, and not specifically about Once A Tree - but about the algorithm in general. I have requested my Spotify data, and will let you know what I learn - probably in March.  Short answer: I ran the numbers and I was right, but not by much. 

Back to this song.  From their 2020 EP Fool's Paradise, this song is one of my favorites of theirs (probably why it was my 8th most listened to song of 2024). But it was more than that for me.  You see, I spent a lot of 2024 out of work.  I was starting to get a little down on myself, and then I started getting in-person interviews.  I played this song in the car on the way to a few of them.  I was offered every job that followed this song's playing.  Coincidence? Probably - I was qualified for the jobs - but I choose to think not.  

Supposedly, this was a "stripped down" version of the same song.   Maybe Jayli didn't wear socks for this version?   

I couldn't resist that joke.  

27 December 2024 - Phantogram - Attaway

Did you know Phantogram had a new album out? 

I knew there was one coming, but I didn't know it was out.  

Well, yes. Memory of a Day was released in October, and I didn't even notice. 

Here's a song from that album.  

It, like everything else they release, is a banger.

26 December 2024 - ROSÉ & Bruno Mars - APT.

This song is a GLOBAL phenomenom.  GLOBAL.

Like, looking at the Wikipedia page for this song - one thing I look at is chart performance.  I have NEVER seen a longer list for one song.  

And I understand it.  It's a fun, energetic earworm that you will now be humming for the rest of the day.  Co-written by the artists and a large team of collaborators (including credits for the composers of the Toni Basil classic "Mickey"), the song is broadly commercially AND critically successful.

But back to the composition. Rosé was the original writer... and its title and premise - and chorus - are directly based on, and this isn't a joke, a Korean drinking game.  She was concerned about how broadly appealing a song about a drinking game might be.  She didn't need to be, though. 

By the way, I think the end of this video is a Breakfast Club homage.  What do you think?  Let me know in the comments. 

What I love about this song...

OK, for this, I need you to go back to what I said about live performances of "On The Ground" when I wrote about that song.  

I add this "live" performance to illustrate a piece of the K-pop machine that I don't really enjoy.  There's several videos like this. Rosé CLEARLY wants to sing her song.  She's fully capable of singing her song.  The helper track is turned up so high she can't.  

Contrast that to THIS live performance, which she's REALLY singing.   It's not about the dancing.   It's about the music. 

Even better is this live performance with Lee Young-Ji standing in for Bruno Mars... who we have not even talked about here.  It's because, as fun as he is, Rosé is the one bringing the energy here.   

25 December 2024 - Cœur de pirate - Noël Sous Les Tropiques

Well, here we are.  Christmas.

I hope your Christmas is in the tropics, or wherever you are happiest this time of year.  

I give you my gift of music.  My gift, of course, is that I have œ on back my clipboard.  This is a French language classic, performed by Béatrice Martin.  

Merry Christmas!

24 December 2024 - Cœur de Pirate et Les Appendices - All I Want For Christmas is You

So, I was sitting here, on another Christmas Eve, and I didn't know what to give you.

Then I remembered - I have a œ on my clipboard.

This time, ❤️ de Pirate teams up with francophone musical comedy troupe Les Appendices to cover a Mariah Carey classic that I KNOW you heard 150 times in the last month.  

Merry Christmas, everyone!!!!!!

23 December 2024 - Tate McRae - It's ok I'm ok

So, if you look at my Spotify Wrapped, you'll see an artist that looks like something of an outlier.

Tate McRae. 

And yet this Calgary native is out there, making music that's giving us all Britney Spears flashbacks. Of course, the video is just as campy as the music as well.  

By the way, she writes her own stuff, which is impressive.  The song is about a woman who is very happy to see her ex is not with her anymore - and she's warning the new girlfriend.  It's a clever song. 

The song was a top 20 hit in the US and a worldwide hit overall.  Which is great.  The song is damn catchy. 

The way she debuted this song was kind of crazy.  It was just an encore she pulled out during a show at Madison Square Garden - completely out of left field.  No one saw it coming.  Except, I assume, her dancers and other tour crew.  Her record label.  Her management.

OK, I didn't see it coming.

20 December 2024 - Cindy Lee - If You Hear Me Crying (and Diamond Jubilee)

Yesterday, I said the consensus best album of 2024 was Brat. 

That's kind of true.

The reason that's only kind of true is because Diamond Jubilee, the two hour magnum opus of Cindy Lee, a stage name/persona of Pat Flegel, is kind of challenging that wisdom.  It was not released via traditional streaming channels (which is slightly annoying) - it's on Bandcamp and of course YouTube (without ads!!!).  It's really great and worth checking out. 

Oh, you don't want to seek it out yourself?  Fine.  Here's the ENTIRE Diamond Jubilee album.  

Although Flegel is Calgary-based, that album cover photo was taken in Lethbridge.  Fun fact. 

19 December 2024 - Charli XCX - 360

OK, let's address the elephant in the room.  

At the end of each year, I look at a lot of year-end Top 100 Albums lists.  

The consensus #1 this year is Brat.

Where you all were when I was all about True Romance, I don't know. But Brat is an excellent album, and I'm glad Charli is finally breaking through with a good album. 

You know, I used to post a LOT of her music.  

(And yes, normally I am listening to the song I'm writing about while I am writing about it, but right now, I'm listening to "Nuclear Seasons").

I'm not gonna lie.  A lot of her music in the middle, I did not like, including at least one song I posted on ths blog.  This writer's opinion is that Brat is her best album since at least Pop 2 and probably Sucker. 

This was the 2nd single from Brat, and a pretty solid hit worldwide.  The video features Ms. Aitchison not taking herself too seriously, which is endearing and not the first time she's taken that approach. 

When she hosted SNL, she didn't take herself too seriously, either.  And clearly singing it live. And, by the way, having literal Julia introduce her here is so Julia. 

18 December 2024 - Kendrick Lamar - Not Like Us

For the rest of the year, we're going to highlight some of the biggest and most acclaimed albums of 2024.  

Kendrick Lamar - an artist I have struggled to get into, because I know critics love him - came with an album that was a consensus top 10 - GNX.  But his biggest hit of 2024 was a non-album track, all about Drake.  

It's not a positive review of Drake.  It is, in fact, a pretty harsh criticism concerning allegations of pedophilia and sexual misconduct.

But damn, it's a catchy and sharp song.  And it's on pretty heavy rotation for me now. 

Lamar is pretty up-front about his hatred of Drake, and he doesn't shy away from performing this song.  Take this LA performance from earlier this year, when he performed it FIVE TIMES IN A ROW.

17 December 2024 - Danna Paola - 1Trago

Yes, I watched Élite right until the end, and yes, it was a huge letdown at the end, although I *loved* the very ending. 

I mention this because, as I have mentioned previously, Danna Paola acted on that show for several seasons. Her performance as Lu was underrated and transcendent and should have made her a global star.

Thankfully, her music has done exactly that. Her latest album, Childstar, an allusion to the fact that she was, indeed, a child star, is a platinum-selling hit in her native Mexico.  If you are watching a Latin American Spanish version of the movie Wicked, you'll also recognize her as the voice of Elphaba, a role she also played on the stage (at age 18, already pretty deep into her career).

But can we just sit back and appreciate the banger?  It doesn't matter if you don't speak Spanish.  It rules.   

16 December 2024 - Adina Howard - Freak Like Me / Girls On Top - We Don't Give A Damn About Our Friends / Sugababes - Freak Like Me

It's been a while since I did a special post like this.   But when I was reminded of this Adina Howard classic (more on how I was reminded in a second), I remembered how sexy and hot and freaky this song was. Relying heavily on George Clinton and Bootsy Collins samples, the song just slaps.

It was also a HUGE hit in 1995, reaching #2 on the US pop chats and charting similarly worldwide. 

In 2001, producer Richard X put together a bootleg mashup that combined Adina Howard's song with Tubeway Army's "Are Friends Electric".  He released it under an alias, Girls On Top, and called it "We Don't Give A Damn About Our Friends".   It became a huge underground hit. 

Adina Howard was not a fan of releasing this version commercially, which Richard X wanted to do.  

So, he called the Sugababes.  

Who recorded this. 

It was well recieved in the UK, where it was a #1 hit.  

Now, for some reason, the Spotify AI DJ thought I would want to hear this song last week, and boy, was the Spotify DJ.... spot on.  It made a hot and sexy song so much better.

By the way, Sugababes are still together, and performing, and getting a bit of a bump. Here they are performing live this summer at Wembley Stadium. 

 

Adina Howard is also still performing her song live, as she did last summer in Rochester, NY.  Sure, it isn't Wembley, but hey, it's still pretty awesome. 

13 December 2024 - Jenny Owen Youngs - Hot In Herre

On my Spotify Wrapped, this cover of a Nelly classic is #79.

It has, in fact, been in pretty heavy rotation for me for YEARS.

And yet, this was NEVER posted.  On EITHER blog.  

You know my new rules - covers can live here, too.  

I think this song really translates incredibly well to acoustic guitar. 

Here's what I really love about this: Jenny sings it so earnestly.  She's got some respect for the source material.  She doesn't shy away from the curse words, especially live, which is an even livelier version that I love even more. 

By the way, the full band version also works. 

12 December 2024 - Connor Price & Bens - Spinnin'

This was literally the #100 song on my Spotify Wrapped Top 100.   Which makes me happy.  I've been on a bit of a Connor Price kick lately. 

This song is from his 2023 concept EP Spin The Globe.  The concept is that Price would literally spin a globe and put his finger down on the globe, collaborating with an artist from the country he landed on.  In the case of this song, his finger landed on the Netherlands, and he made Bens TikTok famous as a result. 

The song itself is lively and catchy - and does experiment with world beats, as is his style. 

Connor can spit them mad beats live, too!  He started his career as a child actor, but really, I think he found his calling, and he's also good to his fans. 

11 December 2024 - Caroline Polachek - So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings

On my Spotify Wrapped, this song landed at #61, but when I posted a different Caroline Polachek song back in January, this was almost the pick.  Since then, this has been the more listened-to song. 

Released in 2020, the song was not initially a hit song, but did get TikTok famous in 2022 and hit the alternative charts then.  Co-written by Polachek, producer Dan Nigro and singer/songwriter Teddy Geiger (from Rochester, NY!), the song was really kind of an extension of her Chairlift days (that was her former band). 

Also, the song AND video are both very cool. 

Anyone who doubts that Caroline Polachek can sing (and we admit we had doubts - her Jimmy Kimmel performance was too perfect) need not doubt any further - because this stripped-down version is absolutely beautiful. 

We do prefer her performance when she interacts with a live crowd - who react to her and know every word.

10 December 2024 - The Lonely Island ft. T-Pain - I'm On A Boat

This summer jam was my #59 song on my Spotify Wrapped this year.  It was only the fifth song I had not written a post about - and three of them were by Charlotte Cardin and I'm debating the other one right now. 

Anyway, this song started off as a Saturday Night Live skit, a parody of the over-the-top hip hop videos and matching angry-sounding lyrics about flippy-floppies.  The song ended up charting on the Billboard Hot 100 - and in other places, too! - and got a Grammy nomination!

It's also a great jam to crank when you're on a boat.  

If you prefer your songs without curse words - you don't know how hard it was to post this without saying "motherfucker!" repeatedly - check out this performance featuring classroom instruments, Jimmy Fallon and The Roots.

To be fair, they were NOT afraid to curse when they performed the song on The Tonight Show with the Roots. 

9 December 2024 - Charlotte Cardin - Jim Carrey

Last week was the week that the entire world got their Spotify Wrapped.   Shockingly, mine is dominated by songs and artlists I post about on this blog.  

This includes my most listened to artist according to Spotify, Charlotte Cardin.  I dispute that somewhat, and I will angrily discuss that more someday, but going on their word alone, that's it.    But I definitely did listen to a LOT of Charlotte Cardin, without shame.  

I started going down my list of most listened to songs in 2024, and said I would make posts about the ones that have not yet been posted.  I did not think I'd have to go all the way down to 16 (to be fair, one of the top 15 is a scheduled post for 2025, but it is already written).  And it's a great song!

It's also not REALLY about marrying Jim Carrey.  In her words in an interview with the Globe and Mail: 

"I was always a fan of Jim Carrey’s acting, and I was going through a bit of hard time during the summer we were writing this album, so my producer suggested I listen to some of his talks about the ego. I went home that night and watched all his interviews and speeches about how our fears and desires to fit the mould are the main things holding us back from achieving our goals and growing into the person we should be."

The song is about her letting go of her ego.  And, her multiple-Juno-award-winning Celine-comparing ego was probably being fed pretty abundantly.  But instead, she turned it into a fantastic song.  

About marrying Jim Carrey. 

By the way, YES, he knows about the song, and YES, he loves it.  

Of course she performs the song live.  It is performed without a hint of ego.

6 December 2024 - Zoe Ko - DIRT

Zoe Ko is an up-and-coming artist.  Originally a pop artist from NYC, she's added a lot of rock influence to her sound of late.  

She has a heck of a TikTok following as well.  

Anyway, this is one of her newer singles, with the rock influence.  It is absolutely a better sound than her earlier work, and it suits her wel. 

By the way, she's also performed this song live, and, I may like it better this way.  It seems like she's a very genuine person and an engaging performer, and the stage suits her better. 

Of course, then there's the DIRT(ier) version with Sophie Powers (whose name you might have noticed on the drum head in the video above) and Emi Grace - it's just a little grungier and still pretty cool.

5 December 2024 - The Temptations - Ball Of Confusion

I have a lot of respect for the old Motown sound and what they did.  I have never been a fan of the music itself.

As an adult, I have gone back and listened to a lot more of it, and 1) it's a lot deeper than I thought it was and 2) I like it a lot more than I used to.

Take today's artists.  This is a group that has had a LOT of hits, and been around since 1960, and are STILL AROUND, nearly 65 years later.  The group is older than I am, by a LOT.  This classic song, released in 1970 and written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, was a very big hit, reaching #3 on the US pop charts and hitting similar heights in the UK.

But listen to the lyrics.  It's not some lighthearted song.  It's about racism and war and politics.  It is very much a protest song - anti-war AND anti-racism.  And it's powerful.  

Yes, there have been deaths, and there have been lineup changes.   In fact, Otis Willians is the only surviving original member.

But still, they tour.

4 December 2024 - iskwē ft. Nina Hagen - I Get High

I debated saving this great song for March - iskwē is Canadian - but 1) it's great 2) Nina Hagen is from Germany, which is very much not Canada.

iskwē is not the name on her Canadian birth certificate - that is Meghan Meisters - but it *is* a Cree word, and in fact she is a Cree Métis and a citizen of the Manitoba Métis Federation, which Canada recognizes as a soverign and official government. In Cree, her name is written ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ and translates to "blue sky woman", which a lot of media like to reference.

The artists co-wrote this song with Damian Taylor, and it's very very cool.  It appears on iskwē's fourth album, nīna, which is not an overt homage to her collaborator on this song, but rather the Cree word for "me". 

I've been a fan of iskwē for a while, but I've never posted her stuff here, so here is it.  

3 December 2024 - Helium - XXX

Yesterday, I posted about an artist I discovered last week. 

Today, I am posting about an artist I've known about for thirty years, and that's not just Helium.  It's Mary Timony, who has continually made music since the late 1980s.   I rediscovered her music this year, but didn't post that here.  I instead used this opportunity to throw back to an old favorite, by a band that guided a lot of my early taste - a grungy/poppy combination that works.  

And, by the way, Mary Timony STILL performs her Helium catalog solo.

2 December 2024 - Soccer Mommy - Driver

I want this December to be the strongest month we've had this year.  You see, I have discovered a lot of new music this year. It's been one of my goals this year to do this - to listen to music that isn't just the same thing over and over.

And last week, I dove HEAD first into that with a bunch of Coachella posts - a theme I'll be revisiting through April.  But as I was discovering that group of artists, I accidentally discovered a few others I had never heard of.

So, this week, I'm going to be posting songs by artists I have NEVER posted before.  

The first is Soccer Mommy (real name: Sophia Regina Allison), who released her fourth album a couple of months back.   Evergreen is that album, and it is a contender for my favorite of 2024.  This song features heavily on that album - a "light hearted love song", according to her - and is thus far the only one from the album to chart, garnering a lot of adult alternative airplay.

Anyway, she's a revelation and you should check her out now. 

Prior to the album's release, Soccer Mommy performed the songs live in a more intimate setting.  Here's "Driver" in a more stripped down manner. Her performance is accessible and down to earth - which is a trait most of her music shares. 

(Update: 28 March 2025) I took a break from Maple Leaf March to edit this post because she actually did the stripped down version on Jimmy Kimmel Live at the end of February and released it as a single.   And, since I am writing a post for April right now, I need this to be here because I am about to reference it in that post. 

Yep.  That's my process.  

Also, the performance was amazing and I actually watched it when it was broadcast. 

29 November 2024 - d4vd - Feel It

David Anthony Burke is 19.  He is part of a generation that made YouTube videos and then got copyright strikes, so his mom suggested he make his own music.

Well, that worked.  He's made a style of music that is a combination of funk and.... anime?  Yeah.  Let's go with that.  This song was written for the Amazon Prime animated series Invincible, of which he was already a fan.   For a song written for a streaming platform animated series, it is heartfelt and earnest - and makes me want to watch the show. 

It is very much a love song, and a beautiful one at that. 

d4vd will be performing at Coachella next year, and if this performance is any indication, he's going to be great.

28 November 2024 - Japanese Breakfast - The Ballad of the Witches' Road (Pop Version)

Happy Thanksgiving, Americans!

Japanese Breakfast, who will be featured at Coachella, are from Philadelphia.   They are so named because vocalist and primary songwriter (and bestselling author) Michelle Zauner thought a Japanese breakfast would be exotic to Americans.

She probably had a point.

This song was not written by Michelle Zauner. It was written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Bobby Lopez, probably best known for writing the music for Frozen and Frozen II.  Disney had them write this central song for the television show Agatha All Along, now playing on Disney+ (YOU SHOULD GO WATCH THAT!). 

Did this song make Japanese Breakfast a household name? No.  Did it give them a bigger audience?  Well, they're playing Coachella next year, aren't they?  (They also played it in 2018 and 2022, so, probably a bad example....)

27 November 2024 - horsegiirL - eat, sleep, slay, 🔁

This is definitely the first time we've used an emoji as part of a title.

So, let's talk about horsegiirL, the German DJ and singer who will be appearing on day 2 of Coachella next year - and whose identity is unknown because, and this is real, she hides it behind a horse mask.  She also leans HARD into that horse theme - even going by a "real name" of Stella Stallion.  In this song, she sings about how hay is what she likes.   

This is one of the weirdest songs we've ever posted.   This is from a blog that posted a song about what a fox says.  But still, it's a damned catchy tune. 

26 November 2024 - Moon Boots feat. Cherry Glazerr - Come Back Around

There is a meme going around - to paraphase - "your real age is 70 minus the number of bands in the Coachella lineup you recognize."

I admit it.  It's a challenge.

Most of my friends are in their upper 50s at best.

I'm 41.  And that seemed high for me - I mean, I do this blog. So I wanted to make myself younger, and also do the same for you.

Moon Boots is a DJ - the stage name of Peter Dougherty.  He will be appearing on Day 1 of Coachella next year.  He is the guy in the video.  TECHNICALLY, Cherry Glazerr is a band, but 1) their/her YouTube channel very much refers to "her", not them, which is in contrast to the Wikipedia entry for Cherry Glazerr and 2) that's absolutely Clementine Creevy singing and appearing in this video, so....  yeah, I'm not sure.  I really need to dive deeper into Cherry Glazerr, but for now, I didn't see her/them in the Coachella lineup (but yeah, she/they have been there before).

Anyway, Moon Boots is a great DJ and an awesome producer, and you should know him.  This song is an electronic/garage pop merger that genuinely works. 

25 November 2024 - Vanessa Carlton - A Thousand Miles

You were this close to forgetting this song, weren't you? 

And yet this song was a MONSTROUS Top 5 hit worldwide.  

But it almost didn't happen.  

The song was originally titled "Interlude" - and I've heard the demo.  It's nearly identical to this.  

When it was finally relased in 2001, on the Legally Blonde soundtrack, it was titled "A Thousand Miles (Interlude)". This was not Carlton's choice - it was her record label.  Such is the life of a musician.  

It may have been her only hit, but it's memorable and STILL used in many commercials to this day.  

And the song - about a crush on someone who is apparently now a famous actor - is esquisite. 

By the way, not only does she still perform and has not turned her back on this song, she OPENS her set with it - because she does not like to make people wait.

We applaud this. 

22 November 2024 - LŪN - bitches

Let's talk about LŪN.

LŪN is an artist of unknown origin - I mean, clearly, it's a female artist, but she never shows her face and keeps hiding behind a wolf mask.

Self-described as "gothbounce" music, a label I find quite accurate, I feel like this is an artist I have both heard before and sounds fresh.

It's almost as if we've posted about this artist on this blog 21 times previously - more than any other artist by a fair bit - and yet this is our first LŪN post (not our last).

This is a fan-made video for the song that isn't just audio.  The song already had a dark comic book vibe to it, and this video really takes that to another level. LŪN is practically a comic book character already.

Currently, LŪN is on a Canadian tour, and I really hope to go to a LŪN show stateside.  I'm sorry it's not brighter.  I really wish there were more lights in this video.  

Also, the mask is off here.   

yes i know she's Lights.   That's the joke. 

20 November 2024 - BB Brunes - I'm a Lady

Not gonna lie, but today's Santigold song was inspired by this cover, which I recently discovered and deserves its own post.  

As far as I can tell, no one in BB Brunes is a lady. 

And yes, they did a fantastic studio version as well.

20 November 2024 - Santigold - I'm A Lady

I don't love posting songs without an official video.  Hell, this video is some random art school video (that is really good - I don't want to minimize that, but that's not why we're here). 

This non-single album track has turned into a fan favorite at shows.  From her debut album, Santogold - and yes, I know how confusing that is, but that was her stage name at the time - the song is an absolute gem.  It shows Santigold's restraint and range as a vocalist and a songwriter. 

She continually performs the song.  This performance is from 2019 in Boston.  I think this song is just fantastic.

18 November 2024 - Fairground Attraction - What's Wrong With The World?

Fairground Attraction were a bit of a one hit wonder everywhere in the world in the late 1980s.  That one hit was absolutely perfect, and their debut album was amazing.  

And then they broke up in 1990 while trying to record a follow up, and the world was denied a followup forever.....

Until they reformed in 2024. 

They went 35 years between singles. This was released in February 2024 and it's a delight.  

And yes, Eddi Reader's voice is JUST as magical as it always was. 

18 November 2024 - The Beaches - T-Shirt

I've spoken at length about The Beaches in the past.  

This was their first hit song, from 2018 and their debut album, Late Show.  It very clearly showcased the band in general, and Jordan Miller very specifically, as absolute rock stars.  

I have nothing more to say about this one except that it's my current earworm. 

Also, the Grey Cup was last night.  The Grey Cup, for those not well-versed, is the championship game for the Canadian Football League.  In 2019, that game was held in Calgary - and while I was there at this time, I was not in town for the game, which is a shame because there were absolutely tickets available and I would have gone.   

And I would have been entertained by this performance by The Beaches, a band with which I was not yet familiar.  I could have been enjoying them YEARS earlier. 

15 November 2024 - JENNIE - Mantra

So, it was not on my 2024 bingo card that Jennie from Blackpink would have one of my favorite singles on 2024.  

Yet, here we are.   

But, in a year where one of the most acclaimed pop albums is called brat, such a compelling, fun, bratty song should come as no surprise.   

Jennie brings her own bravado and pretty girl mantra to a song she co-wrote. 

I think this is one of the most exciting singles to come out of Blackpink members... maybe ever.  This performance from Jimmy Kimmel's show adds to the legend.  

8 November 2024 - Flower Face - Biblical Love

Last Friday, Flower Face released her latest album, Girl Prometheus.  I haven't liestened to the whole thing yet, but I'm getting there and will probably do that today.  

This song was released as a single the day before, on Halloween. Keep listening.  It builds and will be absolutely be on heavy rotation for awhile for me.   

10 October 2024 - Dillon Francis ft. T-Pain and That Girl Lay Lay - Catchy Song

You remember this song from The Lego Movie 2?

Well, I'm glad we could remind you.  

Dillon Francis is the DJ providing the hook, with That Girl Lay Lay doing the heavy lifting on vocals - T-Pain contributing to the chorus.  

Did you think that I wouldn't have a live performance for you?

Well, here's That Girl Lay Lay at Laygo....er, Legoland.  And yeah, she does this one.  

By the way, she was 12. Pretty damned incredible. 

9 October 2024 - Katy Perry - Woman's World

I'm gonna level with you.  

I'm not thrilled with most of the new Katy Perry music.  She's trying too hard.  

But this song is a refreshing throwback to her earlier stuff.  It's like, she spent all those years on American Idol listening to other people cover her first two albums and decided that she wanted to recapture that magic.

Mine is an unpopular opinion.  The song did OK in Europe but bombed in the US.  

It's a new song, so she's not performed it live much yet, but I can tell you that her fans alredy know the words. 

8 October 2024 - Sabrina Carpenter - Espresso

I swore up and down that I had already published this song.   

I'm glad I hadn't yet, because it is the CURRENT #3 song in the contry as I write this.   Released in April, it's October, and still riding high on the charts.  

The lead single from Carptenter's SIXTH solo album - Six.  She's released six albums - Short n' Sweet - it is her FIRST song to hit the top ten in the US.  It also won the MTV Video Music Award for song of the year, but that seems secondary. 

It's a very confident song that has garnered a lot of praise for its catchiness.  Which, well, that's true.  It's catchy. 

Yes, she actually sings it live.... sometimes.

1 October 2024 - Charli XCX ft. Billie Eilish - Guess

What do you get when you put Charli XCX and Billie Eilish in the same room to write a song?

A pretty big worldwide hit.   The very hot and sexy song peaked at #12 in the US - Charli's fourth trip to the top 20, people.  This is her biggest hit since "Boom Clap". 

Technically, this is a remixed version of a Charli XCX song of the same name from her album, and this is real, Brat and it's the same but there's three more songs so it's not. Yes, it's an extended version of her very popular Brat album, but this is one of the three more songs.

Anyway, the original is good but this remix is way better. And this is the version that charted.   

And yeah, they did perform it together at Charli's birthday party.

14 August 2024 - Daisy Chainsaw - Love Your Money

As I was driving yesterday, this song, for some reason, popped into my head. 

I had to look up the band because I had forgotten about the existence of Daisy Chainsaw, who existed between 1989 and 1994.  I don't know how I did - KatieJane Garside was such a unique force of nature that when she disappeared from the music scene in 1993, people thought she had been committed.

She had not.  She just went into seclusion for a few years.  

We get it, though.  Her stage presence was something otherworldly and quite manic. 

 

5 August 2024 - Vengaboys - We like to Party!

The Vengaboys are from the Netherlands.  Dutch bands don't usually have worldwide hits, but in 1998 and 1999, it did.  It was a top 10 hit in most of Europe, and a top 30 hit in the US.

There's nothing particularly special about the song.  It's a typical dance song, with a great beat - 136 bpm, for those who pay attention to such things.  You could probably work out to it, or ride a rollercoaster to this tune.

Wait....

Why did I mention rollercoasters?

Because in 2004, the song had a bit of a resurgence in the US, when Six Flags used it in a pretty popular set of commercials.

They were.... weird.

There absolutely was more than one, yes.  Why do you ask?

Of course, if you don't like the song, The Vengaboys later released a "silent" version of the video, without the music, but with some sound effects and speaking parts.  It's..... weird.  But it's satisfying.

But you aren't here because you don't like the song.  

You're here because you want to know if they are still togehter and if they actually perform the song live.

They are. And they do. And THE CROWD KNOWS THE WORDS.