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.