30 January 2026 - Charli XCX - Chains of Love

In two weeks - literally from today - Charli XCX releases the long-anticipated followup to her 2024 breakthrough album brat.  This song, the second single from that album, is to my ears a throwback to her earlier days - when True Romance was a thing - when I was a fan of hers and posted about her all the time.  

Oh, and the album is called Wuthering Heights, which not coincidentally shares the name of a movie released that weekend (since the album is the soundtrack).  The movie is loosely based on the Emily Brontë novel - and Charli, who was inspired by the screenplay after being asked to write a song for the movie, wrote an entire soundtrack instead.  

So why not wait two weeks to post this?  Why post today?

Because, TODAY, Charli herself is in a movie called The Moment, a mockumentary about a musician about to embark on a headlining world tour.  Charli XCX plays a character named (*checks notes*) Charli XCX.  Yeah, it's a fictionalized version of herself.   

So, yeah, here's the trailer for that.  The movie looks amazing.  

29 January 2026 - Olivia Dean - Man I Need

This is our Grammys post.  

And yes, I know.  This has become a very British week.  I'M SORRY.  I DIDN'T MEAN IT. 

But Olivia Dean has been getting a huge ton of attention in the last few months because of this song- which is a soulful and joyful highlight of her debut album and it makes me happy to know she's performing this weekend at the Grammys. 

She is not who I am rooting for to win Best New Artist (Addison Rae, people.  Addison Rae), but I do enjoy this song.  

Olivia performed this song on Saturday Night Live and, well, it was excellent.  No complaints.

28 January 2026 - Londonbeat - I've Been Thinking About You

I bet you forgot about this song. 

Well, that's why we're here - to remind you.  

There's nothing really ground-breaking about the song - Londonbeat were - and are - a dance-pop group who wrote a huge hit single that became a worldwide hit in 1990. From their second album In The Blood, it was their biggest hit by FAR.... but they were NOT a one-hit wonder, as their followup single was also a pretty solid hit song.  It was written by the group - which was pretty typical for them.

The song, however, WAS a sensation, and it was unescapable.  And now, you're singing it, too. As you should be - it's a fun, sweet song. 

I did mention that Londonbeat are still together, and they are - and they still perform live.  Here they were in 2023, STILL singing the hell out of their biggest song. 

27 January 2026 - MIKA - Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)

Most of you don't know who MIKA is.  

Or what the Butterfly Lounge is.

You're about to. 

The Butterfly Lounge was a nightclub in Orange County, California.  It closed in 2014 after a short run, and left a cultural impact.  It was known to be a size acceptance club, where skinny women were turned away.  

It also wasn't classy.  It was next to a highway and smelled of sweat and stale beer.  But that was part of its charm!!

MIKA - the stage name of Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr.- happened to be flying to Los Angeles and, the night before his flight, he couldn't sleep.  So he turned on Channel 4 and saw a documentary in the middle of the night about The Butterfly Lounge, which he thought was spectacular.  So, he wrote the song THAT NIGHT.

He wrote the song because Victoria Wood went to the Butterfly Lounge.

Released as a single in 2007, it was a UK hit - and got a mixed reception because, well, something something making the world go 'round. 

So, from his debut album, Life In Cartoon Motion, here's MIKA. 

You know, MIKA had a new album out last week. Hyperlove.  Go listen to it. It's pretty good. 

That doesn't mean he doesn't perform this very fun song live, still. This performance is from 2023.

Of course the crowd loves it.

And of course he still holds the Butterfly Lounge in high regard. 

Also, I LOVE that he's got the balls to go right into the crowd.

 

That's a thing he does (and did in 2025, too!).

And now I want to go to a MIKA show.

26 January 2026 - Simply Red - Stars

I used to really hate Simply Red.

"Holding Back The Years" was NOT a song for teenage me.  It was too mature, and I didn't enjoy it. 

Looking back at their whole catalogue, I can see now how good Mick Hucknall's voice and understanding of soul really was (is, I suppose.  He's not dead). 

This 1991 song - from Simply Red's 4th album of the same name - reached #44 in the US - the last time the band reached the Billboard Hot 100.  It was a much bigger hit in Europe, where Simply Red continued to have hits.  

The song was written by Mick Hucknall and is an upbeat pop-soul song. 

You know, Simply Red is still around - I mean, it's Mick Hucknall that really embodies who the band is and what they are all about.  

And his voice has not lost a single step. 

23 January 2026 - Case Oats - Seventeen

Speaking of Merge Records, let's talk about a 2025 signing.  

This isn't a band from North Carolina, though.  They're from Chicago, Illinois and they make alt-country music.  The band consists of vocalist Casey Walker, guitarist Max Subar, bassist Jason Ashworth, fiddle player Scott Daniel, and drummer Spencer Tweedy.  Put a pin in that drummer.  We'll come back to him.

They released their debut album, Last Missouri Exit, in 2025.  This song was written by Casey Walker - the vocalist - and produced by Spencer Tweedy - the drummer.  

If that drummer's last name looks familiar, it should.  His dad's name is Jeff and they had a band together called Tweedy.  I think Jeff was in another band, but I don't remember.  Anyway, Spencer has been in bands since he was 13 (he was 18 or 19 when he did Tweedy with his dad) and brings a maturity to Case Oats that serves them well. 

Also, Casey Walker is a hell of a country vocalist and she's going to go far. 

UNCLE TUPELO!   That's it!

Anyway, here's what is essentially a solo acoustic performance of the song by Casey Walker at Rough Trade.  It's a great highlight for her voice and shows that she's more than a vocalist. 

22 January 2026 - Superchunk - Watery Hands

I was talking to Courtney about Superchunk one night recently - recalling a post about a Kay Hanley cover of a Superchunk classic - and she told me that she didn't know who they were.  

So, given that I was lucky enough to see the lo-fi Chapel Hill, NC natives live in 1995, in Hartford CT - at Lollapalooza - I figured it was high time that I posted something they did.

I felt the best way to represent them would not be a current song - because they're still making great music - but rather an older one, from their 1997 Indoor Living album.  This was released on the Merge Records label, which has been the home of Superchunk since the late 1980s..... but also, Mac McCaughan, the vocalist for Superchunk, owns Merge Records, so that's probably a big reason why. 

The song, written by the band, is a light lo-fi pop-rock sound that is really excellent and engaging.  The video is SUPER high tech.

Yes, the band is still around and still making music.... and they still perform the songs of their early days.  Here they are in Carrboro, NC - which is literally next to Chapel Hill.  It's like they're the same town.

Anyway, I think they sound better now.   And I look forward to what comes next.