21 October 2026 - Helena Gao ft. Shushu - lao wai 老外

Danish-Chinese isn't the ethnic combination I thought I needed, but I was wrong. 

Best known thus far as a songwriter on Zara Larsson's hit "Midnight Sun" (and in fact on most of the album), she is a musician in her own right.  She just released her EP Gao Dan Dan and it is a hyperpop masterpiece.  With seven songs in 15 minutes, it is packed TIGHTLY and doesn't let the listener settle from beginning to end. 

Born and raised in Aarhus, Denmark - a place not known for diversity - Gao grew up largely embracing the Danish side of her heritage but not the Chinese.  With this EP, she embraces the Chinese. 

Anyway, this is my favorite song from the EP and you should be checking it out. 

20 October 2026 - Adèle Castillon - C'est tout moi

Here we go again.

Adèle Castillon has a new album coming in November and I am expecting it's going to be really good.

The album will be called (Re)belle.  She released the 2nd single last week, alongside a video, and it is really bright and cheery - the best she's sounded yet. I am genuinely looking forward to this album. 

I hope you enjoy this video, which runs through the artist's life so far. 

19 October 2026 - Kavinsky - Nightcall

In 2010, French electronic artist Kavinsky teamed with Lovefoxxx from CSS to make a single that would end up being used in a 2011 movie called Drive.  The song ended up being a hit in France (#10) and Belgium - hitting the charts in both Flanders and Wallonia.  

Here is the song with a fan-made video.  The song is deep and cool and brooding, and Lovefoxxx's unique vocals blend well with the music. 

The song would be Kavinsky's 1st Top 10 hit and it was his first single.

Kavinsky passed away in 2026, which is terribly sad. 

He did end up having one more top 10 hit in France, and it was a bigger hit, reaching #3.  It would reach #4 in Wallonia and be the biggest hit he would ever had - in 2024.

You see, in 2024, Paris hosted the Olympic Games, and at the closing ceremony, well-known French band Phoenix performed their song "Liztomania". Then, they invited a guest to the stage - Kavinsky - to perform "Nightcall". 

When it came time for the female part, it wasn't Lovefoxxx that came out, but rather Belgian superstar Angèle.  

They would go on to release this song as a single, and it would become Kavinsky's biggest and final hit.

7 October 2026 - Throwing Muses - Soul Soldier

I've been busy doing other stuff, so I have not posted here like I should.

But also, I was absolutely in a rut.  I had a TON of new music to share, and I will still be doing that. 

But today, I decided to reconnect with my classic favorite band, Throwing Muses.  This was the first music video of these I ever saw - from a show called The Cutting Edge. This version of the song seems to be from their 1986 self-titled debut album, but an extended version - for which this video was actually made - appears on their 1987 EP The Fat Skier - but only on the Sire Records release in the US. 

In my humble opinion, this song better illustrates the real harmonies that Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donnelly were actually capable of than any other. 

When they performed the song back then, you could certainly still hear that harmony as the song went up and down. 

18 September 2026 - Duncan Sheik - Barely Breathing

You know, I was taking a break, and so I didn't post this week. 

But noooooooo, I have to come back and do a Special Edition, because a one-hit wonder has passed away. 

I joke about him being a one hit wonder, but he did find significant success on Broadway after his pop stardom.  

Duncan Sheik passed away from cardiac arrest after entering multiple organ failure.  He was 56. He will be missed. 

It's not like he was done performing.  Here he is performing his huge hit with Lisa Loeb.

He wasn't even done tweeting, with his last confirmed post to Instagram by him coming just a few days ago.

 

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A post shared by Duncan Sheik (@theduncansheik)

It is especially hard when the artist who passed, no matter who it is, is close to my age.  

11 September 2026 - Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence

This song was written in 1989 by Martin L. Gore and released in 1990, the second single from their album Violator, which was something of a commercial breakthrough for the band.

This would be the band's best selling single, and their highest charting in the United States, peaking at #8. 

But it started off life being sung by Martin L. Gore as a simple ballad - on the band's request.  They wanted simple arrangements to be able to play with the sound.  Clearly, Dave Gahan ended up singing in the final released version - over a disco beat.

The song would be reinterpreted in 2004, in a remix by Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park.  It gives it a slightly harder edged chorus - adding distorted guitars. 

So you're wondering why we chose today to post this song?

This live performance for French television was recorded in 1990 at a live venue that no longer exists - the roof of the South tower of the World Trade Center. 

The views are spectacular, and they're performing one of the most influential songs of the 1990s. 

10 September 2026 - Andy Prieboy - Tomorrow Wendy

I rarely post songs I hate.  

I hate this song.  

But today, I'm posting it.  Today is World Suicide Prevention Day.  

Wendy was a real person - a friend of Andy Prieboy, who sang and wrote this song about his childhood friend.  She grew up, lived fast and kept herself alive as a prostitute.  Well, because of that, she contracted HIV, in a time when that was a death sentence.  Rather than let AIDS take her life, she took her own with a heroin overdose. 

The song is written from Wendy's perspective - she's singing to herself in a mirror and, in a life where she had very little control, her suicide was the one time she took charge.  

Prieboy was hit hard and wrote a 27-verse song about his friend, which turned into three. Background vocals and alternate female vocals were provided by Concrete Blonde vocalist Johnette Napolitano. 

I hate the song because it's sad and heartbreaking, but in a world where AIDS is no longer an automatic death sentence, it also gives me hope that the Wendys of today have more choices. 

And, if you are in a situation where you want to hurt yourself or end it all, please, seek help.  You can also go to https://www.iasp.info/suicidalthoughts/ for resources, or someone to talk to.  We're glad you're here, and we want to keep it that way.