16 July 2025 - Angèle - Bruxelles je t'aime

Let's just not bury the lede.  

Angèle is from Brussels, Belgium.  This song is a love letter to her hometown and her home country.  Written during the pandemic, when she was forced to be away from Brussels, she wrote what will undoubtably become their tourism anthem..... and an anthem for a unified Belgium (yes, the country splitting apart on language lines is a real possibility). 

This was the lead single off her 2022 album Nonante-Cinq, or, as we say in numbers, 95.  She was born in 1995, so... well, title makes sense.  

Anyway, the song was a hit in all of Belgium, and elsewhere in Europe.  And it's delightful. 

By the way, not joking about it being a tourism anthem.  This is unofficial but, still.

Also, used in a LOT of TikToks about Brussels.

@lisasloodts Lights in Bright Brussels ✨#bruxelles#bxl#brusselsbynight#brightbrussels#lightfestival#brussel#travelbelgium#visitbrussels#traveltiktok#travellife#fyp ♬ Bruxelles je t’aime - Angèle

But you didn't come here for the TikToks.  You came for the cool live performances.  

And the first is from French television, and it's not the electro-pop version, but rather a quiet, piano-driven one. Her voice pairs so well with the piano, which she is playing. 

Worry not, friends.  She also does the original version live - extending this version in Montreal to north of eight minutes that do NOT seem wasted. It's high energy, even when it's a love letter for a different city - and listen to all the Quebecois singing along about Brussels. 

15 July 2025 - Ribbon Skirt - Wrong Planet

Last week, the Polaris Prize committee announced their short list.  

Ten great Canadian albums.  

Which I like to think of as ten great albums that happen to be Canadian.  

I listened to all ten of them.  In a day.  Which is insane.  (Full disclosure - I had previously listened to one of the nominees - Nemhasis - and posted about her during Maple Leaf March). 

All of them were good.  

One of them was a lot better than the rest.

Bite Down, by Ribbon Skirt.  

Previously known as Love Language, this Montreal, QC band is amazing, with a rock sound - and this album is my favorite of 2025 so far.    Give them a listen. 

Got that down?  Good.  Now listen to their SXSW 2025 performance of the same song.   It's practically star-making. 

14 July 2025 - A "Bette Davis Eyes" Special

So I'm flipping through Spotify a couple of days ago and I hear THIS. 

JoJo Siwa covering a nearly-forgotten 80's classic song was NOT on my 2025 bingo card.  However, it's pretty solid - an electronic update of the Kim Carnes classic.  Her raspiness matches the song well.  

But let's talk about the 1981 Kim Carnes version - which adds a sultry breathiness to the raspiness.  THIS version - Carnes's biggest (but not only - she isn't a one-hit wonder) - spent nine weeks at number one on the US charts, and won the Grammys for Song and Record of the Year. 

The song also reached gold and platinum status, and Carnes sent gold and platinum records to Bette Davis herself - who was very appreciative of the song and of course hung those gifts up prominently. 

So the thing about the Grammy for Song of the Year - it's a songwriter award.  Kim Carnes did not write this song.   Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon wrote this song, so they won the Grammy. 

However, even though they won the Grammy in 1982, they WROTE the song in 1974, and DeShannon was the original artist.  Although her version is VERY different, I don't think she was terribly upset that her song was made into a hit by Carnes.  

I thought it would be a fun detour here to hear a man cover the song.  

So who better than Liga Joe, from Brazil? We've featured them before. This is straight-ahead rock and I don't really care where they're from - this is a great song. 

Other artists, however, have made this song into a hit.  Shockingly, Gwyneth Paltrow is one of them.

(Long time readers here are NOT surprised)

Anyway, this version - from the movie Duet - went platinum in Australia, and was a top five hit there. And, although not as raspy, it's still well done. 

Although Taylor freaking Swift performed the song live, and did so beautifully on an acoustic guitar, it did not become a hit from her. 

That does not mean it wasn't great. 

T-Swift isn't the only pop superstar to cover this song live.   Kylie Minogue did it, too, and did it a little less acoustically. 

And we come back full circle to JoJo, who performed it live before she went into a studio.

Not gonna lie - I like this version better. The raspiness is more natural. 

11 July 2025 - BLACKPINK - JUMP

BLACKPINK is back (in your area) and they have a new song.

I honestly thought they were done.Seriously.  These four women don't need each other anymore.  They've all got successful solo careers.  Heck, a couple of them are acting.   

Anyway, their new song is solid..... but also, this is one of the most messed-up videos I've ever seen. 

10 July 2025 - X - The Unheard Music

This post caused me to make an edit to X's Wikipedia page.

You see, it said that X WAS an American punk rock band.  I changed the WAS to IS.  Yes, they are on a farewell tour, but it is NOT over yet.  Hold off on the breakup, Wikipedia. 

This song, which also lent its title to a documentary about the band (and that's where this video comes from), is among my favorites by the band.  It's about not hearing anything but smooth chords and no hard chords (not hardcore, which a lot of people think it says).  

It's a GREAT song.   

Some of you may have heard the song in its live version in the movie The Decline of Western Civilization, a documentary about the LA punk scene.  This is THAT version.

Later live versions are slower and include the most punk instrument, a marimba.  

4 July 2025 - Sabrina Carpenter (& Dolly Parton) - Please Please Please

Today, we're featuring two national treasures.

The first is the #1 hit - and 2025 Grammy nominee song written by Sabrina Carpenter, Jack Antonoff and Amy Allen, and performed by Sabrina Carpenter.  The single following her enduring hit "Espresso", THIS song was her first #1 single in the US ("Espresso" only made it to #3).  It was, in fact, the 16th biggest US hit of 2024 by any artist (to be fair, "Espresso" was 7th). 

Anyway, this song - a country-tinged masterpiece (more on that performance in a moment) is delightful and fun, and the video gritty and somewhat hilarious, featuring Carpenter's then-boyfriend Barry Keoghan. 

I mentioned two national treasures.

The second is Dolly freaking Parton.

This version, a duet between Dolly and Sabrina, was released in early 2025 as part of a deluxe version of the Short 'n Sweet album - reached #17 on the US Country charts (Carpenter's first appearance on that chart, not surprisingly). 

Also, I have now learned that we can't swear in front of Dolly - but also, leaving out the word "motherfucker" was probably a concession to country music radio.

This twangier version is still delightful. 

TO be fair, Sabrina made the lyric change when performing it live in BCC's Live Lounge as well. 

She definitely did NOT change the lyric for NPR, though. However, she also talks about the song and how it came to be, and it's a great story (and a great performance).

3 July 2025 - The D.O.C. - The Formula

When The D.O.C. was new and the best bud of all the guys in N.W.A., I didn't give him a chance.  

I should have.  No One Can Do It Better is a classic album that absolutely serves as a preview for Straight Outta Compton.  This is where they honed their G-funk sound that combined funky beats with hardcore rap.  

This particular song was written by The D.O.C. and contains significant Marvin Gaye samples.   

Because of an accident, The D.O.C. lost his unique voice early on, but his songwriting lives on.  

Oh, he's not dead, people.  He literally had a car accident that damaged his voice box.