23 June 2026 - lucky break - Camp Song

lucky break - the stage name of Emma Gerson - has only been releasing music under that name for about two years.  Her debut album, made it!, came out last month, and it is delightful - she's getting comparisons to Liz Phair (warranted) and Fiona Apple (I get it) but I hear a little bit of Lucinda Williams in this song - right down to the drawly alt-country cadence. 

90s-style alt-Americana?  You can give me credit for that label. 

Anyway, this song is kind of an outlier with the rest of the 90s-soaked pop-rock that dominates the record - and yet it fits in perfectly, like that long Tetris piece that comes out just in time because you have that long hole that needs to be filled. 

OK, enough weird analogies.  Just enjoy the song. 

22 June 2026 - Zara Larsson - Midnight Sun

It seems like I'm posting a lot of Zara Larsson lately.  Between almost decade-old songs and songs from other people's albums that figure skaters like, you'd be right. 

Her 2025 album Midnight Sun, however, was excellent, and with the 2026 release of the remix album Midnight Sun; Girls Trip, the songs are getting a second wind.  As of this writing, Larsson's title song from this album is her biggest hit not from a Pink Patheress album to date, and I suspect, with the Song of the Summer buzz around it, we're not done hearing it. 

Plus, the solstice was yesterday - and that's the actual peak of the.... midnight sun. 

On Girls Trip, Larsson teams up with female artists to redo all the Midnight Sun songs.  She teams up with (checks notes) PinkPantheress on this song. However, in a twist and UNLIKE "Stateside", it's the solo version that is rising the charts.

This version is still pretty solid. 

Of course she performs this great song live - but I wanted to make sure you could hear HER sing it - and she did last year on Good Morning America.

It didn't feel right to end on an American show, though.   

How about a live performance from Northern Sweden, where they ACTUALLY have a midnight sun?

It's a little more mellow, but honestly, this version gives me goosebumps. 

19 June 2026 (Special Edition) - Sixpence None The Richer - There She Goes

So, I have posted about this song once before - on Totally Covered.  And on there, I recounted the following:

True story - I saw Sixpence None The Richer opening for a Natalie-free 10,000 Maniacs at St. Bonaventure University in 1994.  This was years before they had any hits - they were just a little Christian rock band.  I enjoyed them an awful lot, and was really happy to see that they became big hitmakers.

Yes, I do have a signed copy of their first CD.  Why do you ask?

Now, what would happen later is that the two central figures of the band - Leigh Nash and Matt Slocum - would briefly join 10,000 Maniacs.  Which, well, is kind of cool.  But the band was more than 2 people.  They had a full band, and one of them was bassist Justin Cary.  Cary died aged 50 after a stroke, 

This song was a 1999 US pop hit - their 2nd trip to the top 40 and a bigger hit than the original version by The LA's. 

This live performance is from two months ago - TWO MONTHS - and yes, that's Justin Cary on bass.  He will be missed. 

19 June 2026 - Corrina ft. Bridley Costello - Twister

Bridley Costello is an up and coming singer who grew up in Chicagoland.  This post isn't about Bridley Costello.

No, this post is about Corrina.  

Corrina released her debut album HOUSE ON ANOTHER STREET in 2025. It's pretty good power pop.  This was the single off that album, whose video was released on Halloween 2025.  And yeah, it's a pretty spooky video - so I get it. 

And it's got credits, and in those credits, Corrina uses her government name.

As in Amy and Vince

Why she isn't cashing in off her TWO last names, I do not know - but she's making music very differently from either of them.   She *is* opening for her mother tonight in Stroudsburg, PA, so if you're in the area, check her out.

And if you aren't, just enjoy her music, right here. 

18 June 2026 - Huey Lewis & The News - The Power Of Love

This song would represent Huey Lewis and The News's only top ten hit  

On the UK charts.  They had TONS of hits in the US, but this was one of their biggest. 

Written for the 1985 hit move Back To The Future, it appears early in the movie when Marty McFly tries out for his school's talent show with his band, only for one of the judges to call it "too loud". 

That judge is exactly who you think it is. 

By the way, Huey Lewis was like 34 when that scene was filmed. 

The song was one of the biggest hits of 1985, and it was nominated for both a Grammy and an Academy Award in 1986.  And, it brings the BIG horns, which was something of a band trademark. 

Of course, I can find TONS of live performances of this song.  I chose a later one - from 2014 - to show that, even in his 60s, Huey brought high energy.

And the fans know the words. 

But ok.  One more for you. This is from 1987 and is at the peak of the band's fame - and it shows. 

17 June 2026 - Holy F*ck - Evie

The band is absolutely called Holy Fuck 

They've been making great electronic music in Toronto for about 20 years.  Their latest album, Event Beat, was released in March to critical acclaim, and last week, it was named to the Polaris Music Prize longlist. It deserves it, too, even if their name has to be censored absolutely everywhere, including YouTube, where the video is billed to Holy F.

However you have to hear them, they are worth it.  There's a great depth to their music that you don't see in many electronic acts. 

It was hard to find a version of this song live that wasn't age-restricted, but this one, from Asheville NC on 4/20, fits the bill.  Billed to @holyfuck, it skirts the age restrictions, I guess. 

16 June 2026 - Lala Lala - Anywave

I love the new Lala Lala album, Heaven 2.  No skips. This is one of my very favorite albums of 2026 so far. Lillie West has put together a masterpiece.  

And, there have been a few great singles from this album, and I was all ready to feature one of them.  However, there's one dark, bass-heavy song that has been on super heavy rotation for me, and it's not one of the singles.  So, I was worried that I was going to have to wait until either that single got released or there was a clean, solid live performance. 

The latter happened.  KEXP hosted Lala Lala for a four song session, and sure enough.... "Anywave".  You didn't even know there was a sax in there, did you?  The song starts really drum-and-bass heavy, but slow, quiet and plodding - but it grows exponentially, and quickly. 

And, because KEXP did this great thing, I can also post a grimier, darker version, HARDER version of this song from April.