14 October 2025 - Mandy Moore - Have a Little Faith In Me

I seriously debated whether or not to use this John Hiatt classic song that Mandy Moore covered.

What I did NOT debate was that Mandy Moore - singer, actress, superstar - was ABSOLUTELY representing New Hampshire, as she hails from Nashua, which, yes, I know, is BARELY in New Hampshire.  But it is.  Haven of tax free shopping for Massachusetts residents.  Heck, the Pheasant Lane Mall straddles the border (you can park in Tyngsboro and shop in Nashua). 

Yeah. I've been.

But also, Mandy Moore's version of John Hiatt's heartfelt classic didn't have a huge chart impact, but did get some US pop radio airplay.  Her voice is very much the equal to the material, and I'm glad she covered it.  

And I'm glad I chose this song.  

Today, it seems like this blog has come full circle.  Post #8 on this blog was written by Scott, my former co-writer, and what he shared was Mandy Moore doing an XTC cover.  That post led directly to the creation of Totally Covered, a blog that I don't post as much stuff on anymore. (Don't look for today's song over there, by the way - it's embarrassing that it was posted TWICE there as well - which is a large part of the reason I posted this here today).

Anyway, the video Scott used was from a Sessions@AOL recording, and today's live recording is from the very same session. 

13 October 2025 - Addison Rae - Diet Pepsi

Today, we're up to Louisiana in #AmericanAutumn.

And yep. Addison Rae (Easterling. It's her real name) is from Lafayette, Louisiana.   She turned 25 last Monday.  She started off as a social media content creator, so when she started making music, no one expected much.

What they got (eventually.  This wasn't her first single but it was a breakthrough) was a song - co-written by the artist and producers Luka Kloser and Elvira Anderfjärd - called "Backseat" - until, and this is true, Charli XCX heard it and thought "Diet Pepsi" was a better title. 

The song got a lot of high year-end rankings - Pitchfork named it the 13th best song of the year; The New York Times put it 4th on their list; Dazed ranked it #1 - and for good reason. This song is cool and mature and the vocals are reminiscent of a younger Lana Del Rey. 

Even Lana Del Rey hears it.

But, also, I know what you're thinking - "she's a social media influencer.  This is manufactured pop and her voice is super enhanced."

Well, that's where you're wrong, bucko - she performed the song live and stripped down in August of this year at the Grammy Museum in Mississippi.  The woman has pipes!!!

10 October 2025 - Taylor Swift - The Fate of Ophelia

Surprise!  

Taylor Swift was born in West Reading, PA, and spent a large part of her childhood in Montgomery and Berks Counties.   So yeah, Pennsylvania has a fair claim to the future Ms. Kelce. 

And also, Ms. Swift released a new album last Friday called The Life Of A Showgirl, along with an accompanying movie that was the biggest movie at the box office last week.  Included as part of the release party movie was this video, the first from the album, as well as some behind-the-scenes footage.  

No.  I did not see it.  

But this song - destined as of this writing to knock "Golden" off the top of the US charts - is very much about her relationship with Travis Kelce, comparing herself to the tragic character of Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet - her grief and loneliness led directly to her suicide. 

Is it heavy-handed?  A little.  But also, it's a great song.   And the video is straight fire. 

10 October 2025 - Live - Operation Spirit (The Tyranny of Tradition)

Pennsylvania might have been the most difficult state to make a choice of artist.  

Why did I choose Live, one of the ironically worst live bands I've ever seen?

Because I know they had an off night.  Everyone has that.  

But also, this single - which is one of my favorite by the band - was their first as Live - they had previously been known as Physical Affection and were a popular local band in York, PA, and the surrounding area.  From the album Mental Jewelry, released on December 31, 1991, it was a 1992 MTV hit.

If your band's name is Live, you better not suck live.   

And on most nights, they did not. 

Woodstock '99 sucked in general, so they were actually a bright spot there. 

9 October 2025 - George Thorogood & The Destroyers - I Drink Alone

His backing band is not really just the Destroyers.

They are the Delaware Destroyers.  

And indeed, born in Wilmington, Delaware in 1950, Thorogood is still touring as of this writing - which is pretty impressive.   His original songs and gravelly voice blend nicely with the American music landscape. 

This 1985 rock radio hit - his biggest to that date, although he'd have bigger later - was originally written by Thorogood as a country song for George Jones, but EMI insisted that the Delaware Destroyers record it as a rock song.... and it paid off huge.  It remains a live staple to this day, forty years later. 

I mentioned that it remained a live staple to this day.

That's because it is.  This recording is from last month, in Albany, NY.  And he still sounds truly great. 

8 October 2025 - Bon Jovi - In And Out Of Love

A lot of people assume that I don't like Bon Jovi.

This is NOT true.  The first album by the New Jersey icons is actually a pretty solid pop/metal classic.  And this song - one of the singles from that album - is the first song I heard by them.  Written by Jon Bongiovi (yep.  I used his Christian name), it was a Hot 100 hit in 1985.   

And yes, they were destined to be much bigger.   

Is this a song they still play? Not sure about that, but they sure did in 1986.  Again, they were pop/rock, not metal, and as soon as you come to that conclusion, this is a solid song. 

7 October 2025 - Sabyu & Chief Javi - 20670

The Northern Mariana Islands was always going to be the hardest day for me.

You see, not a lot of popular music has come from there.

Thankfully, we had American Song Contest, and the 670 had a representative in Sabyu, who had moved to the 206 from the 670 - 20-6-70.... get it? - with Chief Javi, and together they performed love letters to their home island of Saipan.

I'd do a live version of this song, but c'mon - this is already live.  And pretty fun.  

6 October 2025 - Pia Mia - Bitter Love

I've kind of been looking forward to Guam day.  

Because Pia Mia was clearly the only artist I could choose, and I have been wanting to post about this real outlier of a single of hers.   

She was discovered by Babyface on YouTube.... who helped her get a real record deal and even a hot 100 hit.  

What she lost was her creative control, so she left Interscope Records and started self-releasing music.  This song was less hip-hop and more country.... and I gotta say, it suits her.  Her voice is huge.  

When I say her voice is huge, perhaps it's better if I feature a live version of the song....

3 October 2025 - R. City ft. Adam Levine - Locked Away

Now I bet you're really confused.   

The United States Virgin Islands.  

Yep.

And R. City are from there, hailing from St. Thomas.  Sure, they do record in Atlanta, but they are from the USVI.

I think that's pretty cool.

This song is by far their biggest hit, hitting the top 10 in the US and worldwide.  Toni Tennille gets a songwriting credit because the chord progression in the chorus is straight out of 'Do That To Me One More Time", no joke. 

Anyway, the song itself was NOT written by Adam Levine, so that's something.  

They also don't need Adam Levine around to perform the song - which the duo co-wrote as well.   In fact, I think it flows better without him and retains more of a reggae flair.

But yeah, they also did perform it with Maroon 5.

2 October 2025 - Tori Amos - Cornflake Girl

I have been holding this song back for a long while.   I go back and forth on it, honestly.  I don't always love the song, but I always like it.  And, as I write this, I am in a love period.

Tori Amos grew up in Baltimore, and since today is Maryland day, I felt it was time to uncork it.

This was one of Amos's biggest hits - a breakthrough of sorts in the UK.  She had bigger pop hits but no song did better on alternative radio.

And it's about.... cornflakes?  No, "cornflake girl" is slang for someone close to you who betrays you - specifically used around the practice of female genital mutilation.  And now you know. 

The song itself is something of an upbeat waltz and you're going to be tapping your toes to this song for the rest of the day.  You're welcome. 

And she made two videos for the song - her insistence.  She WANTED two DIFFERENT videos. The US version featured Amos driving a truck full of women. 

The UK version is much better. It's kind of a reverse Wizard of Oz situation where Dorothy goes to hell. 

Not shockingly, her 1997 performances of the song live sounded just like the record.  Well, not identical.  It's a little different.  But the flair and sound are still there. 

And, kind of shockingly, the 2015 performances also sound like the record, but with glasses.

She actually seems to perform it with more personality here. 

She does still perform, by the way.   Here she is in 2023, still sounding incredible.

1 October 2025 - Throwing Muses - Firepile

C'mon.  It's Rhode Island Day. 

I'm not gonna not post Throwing Muses.  

At this point, both Tanya Donelly and Fred Abong had left the band, leaving only Kristin Hersh (Tanya's stepsister.... or half sister.  It's never actually been clear to me.  But they are sisters) and David Narcizo, both of whom you see in this video.  (Leslie Langston, their original bassist, did return to do some bass work).  

What resulted is arguably the worst reviewed Throwing Muses album - Red Heaven.  This is not me saying this (and, truth be told, Allmusic tells me it's Hunkpapa which I love but I understand the bad reviews).  I think Red Heaven is a revelation and I'd rank it 2rd in my list of their albums (House Tornado being inarguably better).  

Go ahead.  Debate me in the comments.  

The band released two different versions of this single, and I own them both somewhere.  Or I lost them in a past move.  I don't know.  Anyway, it's a fun song that is probably as close as they came to a pop hit. 

I think it would be really intimidating to meet Kristin Hersh in reality.  I had the chance to in 1995, and I regret not doing it because I found it quite intimidating.  

But if you watch the interview and the intense solo performance of the song, you might understand where I'm coming from.  It's intense, and as someone who has seen Throwing Muses live twice and will do so a third time if given the opportunity, yeah.  She's intense.  

1 October 2025 - Belly - Gepetto

Yeah.  This is gonna be a two post day.  Sorry.  But I couldn't choose between two sisters again.  

Belly is a fully, 100% Rhode Island band.  The four original members went to high school together in Newport, Rhode Island.  And, well, they had some degree of success in the 1990s after leader (and my favorite doula) Tanya Donelly's stints in Throwing Muses (more on that in the second post) and the Breeders (more on THEM later this month, probably).  

In fact, the debut album by Belly was supposed to be The Breeders's second album.  Early demos of Star are clearly labelled "The Breeders".   Tanya went in a different direction, and this song wasn't included in those demos - which may explain its unique sound.

To be clear, by all indications I have seen, Tanya didn't get kicked out of either previous band.  She left both to focus on Belly of her own accord.  

Although Fred Abong - also ex-Muses - was the bassist when the song was recorded (and therefore, his is the bass you hear), he had left the band soon after the release of Star and was replaced by Gail Greenwood by the time this video was made.  That's her playing bass in the video. Thankfully, Greenwood is also from Rhode Island, although she had relocated to Boston when she was recruited.   

By the way, Belly did break up.... but they got back together in the mid-2010's.  Here they are - the Gorman brothers, Donelly and Greenwood - performing this song in the KEXP studios in 2018.

Lest you think I'm lying about them being back together, this is them in 2024.

I want you to focus not on Tanya - who is wonderful but please.  I've said enough - but on Gail Greenwood.  She brings JUST as much energy as she did in the 1990s.