20 November 2025 - Neon Trees - Everybody Talks

When it came to Utah, you almost got more Carmen Rasmussen.  

Instead, you get Provo-based Neon Trees, best known for this song.  Now, this was by no means their only hit - they previously had a top 20 hit with "Animal" - but it is their biggest, peaking at #6 in the US in 2012 and becoming a recognizable hit worldwide. 

Primary vocalist (and songwriter) Tyler Glenn wrote the lyrics, and it had a real hidden meaning.  His ex-girlfriend had spread rumors that Glenn was gay....

.... which he WAS, but even when this song was released, he was not out of the closet yet.   He is now, and happy, and I could not be happier for him.  And, he got a great song and a story out of it. 

It's been awhile since I shared one of these, but remember when Taylor Swift used to bring out guests?

Newark, NJ.  Not Utah.  But still.  It's cool.  

It's also cool that Tyler Glenn is as sassy as Taylor Swift. 

But I happen to like the band's Guitar Center session the best.  The pregnant pause at about 1:20 is just..... joyous.

19 November 2025 - Soundgarden - Outshined

I'm not a monster.  Of course I'm gonna do a second Washington post and do one of those giants of grunge.

And of course I chose Soundgarden, mostly because of their recent Rock and Rock Hall of Fame induction. 

This song, written by Chris Cornell, was their crossover hit that put them on mainstream rock radio's radar.  One of the flagship singles from their 1991 Badmotorfinger album, the song is written in 7/4 time, which musicians are out there saying "wow, that's weird" to, and the rest of you are going "whatever". 

This video was set in a steel mill, and the band absolutely hated it despite its success - but this is what we've got. 

But all of my fans in Canada who watched MuchMusic probably don't recognize that video - which played a lot on MTV - because there is a yellowish-tinged video for this song that was played in Canada.   

So, we've got this, too. 

But THAT video was really THIS alternative video without a blue filter.

Seriously.  

So, we've got THIS, too.

What we no longer have is Chris Cornell, who passed away in 2017.

And, Soundgarden officially broke up in 2017 when he did pass.  However, the surviving members have reformed with a new vocalist - Shaina Shepherd - as Nudedragons, and yes, that's an anagram for Soundgarden.

They ain't bad.  

But she ain't Chris Cornell.

19 November 2025 - Mudhoney - Suck You Dry

Mudhoney - formed from the ashes of Green River - were among the godfathers of the grunge sound in Seattle, with their debut single "Touch Me I'm Sick" being their early defining single.

This song was from their 1992 third album and major label debut, Piece of Cake.  You can tell they didn't try very hard on this one - but still, the songs were energetic and fun and exciting and..... grungy.  This was the big single that got a lot of MTV airplay before grunge faded away with the demise of another band that shall remain nameless. 

Mudhoney didn't fade away, though.  They kept making grunge music and they kept playing.  This performance - on Seattle station KEXP in tribute to Sub Pop Record's silver jubilee - finds the band playing this song.... on top of the Space Needle?

The acoustics weren't bad, honestly. 

18 November 2025 - The Glenn Miller Orchestra - In The Mood

Glenn Miller was born in 1904 in Clarinda, Iowa.  

This recording, originally made in 1939 by his orchestra, would be one of the biggest selling swing songs of all time.   It is currently enshrined in the Library of Congress and the Grammy Hall of Fame.  

And it still slaps.  

Glenn Miller disappeared over the English Channel at age 40, in 1944 (why he was there during active wartime is another story entirely), ending a career that had one of the biggest highlights in music history.  

And that's why we're featuring a jazzy swing song today. 

17 November 2025 (Special Edition) - Todd Snider - High, Lonesome, and Then Some

I held this until Monday, even though Todd Snider died over this past weekend.  But, additionally, Todd Snider was born in Oregon, and in 2021, he was inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame. 

A little behind the scenes look - before his untimely death, as I was writing these posts, this artist and this song were absolutely in consideration for being the Oregon representative in their own right, before he died.  

It's kind of a shame that I had to put the Special Edition tag on this one, because he is also from Oregon, which is today.  

Anyway, this song was released just a few weeks ago, from an album of the same name.  If you'll excuse me, I need to go listen to it now. 

17 November 2025 - Everclear - AM Radio

How can Everclear - and specifically this song - a tribute to the mellow gold formats found on AM radio in the 1970s - and video - in which Art Alexakis is literally wearing a Portland Trail Blazer jersey - NOT be the representative for Oregon?

Just ignore Greg Eklund's Lakers jersey.  We're not paying attention to that. 

Written by the band, the song includes a couple of samples (and that meant more songwriters) and a ton of 1970's nostalgia.  See if you can catch all of it. 

Of course the band is still performing the song 25 years later - and it's still a crowd favorite.

14 November 2025 - Buddy Holly & The Crickets - Peggy Sue

You want one more from Texas?

What about this 1950s sensation - the Crickets - formed in Lubbock, TX in 1957.  Now, Buddy Holly was already established as a musician himself - and he co-wrote this song and released it as a single himself in September 1957, billed as Buddy Holly, and not The Crickets.  

Confused as to why I have "& The Crickets" in the title here? 

Because The Crickets were always there. 

This performance - from December 1957 and The Ed Sullivan Show - featured the band.  And, c'mon - Jerry Allison, another co-writer of the song (along with Norman Petty) was the drummer for the Crickets and on this song, which really leans hard on the eclectic drum beat to guide it. The rest of the Crickets also performed on the recording...

... which really sounded a lot like this.  So, enjoy this classic performance. 

14 November 2025 - Kelly Willlis - Don't Come The Cowboy With Me Sonny Jim

Kelly Willis is an extremely talented singer and songwriter who spent a lot of time living and performing in Austin, TX.  Actually, because of her nomadic background, I could have put her in Virginia (where she went to high school) , or North Carolina, or even Kansas.  But Texas is where she has made a lot of her music.

Besides, no matter where I put her, she'd be the second post of the day.  

Anyway, she's a fantastic singer/songwriter.  But she didn't write this one.  It's a cover, of a song originally performed by Kirsty MacColl - who is British.  It is a delightful folk song but Kelly Willis puts a bit of twang on it - and makes it her own, so much so that a lot of people think it IS hers.   

From her 2002 album Easy, here it is.  

14 November 2025 - St. Vincent - New York

Today is Texas day, so what better time for.... a song titled for another state?   Yeah, I didn't really think this one through.

But Annie Clark, a.k.a. St. Vincent, grew up in Dallas.  SHE is from Texas.  

And "New York" is not a typical St. Vincent song.  There's no amazing guitar solos.  It's an unironic piano ballad about the end of a relationship.  Originally featured on her Massseduction album, the song was co-written by Clark and Jack Antonoff, who also both produced the song (and album).

It's kind of a sad song, but also kind of beautiful.   It has become one of my favorite songs of hers.  

And yes.  She does swear. 

This is not the only version of "New York" that Annie Clark recorded.   

As a bonus track on the Japanese version of her Daddy's Home album, St. Vincent teamed up with Japanese musician Yoshiki to rerecord the song.  It's similar but not the same.   

More remarkable is the MassEducation piano version of the song - this album featured piano versions of the songs from Massseduction.  It's even more stripped down - a lot of it is acapella, honestly.   

This is my favorite version of the song. 

Of course, this is a song she's performed many, many times.  One of my favorites was her acoustic guitar rendition of the song from the BAM Virtual Gala in 2020.

Contrast this with her Austin City Limits performance, which is still emotional, but also far from stripped down.  

13 November 2025 - fIREHOSE - Walking The Cow

This is the only song during this whole American Autumn thing I'm doing that is being featured twice.

You see, this song was originally performed by and written by West Virginia's Daniel Johnston.  This version was from this San Pedro, CA band's album Flyin' The Flannel.  

For those unaware, fIREHOSE was formed from the ashes of The Minutemen - after leader d. Boon passed, a man named Ed Crawford from Ohio - you could say he's Eddie From Ohio but that's a different band - pestered Mike Watt to the point of moving to San Pedro and offering to be their lead vocalist..... which is where Ed fROMOHIO came to be and where fIREHOSE came to be.  

Anyway, Ed doesn't sing this song, although he is the guitarist.  Mike Watt provided vocals and boom stick.  George Hurley, of course, is on the skins. 

Mike Watt also had a solo career for a bit (probably still does - it's pretty econo, though) and recruited a lot of people to perform live with him - like Dave Grohl and Eddie Vedder - and yes, he did this song live. 

13 November 2025 - Huey Lewis & The News - Heart And Soul

For our second California post....let's talk about the darlings of the San Francisco Bay area.  

We are talking about Huey Lewis and the News and NOT ANY OTHER BAND. 

This song was the band's second US Top 10 hit, reaching that in 1983 as the lead single from their album Sports. Written by songwriting team Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn, this song was originally performed by Exile, but this version was more popular and garnered a Grammy nomination (that lost to The Police).  

The song itself is one of my favorites of theirs, and would remain a fan favorite even as it was eclipsed by later hits. 

Huey's story has a saddish ending - he started going deaf and performed as long as he could, but he did eventually lose his hearing to the point where he could no longer sing.  A cochlear implant allowed him to hear speech, but not music and no longer allowed him to sing.

Which is a shame, because he never lost his stage presence, even 30 years after his hitmaking years.  

13 November 2025 - Doja Cat - Stranger

Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini was born in Los Angeles, California in 1995.  

You probably know her better as Doja Cat, and she is the quintessential Californian.  She gives a cool, multitalented vibe.

A couple of months ago, she released her latest album, Vie.  It is, in my opinion, unexpectedly excellent - one of my favorites this year, and a return to real pop music.  This is one of the album tracks that got a music video - a video with more than a little debt to North by Northwest.   It is indicative of how excellent the whole album is.   

12 November 2025 - Prince and the Revolution - When Doves Cry

I could not do Minnesota and not give a nod to Prince Rogers Nelson - whose middle and last name you may not have known.  

From his semiautobiographical movie Purple Rain and album of the same name, this song opens side 2 of the album.  It was clearly meant to be a (slower) dance song, but, in an unusual move for the period, there is absolutely no bassline.  It's unconventional, with just guitar, drum machine loop, and synthesizer.  

It's also a song I hated in 1984.  All these years later, I get it a lot more, and it's one of my favorites by him. 

As genius as the simple song was, the live version - this was from Japan in 1990 - may be even more dynamic. 

12 November 2025 - Soul Asylum - Somebody to Shove

Gosh, it was tough to choose what to go with when it came to Minnesota.  

Soul Asylum, a band I was listening to long before their breakthough Grave Dancers Union was released, and that album came out in 1992, a vulnerable time for me.  I was in a position in college where I knew who this hot band getting all the MTV airplay was - and trying to convince them that the earlier stuff was better....

.... which wasn't true. Grave Dancers Union is arguably their best album, so it's great that it was the one that broke through.  This was the first single - and a huge hit song.  Plus, it was boisterous while remaining accessible, which was something I liked about the band. 

I know, when I start posting these things, I always get asked "but, Tony, has your sister seen them live?"

Why yes, she has!!!! And they still sound great!!!

11 November 2025 - The B-52's - Dance This Mess Around

This is our 1900th post on this blog, and I can't think of a more appropriate song.

"Dance This Mess Around" was the third single from Athens, Georgia band The B-52's 1979 debut album.  Written by the whole band - which at the time was a five-piece - the lead vocals on this song were taken by Cindy Wilson.  

So, why did I choose a 1980 live version of this song to lead the post?  Because it very quickly became a live performance favorite.  You can see just how passionately Cindy Wilson performs the song.  It builds slowly and relatively quietly, but builds louder and faster as she expresses heartbreak over having no one to dance with.  The rest of the group picks it up and cheers her up, and it works! They don't even get a chance to do all sixteen dances!

There were a few years in the 1990s where Cindy Wilson left the band for awhile (her brother, Ricky, also a band member, had passed away in the mid-1980s).  During her time away, the band did NOT perform this song.

But when she came back, they performed the HELL out of this song. 

So, here we are, in 2025.  Do you think it's still a live favorite, even as there are only three members left (Keith Strickland no longer touring with the band)?

Yes.

The question you SHOULD be asking is if my sister saw them live - but you know the answer.  

Cindy Wilson calling herself out for being out of key is utterly charming - but also, the out of key desperation is the POINT of the song.  

10 November 2025 - The White Stripes - Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground

I remember the first time I heard the White Stripes (from Detroit, Michigan - which of course is today's state).  

October 19th, 2002.  Technically, it was probably October 20th, in the early morning hours.   My ex-wife and I were in bed and watching SNL. We saw the musical guest was someone we had never heard of, and she wanted to turn it off before the musical guest came on.  

I insisted we not do that.  And, for once, I won one. 

This is what we were greeted with.

She didn't like them. I LOVED it. (This may have been part of the reason she's my ex-wife now) I was completely into this, and wanted to hear more, so I that week went seeking out more of their music - including the studio version of this song, with lyrics by Jack White and music by Jack and Meg White.  

For the uninitiated, yes, those are their government names.  Jack was born Jack Gillis but took his wife's name when they got married in 1996.  And yes, Meg was that wife, and by this point, they had been divorced for two years - clearly amicably, but the band didn't last forever.

The destruction projected in this video tells me that it was a very personal song for both of them - it is speculated that it was about the end of their marriage, although neither has confirmed or denied that.    

Edit: They were literally just inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which I did not know when I wrote this post.  Congratulations!

7 November 2025. - Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. ft. Faith No More - Another Body Murdered

I've talked about a lot of these days being hard.  

I wasn't looking forward to American Samoa.  

However, it wasn't hard at all.  

Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. are a hip-hop group from American Samoa (although they were based in California for most of their career).  This was probably their best known song, a collaboration with San Francisco band Faith No More.  An early hip-hop/rock fusion song, it was a sign of things to come for music - a preview of later acts such as Limp Bizkit.  

And they bring pride to the islands.  

6 November 2025 - Garbage - Only Happy When It Rains

I know exactly what you're thinking right now if you know this band.

"Shirley Manson is Scottish."

She is.   

The other members of the band are NOT - and Butch Vig is from Wisconsin.  Garbage was formed at his studio in Madison, WI. 

That's true.  It was called Smart Studios, and it was founded in 1983.  

So, of course, with three producers and a hell of a dynamic vocalist, you know they put on a great live show..... and they did.  This was from a festival in 1996.

But I'm sure ten years later, at Glastonbury 2005, they slowed down.... right?

Wrong.

Don't be fooled by this 2017 performance, guys.  Keep listening.  They, again, bring the angst and energy.

They are currently on a tour that they are alluding to being their last.... in 2025.   But, let's be clear - they're not stopping the touring because of their energy levels.  It's economic conditions.  But I think they're not done yet.   

5 November 2025 - Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Refugee

Florida was too big a state for just one post - and people keep moving there.  

I don't know why.

They have alligators. 

However, they also had Tom Petty and his Heartbreakers (from Gainsville), who had a TON of hits, including this Top 20 hit from their 1980 breakthrough album Damn The Torpedoes.  Co-written by Tom Petty and Mike Campbell, it was reportedly a tough song to record, with perfect being the enemy of good and a LOT of takes needed to get the song just right.

But they DID get it right, and the results brought us a raw, noisy, brash song. 

This song was a live favorite, and every time they did a benefit concert of some sort - like Farm Aid in 1985 (and Live Aid, too, by the way), this song was a staple.

Petty consistently said that this song was really hard on his voice.

And yet, in 2012, when they were STILL performing the song live, he STILL sang it largely in the same key.

5 November 2025 - Pitbull ft. TJR - Don't Stop The Party

Nowadays, big cities have more than one area code.  

Miami, FL is no exception.  

But it's usually more prestigious to have the original one, from when there was only one.

Miami's was 305.  

Mr. Worldwide is also Mr. 305.  

That's it.  That's the post.  

It's not actually the whole post.

Pitbull has made a career representing Miami and making fun pop/dance music.  He's not making a career winning awards (although he has plenty - including a Grammy for his 2016 album Dale which, for my English speakers, has two syllables), but rather, making fun, exciting music and putting on a hell of a show.

And you cannot deny it - this is a hell of a show.