17 October 2025 - Loretta Lynn - Fist City

By the way, the other possible Kentucky artist is almost inarguably the best-known artist from Kentucky - Loretta Lynn. 

The coal miner's daughter was never one to shy away from social issues - like the social liberation given to women with the birth control pill, and divorce.

She was also not shy to threaten a beatdown on a woman trying to steal her man.   This rather forward song - written by Lynn - was her second number one hit, in 1968.  

You know she performed the hell out of this song every time. Look how cheerful she looks while she threatens to kick someone's ass. 

In fact, she ALWAYS looks so happy when she sang this song.  She was so chipper when, as the A.V. Club mentioned, she threatened "to beat a bitch down when the situation called for it."

17 October 2025 - Sturgill Simpson - Railroad of Sin

It wasn't impossible to not do a country artist when it came to Kentucky.  

The reality was, it came down to two choices for me.  Sturgill Simpson was my first choice here - he's an innovator in the world of country, making music that teeters on rock fusion, while still sounding fresh and at the same time classic.  

You might recall we once posted his Nirvana cover on Totally Covered. 

This was his first video, recorded in 2013 as a single from his debut album, High Top Mountain, which is excellent.  There are a lot of trains in this video, needless to say.  

All these years later, he still performs this early song, like he did in 2024....

...but perhaps his best-known performance of the song happened in 2016, at Farm Aid.  

16 October 2025 - Soccer Mommy - M

Tennesee.

Was.

Never.

Not.

Gonna.

Be.

Soccer Mommy.

Don't @ me with the "she was born in Switzerland" bullshit.   She grew up in Nashville.  

"M" was the 2nd single from her latest full-length album Evergreen, which was my favorite album of 2024.  I had the pleasure of sitting through a pre-release listening party from her Evergreen (stripped) EP that featured pared-down versions of several songs from the album, including this one.  I don't remember her exact phrasing (I didn't know I was doing this at the time) but when asked what her favorite song from Evergreen was, she chose this song.  

Anyway, that was a great experience.  I would absolutely do it again. 

This is not the stripped version.  It is a great song from a great album.  

This IS the stripped version. I love the strings in this version, which is the one I actually prefer. 

This is neither the stripped nor the not-stripped version.  This is Sophie with a guitar and her voice at the SiriusXM studios.  

15 October 2025 (Special Edition) - D'Angelo - Untitled (How Does It Feel)

So, you know I dislike these Special Editions, because it means a musician has died, and, in this case, D'Angelo did, in fact, perish - pancreatic cancer.  That death was announced yesterday....

...and yet I dragged my heels until today, because, yes, D'Angelo happens to have been born and raised in Richmond, VA, so, well, waiting a day made sense in this case.  

His death is terribly sad, and he will be missed, but because of that, you get to relish this Grammy-award winning song, co-written by D'Angelo and longtime collaborator Raphael Saddiq.  The soulful ballad also ended up being one of his biggest hits.

For as long as he kept performing, D'Angelo didn't forget this song.  His live performance was soulful, and the crowd loves it.

His voice and his stage presence will be missed.

15 October 2025 - Eddie From Ohio - Great Day

Today, you probably guessed what state was represented today.  

You would be wrong.

Eddie From Ohio are a folk group from Alexandria, Virginia.  It is so named after Eddie Hartness.... but he's also not from Ohio.  Ed fROMOHIO is a real person - Ed Crawford, from the California group fIREHOSE - and the person who gave Eddie Hartness that nickname - who was his girlfriend at the time - was clearly a fan.

They meant to change the name of the band, but they're more than three decades in, so it's a little late for that. Although the band stopped performing in 2022, they remain popular.  

And yes, they have played in Ohio, but they spend most of their time in Virginia, outside of the control of major labels - and they've had some success.  

This particular song was written by vocalist Julie Murphy Wells, and is a fan favorite.  Can you blame the fans, though?  It's beautiful.  

Oh, if I didn't make it clear, it's Virginia day.  

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!!!

(Edit: 23 October 2025):  I somehow missed her very recent Tonight Show performance, featuring perhaps the greatest use of the desk by a musical guest ever.