12 November 2026 - Emma Beko - I'm a memory

I have a confession to make.  

I have been neglecting this blog, not because I don't love it or love sharing music with you. 

It's because I have writer's block.

I don't JUST want to share new music with you.  I want to bring you back to the past.

The problem is, a lot of the music I'm listening to right now is not just new - it's BRAND new - and a lot of it is weird and fun and poppy.

And way more of it is Canadian than I can hold back.

Take this gem, from Emma Beko's new album, Cicada.  Emma Beko is from Montreal - and an anglophone artist there, where the glass ceiling is much lower.  She's making cool, folky electronica that resonates in the most chill way.

The song and video are a true multiplatform experience.  Beko also posted some snippets from another angle, which I thought was really interesting.

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11 November 2026 - Ecca Vandal - Molly

If you follow big-timey music prizes, you knew this was coming. 

I predicted about a month before it happened, when I saw the shortlist, that Ecca Vandal's album LOOKING FOR PEOPLE TO UNFOLLOW would win the Australian Music Prize. 

I was right.

The South African-born, Melbourne-raised Ecca Vandal waited nine years between her first and second albums, but it was WORTH the wait, because this was a great album. 

The song - and in fact almost the whole album - was co-written by Vandal and her partner in life and music (STRAIGHT FROM HER WIKIPEDIA PAGE), Richie Buxton.

For the live version of this post, I chose a performance from Brisbane from literally last week.

The crowd loves the song.  And her. And she brings a LOT of energy.

2 November 2026 - Kaytranada - Lite Spots

An EDM banger with a video where a Montreal producer teaches a robot he built how to dance?!

You son of a bitch, I'm in.

I'm not even much of a Kaytranada fan, but this is pretty freaking cool. 

And the song, although repetitive, is pretty freaking funky.  

It's from Kaytranada's debut album, 99.9%, and it really does go all the way to 100.

You're wondering if the robot comes out live.

I certainly was.

Nope. 

You just get Kaytranada.

27 October 2026 - Bonde do Rolê - Solta o Frango

I spent my Sunday night talking with Brazilians and tweeting about the Brazilian election, and I spent a lot of yesterday continuing those conversations.

It's honestly not a country I knew a lot about - and I still don't, but I am a quick study.  And Portuguese has always fascinated me.  I really wanted to post a Brazilian song today.

I really didn't expect it to be this one.

Bonde do Rolê is a group I've posted about before, and I have to be honest - I thought I had posted about the 2007 single - from their album With Lasers - so many years ago. It has long been a favorite song of mine, in any language.  The fact that they happen to be from Curitiba, Brazil.  

Marina Ribatski - who did not stick with the group long enough but long enough to make that classic album - was so charismatic and truly did enjoy and go crazy ("Solta o Frango" is slang that means this). 

You can see in this live performance that Marina really knew how to command an audience.

But by the end of 2007, Marina had left the band.  

The group replaced her with TWO women - Ana Bernardino and Laura Taylor. In this performance from Coachella 2008, Laura takes lead.  

Bernardino would later leave the band. 

Anyway, they were fine with these two woman, but they were better when they weren't singing Marina's songs....

26 October 2026 - Mallrat - Hideaway

I've thought about doing a Down Under month like I do for Canada. 

Because right now, Australian music is among the best in the world. 

Take Mallrat and her 2025 album Light hit my face like a straight right.  That was the best hyperpop album of 2025 and still spins on heavy rotation for me in 2026. This song, the fifth single from the album, has been on really heavy rotation for me lately.  The frenetic pace of the song - which is at its core a love song - grabs the listener and does not let go.  Co written by Grace Shaw (who is Mallrat), Styalz Fuego and Gab Strum (the later two who produced the album), it is absolutely brilliant. 

Mallrat opened for Tove Lo last month on some dates of her tour - and here she is playing this song to an arena crowd.  She's already commanding the stage, so I see great things coming. 

23 October 2026 - Rosalía - SAOKO

We haven't actually gotten here yet, and I'm a little surprise.

Rosalía released one of the most critically acclaimed albums of 2025 with Lux, which was three years in the making.  It was an excellent album, too - a real breakthough for the Spanish artist who does perform in several languages.

My first introduction to her was her 2022 album Motomami. This song - which takes its name from a Puerto Rican slang term for outstanding rhythm - combines reggaton and electronic worlds to make a fusion that is unique and personal. 

The song would become a huge hit in Spain and on the US Latin charts.

This is a song that has been performed live a LOT. It is high energy and the performance reflects that.

And yes, of course she opened her Coachella set with the song. 

Even these gringo fans knew the lyrics. 

22 October 2026 - Georgia Knight - Desire

I haven't been talking about Australian music much lately.  So, let's do that. 

You see, last week, the Australian Music Prize announced their nine album shortlist for their $50,000 prize.  I did have a bit of a prediction list, and I have to say I think I guessed 6 of the 9 ahead of time.  My real wild card pick was Beanpole by Georgia Knight. 

Imagine my surprise when I was right about this one.  And, to her credit, so was Georgia Knight.

"I’m very pleased to be shortlisted for the Australian Music Prize. I hadn’t thought of this album as being musically competitive, so that’s surprising. It hasn’t really sunk in. Fifty thousand is exactly what I need to make the next album." - Georgia Knight

I don't know how the hell she didn't think Beanpole was competitive, because it is sincerely among my favorite albums of 2026 and one that I am really rooting for to win the prize.

"Desire" was the first single and it is an excellent, sexy song. Check it out!