19 May 2026 - Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer

Do you remember the time when the "Sledgehammer" video came out and everyone thought it was SOOOOOOOOOO groundbreaking because, well, claymation and stop-motion?

And it was.  It won NINE MTV Video Music Awards, the most any video has ever won.  It won the Brit Award for Best Video of the Year.  It was NOMINATED for a Soul Train Music award in 1987..... the only non-R&B artist nominated in the category and the only non-jazz white artist nominated in ANY category that year. He lost that one to Janet Jackson....

The video is great and Gabriel suffered for it - by having clouds repeatedly painted on his face and having to stay very still a LOT.  

But this isn't a blog about videos.  It's about music.  And this was a pop-rock song in the British soul style, written by Gabriel, that would become his biggest hit in North America (and tie for his biggest hit in the UK).  Gabriel leans into the soul influence on this song and on the whole So album, merging an 80's synth sound with 70's-style horns. 

OK, but the video is undeniably great.

Gabriel embarked on a long tour in support of So, and it ended in October 1987 in Athens, Greece.  

His performance is absolutely a whole-body performance.

Today is the 40th anniversary of the release of So.

So, why not celebrate with a lively performance from.... 2023.

Gabriel still gives a whole-body performance but with less hair.

18 May 2026 - DARA - Bangaranga

On Friday, you could say "Bulgaria has never won the Eurovision Song Contest".

On Saturday, you could no longer make that claim.

DARA gave a hell of an exciting performance in the finale of the infamous competition.  But despite North American audiences not knowing her, she's been around awhile - going far in the Bulgarian version of The Voice in 2015. She's had a string of hits in Bulgaria since.

This song, co-written by the artist, is inspired by the act of kukeri, which is a Bulgarian ritual, performed by men, intended to ward off evil spirits.

But really, it's just a fun song.  Give it a go. 

By the way, in order to win, you have to perform the song several times.

You have to compete in-country first - and emerge victorious. 

In this day and age, you need a music video, too.  And Dara has that. 

And now, she's got a bona fide international hit. 

15 May 2026 - Arkells ft. Portugal. The Man - Money

So, it's tough for me to justify posting much Canadian content outside of March.

And you don't get much more Canadian than Hamilton, Ontario's own Arkells.  They have a lot of hometown pride - and they released a new album, Between Us, last month. 

But for one of their singles, Arkells teamed up with John Gourley, better known as Portugal. The Man.  He's from Alaska, AMERICA! So, checkmate. SUCK IT!

But seriously, it's a cool collaboration. 

The night after their album was released, Arkells travelled to the States to perform the song. 

OK, they drove like an hour to Buffalo.  Seriously, Hamilton is closer to Buffalo than Rochester is.  AND they have IKEA!

The crowd in Buffalo knew the Canadian national anthem by heart loved the new music, and with good reason - the band sang the hell out of it. 

14 May 2026 - Smashing Pumpkins - Siva

I have had this song sitting in my drafts for almost a decade. 

In 1991, this was America's introduction to the Chicago rock gods.  This was their very first single, and it blew me away from first listen. This song defined their fuzzy sound and marked their first use of the signature Big Muff pedal sound that dominated their Gish and Siamese Dream albums. 

I still love this song. Billy Corgan bringing it quiet and mellow for 30 seconds at about the 1:50 mark and coming back to the bombast even stronger.... only to return to the quiet style for the last verse.... and get even more bombastic for the finish!

This song is a journey. 

Back when Smashing Pumpkins had their original lineup and Billy Corgan had his original hair, this song was a staple of their shows - like this one in 1993 at a Siamese Dream release party.  The band was tight!

Most of the band is back together here in 2019 (D'Arcy ain't coming back, ever), and they still sound tight, if not a little older and less bombastic.

But really, my favorite ever performance of this song is this one from a Tower Records in 1993.  The band was performing acoustic for a group of fans camping out to buy Siamese Dream at midnight, and despite his reputation, Billy was absolutely charming with that little girl.

13 May 2026 - Charli XCX - Rock Music

 Well, crap. 

This new single, co-written by Finn Keene, A.G. Cook (the producers) and Charlotte Aitchson (because yes, I am using her gubmint name and not some kiss Charli kiss thing she came up with when she was 14), is probably not technically rock music, but it is the most guitar driven thing she's ever done. 

And it is a polarizing departure for Charli.  But also, like I said when "Vroom Vroom" came out in one of my least favorite posts on this blog, because I really still don't like "Vroom Vroom", it's still Charli.  And, this time, I really like this.  It's kind of an electronic/rock fusion, and I am here for it.

12 May 2026 - KNEECAP - FENIAN

 A couple of weeks ago, Irish hip-hop trio KNEECAP released their second album, FENIAN. The title of the album - and today's song - is both a term to refer to Irish revolutionaries and, not coincidentally, a slur referring to Irish Catholics. 

KNEECAP - in all their Irish Catholic brashness - have taken their word back.  

And not only are they brash, they released the best hip-hop album of the last year on May 1st, and arguably the best album of the year so far in any genre.  It is melodic AND in your face. STRONGLY recommended. 

They've already performed this and other songs from the album live, as in this April 30th performance in advance of the album's launch. 

You can see how much energy they bring. 

11 May 2026 - Sabrina Carpenter - Thumbs

Happy 27th birthday to Sabrina Carpenter!  Have we been posting her too much lately?  Maybe.  But she's one of the hottest stars right now and she's making great music, honestly. 

But her overnight success was far from overnight.  In fact, her first pop hit - making the top 30 in the United States - came off her 2nd album, EVOLution, released 10 years ago.  This song, written by Muni Long and Steve Mac, was a top 30 hit in early 2017.  

The video was done in one shot.  No edits. She was 16.  

Sabrina does not like this song anymore. She is 27 now.  But she sure did perform it a lot in 2017.