25 July 2026 (Special Edition) - Sick of it All - Beef Between Vegans / Bull's Anthem

So, it's kind of a funny song title.

It came from Sick of it All's 2018 album Wake The Sleeping Dragon.  It was a comeback of sorts, and it was met with universal critical acclaim.  

Pretty impressive for a hardcore band that was formed in 1986 by Lou and Pete Koller to still be making music that aggressive and that poignant more than 30 years later.  And that's what Sick of it All's music is - aggressive, poignant, and in your face.

But you all see that Special Edition label.  You know I ain't here with good news. 

Lou Koller, primary vocalist for the band, had been suffering with esophageal cancer.  Yesterday, the band announced his passing.  Now, at this point, I always say "he will be missed" and that's true but this is different.

You see, Lou knew he was one of the elder statesmen of hardcore, and he took that seriously.  He famously mentored and befriended other up-and-coming musicians.  There are hardcore bands that exist and thrived largely because Lou was their mentor and partner. Lou was one of the good guys in a rough industry. 

So yeah, I feature a song with a funny title.  

They kept releasing singles from the album through 2020.  This video, which might not exist if not for the pandemic, featured videos of the band's fans, singing the song.

The band loved and respected their fans, and that started and ended with Lou.  

Now, normally, I wouldn't be talking up so much a band in a genre of music I'm not generally all that into.  It's not generally for me.  

Sick of it All were talented enough and nice enough and resonated enough that I did like them.  In fact, I was fortunate enough to see them live in 1995, on the first Warped Tour.  I saw them at the Northampton Airport in Massachusetts, but the show I'm posting here is literally from two days before that. 

Lou opened that show the same way he opened ours: by inviting fans closer and telling them to "watch out for each other and respect each other."

So today, when I say he'll be missed, it ain't a platitude.  It's that a true pioneer and a nice person has passed, and he WILL be actively missed. 

22 July 2026 - Lights - Quiet

The other reason I was so hesitant to post Quiet Light is because every time I searched for her I got "Quiet" by Lights. 

Specifically, the acoustic version.  And yes, it's probably the best song from The Listening, but I couldn't escape it, so, here.  Bonus post, guys. 

22 July 2026 - Quiet Light - Postinternetfame

I have been dragging my heels getting to Quiet Light, honestly. 

Not because I don't like her music - her album Blue Angel Sparking Silver 2 is one of my favorites of the year. 

Not because she has a stage name - her real name is Riya Mahesh.  I post lots of those. 

Not because I can't find live performances she's done of this song.  I couldn't, but that'll change soon.  

No, it's because it was so hard to pick a song to highlight.  I chose this one because it was... quiet... and... light.  And cool.  Cool as heck.   

Wikipedia calls her "indie folk" but I think she's a lot more than that.  I hope you do as well. 

21 July 2026 - Steve Winwood - Higher Love / Whitney Houston - Higher Love / James Vincent McMorrow.- Higher Love

Well, this was not the route this post was going to go. 

It started off with me hearing a Whitney Houston song earlier that I had not heard in several years, but found myself enjoying (I didn't particularly when it was new). 

I decided I would do a post about it this week. 

So I started looking for the song on YouTube and I found THIS first.

This was produced by Kygo and featured Whitney Houston doing a Steve Winwood cover - in addition to originating the song, he co-wrote it with Will Jennings.

The song was released in 2019. 

Seven years after Houston's death.

And was a huge hit in the UK and elsewhere,

So this got me thinking - she must have done this during her life, right?

Turns out, she DID.  The song appeared on Japanese pressings of her 1990 album I'm Your Baby Tonight, and she performed it live during the Japanese dates on her tour supporting that album.

Of course, then I had to dig, and it turns out that James Vincent McMorrow - an Irish singer - had a hit in the UK and Ireland with his very quiet and chilling version of the song. 

Of course, nothing tops the 1986 version that marked Winwood's first trip to #1 on the US Charts. It's exciting.  It gives that mid-80s feel.  But also, the song endures. 

Now, I could show you a live version from 1986 - I found a great one. 

I am instead choosing his 2023 version from King Charles's Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle.  He performed a pretty spry and solid cross-Commonwealth performance of the song. 

And what a way to end this epic post.  

20 July 2026 - Noor - H24

An intensely personal French album?

Yes. 

Woefully under-appreciated in the rest of the world because it's in French?

Also yes.

Going to get more attention on here because French posts do about 5% better than any others?

Strangely, yes. 

Unapologetically, Noor's album 1900 jours is one of my favorite of the year, and I encourage you to seek it out.  It is a very quiet album.  It's absolutely sublime. 

Even though she's an obscure French artist, she does live versions of her music?

Absolutely.  And they're spectacular.

19 July 2026 (Special Edition) - L7 - Everglade

Us being here on a Sunday is not a good sign.

Last week, news spread that Jennifer Finch, bassist for L7, had an agressive form of brain cancer.  Last night, she succumbed to that.  She was the bassist for the band for most of its tenure, right up until July 13th.  The band was planning a tour this coming October (I'm not sure they won't still do that), but Finch, who was originally supposed to perform, was forced to back out this week due to her cancer.

This song was from their 1992 breakthrough Bricks are Heavy, and was co-written by Finch and Daniel Rey. Even though she wasn't the primary vocalist for the band (that would be Donita Sparks), Finch also took lead vocals on the song. 

Yes, Jennifer Finch will be missed. 

Finch did leave the band for a bit, but she came back and performed with them again, to the delight of fans.

Here they are performing the song live in 2024 and they still sound just as good!

17 July 2026 - Rebecca Black - Hot Wet Delirious

When I featured Rebecca Black fourteen years ago, I thought for SURE that was going to be the ONLY time I would ever feature Rebecca Black.

NOPE.

Her second album, Age of the Exhibitionist, is coming in September, and this is the first single, released last Friday.  It's pretty solid hyperpop, and she doesn't really seem to be asking which seat she can take or reciting days of the week.