"Hey, you know what would make this greatest hits album great? A song about literally killing people with music."
And, indeed, that's exactly what happened in 1986, when Kate Bush released The Whole Story, and had a moderate hit song and arguably her biggest hit to date, finally getting significant overseas airplay and MTV rotation. And yes, it was about the military creating a sound that could kill someone from a distance, written and produced by Kate Bush.
The video was directed by Bush herself and tells that exact story.
"Amy Grant writing a song about the January 6th incident in Washington, DC" was not on my 2026 bingo card.
Here we are.
Released as a single on January 6th of this year - and the lead track on her album The Me That Remains, released May 8th - it's about more than that specific event, but the unrest that happens around us, and being present in the moment despite these moments of turmoil. She's definitely not taking a side.
The song is sweet and hopeful, and on this Memorial Day, I think we need that.
By the way, for those who don't get the reference, Matt Yasgur owned a daily farm in Bethel, NY and leased one of his field for a music festival in 1969 that neighboring towns declined to host. Oh, that music festival was Woodstock. Did I forget to mention that?
By the way, Amy suffered a pretty traumatic brain injury four years ago, so it's pretty incredible that she's recording at all......
Let alone performing the song live, and doing so beautifully.
Harlee Case and Josh Smith were high school friends who recorded music together. Then they graduated and went their separate ways....
Until 2015, when, after several years of pursuing solo careers, they both returned to Oregon - Portland - and started a creative partnership that is New Constellations.
They just released a breakthrough album last week - It Comes In Waves - that is excellent and you should check out. They're rightly getting Phantogram comparisons with this album, which has a vague Eyelid Movies feel.
But they aren't Phantogram. They're making good, unique music that you should hear.
After hearing this early live version of the song from last year, I think this would mash up really well with "When I'm Small" and I wish I was good enough to do mashups.
I have been talking about the album and another band so much.... but this is my favorite song on the new album because it's just loaded with emotion. It uncorks and beats you like a drum.
I really miss old time classic pop/country crossover hits. They don't make songs like that anymore.
Take "Seven Year Ache". Written by Rosanne Cash and produced by her then-husband Rodney Crowell, this song by Johnny Cash's daughter was a HUGE country hit and a moderate pop hit in 1981.
It wasn't her last country hit - it's considered to be her breakthrough - but it's her most recognizable today.
She's never stopped recording the song, either. Here she is performing the song last year, in a quiet acoustic version at the Country Music Hall of Fame.
This performance from 1987, however, is more electric and matches the feeling of the original.
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.
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.
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.
