7 November 2019 - Liz Phair - Jealousy

This song, originally on the album Whip-Smart, was released as a single, which took the form of an EP called Juvenilia. 

The song encapsulates well those irrational feelings - which it makes clear - of, well, jealousy that might pop up at the beginning of a relationship.  It gets more heated, but still stays quiet and cool. Enjoy.

  

5 November 2019 - Status Quo - Pictures of Matchstick Men

Status Quo hit the top 20 in the States with this song in 1968, their only Stateside hit.  Named for L.S. Lowry's painting style, the song's mono version has a great "wah-wah" guitar between verses - the lesser known stereo version omits it, so we will omit THAT!  Also featuring a four note intro, this was one of the first songs to use phasing, which gave that very simple four note riff a very electronic sound.



The band famously reformed recently to redo the song for the BBC, a little gentler and with strings, perhaps as an homage to the famous Camper Van Beethoven cover of the song that was a modern rock classic and replaced the "wah-wah" guitar with a violin.

23 September 2019 - Terry Bush - Maybe Tomorrow & Nighingale Cummings - Maybe Tomorrow

My American fans will likely have never heard this version of this song before today.  Because I am in Canada for an extended period, I figured I would post this today.

The best way for me to describe The Littlest Hobo to an American audience is this - imagine Lassie got loose and decided to roam from town to town, helping out those in need wherever she went.   Also, she's a German Shepherd.

Terry Bush, best known for his commercial jingles, wrote a gem of a theme song for the 2nd version of the series in the late 70s and early 80s.  It's a sweet song about roaming and friendship.



Those who are fans of the TV show Trailer Park Boys might have heard this version of the song. It is a cover by Nightingale Cummings, and it is a much less happy reading.

9 August 2019 - Billie Eilish - bad guy

And now for something completely different.

So far, I don't know a lot about Billie Eilish, but what I've heard is cool and different than anything else on radio.... and SHE'S GETTING PLAYED ON RADIO and hitting the top of the charts (this was a #2 Billboard hit).  And, except when her nose is bleeding, it looks like she's having fun here.

The song itself is pretty dark and strong, even though it sounds pretty chill.  For 17, she shows a lot of maturity, and I appreciate that.  Now, let's see what's next.

5 June 2019 - Pointer Sisters - Slow Hand

This song was a pretty big ballad hit in 1981 for the Pointer Sisters, with an appropriate-for-the-time country crossover twinge.  It peaked at #2 on the Billboard Charts because it ran into the juggernaut that was "Endless Love", but it was a huge hit for the year and a Grammy-nominated song.

As far as delivery, Anita Pointer takes the lead on this one, and I think that was the right choice with Ruth and June (yeah, they're actually sisters named Pointer) harmonizing.



Now, head over to Totally Covered and see what Conway Twitty has to say about this. 

4 June 2019 - Missing Persons - Walking In LA

Missing Persons is a personification of everything that was right about the 1980's.

The combination of Dale Bozzio's outlandish clothing that always seemed to include clear acrylics, everyone's over-done hair, and themes that no one outside their community would care about (also, I'm sure people walk in LA) was excellent for the early Reagan years.  That's not an insult - they are fun and exciting, and came around at the right time in history....

.... for which we can thank Frank Zappa, as several of these members, including Dale Bozzio, were previously and in the future in Zappa's band, with Dale playing a significant role on the classic Joe's Garage.

 

And yes, she did, at least in name, inspire a character on iZombie

.@RobThomas isn't the only 1 sharing a name with a star singer. Meet Dale Bozzio from missing persons. #iZombie pic.twitter.com/gO2oUjnxY9

— iZombie Writers Room (@iZombieWriters) October 28, 2015

3 June 2019 - Paris Hilton - I Need You

Nothing would make me happier than to not love this song.

It's freaking Paris Hilton, and while I have a lot of respect for her, and not just for "Stars are Blind", but for what she's accomplished by making herself a brand, I wouldn't have called her a musician.  The woman is much smarter than the character she plays on The Simple Life.

This song might have changed my mind on the musician part.  She's brought an old-time doo-wop feel to this song, and she executed it perfectly.  Lyrically.... well, it was released on Valentine's Day 2018, so it's perfect for that!