Mid-Week Song

 

LA-based alternative band Silversun Pickups has been popular on the alt rock scene since their debut full-length album in 2006.  They have a new album coming out on February 6, "Tenterhooks," produced by the legendary Butch Vig.  Our song choice today is a track from that album, "Long Gone," released last Thursday.  Enjoy.

Mid-Week Song: Crawlers

 

Crawlers, an indie band from Merseyside, Liverpool, has experienced growing success after their 2021 song "Come Over, Again" went viral on TikTok. The band's made up of three women and one man, with vocalist Holly Minto providing the signature sound for the group. They're releasing their debut album, "The Mess We Seem to Make" next February on Polydor records, and a track from that album is our song today: "Call It Love".

Mid-Week Song: Sunshine

Today marks the 70th birthday of an American musical treasure, Stevland Hardaway Morris, better known as Stevie Wonder.  In a career spanning over 50 years, Wonder has been one of the most successful and impactful artists of this era. He's won an impressive 25 Grammy awards, the most by a solo artist, and is credited with more than 30 top ten hits. In 2014, Wonder was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama.

In 2011, Wonder gave a concert at the White House before an audience that included the first African American President, and Vice President Joe Biden, and their wives. Blind since birth, Wonder's Grammy-winning song "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" carried special meaning when he performed it then. Happy birthday to an American original.

Mid-Week Song: Mainstreet

We're going back a few decades to feature one of the iconic singers to emerge during the 1970s, Michigan native Bob Seger, who turns a young 75 today. His hit, "Mainstreet", off of his platinum album "Night Moves", was written about a girl working at a club on Ann Street in Ann Arbor, MI, where he grew up. Seger, with his instantly recognizable raspy, bluesy voice, most often sings about the ups and downs of love, of blue collar life, and everyday (but intense) life in the "heartland," as he does here.

Early Mid-Week Song

Thirty-five years ago (!) in London, musician and activist Bob Geldof organized "Band Aid," a large supergroup of mostly British (but some American) rock and pop stars, to record "Do They Know It's Christmas," as a fundraiser for Ethiopian famine relief. The effort, a romp of (take your pick) (a) altruism or (b) shameless self-promotion by said stars, was perhaps legitimately criticized as condescending at the time (not helped by many of the stars mugging during the taping). But the bottom line was that sales of the recording raised more than $24 million for the relief efforts. The success of the concept spawned other musical fundraisers like Live Aid and Farm Aid that spawned ever greater fundraising. The song has been re-recorded every decade since by new line-ups of artists. This is the original one, though, with its super catchy coda. See how many artists you recognize, some of whom are sadly no longer with us.

If you want to volunteer or donate to an organization fighting hunger here or worldwide, here's a list of 10 of the best (we personally like Feeding America).  Happy holidays!

Mid-Week Walking Song

Going to the Hackwhackers' archives today for our song. The Four Seasons were one of the most popular and successful groups starting in the '60s. They sold over 100 million records during their 40-year run, and were 1999 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees. The "Jersey Boys" stage musical introduced their sound to new audiences starting in 2005 and continues to tour on the road and play on Broadway. Their New Jersey white do-wop sound was punctuated by lead singer Frankie Valli, who turns 83 (!) today. Valli (who had a 4-octave range) sings in a falsetto that's instantly recognizable, as he does here on their 1963 #1 hit, "Walk Like A Man."

Mid-Week Birthday Song

Happy birthday to R&B singer Phil Phillips who turned 91 yesterday. Phillips, born Phillip Baptiste in Lake Charles, LA, had a huge hit in 1959, "Sea of Love," a song that's been covered by everyone from Robert Plant to Del Shannon to Tom Waits. Phillips was one of many African-American artists of that era that were cheated out of royalties and rights to their songs. See if you can spot your parents or grandparents dancing on American Bandstand in this video.

Mid-Week Head & Heart Song

Seattle-based alternative folk rock band The Head and the Heart has a new single, "All We Ever Knew," that has landed on the top of the alternative adult charts in a matter of a few weeks. Enjoy.

Mid-Week Song

The band O.A.R., four of whose five members graduated from Wootton High School in Rockville, MD, as did several of our "offspring," has had considerable success in the past decade.  One of their songs, "Shattered (Turn the Car Around)," reached number 2 on the charts in late 2008.  Here's a live performance of that song.

Mid-Week / New Year Song

Irish superstar band U2 is one of the major rock groups of the past 30 years  -- 8 number one hits in the U.S., fifth all-time.  Here they are in a live performance at Ireland's Slane Castle performing their 2000 hit, "Beautiful Day."

Mid-Week Song

Austin, Texas' Sarah Jarosz is a new star in the bluegrass/folk music world with her beautiful voice and instrumental talent. On top of that, she's a fine composer and only 21. Here she is, accompanied by the lovely Allison Krause, with her song "Run Away."

Mid-Week Burn It Down Song

Linkin Park has been one of the most successful bands of the new millenium. Their sound is hard to categorize, but it fuses alternative rock, electronica, rap, and other genres. Burn It Down is their latest single.