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Top 10 Songs:
10. MIDNIGHT SUN, Zara Larsson (2026)
9. YOU IN '95, Beth Bombara (2026)
8. THE FATE OF OPHELIA, Taylor Swift (2026)
7. MISTAKEN IDENTITY, Everlast (2026)
6. PAPA WAS A ROLLIN' STONE, The Temptations (1972)
5. JOLENE, Dolly Parton (1974)
4. OPALITE, Taylor Swift (2026)
3. THE CURE, Olivia Rodrigo (2026)
2. WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME, Olivia Rodrigo & Robert Smith (2026)
1. DAI DAI, Shakira featuring Burna Boy (2026)
Friday, September 4, 2026
Saturday, August 29, 2026
Video Of The Week: Everlast
(product links go to sponsored Amazon products, previous post links go to related pages on my blog, news and place links go to source pages)
Former House of Pain lead rapper Everlast successfully reinvented himself as a rugged blues/rap/acoustic rock songwriter after suffering a heart attack at the tail end of the 1990s that required him to no longer Jump Around. While the quality of his recording outpus has been steadily declining since Whitey Ford Sings The Blues (his second-overall solo record but first post-House of Pain), he does have good songs on each subsequent release, and his second and third "Whitey era" records (Eat At Whitey's and White Trash Beautiful) still spin regularly in my home, as does his cover of Johnny Cash's Folson Prison Blues.
He released Embers to Ashes yesterday, and the leadoff video is Mistaken Identity: Let's not kid ourselves: if it wasn't Everlast, I probably wouldn't want to hear that song more than once, but with my favourable sentiment towards Erik Schrody, I don't mind it and might even enter it in a "Songs of 2026" playlist of sorts - though probably not a "Best of the 2020s" nor my "Eternal Playlist", where dozens of his songs still play daily.
It's a typical ballad with themes of loss, yearning, learning and self-affirmation, with a little bit of hip-hop boasting thrown in for good measure, which is possibly where director Ryen McPherson found the inspiration to portray it as a Reservoir Dogs-esque bit of torture porn where Everlast first faces himself at his current age and the victim personae eventually turns into his younger self, played here by Yelawolf, the former Eminem protégé who produced the new record.
Former House of Pain lead rapper Everlast successfully reinvented himself as a rugged blues/rap/acoustic rock songwriter after suffering a heart attack at the tail end of the 1990s that required him to no longer Jump Around. While the quality of his recording outpus has been steadily declining since Whitey Ford Sings The Blues (his second-overall solo record but first post-House of Pain), he does have good songs on each subsequent release, and his second and third "Whitey era" records (Eat At Whitey's and White Trash Beautiful) still spin regularly in my home, as does his cover of Johnny Cash's Folson Prison Blues.
He released Embers to Ashes yesterday, and the leadoff video is Mistaken Identity: Let's not kid ourselves: if it wasn't Everlast, I probably wouldn't want to hear that song more than once, but with my favourable sentiment towards Erik Schrody, I don't mind it and might even enter it in a "Songs of 2026" playlist of sorts - though probably not a "Best of the 2020s" nor my "Eternal Playlist", where dozens of his songs still play daily.
It's a typical ballad with themes of loss, yearning, learning and self-affirmation, with a little bit of hip-hop boasting thrown in for good measure, which is possibly where director Ryen McPherson found the inspiration to portray it as a Reservoir Dogs-esque bit of torture porn where Everlast first faces himself at his current age and the victim personae eventually turns into his younger self, played here by Yelawolf, the former Eminem protégé who produced the new record.
Tuesday, August 25, 2026
Video Of The Week: Dolly Parton (featuring Linda Perry)
(product links go to sponsored Amazon products, previous post links go to related pages on my blog, news and place links go to source pages)
The world got a little bit bleaker today when the news came out that Dolly Parton had passed away at 80 years old, after a short battle with cancer. She was a legendary songwriter, a talented singer, a renowned philanthropist, as well as an accomplished actress and businesswoman.
Although I had heard her duet with Kenny Rogers, Islands In The Stream, when I was a kid, from it playing on the radio once in a while, I only really got acquanited with the Queen Of Country Music's art via the 1993 album Honky Tonk Angels with Loretta Lynn and Tammy Winette, which came a year after Whitney Houston's cover of I Will Always Love You for the soundtrack to The Bodyguard. From then I fell into such classics as Jolene and Coat Of Many Colors, and the poppier 9 To 5.
She was inducted in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2022, a nomination she initially wanted to pass on, but was convinced to accept after fan pressure and the Hall explaining that her influence surpassed the realm of country music and that "Rock And Roll" had a meaning that extended beyond the straight line from Elvis Presley to The Beatles to Led Zeppelin to Soundgarden. But she insisted on making a "rock" album to justify her inclusion, with such luminaries as Sting, John Fogerty, Steve Perry, Ann Wilson, Steven Tyler, Warren Haynes, Joan Jett, Rob Halford, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Pat Benatar, Peter Frampton and Stevie Nicks, among others, offering to lend a hand in what was ultimately a gloriously tacky record that warrants an A for effort and C+ for execution. From the second disc of that album is a cover of 4 Non Blondes' What's Up, featuring frontwoman Linda Perry:
I'm not sure how happy Mrs. Perry was that Mrs. Parton changed so many of the lyrics to the song, but this version reflects the way Dolly Parton saw life - with hope and positivity. I'll give it a try myself in her honour.
The world got a little bit bleaker today when the news came out that Dolly Parton had passed away at 80 years old, after a short battle with cancer. She was a legendary songwriter, a talented singer, a renowned philanthropist, as well as an accomplished actress and businesswoman.
Although I had heard her duet with Kenny Rogers, Islands In The Stream, when I was a kid, from it playing on the radio once in a while, I only really got acquanited with the Queen Of Country Music's art via the 1993 album Honky Tonk Angels with Loretta Lynn and Tammy Winette, which came a year after Whitney Houston's cover of I Will Always Love You for the soundtrack to The Bodyguard. From then I fell into such classics as Jolene and Coat Of Many Colors, and the poppier 9 To 5.
She was inducted in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2022, a nomination she initially wanted to pass on, but was convinced to accept after fan pressure and the Hall explaining that her influence surpassed the realm of country music and that "Rock And Roll" had a meaning that extended beyond the straight line from Elvis Presley to The Beatles to Led Zeppelin to Soundgarden. But she insisted on making a "rock" album to justify her inclusion, with such luminaries as Sting, John Fogerty, Steve Perry, Ann Wilson, Steven Tyler, Warren Haynes, Joan Jett, Rob Halford, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Pat Benatar, Peter Frampton and Stevie Nicks, among others, offering to lend a hand in what was ultimately a gloriously tacky record that warrants an A for effort and C+ for execution. From the second disc of that album is a cover of 4 Non Blondes' What's Up, featuring frontwoman Linda Perry:
I'm not sure how happy Mrs. Perry was that Mrs. Parton changed so many of the lyrics to the song, but this version reflects the way Dolly Parton saw life - with hope and positivity. I'll give it a try myself in her honour.
Tuesday, July 14, 2026
Video Of The Week: Queens Of The Stone Age
(product links go to sponsored Amazon products, proper name links go to related pages on my blogs, news links go to source pages)
Just days after leader Josh Homme confirmed having recorded a song with Shania Twain, Queens Of The Stone Age themselves released a video for a country-ish duet with none other than Nikki Lane, this generation's ultimate outlaw country singer: Directed by the duo of Christopher Gruse and Tony Wolski from Hungry Man Productions, with cameos from veteran actors Diedrich Bader (Drew Carey Show, Veep) and wife Dulcy Rogers (Father of the Bride Part II), the video for Easy Street follows a battered and bruised Homme seemingly running from a motley crew of disguised degenerate characters and then hosting a party for them at a huge cottage.
It's definitely a slower jam than most QOTSA songs, but not completely out of place considering past tracks like Make It Wit Chu and the sublimely subdued cover of Billy Idol's White Wedding.
I'll probably require time for it to grow on me a bit more - and will likely hope I don't see it too often live - but it will probably make its way onto my Eternal Playlist eventually.
Just days after leader Josh Homme confirmed having recorded a song with Shania Twain, Queens Of The Stone Age themselves released a video for a country-ish duet with none other than Nikki Lane, this generation's ultimate outlaw country singer: Directed by the duo of Christopher Gruse and Tony Wolski from Hungry Man Productions, with cameos from veteran actors Diedrich Bader (Drew Carey Show, Veep) and wife Dulcy Rogers (Father of the Bride Part II), the video for Easy Street follows a battered and bruised Homme seemingly running from a motley crew of disguised degenerate characters and then hosting a party for them at a huge cottage.
It's definitely a slower jam than most QOTSA songs, but not completely out of place considering past tracks like Make It Wit Chu and the sublimely subdued cover of Billy Idol's White Wedding.
I'll probably require time for it to grow on me a bit more - and will likely hope I don't see it too often live - but it will probably make its way onto my Eternal Playlist eventually.
Thursday, June 11, 2026
Video of The Week: Shakira featuring Burna Boy
(product links go to sponsored Amazon products, previous post links go to related pages on my blog, news and place links go to source pages)
I will not be watcing the World Cup, as I am really not a futbol fan, but there is no denying that Shakira's new song for the occasion, Dai Dai (with Burna Boy), is extremely catchy:
The video was directed by Hannah Lux Davis, who has worked with dozens of pop stars (Ariana Grande, Shakira, Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, Nicki Minaj, Miley Cyrus, Avril Lavigne, Christina Aguilera, and Hilary Duff) and rappers (Snoop Dogg, Nicki Minaj, Lil' Wayne, 2 Chainz, Doja Cat) in the past decade and a half. The colours are vibrant, there are plenty of kids dancing to show the playfulness and unity that the World Cup claims to stand for, and Shakira is as bubbly as can be.
I will not be watcing the World Cup, as I am really not a futbol fan, but there is no denying that Shakira's new song for the occasion, Dai Dai (with Burna Boy), is extremely catchy:
The video was directed by Hannah Lux Davis, who has worked with dozens of pop stars (Ariana Grande, Shakira, Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, Nicki Minaj, Miley Cyrus, Avril Lavigne, Christina Aguilera, and Hilary Duff) and rappers (Snoop Dogg, Nicki Minaj, Lil' Wayne, 2 Chainz, Doja Cat) in the past decade and a half. The colours are vibrant, there are plenty of kids dancing to show the playfulness and unity that the World Cup claims to stand for, and Shakira is as bubbly as can be.
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