"Covered...By A Heat Dome": THE LONG WEEKEND MIX

 

Everyone loves a good cover. And it's been some time since I put together a mix of covers. And I will not claim that the covers on this mix have not been shared here before. But I will claim to have enjoyed them all in this setting.

So when you get back from watching the plate spinners, and the collie that plays "Peg O'My Heart" on the xylophone at the White House State Fair, sit somewhere cool and enjoy the mix.

Be safe everyone.

TRACKLIST 

Barrytown- Ben Folds
Take Me With U- Marshall Crenshaw
I Can't Stand It- The Hotrats
With A Girl Like You- Henry Buckley
Bus Stop- Fountains Of Wayne
Who Loves The Sun- Madison Cunningham & Alan Hampton
Trouble- Mike Viola
Drift Away - The Rolling Stones
A Way To Say Goodbye- Tim Christensen
Come See About Me- The Afghan Whigs
On Broadway- Jimmy Scott
Apples & Oranges- Andy Partridge
Be Nice To Me- Rumer
Since I Fell For You- Bonnie Raitt
Begin The Beguine- Pete Townshend

HERE 

It's Not The Heat, It's The...Okay, It's The Heat!

 

I've lived in NYC my whole life. Whether in Sheepshead Bay or Greenwich Village, at some point during the dog days of summer, if you were outside, you would hear amazing music like this coming out of a car stereo or a boombox.

Stay cool everyone. Let Ray Barretto take the heat!

Izzat Loves

 

A old friend and fellow Todd Rundgren fan reminded me via a Facebook message about a collection of Japanese artists reinventing over 30 songs from Rundgren's catalogue. I had forgotten about this, but I did indeed own it. That collection took me to another collection of Todd covers called "For The Love Of Todd," which like the former from Japan, and honestly most tribute collections, is hit or miss. But the ones that hit were worth the time, like The Spongetones' Jamie Hoover's take on "Izzat Love" originally found on 1974's "Todd" album.

I've posted both for your listening pleasure.

 

Clive Davis, 1932- 2026

 

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One Monkee Won't Stop The Show

 

 

Mickey Dolenz, the last surviving Monkee, will release "Timeless" in September. This is a six track E.P. featuring songs written by Andy Partridge, the late Adam Schlesinger, Shelby Lynne, Vicki Peterson and the continued AWOL Paul Westerberg, whose "Terri," the lead track from his somewhat lost and legendary "49:00" album, a record which saw the light of digital day for a mere two days before being hit with licensing issues and deleted, is Mickey's lead single off "Timeless."

Dolenz's tribute records to Michael Nesmith and R.E.M. were both excellent, so I have hope for this one. Though I wonder just how bad the industry has to be to keep two of our greatest songwriters, Andy Partridge and Paul Westerberg, from releasing anything new at all under their own names.

 

 

 

Songs Of The Week, 2026: 6/20-6/26

 

The House Of Blue Lights- Ella Mae Morse & Freddie Slack
Frog Legs- Lloyd Price
Hurry Hurry Baby- Roy Brown
Chicken Shack Boogie- Amos Milburn
Early In The Morning- Papa Mali
Slide Frog Slide- Preservation Brass
Weekend Dance- Shamarr Allen & The Underdawgs

 

This week's mix was inspired by a couple of things. Five of the seven songs were played on the June 19th episode of "All That Gumbo," a weekly radio show on WIOX in The Catskills, hosted by my friends Susan Shaw & Allen Vella. Every Friday afternoon from 4-6 PM, they bring New Orleans and its surrounding regions up north and on the 19th, those kids were on fire with two hours of music that kept me on my feet.

I am also reading Nick Tosches' "Unsung Heroes Of Rock & Roll" for the fourth time. If you don't know it, I suggest getting on it toot sweet. There is no book on rock and roll quite like it, and it inspired the inclusion of the Ella Mae Morse and Roy Brown tracks.

It's HERE.

Hope ya dig the music.