This week’s songs
Lizzo – A Toast
Greenberry Woods – The Summer Song
Shaboozey – Cowgirl
Belle and Sebastian – It Only Takes One Lion
Lauren Spencer Smith – If Karma doesn’t get you (I will)
Olivia Rodrigo – The Cure
Skydiggers – Blue Railroad Train
Valley – Vending Machine
Beaches – Perfect 10
Lizzo – A Toast
Lizzo: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
Watch Lizzo play “Cuz I Love You”, “Truth Hurts” and “Juice” at the Tiny Desk.
This was a few years ag, but what a great presence!
Once we opened the room, there were as many people as we’ve ever had at a Tiny Desk concert, hanging on Lizzo’s every word as she held court and waited for the cameras to roll. She literally needed no introduction; one of us usually says a few words and gets the crowd to applaud for the start of the performance, but Lizzo was master of ceremonies from the second she walked in. Naturally, she needed all of two seconds to blow everyone’s hair back once more.
Everything around the singer must have felt alien to her, starting with “this tiny-ass desk” and continuing through the crowd — perched mere feet away, with only a bit of office furniture and a few cameras as a barrier — and a backing band assembled, at Bob Boilen’s request, just for the occasion. Lizzo usually performs with dancers and a backing track; the former, though much-missed here, stood in the crowd and bobbed along, while the latter got mothballed in favor of slyly funky arrangements. Together, Lizzo and that brand-new band preside over three songs from Cuz I Love You: the aforementioned title track, “Truth Hurts” (so winning, in spite of its repeated references to the Minnesota Vikings) and the literal and figurative show-stopper, “Juice,” which gave her the opportunity to pick up the flute she’d been waiting the whole set to bust out.
I thought I would play this for my intro to Lizzo. Amazing artist, don’t know if we have played her before, but this NPR concert is great.
The first track on her new album Bitch is A Toast
here’s one review
BITCH is far more than just a provocative and playful album title. In reality, it feels like a bold statement from Lizzo, who returns to the spotlight four years after Special with a renewed determination to confront everything that made her question herself. As she has stated herself, the goal of this new record is to transform a derogatory label into a symbol of strength, confidence, self-determination, and self-care.
The opening track, “A Toast,” immediately introduces listeners to the world Lizzo is trying to build throughout the album. With its cinematic and grandiose composition, the song feels like a celebratory toast to a new version of herself. It serves as the perfect starting point for a record that constantly balances between unwavering confidence and deep personal doubt. Through lyrics such as: “I’m doing my best, at least I know I tried, I can’t say that for you,” Lizzo
Shaboozey – Cowgirl
Shaboozey – Cowgirl (Official Video)
Girl, show your face, let me see your hand
Got another bar song for you and all your friends
Shooters gotta shoot so I gotta take a chance
Girl, go and throw your boots on, thank me in advance
Meet me on the dance floor, two-step to the left
Girl, you found the right one, Dolly said it best
Treat it like a nine to five, we ain’t gettin’ any rest
You can order what you want, girl, this tab don’t ever end
a great video, read more here in Billboard
Shaboozey has found his “Cowgirl.” And yes, it’s Ciara Miller.
The “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” rapper’s outlaw era gathers pace with the release of “Cowgirl,” and its music video featuring Miller, the star of Bravo’s Summer House.
Directed by Logan Meis and Shaboozey, the music video follows Miller, a fearless gunslinger who strolls into a dodgy saloon in a forsaken nook of the Wild West. Our hero is no wallflower. Giving no s— about anything, she proceeds to out-drink, out-arm wrestle, out-shoot, out-do anything the other cowboys can muster.
Shaboozey
At the top of the clip, an explainer. The action takes place five days after the death of Sheriff Lee. The “Cowgirl” is venting, in a haze, in a rage. No doubt haunted by the death of her partner, the town Sheriff.
What is Summerhouse??
Lauren Spencer Smith – If Karma doesn’t get you (I will)
Lauren Spencer Smith – IF KARMA DOESN’T GET YOU (I WILL) [Lyric Video]
this is so much better!!
Lauren Spencer Smith – IF KARMA DOESN’T GET YOU (I WILL) [Jimmy Kimmel Live! / 2025]
what a great voice!!
terrific song about anger and revenge, we all have someone we would love to sing this to!!
Lauren Spencer Smith is entering a bold new era with “If Karma Doesn’t Get You (I Will),” the fiery lead single from her upcoming sophomore album, The Art of Being a Mess, out June 27 via Island Records/Republic Records. A fierce departure from the emotional ballads fans have come to expect, this track sees the Canadian singer-songwriter at her most unapologetic, and it’s electrifying.
Built on a haunting melody and pulsing production, the song blends raw vulnerability with dark empowerment. Smith doesn’t just sit with her pain; she weaponizes it, delivering biting lyrics with a sharp edge that cuts through the noise. It’s a warning wrapped in a slow burn, building to an explosive chorus that feels like sweet retribution.
this from Wikipedia has a comparison to Olivia Rodrigo
In this way, Spencer-Smith’s rise to popularity and success on social media has sometimes been compared to that of American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo.[4][5] Spencer-Smith released her song “Flowers” in 2022 and it charted in several countries. Both songs ended up on her 2023 debut studio album, Mirror.
and Canadian roots in BC
Spencer-Smith was born in Portsmouth, United Kingdom, on September 28, 2003. She moved to Canada at the age of three with her parents and brother and discovered her passion for music not very long after. Spencer-Smith’s first performance was in front of her school at the age of six but her parents said that she has been singing since she could talk.[6]
Skydiggers – Blue Railroad Train
Skydiggers post lots on Substack
This morning I was awakened by the gentle breeze of summer across my face… as the solstice approaches this weekend I hope that you are ready to enjoy everything that a Canadian summer has to offer; from time with family and friends, to festivals, or to just relaxing and revelling in the magnificent natural beauty of our country. However you choose to spend your time this summer, I hope it’s a good one… and enjoy the World Cup…
Go Canada!
Andy o/b/o Skydiggers June 19th, 2026
Skydiggers
Our new album West Montrose is out and about… available on your favourite streaming service or on a spinnable 33 1/3 long playing stereophonic platter… the luxury of choice is yours, dear reader…
We also have a run of acoustic shows in September to Burnstown, Kingston and Wolfe Island… you can find tkts here…
Beaches – Perfect 10
another great song
and a Tiny Desk concert too!
The Beaches: Tiny Desk Concert
just a bit about that
The Toronto band released one of 2025’s most effervescent albums, No Hard Feelings, in late August. Its new-wave-inflected pop-rock jams — about bad love, queer love, bad queer love and a life built around the steadfast refusal to let a good party end — would have made a perfect soundtrack for the defiant joy of Pride Month back in June. But, with darkness falling earlier and earlier, they seemed to know something we didn’t: that the world needs these songs now more than ever.
Within NPR Music, there’s been a movement afoot to bring The Beaches to the Tiny Desk ever since 2023’s “Blame Brett” became one of that year’s most irresistible, quotable songs. So it felt appropriate that the group opened with it two years later, in a five-song set drawn from 2023’s Blame My Ex and No Hard Feelings. The newest songs really showcase The Beaches’ sonic range, as well as the powerhouse vocals of Jordan Miller — particularly in the slow-burn lighter-waver “Lesbian of the Year.” (The song was inspired by the coming-out journey of Beaches multi-instrumentalist Leandra Earl, who left behind a gold-star trophy for our shelves.)
The Greenberry Woods – “The Summer Song” – It’s All Good Sugar
I remember The Greenberry Woods as an often-played band on CBC Radio 2 in the mid 90’s. They released just two albums, then broke up. Probably the most well know song from that era was this one:
They reformed and in 2018 released a third house. Now eight years later comes a fourth record, It’s All Good Sugar. The chiming guitars and harmonies are still there!
Critics have welcomed them back.
Belle and Sebastian – “It Only Takes One Lion” – single
Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish formed in 1996. They have released twelve albums of which this old fella loves at least half a dozen of ’em.
Inspired by Scotland’s qualification for the World Cup, they penned It Only Takes One Lion. The song was inspired by Baccara’s 1977 hit, Yes Sir, I Can Boogie, which has been playing duringrecent Scotland victories. Yes Sir, I Can Boogie was a smash number one hit in the UK in 1977. I don’t believe it ever made its presence felt in Pointe Claire during this time:
Both Pitchfork Magazine and Heather love this catchy tune.
Olivia Rodrigo – “The Cure” – You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love
Olivia Rodrigo at 23, became one of the most popular artists on the planet. Her just released third record, is drawing rave reviews.
I chose the second single, The Cure, to play. It’s not about the band The Cure but coincidentally, here’s a video of her performing recently with Robert Smith.
This video possibly clarifies what The Cure is about.
Or maybe not…
Valley – “Vending Machine” – single
Valley released a new song a couple of weeks ago. In the spirit of The Beatles, U2 and others, they did a surprise pop-up set in Toronto on Ossington Ave.
The Philippines version of Esquire loves the new ditty!
The video is featured in the Esquire article. I am sucker for videos that include cows.
…
Whole-Hearted 
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