Episode 108
Orville Peck – Prologue (Eulogy of a Man Turned Mule) [Official Video] There are two songs and videos to check out now: “Prologue (Eulogy Of A Man Turned Mule),” which features Emmylou Harris, Noah Cyrus, and Allison Russell; and new single “Too Little, Too Late.”
Fontaines D.C. and War Child Records – Black Boys on Mopeds
Water from Your Eyes – Nights in Armor
Allison Russell , Joy Oladokun, Julie Williams – No Springtime
Korean Town Acid – Near Distant Future
Lady Gaga & Doechii – Runway
renforshort – Annie get Your Gun
Melissa Etheridge and Chris Stapleton – The Other Side of Blue
Bella Gallaso – East Coast
Post Malone and Chris Stapleton – California Sober
Fontaines D.C. and War Child Records – Black Boys on Mopeds
Charity War Child is a charity that works to support children across the world in war torn countries and was inspired by a 1995 charity record called HELP. With current conflicts in Gaza, Iran, the Ukraine and other areas across the world, they decided to make a HELP(2). This album is in the conversation for one of the best charity albums of all time. Bands and artists like Big Thief, Olivia Rodrigo, Arlo Parks, Cameron Winter (from Geese), Depeche Mode, Beth Gibbons, Arctic Monkeys, Damon Albarn…and countless others make a 23 track musical kaleidoscope that will not only raise money, but is an incredible artistic achievement. For the sake of this review we will focus on Fontaines D.C.’s haunting cover of Sinéad O’Connor’s Black Boys on Mopeds.
Let’s talk about the song choice. First off, it is very fitting for an Irish punk/rock band like Fontaines D.C. to cover a song from the late great Irish musical / activist icon Sinéad O’Connor. Moreover, the song about police violence towards black teenagers and poor / marginalised people in England fits right in with War Child’s ethos. I love Sinéad O’Connor and this song has always been a hidden gem for me. It has all the activism I love from O’Connor with her powerful vocal. It is great to see a band with the following of Fontaines D.C. bringing this track out for new audiences.
Help(2) is a charity album created by the organisation War Child in order to raise funds for their work involving helping children living through war. It was released on 6 March 2026 through War Child Records. A continuation of its predecessor, The Help Album (1995), the album was produced by James Ford and was recorded in Abbey Road Studios in November 2025. It features a variety of artists such as Arctic Monkeys, Fontaines D.C., Olivia Rodrigo, Black Country, New Road, Cameron Winter, Beabadoobee, and Depeche Mode among others, while previous contributing artists such as Damon Albarn, Pulp and Oasis returned to collaborate.
HELP(2) – Album Trailer – War Child Records
with help for my theme from the New York Times The Amplifier
7 New Collaborations You Should Hear Now
Hear music from pairings that include Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, and Post Malone and Chris Stapleton.
Dear listeners,
It’s time once again for your monthly digest of recommended new music, culled from the Friday Playlists that Jon Pareles and I compile each week. This month’s collection has a twist: It’s composed entirely of collaborations.
Allison Russell, Joy Oladokun, Julie Williams – No Springtime
Allison Russell – No Springtime (ft. Joy Oladokun & Julie Williams) [Official Music Video]
Julie Williams, Allison Russell & Joy Oladokun
Photo Credit: Athena Kulb // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
Today, Allison Russell has teased new music with the single “No Springtime” featuring Joy Oladokun and Julie Williams and produced by Allison Russell and Dim Star. Of “No Springtime”, Russell says, “When I talk about reconnecting to something essential, I don’t mean grasping for the most available sunshine. ‘No Springtime’ is about embracing the dark side of the moon – the blues, sadness, melancholy … Blues are activated sadness, never passive, and this is something Black Women deeply understand. It feels so good singing this with my sisters, Joy Oladokun and Julie Williams. Live your blues, don’t wallow and loop. No light without shadows!”
Olubukola Joy Oladokun (born April 6, 1992[5]) is an American singer-songwriter. Oladokun’s music spans the genres of folk, R&B, rock, and pop and is influenced by her identity as a queer person of color. She[a] has released five studio albums: Carry (2016), In Defense of My Own Happiness (The Beginnings) (2020), In Defense of My Own Happiness (2021), Proof of Life (2023), and Observations from a Crowded Room (2024).
Fearlessly forging ahead down country roads, CMT Next Women of Country Julie Williams carries her mixed-race heritage proudly, just as she carries her tunes. Raised in Florida, Julie is turning heads in Nashville’s americana music scene with her compelling blend of country storytelling, soft-yet-powerful vocal performance, and indie folk production.
Lady Gaga & Doechii – Runway
Lady Gaga, Doechii – RUNWAY (Official Music Video)
You can hear its obvious influence on “Runway,” the new Devil Wears Prada 2 single by Doechii and Lady Gaga. The cadence of the pre-chorus, where Doechii instructs us to “Do a lil twirl” before drawling “Yes!,” honors RuPaul’s famous hook, sans groove or club savvy. In the bridge, Gaga pays more direct homage, purring “Sashay, Ga-gay!” But instead of rolling off her lips, the phrase is comically awkward, as if she momentarily stuttered saying her own name. The rest of the lyrics are queer word salad: “You gon’ burn your tongue on this tea/Might show up late, might be on time/Just wait, I’m coming, kiki.” (The last bit makes me yearn for a better song about a kiki.) “Runway” also takes cues from Madonna’s “Vogue,” as Gaga and Doechii urge us to “poooose.” Doing that successfully, however, would require songwriting that adds something novel to the queer pop canon, or a beat that sounds less like the ghost of more interesting hits that preceded it. You won’t hear “Runway” on reputable dancefloors any time soon, but you might the next time you step into H&M.
Melissa Etheridge and Chris Stapleton – The Other Side of Blue
Melissa Etheridge, Chris Stapleton – The Other Side Of Blue (Official)
Shining a light on the shared sadness that is grief from losing a loved one. This past week, ’90s rocker Melissa Etheridge teamed up with the great Chris Stapleton for a beautiful new duet called “The Other Side of Blue,” which they wrote together in Nashville.
She has four kids, and Stapleton and his wife Morgane have five, so they had a lot in common from a parenting aspect:
“I talked about my four [kids] and how I have three now, and I said I’d lost one to opioids. And he said, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry.’ And I said, ‘No, no, no, he was my greatest teacher. I’ve learned so much from him. And Chris looked at me and said, ‘Wow, Melissa, you talk in song.’ And that’s the first line of the song, ‘Sometimes I listen when she talks in song.’”
Her son Beckett died at the very young age of 21 from an opioid addiction in 2020, and she has three other children, and as they spoke about the grief of losing a child so tragically, the song just fell out. This song is part of Etheridge’s 17th studio album Rise, and the lyrics paint a beautiful and honest picture of what it’s like to go on in life without someone you love. It’s hard, it’s miserable, but there is “brighter on the other side of blue”
Post Malone and Chris Stapleton – California Sober
Post Malone Credit…Thea Traff for The New York Times
Post Malone featuring Chris Stapleton: “California Sober”
Post Malone’s latest album “F-1 Trillion,” released last Friday, is chock-full of duets with country greats, past and present, like Tim McGraw, Dolly Parton and Luke Combs. (When transitioning to a different genre, as the former rapper and pop star Post Malone has done, it certainly doesn’t hurt to get some A-list co-signs.) Posty sounds particularly simpatico with the modern-day country outlaw Chris Stapleton on this raucous, bluegrass-tinged track. The boys find themselves “California sober” not by choice but by necessity, after picking up a particularly thirsty West Coast hitchhiker who jumps ship before she can restock their supplies. “Damn bottle was dry,” they sing together. “Kinda wanted to cry.”
Water from Your Eyes – “Nights in Armor” – It’s a Beautiful Place
Water from Your Eyes is a band formed in Chicago, which eventually settled in Brooklyn. Their music has been variously described as “electro pop, alternative pop, art rock, and indie pop.” They have been releasin stuff since 2016. It’s a Beautiful Place is the latest effort.
Korea Town Acid – “Near Distant Future” – Return to the Grid EP
Korea Town Acid is the stage name of Jessica Cho, a South Korean-Canadian musician and DJ based in Toronto. She is new to this old fella but apparently not to the Canadian music industry. She has been Juno nominated and involved with Cadence Weapon’s Polaris Music Prize-winning album Parallel World. This new Ep has got my toes a tappin’! The track does not seem available on You Tube, ( first on the podcast?) but you can listen here on Bandcamp.
renforshort – “Annie get Your Gun” – single
renforshort is Lauren Isenberg. She is a Toronto-based performer who has been releasing music since 2019 , Her latest offering is just a teasing glimpse on Instagram.
Bella Gallaso -East Coast -single
Like renforshort, I didn’t find much info on Bella Gallasso except for the following articles which are 3 or 4 years old.
However, her latest:
…
Whole-Hearted 
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