Episode 92
This week we have!!
Belinda Carlisle – Superstar
Horsegirl – 2468
Marshall Crenshaw – (They Long to Be) Close to You
Alison Brown & Steve Martin with Jackson Brown & Jeff Hanna – Dear Time
Margo Price – Wild at Heart
Bright Eyes – 1st World Blues
Beaches – I Wore It Better
shame – Spartak
Valence – “Leo (Rentre a la Maison)”
Horsegirl – 2468
Horsegirl – “2468” (Official Music Video)
sometimes the songs you choose are just terrible – here is one example
Taken from ‘Phonetics On and On,’ the new album from Horsegirl out February 14, 2025 on Matador Records
The group originated in 2019 and they self-released their first song, “Forecast”, that year.[2] The group released their first EP, Horsegirl: Ballroom Dance Scene et cetera, through Sonic Cathedral Recordings[3] in 2020.[4][5] Paste named the EP one of the 25 best EP’s of 2020.[6]
In November 2021, the group released another song, “Billy”, their first on Matador Records.[7][8] The song was named one of Rolling Stone‘s “Songs You Need to Know”.[9] Alongside the song, the group released a cover of Minutemen‘s song “History Lesson – Part II“.[10]
On June 3, 2022, the band released their debut album, Versions of Modern Performance, via Matador.[11]
In November 2024, the band released the single “2468” and announced the release of their upcoming studio album, Phonetics On and On, produced by Cate Le Bon.[12] They shared three additional singles prior to the album’s release on February 14, 2025: “Julie”, “Switch Over”, and “Frontrunner”.
Three years ago they were on KEXP . A bit different
Alison Brown & Steve Martin with Jackson Brown & Jeff Hanna – Dear Time
This is just beautiful. To appreciate all this watch the video, great old photos of Steve Martin, Jackson Brown, Alison Brown, and Linda Ronstadt. An incredible contrast to my first pick. This is melodic, thoughtful and really wonderful to listen to.
Nashville, TN (August 22, 2025) – Today, GRAMMY Award-winning banjoists Steve Martin and Alison Brown announced their debut collaborative album, Safe, Sensible and Sane, out October 17 via Compass Records. Featuring guest appearances from luminaries like Jackson Browne, Vince Gill, the Indigo Girls, Tim O’Brien, Jason Mraz, Della Mae, and more,Safe, Sensible and Sanee merges as a captivating new turn in the evolution of banjo music. Pre-order the album HERE.
Following their chart-topping collaborations “Foggy Morning Breaking,”“Bluegrass Radio,” and “Wall Guitar (Since You Said Goodbye),” the longtime friends and banjo aficionados have crafted a collection of banjo-inspired songs built on Brown’s daringly inventive melodies and Martin’s idiosyncratic yet ineffably tender lyrics.
Also today, Martin and Brown unveiled a new single, “Dear Time,” (feat. Jackson Browne with Jeff Hanna). With lyrics by Martin and music by Martin and Brown, the song is a soul-baring letter to time itself, striking a potent balance of playful humor and heavy-hearted sincerity—a dynamic beautifully embodied by Browne. Featuring harmony vocals from Hanna (Browne’s former bandmate during his brief stint in the first iteration of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), “Dear Time” also draws much of its emotional power from the elegant simplicity of its melody.
Bright Eyes – 1st World Blues
Bright Eyes – 1st World Blues (Official Video)
I am playing this because I didn’t know if Conor Oberst was still alive. I have listened to my share of Conor Oberst/Bright Eyes music and the last time I listened to them was from their biggest commercial success Cassadaga, 2007 that I bought during a soccer tournament in Syracuse I think in a mall that doesn’t exist anymore.
Watch Bright Eyes’ Video for New Song “1st World Blues” (July 22, 2025)
Conor Oberst and his bandmates described the song as “an homage to ska in all its waves”
Bright Eyes have shared a new song. The ska-inflected “1st World Blues” arrives with a Jared Sherbert–directed video that stars Conor Oberst alongside members of So So Glos and pro skater Nelly Morville.
“‘1st World Blues’ is an homage to ska in all its waves,” the band said in a press statement. “From Desmond Decker to Tim Armstrong, we’re just happy to add our track to the bin. The video is inspired by NYC ’90s hip hop, which like ska, has a long tradition of unifying people and using celebratory music to convey subversive political themes. To be played loud. Windows down. Summertime.”
Bright Eyes released the album Five Dice, All Threes last year. In March, Oberst and his bandmates teamed up with Cursive for the Bandcamp-exclusive single “Recluse I Don’t Have to Love,” a mashup of their respective songs “Lover I Don’t Have to Love” and “The Recluse,” with all proceeds going to Bright Eyes’ own LGBTQ+ nonprofit organization, Poison Oak Project.
Conor Oberst (Brighteyes) shows up in this great Pitchfork article
The 200 Most Important Artists of Pitchfork’s First 25 Years (October 4, 2021)
Shame – Spartak
shame – Spartak (Official Video) Shame released their fourth studio album, Cutthroat, on 5 September 2025
Stereogum (August 13 2025
Shame’s upcoming album Cutthroat is shaping up to be pretty eclectic. The UK band announced the record with its danceable, new wave title track, and then went for rowdy rockabilly on the follow-up single “Quiet Life.” On today’s new one “Sparktak,” they take an Americana/country-rock turn.
Shame guitarist Sean Coyle-Smith says “Sparktak” came about because he “was basically trying to write a Wilco song.” Thematically, it deals with the trivialities of social hierarchy, with singer Charlie Steen scoffing at the cool kids: “At the party you were talking academic matters/ Don’t you know none of that shit really matters?”
all three songs released from the new album Cutthroat are amazing. I just happened to choose Spartak.
A great line that I wouldn’t mind throwing at some people right now
Don’t climb onto that high horse
‘Cause the saddle doesn’t fit ya
I’ll only cast the first stone
If I’m sure that it will hit ya
I love the anger of these guys.
Belinda Carlisle – “Superstar” – Once Upon a Time in California
Belinda Carlisle of course gained fame in the early eighties as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go’s. She went on to have a successful career as a solo artist. Earlier this year she released Once Upon a Time in California, a collection of songs from the early seventies. My choice is her version of “Superstar” written by Leon Russell and Bonnie Bramlett.
The song of course became famous when the Carpenters scored a huge hit with it under a new , more sanitized title, “Superstar”.
Carlisle’s version is pretty faithful to The Carpenters.
Marshall Crenshaw – “(They Long to Be) Close to You” – From the Hellhole
Marshall is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist best known for hit songs such as “Someday, Someway”, a US top 40 hit in 1982. He subsequently released a series of pretty darn good records all through the eighties. His latest came out last summer where he decided to cover this classic Bacharach/David tune.
My intro to Crenshaw was this marevelous concert on PBS Soundstage in 1983.
Margo Price – “Wild at Heart” – Hard Headed Woman
Margo Price is a Grammy nominated American country singer-songwriter. She has recently released her 6th album.
https://whenthehornblows.com/content/2025/9/1/album-review-margo-price-hard-headed-woman
Beaches – “I Wore It Better” – No Hard Feelings
Last summer, The Beaches released their third studio album No Hard Feelings. The album has been preceded by the release of six singles: “Takes One to Know One”, “Jocelyn”, “Last Girls at the Party”, “Did I Say Too Much”, “Touch Myself”, and “Lesbian of the Year”. I chose the fresher track “I Wore it Better”
The album has been received enthusiastically by fans and critics alike.
Valence – “Leo (Rentre a la Maison)” -single
Back in late August, I found and subsequently plucked this song from the Spotify list, ” Montreal Chill” (How I got there , I can’t remember. )
Valence is the moniker of Saint- Sauveur singer-songwriter Vincent Dufour.
One site describes Valence as ” Vincent’s excuse to celebrate the mess of his twenties. It is an amalgam of daydreams and brightly colored nostalgia.” See for yourself:
Whole-Hearted 