What music are you listening to?

Pisces - Jinjer. This still amuses me... 🤣

Counting Stars - OneRepublic

In the wake of her Grammy and with Valentine's Day a week off, Laufey is back with a new live video of her performing her song "Valentine" from her debut album Everything I Know About Love.

In case you can't tell, she is very popular in the Philippines.

Shore to Shore - Johnny Flynn

Magnetized - Tom Odell

Next Exit - Interpol

Unleash the Archers are a band from British Columbia here in Canada. They play power metal and their lead singer, Brittany Hayes (stage name is Brittany Slayes) packs a great set of pipes. New single just came out with the album, Phantoma, to follow in May. Intriguingly, the video seems to be the first part of a story that, I presume, will continue through the other singles from this album.

Lost and Found - Johnny Flynn

Spent my drive time today listening to Unleash The Archers (see above). The performance that actually caught my eye when I discovered them a couple years back is a cover of a Canadian classic. "Northwest Passage" by the late Stan Rogers is a favourite song of mine, even showing up in a church service I led (Unitarian Universalist). And given that it's old school folk, hearing it done by a metal band and actually working was an eye opener and had me hunting up more by the band who, as I said above, are now a favourite.

Alestorm is a fun heavy metal band. They are known as "pirate metal" for their use of pirate themes and imagery. They are joined here by German hurdy-gurdy player and singer Patty Gurdy.

Western Skies, by the UK Indie band, Mostly Autumn. Listen especially to the gorgeous vocals from Olivia Sparnenn.

Billy Joel has posted the video of him performing his new song, "Turn the Lights Back On" at the Grammy Awards. His return to original material is welcome, coming 50 years after "Piano Man" launched his amazing career as a top tier singer-songwriter. From what I am hearing, it is still not certain, though, if this is a one-off or the beginning of a new phase in his career. Whatever the future, it's a nice song and fits nicely in his long catalogue.

The cellist seated behind him is Laufey, award-winner for Best Traditional Pop Album. Besides her skills as a singer-songwriter, Laufey plays three instruments; cello, guitar, and piano.

I was thinking about Boston in the eighties when suddenly, I got more than a feeling... 🤔😂

Boston was one of the first concerts I attended when I was in high school. Styx was the first.

Quote by gillianleeza

Boston was one of the first concerts I attended when I was in high school. Styx was the first.

You must be a similar age to me then, Gill. this was an early purchase for me when I was also in High school.

David Bowie - Life on Mars

Courtesy of Youtube Shorts, I recently got into Aussie intersex influencer/activist Blume. Then I found out they and their partner have a band, Mystic Tea Party. Only three songs out so far and not really my usual, but I'm intrigued enough to keep with it for now.

The title track from the new album from Amaranthe. The Catalyst.

I know squat about The Native Howl but mean to learn more. After all, any band that can get Lzzy Hale in their corner has my attention. And it is a damn fine song, too.

Minniva is a Norwegian vocalist who does excellent covers of metal and Nightwish is one of her specialities. If one was going to start a Nightwish cover band, she'd be an excellent choice for lead singer.

"Dust in the Wind" by American prog band Kansas has to be one of the greatest songs written in my lifetime. And Violet Orlandi brings just the right emotions and skill to bear on it in this cover just released this morning. The family videos are in tribute to her mother, I believe.

Quote by Mendalla

Minniva is a Norwegian vocalist who does excellent covers of metal and Nightwish is one of her specialities. If one was going to start a Nightwish cover band, she'd be an excellent choice for lead singer.

Minniva has worked extensively with Orion's Reign. Here is Nostos, from their 2019 album, Scores of War.

Quote by AnnaMayZing

Minniva has worked extensively with Orion's Reign. Here is Nostos, from their 2019 album, Scores of War.

I know. I think I found them because of her. 😊

The official release of "Left on Mars" by Marko Hietala and Tarja Turunen is out and it's great. I posted a fan vid of them doing it in concert but the sound is obviously much better here. Song was written by Marko and Tuomas Wainola, his guitarist and producer. Not the symphonic metal the two were known for in their Nightwish days (and Tarja still is to some degree), but solid rock nonetheless.

Steve Harley of Cockney Rebel passed away yesterday due to cancer, aged just 73. R.I.P. Steve.

New songs from a couple artists I follow, both with new albums coming up later this spring.

We had Tarja Turunen, Nightwish's first vocalist, recently. Here's her successor Anette Olzon with the second release from her upcoming third solo album.

And then some Can-con (Canadian content). Power metal band Unleash the Archers is based out of BC here in Canada and fronted by the powerhouse vocals of Brittany Hayes.

A great cover of Gerry Rafferty's Baker Street. These youngsters have done an excellent job of this.

Noah Benedikt featuring Chiara Kilchling and Sina Döring.

A year ago tomorrow, the wonderful Dutch rock singer Floor Jansen took a new direction in her long career by releasing her first ever solo album, entitled Paragon. All her previous work was done as part of various bands so having an album with just her name on the cover was a new thing, celebrated joyously by us fans. The first track, and the last of the myriad singles from the album, is My Paragon.

The chorus "Look at me now, my paragon. My dream is now, my paragon." in this song is actually a response to another song she wrote called just "Paragon" where she asked, "And when shall I be my paragon?" That song was one of a bunch she wrote with Norwegian guitarist Jorn Viggo Lofstad for their one-off band and album Northward.

Whilst looking up a wonderful Welsh singer, Mary Hopkin, I discovered that she is still performing. This is her cover of the Dire Straits song, Why Worry Now, along with her daughter Jessica Lee Morgan. To me, it has a distinctively Joni Mitchell feel to it.