Art is the music we make from the bewildered cry of being alive. ~Maria Popova
15 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in Video of the Week Tags: how do i live, leann rimes, trisha yearwood
15 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: donnie iris, that's the way love ought to be
Donnie Iris: “That’s the Way Love Ought to Be” (1981)
Pittsburgh legend Donnie Iris was effectively a one-hit wonder twice–although the story is a bit more complicated.
The writer and singer of the Jaggerz’ sole, idiosyncratic 1970 hit “The Rapper”, he later joined Ohio funk band Wild Cherry, though his tenure came after their one megahit, “Play That Funky Music”.
From his first solo album, 1980’s Back On the Streets, came Iris’ most enduring solo hit, “Ah! Leah!”. Interestingly, it wasn’t quite his highest-charting hit, but sometimes chart performance doesn’t tell the whole story. Despite the appreciation locals show for much of his catalog, “Ah! Leah!” is the biggest reason a national audience knows the name of Pittsburgh’s beloved “Dohnie”.
Having said that, after 1981’s King Cool, which was just loaded with pop rock bangers, things, uh, cooled.
Though he never again cracked the top 100 with an album release, Back On the Streets and King Cool are both essential, and full of the retro pop vibe and call and answer song structure which were the specialty of Iris and songwriting partner Mark Avsec.
Even as an octogenarian the bespectacled belter still boasts one of the great high-register wails in the game and still plays his hits in mostly local concert appearances. He’s deservedly a Pittsburgh institution.
See also: Songs You May Have Missed #656 | Every Moment Has A Song
See also: Songs You May Have Missed #218 | Every Moment Has A Song
12 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in Recommended Albums Tags: a brief history of rhyme, mc hawking, mc hawking's greatest hits
MC Hawking: A Brief History of Rhyme: MC Hawking’s Greatest Hits (2004)
This blog celebrates wide ranging musical endeavors, from the sublime to the ridiculous. And we’ve given plenty of attention to the sublime lately, so…
Nerdcore rapper and web developer Ken Lawrence a.k.a. MC Hawking rose to internet prominence in the early 2000’s with mp3’s, released through his website, that employed a gangsta-rappified persona of physicist Stephen Hawking.
His songs proved so popular Lawrence was signed to a record deal and A Brief History of Rhyme: MC Hawking’s Greatest Hits was the result.
Creationists and MIT rival scientists serve as the arch villains here rather than cops and rival rappers. But Lawrence synthesizes the worlds of gangsta rap and hard science as effectively as he synthesizes the voice of Hawking–achieved by use of the text-to-speech program Willow Talk.
Backed by the beats of DJ Doomsday (also Lawrence, using samples, midi compositions and loops available royalty-free) MC Hawking imparts a fair amount of actual scientific theory within spot-on rap parodies.
“Big Bizang” takes on the Big Bang. “E=MC Hawking” deals with the theory of relativity. “Entropy” explains thermodynamics. And “Fuck the Creationists” weighs in on the Creation vs Evolution debate.
If this extremely well-executed collision of two disparate worlds could be described in a word, that word–fittingly–would be “genius”.
Lawrence returned a decade later with “Fear of a Black Hole”, which was performed at the 2016 Starmus Festival with Brian May, Richard Dawkins and the real Stephen Hawking in attendance.
It seems Hawking’s energy can never be destroyed.
Listen to: “The Hawkman Cometh”
Listen to: “Big Bizang”
Listen to: “Entropy”
Listen to: “Bitchslap”
Listen to: “Fuck the Creationists”
Listen to: “All My Shootings Be Drivebys”
Listen to: “What We Need More of is Science”
10 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in Video of the Week Tags: dias tristes, kenia os
10 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: manu chao, tu te vas
Manu Chao: “Tu Te Vas” (2024)
Listening to 2024’s Viva Tu is a bit dizzying: Spanish, French and English, all within the first three songs of Manu Chao’s 2024 release. A half-dozen languages across an album that mixes the personal and the political, the intimate and the anthemic.
Remarkably, it was the singer’s first studio album in 17 years, but his unique formula remained intact, much to the appreciation of fans he’d kept waiting for new material.
See also: Songs You May Have Missed #760 | Every Moment Has A Song
10 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: connie converse, house
Connie Converse: “House” (2026)
We elsewhere told the tale of singular folk songwriter Connie Converse, her inspired music, disappointing career and mysterious disappearance.
To the 2026 reissue of her How Sad, How Lovely album was added this bonus, previously unreleased track.
It’s one more example of her lyrical gift, and a heartfelt reminder of all the things “home” can mean.
Every Moment Has A Song 