"There's a time in life for Hoagy Carmichael. There's a time in life for Claude Debussy. There's a time in life for Jerry Lee Lewis. There's a time in life for Destiny's Child. All these things have their moment." ~Elvis Costello
17 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: joshua james, queen of the city
Joshua James: “Queen of the City” (2012)
Indie folk songwriter Joshua James has been writing spooky, spare, introspective songs “since I got the disease”.
He’s the rare folk singer who can land multiple songs on the Sons of Anarchy soundtrack and release an album of Carpenters covers.
His voice, like his songs, comes across with a gritty and arresting honesty–exactly what you’d expect from a guy who raises chickens, goats and honeybees.in Utah.
15 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: elliot smith, waltz #2 (xo), waltz no 2
Elliott Smith: “Waltz #2 (XO)” (1998)
On the heels of Elliot Smith’s Academy Award-nominated work (“Miss Misery”) for the Good Will Hunting film soundtrack, he signed with a bigger label and released a bigger sounding album.
Smith was still writing songs of torment, depression and addiction. But adding horns, string arrangements and Chamberlin, Smith at least made the darkness sound more (musically) attractive than ever.
See also: Songs You May Have Missed #210 | Every Moment Has A Song
11 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: peter wolf, there's still time
Peter Wolf: “There’s Still Time” (2010)
Peter Wolf’s “There’s Still Time” is a grown up rock song about reflection and re-centering.
The man who presided over the sweaty house party that was the J. Geils Band sounds like a guy quite a few miles down the road on his 2010 offering, Midnight Souvenirs.
Some rockers don’t know how to settle down or get on with the next phase, and nothing’s sadder than seeing geriatric rockers trying to maintain an image, or songwriting POV, suited to a 25-year-old.
It’s nice to hear one act his age.
02 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: Céu, ceu, deixa acontecer
CéU (with Emicida): “Deixa Acontecer” (2021)
Brazilian singer-songwriter Maria do Céu Whitaker Poças’ 2021 release Um Gosto de Sol (A Taste of Sunshine) featured a tasty take on a song originally done in 2001 by Grupo Revelação.
The chorus translates from Portuguese as:
Let it happen naturally
I don’t want to see you cry
Let love find us
Our story will last forever
01 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: joe pesci, vincent laguardia gambini, yo cousin vinny
Joe Pesci: “Yo Cousin Vinny” (1998)
From the 1998 album Vincent Laguardia Gambini Sings Just for You, in which Joe Pesci sings as the lead character from 1992’s brilliant comedy My Cousin Vinny.
Pesci’s early life included a stint as a barber, an association with Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, connections to the mob, and a bit of a career as a singer and guitar player.
This was Vinny’s first album, but not Pesci’s first foray into singing.
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
Every Moment Has A Song 