Remember #Timbuk3? Pat and Barbara MacDonald recorded for six years, and had exactly one moment of cool. Early 1987 had "The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades", an anti-nuclear anthem disguised as optimism for the future.
#JuleeCruise sang the theme to "Twin Peaks". And much more: dream pop in the same space as #CocteauTwins, regular collaborator with Angelo Badalamenti, and some stage work.
Julee was as picky as #TheBlueNile, released an album every ten years, though kept collaborating with those ethereal vocals. She died in June last year, leaving a small but precious legacy of music.
#AnnRonell was born in Omaha, Nebraska, a pioneering woman songwriter in the 1930s.
"Willow weep for me" with versions by Frank Sinatra, and Nina Simone, and Carmel, and many more. While studying at Radcliffe College, Ann had been struck by the loveliness of the willow trees on campus; this simple observation became the subject of a charming song.
#ShawnColvin was born in Vermillion, and became big in the late-1980s New Folk scene. Did a very good tour for 1994's "Cover Girl" album, then won big Grammy awards for the song "Sunny came home". But how to follow that?
"Whole New You" was 2001's album, following Shawn's second marriage and first child. The title track sounds like a laidback late-era Beatles song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRukg1mxbGA
#SteveAlbini was raised in Missoula, perhaps it's where he gets his trademark wide open sound and huge drum crashes. He's worked on many hundreds of albums, most often in the grunge / post-grunge / rock space.
#CurtisStigers is a jazz and lounge singer. Raised in Boise, he emerged in the early 1990s with hits like "I wonder why" and "You're all that matters to me". Even after the hit singles stopped, Curtis has continued his live shows and jazz standards.
Born in Seattle in 1963, #Sinitta trained in ballet school, performed in "Cats", and had a string of high-energy disco hits in the late 1980s. An early protogée of Simon Cowell, her breakthrough hit "So macho" took a year to bubble into the charts, thanks to the gay clubs of northern England.
For "Toy boy", Sinitta worked with Stock Aitken and Waterman. It's very 1987.
#SheAndHim - Zooey Deschanel and M Ward - met on the film "The Go-Getter", and have sporadically recorded in the years since. They make ethereal folk-pop, the sound of late night lockins in the snug of your local.
#ToniBasil is a choreographer, dancer, and occasional singer. You'll know her work from films like "Legally Blonde", "My Best Friend's Wedding", and co-director of #TalkingHeads' clip for "Once in a lifetime".
Some credit Toni for inventing the music video, a film clip promoted "Breakaway" in 1966. It contained full frontal nudity, so here's the record - complete with early fade. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQSZTPe6RU8
From Salt Lake City, #LindseyStirling: dancer, violinist, awesome stage performer. Although trained in classical violin, she's deliberately moved to electronic dance music.
"Brave Enough" is a concept album, about processing grief and demons. Last month, I put forward "The arena" as a remarkable track 3. This month, the follow-up.
"The phoenix" is about what happens when you confront your demons.
Last year, NBC tried to recreate the #Eurovision Song Contest. It didn't go well - more people watched an average episode of "Tipping Point" - and hasn't been recommissioned.
The song "Wonderland" won the contest, performed by #AleXa. It's a K-pop song with remarkable staging, like a fever dream and a planned fall down the stairs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wyjs37rHy8
Home to southern gothic, particularly #Evanescence.
An amazingly strong piece of gothic on "Imaginary". Amy is taken out of her bedroom, whisked away into the driving rain of the storm. The legless horsewoman will take our hero away, to find adventure and more amongst the mountain spirits.
Hello, #TammyWynette. The First Lady of Country Music started singing to pay off medical bills, and struck a chord with the ordinary people - she was one of us, singing about our humdrum lives and everyday feelings.
In 1999, #BBCRadio2 had a poll to find the song of the century. Songwriters voted this the greatest of all songs. It got no votes from the public, just as it's been overlooked by #AprilAcrossAmerica in the other place.
Hoagy Carmichael and Mitchell Parish wrote the standard in 1927, the Montgomery son Nat 'King' Cole recorded it thirty years later. It is the perfect combination of voice and lyric. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzPLQpLAxc4
"I spend my time being broken hearted and grieving bound
Yeah I haven't much need to look forward
I just let a one day move into two
I'm losing
Everything except for you" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gl5Bfx_jHjE
Today's edition is to the blessed memory of Emerson Milford Dickson, whose birthday was today.
Emerson was a proud #Georgia man, librarian, queer scholar, and inspiration to many. And a fan of great music: Emerson would surely have made a far more coherent #AprilAcrossAmerica.
Born in Barnwell, #JamesBrown sang in gospel, joined an R&B band. He became the leading light in funk and soul, a pioneer of today's R&B and ubiquitous pop.
Not only could he could move like a machine, James could also bring out emotion in a soulful love song, such as this paean to a missing lover.
#NinaSimone (born Tryon, NC) rose to fame as a singer, songwriter, and pianist. She was an integral part of the #CivilRights movement of the 1960s, which became #BlackPower in '68.
"To be young, gifted and black" was written in memory of playwright Lorraine Hansberry, the first Black woman to have a play performed on Broadway, and friend of Nina's; Lorraine died aged just 35.
#TinaTurner sang from 1958 until retiring in the early 2000s, She initially worked with real-life husband Ike Turner, but they separated - both domestically and professionally - in 1978.
"Private Dancer" was rejected by Dire Straits, with a solo by Jeff Beck. It perfectly fits Tina's voice, tells a story we can totally believe, and is emblematic of her mid-80s career revival. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4QnalIHlVc
These days, #BillyRayCyrus is best known as the father of #MileyCyrus. He had a recording career of his own, including this tale of lost possibilities.
Unlike Tiffany's similarly-named song from a few years earlier, "Could've been me" has a measure of spite, dissing the new man in his bride's life.
#PharellWilliams - close friends get to call him #Pharell, because he's just cooler than hell - was 50% of The Neptunes, leading R&B producers of the early aughts. He's worked with all the 21st century stars, and made an inescapable hit of his own, "Happy".