RSD 2025 / Bob Dylan LIVE / NEW The Replacements & KISS / Rant About "No Phone" Shows + more (VIDEO)

Welcome to the newest edition of "This Year's Week" -- my wrap-up video of everything happening in the world of The Dark Stuff.

There's new music from KISS, The Replacements, and members of The Bangles to discuss, as well as some recent concerts from Bob Dylan and The Spirit of 1989 "hair metal" tour featuring Trixter, Enuff Z'Nuff, and Pretty Boy Floyd. This week gave us Record Store Day, and naturally, I had to partake.

I also have a rant about "no phone" shows and this month's playlist.

Record Store Day 2025 / Bangles Book / Real Estate LIVE / NEW Music Releases (VIDEO)

It's been a more brutal than usual winter here in Omaha, so I've been a bit of a hermit lately. If it can't be done indoors, it ain't getting done!

In this edition of my all-purpose, wrap-up  series, I talk a little about the choices for this Spring's Record Store Day, and how The Replacements fit into it all. I review a recent show from New Jersey indie rockers, Real Estate. The new Bangles book is out! I offer up some details on the book as well as some relevant updates from ‪Rock N Roll Book Club‬.

Lastly, I have a few excellent new releases to discuss.

My Roadtrip to see Vicki & Debbi of The Bangles / Belly / Letters To Cleo / Silversun Pickups (VIDEO and PHOTOS)

This is my vlog or whatever of my roadtrip to see Vicki & Debbi Peterson of The Bangles. THE BANGLES!! Are you effing kidding me?! Wow! This was a fun weekend, my friends.

I drove seven hours to Wisconsin to see one night of the Freezing Man Festival in Madison. This festival is four day event that raises money for Joey's Song (https://www.joeyssong.org/) which is a non-profit that is trying to raise awareness and find a cure for kids with epilepsy.

Honestly, I had no idea about the organization, the venue, the festival...nothing. All I knew was that 2/3 of The Bangles were playing together, and I needed to be there! As a nice bonus, Belly, Letters to Cleo, and Silversun Pickups were also on the bill. I can now cross Belly off my bucket list.

Despite the long drives, this was a great weekend. I hope you enjoy the video and the photos below.

Belly played first

Tanya Donelly of Belly

Letters To Cleo played second

Gail and Tanya of Belly and Vicki Peterson (Bangles) joined LTC on stage

Debbi & Vicki Peterson and Friends

Debbi (left) and Vicki Peterson of The Bangles along with Tanya Donelly

My "Beef" with Jason Isbell / What Counts as "Fair Use" in 2025? / Music & Concert News (VIDEO)

I needed to drop a quick "This Years Week" before I get overwhelmed with a bunch of upcoming projects. First on the docket is that I have removed all my shorts. I got a copyright strike/takedown "request" from Jason Isbell over a short I posted last May. It was a :51 clip of Isbell performing in Omaha. I've had dozens of similar shorts on my channel for years, and never had anything like this happen before. The "request" said that if I deleted the video from YouTube within seven days, I would not receive a copyright strike. I took it down, as I did not want a strike on my channel. Three of those and you're OUT...of YouTube.

I'm pissed at Isbell for doing this, but I went to Stanford University's website on the issue of fair use, and did a little research. After doing so, I have come to the conclusion that the shorts weren't exactly fair use. It was :51 seconds of Isbell performing, and I added nothing of substance to the video. I still think it's bullshit, and I would gladly give the entire eight cents or so the video earned to Mr. Isbell, but there's little point in going scorched earth over a short.

First Video of the New Year! Bangles, Belly, Silversun Pickups, Violenteer, The Fluid + MORE!!! (VIDEO)

Thanks for stopping by to watch my first video of the new year! In this edition of "This Year's Week," I offer up a preview of my road trip to see Vicki & Debbi Peterson of The Bangles! I also have a new Dark Stuff Playlist for January, and some updates to the channel.

Next I have some live footage from the recent Violenteer record release show at Reverb. Also on the bill was Bad Bad Men. Violenteer's music can be found on the streamers or on their bandcamp: https://violenteer.bandcamp.com/ 

The video closes out with a little bit of music news on The Magnolias and The Fluid.

MJ LENDERMAN / M WARD Live / New Susanna Hoffs / Omaha Record Show /Jane's Addiction / Jesse Malin (VIDEO)

In the newest edition of "This Year's Week," I report on recent shows from M.J. Lenderman and M. Ward (pretty much all the M's), as well as a new release from Susanna Hoffs, and my trip to the Omaha Record Show. Make sure to watch until the end to see Blackie O and myself visit a cat groomer for the first time...

M.J. Lenderman is one of the most buzzed about indie artists of 2024. His new album, Manning Fireworks, is drawing comparisons to Neil Young and Paul Westerberg. Lenderman is featured on the newest Waxahatchee record, so he will be all over every critic's "best of" list for 2024. He played at The Waiting Room along with Ryan Davis and the Roadhouse Band.

Indie legend M. Ward returned to Omaha for the first time in 15 years for a show at Waiting Room. He's touring in support of a new greatest hits album. Shelley from ‪RockNRollBookClub‬ and I hit the very subdued show and enjoyed the music trip down memory lane. 

Susanna Hoffs is releasing a new solo record, The Lost Record, on October 18. These tracks were being worked on at the end of the 90s, but were never completed once The Bangles reunion happened. Note that October 18 is the day it will be available to stream. The vinyl will be released at the end of November.

Susanna Hoffs also appears on the new tribute album to Jesse Malin called 'Silver Patron Saints.' She appears alongside Bruce Springsteen, Tommy Stinson, Billie Joe Armstrong, Ian Hunter, and many more. It's a fantastic collection.

After showing some pickups from the recent Omaha record show, I give my (a little less than) two cents on the break-up of Jane's Addiction.

At the very end of the video, come along with me and Blackie O to The Grand Feline Hotel & Salon. In 30 years of cat ownership, I had never been to a cat groomer. There's a first time for everything, folks.

10 Artists to Celebrate Women's History Month (VIDEO)

Hey! It's Women's History Month. And who better to chime in with a list of "10 Artists to Celebrate Women's History Month" than a 53 year old white guy! Sarcasm aside, these are just 10 of the many artists from which I could have chosen. I've been celebrating women in music my entire life. Pretty much.

I have chosen a few from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s - solo artists and bands - and all of them have played an important role in my musical evolution.

REVIEW: Matthew Sweet LIVE 2/17/24 + Debbi Peterson from The Bangles! (VIDEO)

This video review is also something of a follow-up to my last video on Matthew Sweet from a few weeks ago. In that video, I mentioned that Debbi Peterson from The Bangles was going to be playing drums for Matthew Sweet on a brief tour of the Midwest. I was already planning on going before hearing about Debbi; but after that news, I decided that I had to meet her while she was in town. I "manifested" it or whatever new-agey bullsh!t term folks use these days.

Wouldn't you know it...it actually happened! She was really nice and signed a few of my #bangles records. It was cool seeing her behind the drum kit. I've never seen The Bangles play, so it was a first for me. 

Matthew Sweet tore through a great set of his best known songs in front of a packed, hometown crowd. Hopefully, it won't be another 4-5 years before he plays here again.

MATTHEW SWEET at The Waiting Room 2/17/24 (PHOTOS)

Matthew Sweet returned to the Waiting Room's stage on Saturday, February 17th with a blistering (and sometimes shambolic) set of his unique style of guitar-based power-pop. Sweet's band featured Bangles drummer Debbi Peterson, guitarist John Moremen, bassist Paul Chastain (Velvet Crush), and guitarist Adrian Carter. Sweet pointed out that Adrian is the son of his manager - the same manager he's had since 1983! 

Debbi Peterson of The Bangles on the drums!

I got to meet Debbi after the show!

BEST DEBUT ALBUMS: The Bangles 'All Over The Place' // Susanna Hoffs, Vicki Peterson, Debbi Peterson, Michael Steele

 

How My Music Taste Was Forever Altered by a Teenage Crush on Susanna Hoffs

On my radio show yesterday, I premiered a new song by Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs. The two have been making music together for years, and just released their third album of cover songs called, Under the Covers, Vol. 3. I've played Matthew Sweet on the show a number of times. His seminal 90s album, Girlfriend, still sounds as fresh as it did when it was released 20 years ago.

But listening to the new CD did not make me think of Mr. Sweet and his great albums from the 90s, it made me think of his collaborator, Susanna Hoffs.

Hoffs was/is a member of The Bangles, and that band's music had a pretty big effect on my younger days. For some reason, I haven't played them on my show (with the exception of their cover of Big Star's "September Gurls" which I played after Alex Chilton died a few years ago), but their original songs, especially those from the album, All Over the Place, deserve more attention on that score.

I tend to frame my discussions on The Bangles around my long-standing crush on Susanna. Sexist as it may be, I fell for her the second I saw her in the Bangles video, "Hero Takes a Fall." That crush did lead the 14 year old Dave to bike over to the record store and buy the LP. So, there's that.

 

In 1984, I was pretty much a metal kid. My record collection consisted largely of records by KISS, Ozzy, Motley Crue, Quiet Riot, and some Rolling Stones to mix it up. True story: I special requested the song, "Looks that Kill" by Motley Crue, to be played at my Bar Mitzvah. That's how serious a junior high metal kid I was!

Obviously, the 60's influenced, jangle-pop of The Bangles did not mix well with what I was listening to at the time. Nevertheless, that All Over the Place LP was in regular rotation at my house that year. I used to think that hearing The Replacements for the first time (apprx. 1986) was where my modern music taste was really formed. But now, looking back, I think that Bangles record was really where it started.

In addition to "Hero Takes a Fall," tunes like "Going Down to Liverpool," "James" and "Tell Me" further altered my musical perception. Sure, I got some crap from my metal friends, but no one in Quiet Riot was as cute as Susanna Hoffs, and that ended the debate for me (again, I was 14 or 15, so my debating skills were not quite perfected).

Susanna Hoffs in the 80s (note the hair)

The next Bangles record, Different Light, also had a bigger influence on the teenage me than I have previously given it credit for. The record itself is not as good as the first one (the hit was "Manic Monday" a decent tune written by Prince), but it did introduce me to the music of Alex Chilton and Big Star. The band covered "September Gurls" a full year before The Replacements' song "Alex Chilton" introduced the indie rock world to the former Big Star frontman.

By 1988's Everything album, I had (for the most part) moved on from The Bangles. I remember buying the "In Your Room" 7" because it was an incredibly sexy tune from Susanna, but my musical world at that time was mostly about Husker Du, Replacements, Soul Asylum, Mission of Burma, Faith No More, and bands like that. The Bangles were bona fide pop stars by then, and songs like "Walk Like an Egyptian" and "Eternal Flame" put them in a different place than where I first got into them years earlier.

The Bangles broke up the following year, and Susanna Hoffs went solo. I don't really remember anything about those solo records.

I imagine the longest lasting effect of my early interest in The Bangles is my total acceptance of women in rock. Yes, I initially got into The Bangles due to an adolescent crush (which still remains to this day despite being in my 40's), but without the accompanying good songs, I wouldn't still be thinking and/or writing about them. After The Bangles and Go-Go's, I went to groups like Babes In Toyland, L7, Seven Year Bitch, Savages, Throwing Muses, Dum Dum Girls, and many, many more.

Susanna Hoffs circa now

Wow. All of this reflecting and reminiscing from seeing a current photo of Susanna Hoffs and hearing her sing "Trouble" by Lindsey Buckingham. The mind is a seriously bizarre instrument.

Hopefully, you got something out of this post. I have no idea if it even makes sense. But the new album from Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs is excellent. At least you can take that away after reading this. That, plus some teenage crushes never die.