Beyond Radio Presents

In the 4th part of 8Trax with Chris Morin, we talk about the songs from other artists each side brings to the table. Chris talks about one of his influences, Jacques Brel, and tells the story of how he became part of our Provincetown experience. A music listening party for Raye's new album with Chris and former guest on the podcast, Tom Santos, is also mentioned.

As is typical of me, I had a song for Chris and Jeff to listen to, but because of the delay in getting the interview done, I scrapped that one for another, which I felt would lead to a more interesting discussion. I do feature that original song for our listeners to hear.

My song choice illuminates a trend on Pop radio in 2026. For purposes of discussion, I enlisted AI to perhaps see why this trend is happening. It compared 2026 to 1975 (A year I had recently been researching), bringing up an interesting comparison. Chris lamented on how AI is detrimental to creativity, and a couple of bands from 40-plus years ago pop up near the end.

Check out Chris's website at topherinsolitude.com where you can read his biography, listen to, and download his music.

Well, Part 3 of 8Trax with Chris Morin isn't the last part of the interview. Because of the length of the final section, I decided to break it down into parts 3 and 4. Part 3 finishes up our discussion of Chris's music. We get to hear several songs not amongst the 6 that we originally selected. As with the previous episode, the range of styles is dramatic. We get to hear a lot about his Flash In Blue guitarist Tony and his love for a metal guitar God, and a snippet from his other original band. You'll have to wait for the name of that one. The next selection from Chris has one of his artistic influences all over it. I hear it in the vocal while he states the influence is mainly on his lyrics. From there we head into video territory. I chose a song in which I was featured in the video, one that Jeff had already seen. Can you meld metal, pop, and doo-wop in a song? Maybe. I also finally understand what the title of the song means. The final song is a beloved '70s song that Chris had wanted to cover for a long time, and it finally ended up on Jeannie's Bloomin'. Jeff had not seen this video yet, so we watched together and had some laughs

As we get into the real premise of the 8Trax episodes, each of the first 4 songs we explore come with their own set of musical influences. From '70s pop, folky jam band stylings, a post-grunge sound that Jeff likens to the actual local Boston music scene, and early '80s new wave, each of the song picks are uniquely different from the previous one. The end of the episode takes another left turn that will be explored more in depth in the last of the 8Trax episodes.

We learn about Chris' radio shows with Carmelita at WAAF and Shred at WBCN, a difficult story about one of his band incarnations, one of the best band names and origin stories ever, and a bit about his vocal coach Mark Baxter and one of his producers, Joel Simches. Plus you get the story of how Chris was responsible for meeting my husband John, 36 years ago, at a dive bar at the foot of Beacon Hill..

The next 3 episodes feature an interview with my friend, singer-songwriter Chris Morin, that we did back in April. It is another 8trax style interview where we bring 3 songs from the artist to the table for discussion, and the guest does as well. It becomes a springboard to talk about more of their music. The final 2 songs are from a different artist that each side wants to present to the other. In this lead-up episode, we hear about Chris' early life with music, including a great story related to Jesus Christ Superstar. We also learn about his website, TopherInSolitude.com, and his latest music project, Topher's Trio.

After teasing it at the end of Episode 1, we finally unveil my #2 and #1 songs of 1975. The spotlight leans heavily on #2—an unexpectedly rewarding rediscovery that hit me in a way I didn't see coming after nearly 50 years. There's a lot going on beneath the surface, and we dig into it.

From there, we jump ahead 16 years to a song that doesn't immediately feel connected—but give it a minute. It ties into our upcoming Part 3 interview for the 100th episode celebration and even shares some subtle DNA with that earlier track. And, in true fashion, it found its way to me twice in just a couple of weeks… which usually means something.

Jeff starts to squirm a bit when we bring up the next artist—someone who recently passed—and calls me out for making this a habit. Fair enough. But by the end, he's glad we went there. There's something about this artist that echoes the careers of the women we highlighted in Part 1. His voice has a quality that is noticed by Jeff.

While Part 1 leaned into female artists, this episode shifts to a more male-centered lens. When Jeff asks what's currently catching my ear, I bring up two artists with country-tinged, seasoned vocals that feel especially compelling right now. One of them is a cover that completely reimagines the original.

That naturally leads to this year's music party theme—cover songs—which reminds me there's yet another one sitting on my current personal chart. And fittingly, it's a Pointer Sisters track from their '80s dance-pop era… a perfect full-circle moment to close things out.

Featured Songs:

The Tubes/What Do You Want From Life?

Marc Almond/Jacky

Raul Malo/I Said I Love You

Raul Malo/Today

Kashus Culpepper/Believe

Stephen Wilson Jr./ Tonight, Tonight

Royal Republic/I'm So Excited

Intro Song:

Crystal Waters/100% Pure Love

Outro Song:

Pointer Sisters/Going Down Slowly

Artists of mention:

Sweet

Frank Zappa

Jacques Brel

Smashing Pumpkins

After nearly 8 years, we've reached an incredible milestone worth celebrating! This episode will be the first of at least three parts, kicking off with a wild holiday story that takes up about a quarter of the show—stories are a big part of this podcast, and I love to weave in music behind them.

From there, the spotlight shifts to two earworms that have been stuck in my head for the past five months: one, a massive Pop Top 10 international hit, and the other, a gem from 1975 I stumbled upon while researching music from that era. I also touch on a potential new trend emerging on Pop radio.

The common thread between these two tracks is that both artists have explored multiple music genres in their careers. And the "gift from the universe"? My procrastination paid off, allowing me to release this episode on the very day the current artist's second album drops.

Featured songs:

Raye/Where Is My Husband

Raye/Escapism

The Pointer Sisters/Going Down Slowly

Artists worth mentioning:

En Vogue

Laufey

Olivia Dean

Allen Toussaint

MTV?

This is probably the longest episode that we've put out, but a reason for that will become evident as we move through this one. Before I focus on this year's music party, we must talk about Yungblud (again) and a fun Uber ride. Once we get to the party, the first song we discuss revolves around my friend Chris Morin, whom we have mentioned numerous times over the years. He is a singer-songwriter and has just debuted his website topherinsolitude.com, where you can read about his life with music and listen to a plethora of tunes he has produced over the years with his bands. Ladies dominate most of the discussion of the music party, and one particular female artist dominated the top 50. The party featured 2 song games, one for the current year and one for 1995, the year John and I moved into our house. The #1 song for the 1995 list has a back story involving Jeff and his wife, Jen. In the end, the ladies win again. I also reveal a little secret concerning a female led 90's band. The last third of the episode focuses on the solo album by the lead singer of my favorite band of the last 10 years, the Struts. There is a through line from Bond music, Jacques Brel, Jellyfish, Lennon & McCartney, Broadway, and finally Queen (one of our most oft talked about bands). To round out the episode, Jeff needs to touch back on the brit band Sleep Token we talked about in the previous episode. Definitely some head scratching involved. In the hour and 16-minute episode, we mention over 65 songs or artists. I believe that is a record. Featured songs My Only Angel/Aerosmith & Yungblud Firestarters/Sawyer Hill Mystical Magical/Benson Boone Joyride/Kesha Guess/Charli XCX & Billie Eilish Messy/Lola Young I Alone /Live Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine/Luke Spiller Devil In Me/Luke Spiller Magic At Midnight in Mel's Diner/Luke Spiller Intro Song: Everyone But You/The Front Bottoms Outro song: Could Have Been Me/The Struts featuring Brian May 42nd Annual Music Party Top 50 of 2024/25 1 CHAPPELL ROAN Pink Pony Club 2 LADY GAGA Abracadabra 3 LADY GAGA & BRUNO MARS Die With A Smile 4 HOZIER Too Sweet 5 LOLA YOUNG Messy 6 CHAPPELL ROAN Hot To Go! 7 BILLIE EILISH Birds Of A Feather 8 CHAPPELL ROAN Red Wine Supernova 9 CHARLI XCX f/ BILLIE EILISH Guess 10 CHAPPELL ROAN Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl 11 YUNGBLUD Hello Heaven, Hello 12 SABRINA CARPENTER Please Please Please 13 KENDRICK LAMAR Not Like Us 14 KESHA Joyride 15 LISA f/ DOJA CAT & RAYE Born Again 16 BILLIE EILISH Lunch 17 SABRINA CARPENTER Espresso 18 ROSE & BRUNO MARS APT 19 KYLIE MINOGUE Lights, Camera, Action 20 LADY GAGA Disease 21 CHAPPELL ROAN The Giver 22 FOSTER THE PEOPLE Lost In Space 23 DOECHII Denial Is A River 24 CHARLI XCX 360 25 HOZIER Nobody's Soldier 26 KENDRICK LAMAR f/ SZA Luther 27 BENSON BOONE Slow It Down 28 TATE MCRAE Sports Car 29 SHINEDOWN Three Six Five 30 JAMES BAY f/ THE LUMINEERS & NOAH KAHAN Up All Night 31 LINKIN PARK The Emptiness Machine 32 BENSON BOONE Sorry I'm Here For Someone Else 33 BON JOVI The People's House 34 DOECHII Anxiety 35 THREE DAYS GRACE Mayday 36 PEARL JAM Wreckage 37 MORGAN WALLEN Love Somebody 38 GINTRONIX Alchemy 39 CHAPPELL ROAN Good Luck, Babe! 40 MUMFORD & SONS Rushmere 41 EMINEM Houdini 42 ALMOST MONDAY Can't Slow Down 43 BUTCH WALKER Hot Girls In Good Moods 44 FALLING IN REVERSE & JELLY ROLL All My Life 45 SOPHIE ELLIS BEXTOR Freedom Of The Night 46 LADY GAGA Vanish Into You 47 TEDDY SWIMS The Door 48 JACK WHITE Archbishop Harold Holmes 49 SHINEDOWN Dance, Kid, Dance 50 BENSON BOONE Mystical Magical 1995 Party Game Top 50 1 LIVE I Alone 2 GARBAGE Only Happy When It Rains 3 CRYSTAL WATERS 100% Pure Love 4 LIVE Lightning Crashes 5 TLC Waterfalls 6 ALANIS MORISSETTE You Oughta Know 7 NATALIE MERCHANT Carnival 8 CRANBERRIES Zombie 9 COOLIO Gangsta's Paradise 10 MONTELL JORDAN This Is How We Do It 11 TOADIES Possum Kingdom 12 BLUES TRAVELER Hook 13 PEARL JAM Better Man 14 SEAL Kiss From A Rose 15 ALANIS MORISSETTE Ironic 16 ANNIE LENNOX No More I Love You's 17 BJORK It's Oh So Quiet 18 LIVE Iris 19 CORONA The Rhythm Of The Night 20 EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL Missing 21 DES'REE You Gotta Be 22 MADONNA Take A Bow 23 TRACY CHAPMAN Give Me One Reason 24 HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH Hold My Hand 25 LETTERS TO CLEO Here And Now 26 BLUES TRAVELER Runaround 27 DIONNE FARRIS I Know 28 ACE OF BASE Beautiful Life 29 PEARL JAM Corduroy 30 ALANIS MORISSETTE All I Really Want 31 ALANIS MORISSETTE Hand In My Pocket 32 TLC Creep 33 OASIS Wonderwall 34 MICHAEL JACKSON & JANET JACKSON Scream 35 MARIAH CAREY Fantasy 36 SPACEHOG In The Meantime 37 LIGHTNING SEEDS & ALISON MOYET My Best Day 38 NATALIE MERCHANT Wonder 39 HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH Ony Wanna Be With You 40 RADIOHEAD High And Dry 41 EDWYN COLLINS A Girl Like You 42 NO DOUBT Just A Girl 43 VANESSA WILLIAMS Colors Of The Wind 44 JOAN OSBOURNE One Of Us 45 RADIOHEAD The Bends 46 GIN BLOSSOMS Til I Hear It From You 47 FOLK IMPLOSION Natural One 48 ALANIS MORISSETTE Forgiven 49 DEEP BLUE SOMETHING Breakfast At Tiffany's 50 SEVEN MARY THREE Cumbersome

The British band Sleep Token and related bands take up much of the first half of this episode. How do Whitney Houston, Outkast, and Billie Eilish factor in? You'll see. Sleep Token and another band from the genre perform a feat that has not happened since 2013, relating back to the protagonist of the last episode.

It takes a long time to get to why 3 of the featured songs are connected, especially since they come from very distinct styles of music. One of these bands is taking up the mantle of a particular genre, and the other shows the surprising origin of a very well-known band from the late '70s and '80s.

Featured songs:

Emergence/Sleep Token

Damocles/Sleep Token

Give it Time/Goose

King Clave/Mickey Hart

Kahoutek/Journey

Intro song: Steal Your Heart/The Karma Effect

Outro song: Dancin' Fool/Frank Zappa

The summer hiatus is over. Coming back with a new trilogy of episodes, the first begins with honoring the passing of Ozzy Osbourne. This is a packed episode, focusing mainly on a trio of artists and featuring a brief aside at the end. In all 45 songs/artists are highlighted or mentioned. There are strong connections between Ozzy and Yungblud, as well as unexpected connections linking all three artists in certain ways. In the end, it is a nice mix of emotional, spiritual, and fun music.

The main featured songs:

Gods Of Rock 'n Roll/ Billy Morrison w/ Ozzy Osbourne & Seve Smith

Ghosts/ Yungblud

Let's Go Psycho!/Those Damn Crows

Dreaming/Those Damn Crows

Other songs of note

Top Gun Anthem/Harold Faltermeyer & Steve Smith

Aerosmith & Yungblud/My Only Angel

Turn It Around/Those Damn Crows

The Spell/Mammoth

The Subway/Chappell Roan

Esa Diva/Melody

Steal Your Heart/The Karma Effect

Artists instrumental to the discussion:

Billy Idol

Black Sabbath

U2

AC/DC

Lady Gaga

Other artists mentioned:

Hanson

4 Non Blondes

Deep Purple

Shinedown

Daughtry

Charli XCX

Black Stone Cherry

Styx

Oh, what a way to end an arc! Tom and I are blindsided by the connection the first song has to Jeff's daughter Eva - something potentially under our noses, but we were completely unaware of. We kind of rabbit-hole the band in question, and I unearth how the mastermind of this outfit was responsible for a slew of Euro-Dance and Pop of the '80s and '90s (one startling connection!). Next up, a relatively recent discovery by my husband John, but actually from 2004. A certain lyric is at the center. Of course, it's a sort of remake of a song from a Dutch band from twenty years prior, and hilarity ensues.

The final song of our conversation was not part of the day but from another Uber encounter. Fitting, as we started episode one with an Uber encounter. Jeff has some info on one of the artists on this song because of Eva. Having a college-age child brings a music perspective you might not have otherwise.

A simple statement from Tom at the end of the conversation became another gift from the universe. I focused on one word to determine the outro song. In this search, I stumbled upon a song that connects back to a singer from the first episode. I love my life.