This is a new live acoustic version of 'The Summer of 84'. You can listen to the original version here: https://soundcloud.com/raidiotony/the-summer-of-84

This song was the most popular on R2024A, which surprised me. I view it as a very personal song that celebrates some of my "best summer ever" type memories. From what I've been told, people seem to easily be able to relate it to their own "best summer ever" memories. This is exactly the reason why I love hearing from you!

On this R2025A version, I age the R2024A vocalist, he's now 40 years older and looking back as he sings and still smiling!

The Summer of 84 (Live Mix)

This is a new live version of 'Van Rattford', you can listen to the original version here: https://soundcloud.com/raidiotony/van-rattford

Van Rattford is definitely not everyone's cup of tea, I know that, so why include it on R2025A? Several reasons:

(1) I wondered how such a technically complex arrangement might sound in a live setting. After dozens of takes all I can say is I hope it would sound something like this.

(2) I figure if I ever cross a large outlaw motorcycle gang, and they consent to give me a last wish, I can ask them to play this song and they might just let me go.

(3) It takes me back to the early 80s where the sounds of hard rock, just like this, actually filled the air. In that sense I built a time machine by making it and that's a whole lot easier than finding a working DeLorean these days.

(4) Jay loved it.

Van Rattford (Live Mix)

Steve Howe set a pretty high bar back in the 80s. His "Mood For A Day" and "The Clap" are both acoustic guitar masterpieces. At my guitar playing peak, I had mastered "Mood For A Day" but never "The Clap", at least not all of it. In fact, decades later I scoured Youtube and could only find one guitar player with a video demonstrating true mastery of it. The whole magic is in his arrangements that create the sound of 2, and sometimes even 3, guitars being played!

This song is my tribute to Steve Howe and has been in the making for 40 years by one way of counting. Jay flatly rejected at least the first ten R2024A takes, it's that kind of song. With this R2025A version, I finally have something I'm happy with but at the same time, feel defeated about. It's a fact: this song is a multi-guitar arrangement. Nobody, not even Steve Howe himself, could possibly play it on one guitar.

Guitarists: please don't take this as a challenge! (You'll find out years from now I was right, trust me on that.)

Mood For A Clap (Live Mix)

'Try Selling Real Estate’ came from my wife’s daily rants as a realtor. I just set them to music. It’s less a diss track and more a laugh track—satire about open houses, picky buyers, and the chaos of commissions. Basically, her complaints…with a beat.

She worked as a realtor for almost a decade and provided a valuable service to a very long list of clients, many of whom are still friends with her to this day. Even though she no longer works as a realtor, she hasn't lost her love of homes or passion for helping people find their perfect home.

Try Selling Real Estate (Live Mix)

A new take on our national anthem. I want to introduce a more modern arrangement with this R2025A version, without changing a single word.

You can hear the original R2024A version here:
https://soundcloud.com/raidiotony/star-spangled-banner

Star Spangled Banner (Live Mix)

New music in the style of 80s and 90s rock and pop.

Sexy Lives Matter (Dolby Remaster)

"Sexy Lives Matter” takes the idea of activism to the catwalk. From the perspective of a runway icon who believes pouting and posing are world-changing acts, it’s satire in high heels. The song plays with the absurd clash between glamour and gravity—where saving the world starts with being really, really, ridiculously good-looking.

You can listen to the original R2024A version here:
https://soundcloud.com/raidiotony/sexy-lives-matter

Sexy Lives Matter (Live Mix)

Few moments leave a mark like the first time you say ‘I love you.’ It’s thrilling, terrifying, and unforgettable. This song is for anyone who’s ever struggled to find those words—or wished they had.

You can listen to the original R2024A version here:
https://soundcloud.com/raidiotony/i-that-i-dolby-remaster-1

I That I (Live Mix)

New music in the style of 80s and 90s rock/pop.

I That I (Live Mix)

Raidio Tony

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