You can do what you want to; there's no one to stop you.

Richard Anthony "Toi L'Ami (All my Loving)" (French Beatles cover)
Monday is always a good day for Beatles chanson-style.

Warmen "Somebody's Watching Me" (Rockwell cover)
Some of the guys from Children of Bodom who sound like a heavy metal Weird Al.

The Thermals "Ballad of Big Nothing"(Elliott Smith cover)
Nearly anytime in the past few weeks I've listened to WOXY, they've played this. Granted, I like it and a few of the other tracks on the latest Smith tribute album (To Elliott from Portland) more than I usually like Smith covers*, but WOXY really needs to shake up its playlists.

*Because the majority are so much like the originals I'm not sure why they bother.

Kelley Deal "Fucking Hostile" (Pantera cover)
My favorite track on the Free the West Memphis 3 disc, which is chock-full of covers of metal classics.

Juliana Hatfield "Tomorrow Never Comes" (Dot Allison cover)
Pretty.

Second Run feat. Ramone "Seasons in the Sun" (Terry Jacks [comp. Jacques Brel] cover)
As a child, the original intrigued me because it was so poppy for a song about death. I wouldn't say I liked it though. Since the early 1990s, whenever I hear any version of it, it reminds me of an experimental film an acquaintance of mine named Dara made ages ago that starred my friend Bart, who aired it on his show, Rox. [See the episode here.] This version is insane and pointless, as most trance covers are.

Wolfcry "Enola Gay" (Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark [OMD] cover)
I'm always interested when heavy metal acts cover '80s synth classics I first heard in gay bars. For a minute or two anyhow.

Diamanda Galas "My World is Empty Without You" (Supremes cover)
Not for everyone's taste, but if you like, say, Antony and the Johnsons, you might want to check out someone who paved his way.

Turn our golden faces into the sun.

It looks as if 2006 may well be the year of the random, quick, no-time-for-banter, "look what hit my shuffle play" post. Every time I think I'm going to get on track and create a life schedule that includes a decent chunk of blog time a few times a week, work or TV or *gasp* social engagements keep me from it. But I'm going to try to try. It's the least I can do.

Axel Rudi Pell "Forever Young" (Alphaville cover)
German heavy metal guitar virtuoso attacks nostalgic ballad while apparently taking a painful dump. What is it with guitar virtuosos and their gravelly, constipated-sounding voices?

The White Stripes "Walking with a Ghost" (Tegan and Sara cover)
I saw Tegan and Sara open for Rufus Wainwright eons ago and I hated them. HATED. Of course, that was before they shed their tired lesbian folk schtick and turned into the spritely lesbian pop goddesses of So Jealous. Now I think they totally rule, as does this cover.

The Lucksmiths "There is a Light that Never Goes Out" (Smiths cover)
To quote Elle magazine's Nina Garcia on Project Runway: "Sometimes pretty can be boring."

Rockell and Collage "Can't We Try" (Dan Hill feat. Vonda Shepard cover)
I tell ya, if you're a freshman in high school in the process of breaking up with the first of many boyfriends who'll eventually come out of the closet, hearing the original on the radio really will tear you up inside. But if you're a 33-year-old fag hag spinster in the year 2006, this version will make you spit out your Diet A&W in laughter. And then you'll dance, dance, dance!

Hell is for Heroes "Boy's Don't Cry" (The Cure cover)
I'm always slightly annoyed by punk covers of anything, let alone my beloved Cure, but I must admit there are a few interesting choices in this.

The Bravery "It's All I Can Do" (The Cars cover)
I haven't embraced the Bravery as I have many of the other nu new-wave acts, but this is a serviceable cover, I suppose. If you can get over this guy's overly Morrisseyian whiny drawl.

I go through all this before you wake up.

Here's a very quick pre-lunchtime update. I've been on a live cover kick lately and these are all live covers that have intrigued (aka hit my shuffle play) me of late.

The Dresden Dolls "No One Knows" (Queens of the Stone Age cover)
A few sour notes here and there, but I love the Dolls so much it doesn't matter. Now they just need to come to Chicago on a night I don't already have plans. I swear, I have the worst timing when they come around.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Hyperballad" (Bjork cover)

The Jesus and Mary Chain "My Girl" (Temptations cover)

Also, as evidenced in my last post, interesting things can be found over at Google Video. Sure, searching the word "cover" brings up a lot of kids lip-synching to the Backstreet Boys and whatnot, but every so often you'll stumble on something interesting and/or worthwhile. Such as:

Final Fantasy covering Bloc Party's "This Modern Love"

VIDEO: Jenny Wilson and Robyn cover Saul Williams's "List of Demands [Reparations]"

Don't tell me what it's all about.

Sorry, kids, I've been busy and grumpy for the past few weeks. Really grumpy. So I did my best to steer clear of the Internets. But now I'm back and so is my shuffle play, so here's today's random smattering of covery goodness.

Anthrax "The Bends" (Radiohead cover)
Two great tastes that taste great together. Or something like that.

Belaire "Through the Wire" (Kanye West cover)
I say yes.

English Beat "Tears of a Clown" (Smokey Robinson and the Miracles cover)
I'm going a bit old school here, and I approve. I always loved this.

Sarah Brightman "Who Wants to Live Forever?" (Queen cover)
Though not particularly my cup of tea, this is pretty. I tell ya, if you ever want to make your parents freak out with excitement, give 'em tickets to see Sarah Brightman. I got a couple of free tickets once from a label rep and passed them along to my mom and for at least a week I was definitely the Best Daughter in the World TM.

Scooter "Eyes Without a Face" (Billy Idol cover)
I wish I were joking, but it was this song that made me want to learn French. Little did I know then that I'd study it for more than a decade and then do absolutely nothing with it.

Splitsville "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" (comp. Burt Bacharach and Hal David)
Down with love! Too many germs! I love this song and I like this version.

Xentrix "Ghostbusters" (Ray Parker Jr. cover)
I just saw the video for the original the other day and I'd forgotten that all the big stars of the day had cameos in it. Teri Garr, I miss you!

Xiu Xiu "Fast Car" (Tracy Chapman cover)
My longtime best friend Julie had a precocious little brother named Brad who once, during the heyday of "Fast Car," crafted his own version of this song with the following lyrics:

"We had a fast car /
But Liza drove it into a brick wall/
We had to make a decision /
Should we take her to the hospital?"

Awesome.