I need someone to take some joy from something I do.

I've been meaning to bring up what I think is thus far my favorite tribute album of the year, the Belle and Sebastian tribute A Century of Covers. I'm a great fan of B&S and there are very few tracks on this tribute that I don't like, and it's turned me on to a slew of international artists I now want to further check out.

Bob Corn "I'm Waking Up to Us" (Belle and Sebastian cover)
This one is my favorite, which sounds as if it's the product of a love child of Will Oldham and Paolo Conte. Heaven!

Billie the Vision and the Dancers "I'm a Cuckoo" (Belle and Sebastian cover)

John Wayne Shot Me "Waiting for the Moon to Rise" (Belle and Sebastian cover)


Oh, and did I mention that, if you like the few tracks I've shared, you can get them along with EVERY OTHER TRACK ON THE ALBUM in .rar form right here from the gal who curated it, who also offers links to the participating bands? Pretty cool, no?

Now, unrelated to B&S, I will present what has become my guiltiest cover pleasure lately. It's been around for years and it's sort of an abomination because I cherish the original so, but I can't help loving it:

Primal Scream feat. Kate Moss "Some Velvet Morning (New Version Extended Mix)" (Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood cover)

The message lost in this machine.

I'm kicking myself for linking to AOL, trust me, but you can stream the Yeah Yeah Yeahs covering the Rentals' "The Love I'm Searching For" here. Would that I were technologically savvy enough to turn it into an MP3, but I'm not. No, that wasn't a hint or anything. Far be it for me to recommend stealing from the AOL overlords.

It's harder than it looks.

Around this time last year, I posted a cover of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" by Norway's Susanna and the Magical Orchestra that I really loved. (Me love a Scandinavian act who covers songs? Never!) Luckily for me, I learned recently that SATMO (my abbreviation, not theirs) released an all-cover album this year entitled Melody Mountain. Here are a couple featured on said album:

Susanna and the Magical Orchestra "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" (AC/DC cover)
When this track started I had one of those freaky "I know all of the lyrics to this song but I can't place it" moments. Of course, when it got to the chorus, I figured it out, but it's refreshing to hear a cover that isn't nearly identical to the original for a change.

Susanna and the Magical Orchestra "Hallelujah" (Leonard Cohen cover)
The original is probably close to No. 1 on my list of all-time favorite songs, and it's been covered several times by several artists. Even my favorite cover by John Cale doesn't stray far from the original in terms of pace, melody and overall feel of the original, which is near perfect. This version, though, has hit me in a new way. It's unbelievably the saddest version yet, and when it ends I want more.

Susanna and the Magical Orchestra "Enjoy the Silence" (Depeche Mode cover)
By the time Depeche Mode's Violator came out, "alternative" was starting to become a buzz word to describe a lot of the music I was into and my backlash started. "Enjoy the Silence" was my least favorite track on the album, at least partially because everyone and their brother seemed to love it. (Not to mention that my crazy bisexual boyfriend at the time had inexpicably declared it "our song," the concept of which just plain irked me with its lameness.) Surprisingly, I can stomach this version. Maybe I'm just in a stark, ethereal mood lately.