All the dreams that we were building... we never fulfilled them.

Sorry so long between posts. I had jury duty last week and my friend visited over the weekend and I all but forgot my position as an Internet superstar. Heh.

Aaaanyhow, all of today's selections came to me courtesy of my free eMusic.com trial. eMusic truly is a treasure trove of independent tribute albums and individual covers. That you can search by track titles helps a lot. I spared you the a capella results. Because I care.

Dipstick vs. Barbara Manning "These Days" (Nico cover, comp. Jackson Browne—or maybe it's a cover of Browne's own version, who knows?)
About a decade ago I was temporarily obsessed with SF Seals and Barbara Manning. I was happy to stumble on this.

Gémeas "Lessons in Love" (Level 42 cover)
Not the only cover on their Sigo A Viagem album, but the best.

Jacqui Naylor "Lola" (Kinks cover)
Lately I've been pleasantly surprised by covers of which I thought I never needed to hear another version again. That is the case here as well.

Lisa Loeb "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves" (Cher cover)
I know there are people out there who worship Lisa Loeb, but more often than not I'm left with the overwhelming feeling of "meh" upon hearing her songs. This song elicits the same feeling, but I'm guessing some readers might be interested.

Oizone "Baby Can I Hold You" (Tracy Chapman cover)
Lately covers of this Tracy Chapman tearjerker have been surfacing left and right. This oi version probably strays from the somber tone of the original the most, but it's intriguing in that "THEY covered THIS???" way.

O.V.N.I. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" (Abba cover)
I kind of like the psych trance intro to this better than Madonna's sample in "Hung Up."

St. Fiachra's Junior School Choir "Sweetest Thing" (U2 cover)
This track is from Even Better Than the Real Thing Vol. 3, which unlike its predecessors is dedicated solely to U2. I've never been a huge U2 fan (especially post-The Unforgettable Fire), but I like children's choirs.

Sunnysmack "Tom Courtenay" (Yo La Tengo cover)
Hmmmm. I can't decide how I feel about this.

The Fabulous Rudies "99 Luft Ballons" (Nena cover)
You really can't swing your arms in your favorite P2P program without hitting a California ska cover of this. But one in the original German? Now that's a feat.

The Red Paintings "Mad World" (Tears for Fears cover)
It's so funny to me that covers of this are everywhere now that Donnie Darko is a cult hit. I swear that before that movie practically no one I know was aware of any TFF songs beyond "Shout" and "Everybody Wants to Rule the World." But "Mad World" is a great song, so I guess I shouldn't begrudge anyone the chance to cover it, however predictable I find it. This band is opening for the Dresden Dolls show I'm going to next week. I must admit I'm intrigued.

Trash Pour 4 "Take on Me" (A-ha cover)
I know I should be tired of lounge acts covering ubiquitous hits, but I'm not if they're done well.

Undermine X "Maps" (Yeah Yeah Yeahs cover)
I must be in a good mood today because the idea of this garage metal cover pleases me.

Wanda Jackson "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under" (Shania Twain cover)
There is a bit of sacrilege in the fact that Wanda is covering Shania and not the other way around, but whatever. I don't hate Shania and I LOVE Wanda, so I'll take whatever she gives.