Reader Zack asked me if I had this and I tried to send it his way, but my e-mail bounced back because it his e-mail host deemed the file too large. That's cool, though, as now we all can revel in this rarity.
I kind of used to hate the original version of this song, but then it became the theme song of Peep Show, one of my favorite BBC comedies, and it grew on me.
Speaking of my favorite BBC comedies, whenever I need a good laugh, I can always count on the training episode of The Office. (Series One, Episode Four). Gareth and Tim's accompaniment to David Brent's rocking tune never fails to amuse. And I love that people are covering it. It's better than most songs of that ilk that actually get airplay.
I'm still on my BBC comedy-related kick. This track by the former Dexy's Midgnight Runners' front man reminds me of Brian's hilarious Dexy's flashback on Spaced. I can't believe how long we in the States have to wait (end of April!) for the release of Hot Fuzz. Thankfully, I live in a major city and probably won't have to wait as long as those who don't.
There are few things on this earth as pure as my love for Hedwig and the Angry Inch. I remember seeing a local live production and thinking, "Holy shit. I think this play was written explicitly so I could sit in the audience and get the jokes no one else seems to be laughing at." When I heard the creator, John Cameron Mitchell, was making it into a movie as well, I feared the worst. How could the humor and passion of the live play translate adequately to the screen? Of course, his genius made it work and now everyone can bask in its glow. I overheard an acquaintance once say he didn't like Hedwig at all, and I knew not to waste my time getting to know him. I like having my own pop culture touchstones and knowing that the people I meet who don't "get" them need to just leave me alone. Therefore, anyone who covers Hedwig songs is automatically OK in my book, especially if they're cute and Japanese.
Speaking of pop-culture touchstones, I'm often reminded of one of my favorite things my best pal Lisa said to me early in our friendship. She was discussing a date she'd had and the guy mentioned hating the Smiths. She said to me, "You know, I can never fully trust someone who never had a Smiths phase." I wholeheartedly agreed and have since made it one of my many mottos. Aaaanyhow, this Kevin Cavanaugh character was actually on the god-awful America's Got Talent show a while back with his loungey '60s throwback act Blue Velvet. Seriously, why would anyone let Hasselhoff—aka the man who actually cried when Taylor Hicks won Idol and sang that hideous song they made him sing—judge a talent competition? And, yeah, maybe we don't need more throwback lounge covers, but when they're as earnest and orchestral as this and are versions of one my favorite Smiths songs, I say we give them a shot.
Like Skid Row, this is one of the only bands I've seen many times (thanks to the fact that they opened for bands I liked) that I had no real desire to see. And it's not that I hated local darlings, Kill Hannah, or anything. Every time I saw them I'd always think to myself, "You know, if this group got together when I was about 17, I'd probably have really gotten into them." It's hard to believe they've been around since 1995 and still going strong, mostly because it makes me feel even older than I did in 1995 when I thought I was too old to enjoy them. Funny, that.
I have to be in a really specific mood for third-wave ska,and today I am. Of course, it also helps when the ska band is Swedish and the band they're covering is Swedish. May my love of nearly all things Scandinavian never end!
I listen to a lot of Boston, Asia, REO Speedwagon, ELO and the like when I'm doing dishes and whatnot, which made me think, "What Boston covers happen to be on my hard drive right now?" Well, here's the sad answer. Not that I have any real issues with 'N Sync. In fact, I like a lot of their songs and have a Joey Fatone bobblehead that resides atop my TV. But a big fan of most a capella-flavored tracks, I'm not.
When you're as bored and nostalgia-obsessed as I tend to be (seriously, I'm in the process of scanning and uploading tons of old concert tickets and high school- and college-era pictures, much to the detriment of a normal sleep schedule), often the most seemingly random thoughts pop into your head on a regular basis. This track comes courtesy of a thought I had earlier when I remembered I had a box of Molly Ringwald-esque red hair dye in my bathroom aching to be used, which was: "I know Andrew McCarthy was contrite and dreamy and all, but I still can't believe Molly let her handmade purse that matched her prom dress fall to the ground when she kissed him in the rain as OMD played. I bet it got all gross." Um, yeah. And that, ladies and gentleman, is how scary and lame (yet kind of cool) it is to be me.
7 comments:
1) Yes to the David Brent and Hedwig covers.
2) I recently had a girlfriend stolen by someone still in his Smiths phase, so I don't drust them.
3) Were you aware that Brad Delp passed away Friday?
4) How does Tom racer cover himself?
i feel exactly the same about Hedwig. if someone even mentions it in the slightest, i want to marry and have their babies immediately.
you probably know it, but i'll tell you anyway: Ash did quite a cute version of "does your mother know" and Sleater-Kinney also covered "more than a feeling".
what you might not know is "under the milky way" by Elektronauten. they did a spheric ten-minute-drum'n'bass-version in the late 90's - but i'm not sure if it's available on cd.
and concerning OMD: dutch surf band Treble Spankers recorded "enola gay" as an instrumental. that's definitely only available on vinyl - but there's a live version floating around.
and even though this might turn out annoying: come over to my blog, i'm posting cover songs quite regularly - even though they are mostly translated to scandinavian languages.
http://frechefruechtchen.blogspot.com/
and if you don't know it yet: try to find the "aşk tesadüfleri sever" album by Müslüm Gürses. it only contains turkish versions of international songs. it's really good!
or: if you want anything of the stuff mentioned i could also upload it for you.
i guess i owe you one as i downloaded so much stuff here...
That Springsteen cover is one of those where the singer changes a lot of the lyrics. In this case, the changes don't necessarily make sense. I wonder if Kevin Rowland knows the lyrics. I wonder if, during the heyday of Dexy's Midnight Runners, they were secret Springsteen fans.
BTW - what's with BBCAmerica teasing us with some great comedies (and dramas and pulpy crap) and then disappearing them without a trace??? Is Peep Show finished? You'll see "Mark" in a new series (Chatterford?). What about Shameless - that was an awesome show - and I know the fellow who played Steve has moved onto Hollywood but I miss Shameless! What about the short series with the guy in anger management... Saxondale? A bunch of good shows that get me hooked and drop me like a hot potato! The soapy Braithwaites, Footballers Wives has been off for almost as long as Sopranos, it seems.....
The Springsteen cover by the Dexy's singer really is the worst recording I have ever heard. It doesn't start off too bad, but then as another poster noted he begins changing the words in ways that either don't make sense or that actually contradict what the song is supposed to be about.
I first encountered this mess in a blog that said that Springsteen had actually denied permission for the song to be released (he can do that because it was such a distortion of his original song).
Was the Dexy's guy drunk? I can think of no other explanation.
Bruce K.
Anon #1: I think BBC America hasn't shown the third series of Peep Show yet. I only saw them showing the first and second, so there's something to look forward to. (Of course, I've already seen the third series because I'm hip like that.) Likewise, last I heard there was going to be a fourth season as well.
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