Copy, Right?

Who's loving you? CLLCT is.

2009-08-30T21:21:00.010-05:00

Still toying with if/how to restart the blog, but I needed to check in with a link to yet another fun Collective Family (CLLCT) tribute project: Our Bad: A Michael Jackson Tribute Compilation, which you can download at that page. It features the work of few of my favorite songwriting/songsharing-obsessed Internet (and somewhat beyond) friends, James Eric, Tinyfolk, iron like nylon and more. If you hear anything you like, you might want to spend a little time (mintues, hours, days, weeks, months?) checking out the work of those featuring their music on CLLCT. I know I have and consider it a great resource for good free music by people who love to write and share music. Long live bedroom rock. Or folk. Or whatever. All of it.

Also: James Eric and Erin Vogel cover Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

There was nothing in the world that I ever wanted more.

2009-08-08T05:11:00.002-05:00

Still working out the details of the new blog in the midst of my job hunt, etc. Until then, I just couldn't wait to share this:

Question for fellow blogger types who've abandoned Blogger.

2009-06-24T17:41:00.003-05:00

I'm thinking of moving the site away from Blogger before restarting because I hear that, even in cases where permission has been granted to host an MP3, they've removed them. Where should I look to move and/or what program can I use with my own domain/host that has similarly easy-to-navigate templates and less Big Brotherism?

It lives?

2009-06-19T13:50:00.007-05:00

Cough, cough. Is this thing on?

Just more than a year ago I stopped blogging here in the hope that my life would move me in a direction to decide whether I was going to start up again or not. I stopped the blog because it seemed a little frivolous in light of the real-life crap that was going on in my life. And a lot was going on then and even more went on. I was sick, I was underemployed, I eventually relocated from Chicago to Bloomington, IN, in the hope of assisting my ill father who died a few weeks later, in April my best friend committed suicide. My health is better, but I'm still underemployed and have lost two of my favorite people in the world. But I'm doing fine. Better than fine, most days.

So, yeah, life just continues to throw shit at me and I'm taking it pretty well, I think, and now it seems kind of silly not to have a fun, cover-filled diversion. I'm currently deciding if the potentially revived Copy, Right? will be just as it was or if I'll reinvent it somehow. Admittedly, I have been too preoccupied with all of the aforementioned stuff to even pay attention to cover songs or my fellow cover bloggers in the past year or more so I might not be cutting-edge. I can live with that. I still have tens of thousands of covers piled up I've never shared, and I'm sure there are a slew of awful and/or awesome gems in there.

Aaaaaanyhow, I'm thinking a return is imminent, probably by the beginning of July. Keep your eyes peeled.

ETA: Apologies in advance if every old C,R? post shows up in your blogroll/feed reader in the next few days. I'm unhiding them. And, no, I unfortunately cannot reupload the hundreds of songs I'd posted back in the day. Sorry.

Look for the rainbow in every storm.

2008-05-15T06:15:00.013-05:00

It is with a heavy heart that I write this post—which is out of the blue and spur of the moment and a slew of other idioms meaning spontaneous—but I'm thinking my tenure here at Copy, Right? is at an end.

I feel I've had a good run. I've been doing this more than four years now. I am stunned and flattered at the positive attention I've received and similarly shocked at how little of the attention has been negative. I feel very appreciative of every reader who has encouraged me via comments, donations and publicity in the past. You've all been wonderful.

I suppose there is a good chance that I might get antsy and wish to start blogging about music (or something else) again, and should that happen, I will definitely update this site with information.

Again, I have very much enjoyed doing what I do here and appreciate you all very much. In my absence, I highly recommend you check out the blogs, cover-focused and otherwise, listed to the right.

Thank you all so much for your attention these past few years. It's been very fulfilling for me, and I hope you feel the same.

Thanks one more time for everything.

Love, Liza

Yeah, I'm alive.

2008-05-14T23:31:00.011-05:00

Sarah Gregg Millman (of the Girl Guides) "Oooh This Love is So" (Al B. Sure cover)
Words cannot express how excited I was to see this covered. Sigh. Al B.

The Chipmunks "Good Girls Don't" (The Knack cover)
I still can't believe that such a dirty song was reworked (and barely, at that) for a kids album.

The Gwen Stacys "Alive" (Oasis cover)

Tiffany "Panic (Hang the DJ)" (The Smiths cover)
Yes, THAT Tiffany. And, yes, THOSE Smiths.

Julie C "Breathe" (Pink Floyd cover)

The Vibrators "Liza" (NOFX cover)
If I meet someone and he or she hears my name and makes an immediate NOFX reference, I never know whether to smile politely or run the other way. In retrospect of the times it's happened and the people who've done it, I'm wishing I'd have chosen the latter more frequently.

Watch the Men Fall "Venus in Furs" (The Velvet Underground cover)

The Dollyrots "Be My Baby" (The Ronettes cover)

Los Chicros "Changes" (David Bowie cover)

The Bam Bams "Kids in America"(Kim Wilde cover)

Olive "My Sharona" (The Knack cover)

Numbers "Cry" (The Birthday Party cover)

Please don't stop the music.

2008-05-13T02:55:00.008-05:00

Yeah, I fell off the face of the earth for a second. New post up by Wednesday.

Speaking of Wednesday, before then, Chicagoans who love live music, theatre, comedy and the arts in general should contact their alderman (alderperson?) and tell them to vote NO to the proposed promoter's ordinance. You can also sign the petition against it here.

If it passes, our access to the things we love will be severely stifled.

Update: If you're willing to go to the City Council meeting tomorrow at 10 am in protest, sign up here.

Another update: Thanks to public outcry from promoters, performers and fans, the ordinance has been tabled for now for reevaluation purposes.

Like the sun, chasing all of the rain away.

2008-04-28T04:02:00.006-05:00

I've been posting lots of YouTube videos lately, but it's become my insomnia-fueled, late-night pastime to randomly browse for covers by everyday people. This one was a pleasant surprise:

And remember adorable Anthony Hill, whose videos I posted about a year ago? Well, he's covered my favorite Syd Barrett song (I'm in a weird Pink Floyd et. al. phase lately), and he's charming as ever. Someone sign this guy already!

There will be feasting and dancing in Jerusalem (or Hinsdale) next year.

2008-04-23T11:14:00.007-05:00

I just learned via a MySpace bulletin that Heathers, a Dublin folk-punk-pop duo releasing an album on Plan-it-X Records sometime soon, will be touring the States with other Plan-it-Xer folk-punk-pop favorites (whose covers have been featured here in the past) Ghost Mice. Sadly, they do not have a show planned in Chicago proper (as of yet, anyhow), so I won't be able to catch them, but I still thought some of you might be interested in learning about them because they're pretty damned good and you might want to check them out if they're playing near you. Here are two videos of them performing The Mountain Goats' "This Year" and Tegan and Sara's "Nineteen," respectively. The quality of the videos might not be that great, but the talent shines through.

Update: I have to add their live version of this Spice Girls cover too because it's my jam!

Let's admit I made a mistake, but can we still be friends?

2008-04-23T01:15:00.004-05:00

Welcome to my late-night/early-morning post inspired by the purchases I made earlier today (technically yesterday) for $1 or less at the used record store:

Paul Young "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (Joy Division cover)
I feel over the years I've divulged a lot of personal information about my past with music of a somewhat embarrassing nature. I believe what I'm about to admit far surpasses all previous embarrassment. You ready? Okay, here goes: This is the first version of this song that I ever heard. Oh, god. And I didn't much care for it—or didn't much pay any real attention to it, anyhow—as you might imagine. I don't judge myself too harshly because I was only 8 when the original track was released. I was 10 or 11 when this version rolled around and pretty much didn't realize that the album this was on was nearly, if not completely, all covers. By the time I was 12 or 13, I'd heard the original and made the connection and most likely played it all cool like I was always in the know. But really? No one else around me knew either version, so I think I won that round.

Tim Curry "I Will" (The Beatles cover)
Let's just say the last thing I expected upon purchasing two Tim Curry records was a reggae version of anything, let alone a Beatles ballad.

Robert Palmer "Can We Still Be Friends?" (Todd Rundgren cover)
I'd totally forgotten about the Robert Palmer version of this song, which (again) might have been the first version I heard. It's difficult to say. Regardless, it's not really different enough a version to warrant a cover only a year after the release of the original. Whatever.

Leif Garrett "Bad to Me" (The Beatles cover)
I already have a digital copy of this mildly horrifying (yet strangely soothing) album, but how could I turn down the prospect of owning a 12x12 photograph that includes a cameltoe in the clouds? Again, I'm only human, you know?

Randy Crawford "I've Never Been to Me" (Charlene cover)
Oh, the freaky things you can learn about songs on Wikipedia. For instance, the Japanese version of this song is used in weddings—despite the fact that it's a song about loneliness, despair and (some would say, depending on which version you hear) abortion—possibly as a warning to those who choose not to marry. Yikes! conversely, I plan to reclaim my spinster power via irony by singing a rousing and prideful version of this the next time I'm at a karaoke bar.

Catching sparks.

2008-04-21T23:41:00.011-05:00

Ben Sollee "A Change is Gonna Come" (Sam Cooke cover)
Usually when a record label sends me a track to promote, I download it and forget about it for a while. Especially if the word "jazz" is anywhere in the press release. But even jaded ol' jazz-fearing Liza has a heart that will melt via R&B-influenced bluegrass and a smooth-voiced cellist with glasses, So I'm posting this nearly immediately. I'm a human being here, people!

Brand New "Oh, Comely" (Neutral Milk Hotel cover)
This is a live radio recording whose post-song banter references sports or something toward the end. Just so you know.

Candy Planet "You Just Haven't Earned it Yet, Baby" (The Smiths cover)
Unrelated to this song at all: I went to Rory Lake's Karaoke Dreams at the American Legion in Bucktown last weekend and saw a guy do a rendition of Kirsty MacColl's "In These Shoes." Talk about songs you never thought you'd A) see on a karaoke list and B) see anyone actually perform.

Guitar ft. Ayako Akashiba "Just Like Honey" (The Jesus and Mary Chain cover)
I'm a sucker for vocals by Japanese gals, what can I say?

Ida "For Shame of Doing Wrong" (Richard & Linda Thompson cover)
I forgot how much I love Ida. Then I listen to nearly every track they've ever done and I'm instantly reminded.

Ledaswan "Head On" (The Jesus and Mary Chain cover)
JAMC was big with my shuffle play today.

MarthaV "To Sir with Love" (Lulu cover)
I like to sing this at karaoke because it's creepy. Okay, it's sentimental. But in the creepiest of ways.

Mirror Ball Associates "Promise of a New Day" (Paula Abdul cover)
There are some songs that get covered that make me think "even if I don't wind up liking this, I'm ecstatic someone covered it." The existence of a cover of this makes me happy, but mostly because I always pretended she was saying "evil's calling and it's calling your name" instead of "eagle's calling...".

Star 61 "Polegada Irada (Angry Inch)" (Portuguese cover, song from the soundtrack of Hedwig and the Angry Inch)
I think I've been meaning to post this every time I blog, yet I always forgot. That trend ends today.

The Guts "Different Drum" (Stone Poneys cover, comp. Mike Nesmith)
This is another song that I like to belt out at karaoke. It's right in my range and I love the "you're great and all, but let's not commit" message of it, which was pretty rare in the form of poppy hits sung by women in the '60s.

You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.

2008-04-18T18:46:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I forget I've been (too sporadically, I admit) exclusively blogging cover songs for so long. Or that I might have been the first to do it so, um, popularly. Or something. I'm weirdly modest about it, as it really is just a public extension of an insomniac hobby I conjured up for myself about 8 years ago. Still, I am pretty constantly floored at and excited by the responses I get via comments and e-mails from readers that are overwhelmingly positive. So I thank all of you reading. I'm also often shocked at the respect my cover blogging appears to garner with other music bloggers, both cover-focused and not.

So, as usual, I was surprised to have been selected to be part of a cover blogger roundtable organized and hosted by Coverville's Brian Ibbott and featuring other great bloggers, such as: Steve of Cover Freak, Joshua of Cover Lay Down, Jamie of FongSongs, and Kurtis of Covering the Mouse. You can get the podcast here. I've yet to give it a listen, but I offer apologies in advance for any sweeping generalizations I may have made, which I tend to do after a few beers.

And, just in case this didn't make it into the edit (or in case you don't listen to the whole thing), I remember mentioning that I don't think there are enough covers of ELO's "The Fall" from the Xanadu soundtrack, which has been running through my head on a regular basis for the past, oh, 28 years. So if you're in one of those bands that have asked my opinion on what song they should cover next, hop to it!

(Speaking of "The Fall," it was in my head the other day on which I happened to literally fall on an uneven sidewalk just shy of fracturing my jaw or nose or skull. Apparently even fat girls can have cat-like reflexes, so my hands broke my fall and I'm fine now save for a few scrapes and minor foot and muscle pain that has kept me from the computer. But a new post should surface on or before Monday, so don't fret!)

When the rain washes you clean, you'll know.

2008-04-16T12:27:00.003-05:00

I'm working on a new post for later today or tomorrow. Until then, you can download Dirty Power's live tribute to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours here, should you so desire.

More than merely surviving.

2008-04-11T23:35:00.007-05:00

Posting American Idol performances is not something I'd normally do, but I fear that many of you have written it off, which I understand. But every now and then, a phenomenally talented star will be a guest and take the stage and remind you how awesome he or she truly is. Annie Lennox singing Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross" (from the "Idol Gives Back" spiel) simply blew me away. And to think I almost chose not to set the DVR!

Finding "treasure" in the dark.

2008-04-06T02:31:00.003-05:00

Too much coffee too late in the day PLUS too much beer even later in the day PLUS today's thrift-score glasses and mugs PLUS free association PLUS YouTube EQUALS this:

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Yeah. I'd apologize, but I'm really not that sorry.

The biology of purpose keeps my nose above the surface.

2008-04-03T00:45:00.004-05:00

Trembling Blue Stars "Coming Up for Air" (The Go-Betweens cover)

The Dirtbombs "King's Lead Hat" (Brian Eno cover)

Girls Aloud "With Every Heartbeat" (Robyn cover)
Guess who's going to the Robyn show in May? ME! Guess who's glad it isn't a Girls Aloud show instead? Me again! I'm also the one who wishes she could coax any of her singer-type guy friends to videotape themselves covering Robyn songs and add them to YouTube. Like this:

Girls Under Glass "Frozen" (Madonna cover)
Ah, gothy, industrial techno! Dammit if you still don't hold a place in my (16-year-old) heart!

Joey Yung "Crush" (Jennifer Paige cover)

Kentucky Prophet "Making the Nature Scene" (Sonic Youth cover)
Dear dorky, chubby white guys who make crazy homemade jams like this: Keep on keepin' on, my brothers.

Nemesis "The Shape of Things to Come" (from Wild in the Streets, comp. Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil)
My favorite '60s cult movie, Wild in the Streets, has been on cable a lot recently and I watch it each time. This prompted me to grab the first cover of this track I had at the ready. Sadly, this is not by the gay Mormon brothers from the reality TV show and is, instead, by a Virginian prog metal outfit. Or maybe that's for the best, really.

New Buffalo "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" (Nina Simone cover, comp. Bennie Benjamin, Gloria Caldwell and Sol Marcus)
This is the chick who wrote Fesit's hit, "1234."

The Sisters Euclid "Cinnamon Girl" (Neil Young cover)
Admittedly, the prospect of listening to a bluesy, experimental, instrumental all-Neil-Young covers album from Canada didn't excite me. But I have to admit it's pretty interesting. It wouldn't be my cup of tea most days, but it suited me just fine tonight.

Sondre Lerche "Night and Day" (comp. Cole Porter)

The Vitamin String Quartet "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" (Arcade Fire cover)
I have to admit that, as much as I mock them and their seemingly endless permeation into my consciousness, string quartet tributes sometimes aren't all that bad. Or maybe they are but I just get in the mood for bad stuff more frequently than most. All things are possible.

Subway Knife "Please Freeze Me" (Guided by Voices cover)

Tinyfolk "Five Years" (David Bowie cover)
I'm kind of in a Tinyfolk phase. All of their covers delight me.

Yngwie Malmsteen "Magical Mystery Tour" (Beatles cover)
This comes from an album called Butchering the Beatles, but honestly? It gets a lot worse than this.

I'm oh so quiet.

2008-03-31T14:26:00.003-05:00

Heh. Remember me? I'm settling down after a week or two of debauchery and general busyness and will try to get a large random post together by Wednesday. Until then, you should go download Stereogum's tribute to Bjork's Post.

She could go for miles, if you know what I mean.

2008-03-15T16:11:00.006-05:00

My Internet friend Lauren just posted about this video of old-school diva extraordinaire Dame Shirley Bassey singing Pink's "Get the Party Started," and I am in camp heaven. The drag queen inside me is already plotting her lip-synch routine...

Tommy, can you hear me?

2008-03-13T11:32:00.004-05:00

Let's all thank a giant tool, "Tommy" from WoozyFly.com, for the fact that all comments will now be screened before being added. For a few weeks now, this jerk has been periodically taking the time to add comments to several entries at a time claiming there's better stuff over at WoozyFly. Granted, that may or may not be true considering I don't claim to only post the best of anything. Still, the idea that anyone would take the time to write (or copy and paste) comments and type in that "prove you're a human" code to a blog as sporadically updated as mine is laughable. Now, I don't know if this freak is part of an online street team or if he owns or works for the company proper, but since this guy is so hell-bent on getting the Woozyfly name out I thought I'd help him out with an entry dedicated to him and WoozyFly. So, if you're interested in visiting an indie music/social networking site run by incessant spammers who badmouth the music I share here, by all means, check out WoozyFly.

While I'm sort of complaining, I'll offer up another request I've made in the past. (This one is less bilious by far, however.) Basically, I am a human being who makes mistakes and I don't mind having said mistakes pointed out to me. Still, if you're thinking of taking the time to comment to correct me about something, you might want to take an extra second using Google or Wiki (or your ears) to make sure you're right first. For instance, Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River" is not the same "Cry Me a River" Julie London sang, etc.

I've been away for so long, so long.

2008-03-12T14:59:00.009-05:00

I planned on talking about every track here, but then it would take me another week or two to finally make a post. And who wants that?

James Combs "See Emily Play" (Pink Floyd cover)
Once upon a time, I worked at a place called The Uptown Café in Bloomington, Indiana. James Combs worked there as well at the time, and I remember being a tad "starstruck" when I met him because I was 19 and he was in one of the best and most popular bands in town, Arson Garden. (I've posted a cover or two by AG in the past, remember?)

I always liked Arson Garden, but my love was nothing compared with that of a slew of my likewise young and dorky music-loving guy friends who were seriously obsessed with Arson Garden. Working with James increased my indie cred a lot. Gotta love when that happens.

Arson Garden is long defunct, of course, but James's solo career continues and, I'm happy to say, appears to be doing well. (Hell, his songs have been used in both Six Feet Under and Dexter, both of which are in my Top 5 TV shows.) Likewise, his new album to Know You is To Save You is really nice and recently hit No. 25 on KCRW's airplay charts. His stuff reminds me of Elliott Smith and Big Star and other awesomeness so if you're into that type of awesomeness, check it out. In fact, if you're in LA, you can see him tonight at 8 at Tangier. (Check his MySpace for other upcoming dates.)

Sorry of this is all a bit press release-y, but it makes me happy to see friendly talented people I know making good music. And I'd be remiss not to use whatever influence I have to promote it. You know?

The Impossible Shapes "Rider" (Will Oldham cover)
Hell, while I'm talking (yet again) about Bloomington-based bands, please enjoy and become obsessed with the Impossible Shapes, which features members of lots of other great bands like Magnolia Electric Co., Normanoak, The Horns of Happiness, and more. I'm personally not friends with any of them, but I've mentioned before that my best pal Ryan knows Jason Groth of the Alien Lanes tribute fame, remember? So I feel connected. And even if I didn't, I'd still listen to the music 'cause it rules.

20/20 "Day After Day" (Badfinger cover)

Eliza Lumley "How to Disappear Completely" (Radiohead cover)
This comes from Lumley's Radiohead interpretations album She Talks in Maths. I have to admit, when I got the e-mail telling me about it that included this MP3, I was feeling bitter and angry about the proliferation of awful jazz interpretations and ignored it awhile. But a week or so later the sun came out and I felt more optimistic and now I can say, though jazz is really not my thing, I do like it a lot. I wish more of the coffee shops I stumble into would play stuff like this rather than anything by Diana Krall.

Emerson Nogueira "Forever Young" (Alphaville cover)

Ethel Merman "I Got Rhythm (Disco)" (comp. Gershwin/s)
Man, the Ethel Merman "disco" album is one of the biggest mistakes ever made. Yet I wouldn't want to live in a world without it.

The Vindictives "How Much More" (The Go-Go's cover)
Mad props to the Vindictives for not switching the gender. I love cover that doesn't.

Fiona Lehn "On Your Radio" (Joe Jackson cover)

The Last Town Chorus "Modern Love" (David Bowie cover)
This is one of my favorite Bowie covers ever. There, I said it. So pretty.

Lax Alex Con Trax "Smalltown Boy" (Bronski Beat cover)

Mom's Favorite Vase "London" (The Smiths cover)

Neither/Neither World "Psychocandy" (Jesus and Mary Chain cover)

PC Muñoz "I Go Crazy" (Flesh for Lulu cover)

Silver Sun "You Made Me Realise" (My Bloody Valentine cover)
Dear MBV: I love that you're touring. Please consider coming to the States. ASAP!!!

Tahiti 80 "Desirée" (Left Banke cover)

Tindersticks "Here" (Pavement cover)

Twinball "Don't Pay the Ferryman" (Chris DeBurgh cover)

Whip "White Wedding" (Billy Idol cover)
When I saw that a band I didn't know was covering this, I assumed it was a terrible band and that it would suck. Luckily, I never let my assumptions keep me from giving things a shot. This is a pleasant (inasmuch as dirge-like tracks can be) alt-country/chamber-folk revelation.

Western Electric "When You Find Out" (The Nerves cover)
Speaking of depressing-but-pretty Americana tracks, this languid take on one of my favorite power-pop songs totally took me by surprise. Weird.

Yuppie Flu "Plainsong" (The Cure cover)

Remember: I'm awful in love with you.

2008-03-11T03:22:00.011-05:00

Sorry about the post delay, but I got bogged down with business and general crappy life stuff. You know how it rolls. Until the random megapost I make later today or tomorrow, please entertain yourself with this very fun James Eric-produced free downloadable tribute to the Magnetic Fields. Seriously, grab it now. It's pretty great.

Related: If you're a musician and you and/or your band is interested, you have until the 30th to record and submit a '90s hit for another upcoming comp. Sadly (or not), I lack music and recording skills so you'll all be spared my rendition of "2 Become 1."

Feet on ground, heart in hand.

2008-03-03T14:32:00.003-06:00

As many others did, I fell in love with Jay Brannan and his music after seeing Shortbus. Here he covers Jann Arden's "Good Mother," and it's pretty beautiful.

Longer post with MP3s coming in the next day or so.

My mind is definitely made up.

2008-02-25T14:30:00.004-06:00

If a tad embarrassing at times, my love for covers often creates a love for new artists. Many is the time that a cover I've hunted out introduces me to talents with which I'd been theretofore unaware. Such was the case with Glen Hansard and the Frames. Had it not been for the tracks below (the second of which I posted about 3 years back and I would rank somewhere in my personal Top 20 of favorite covers), I wouldn't have been lucky enough to become familiar with his work before the Academy Award nomination. What a well-deserved accolade! His and Marketa Irglova's performances there and at the Independent Spirit Awards were two of the best, most heartfelt and passionate award-show performances I've ever seen.

I'm keeping it old school here with the first covers I'd heard him do, but you can still hear a couple of more recent Bob Dylan and Van Morrison covers he's performed with Marketa Irglova via Hype Machine.

Glen Hansard "Cry Me a River" (Justin Timberlake cover)

Glen Hansard & Colm MacConlomaire of The Frames "Every Time" (Britney Spears cover)

Better, better, better, BETTER!

2008-02-19T13:55:00.003-06:00

If you've seen this elsewhere, my apologies, but frankly? It's far better than a lot of "Hey, Jude" covers.

Nearing the 15th minute.

2008-02-15T14:45:00.004-06:00

Many thanks to Clinton from WFMU's Beware of the Blog for including my opinions in the latest MP3 Truffles installment. Feel free to check it out to see my recommendations, as well as those of the other featured bloggers.

Love's an excuse to get hurt and to hurt.

2008-02-14T19:15:00.005-06:00

The Maine "I Wanna Love You" (Akon cover)
Ahhhh, true love! Be sure to serenade anyone windin' and grindin' up on the pole with this modern love song for the ages.

The Bordellos "My Love" (Wings cover)

Society Burning "Lovefool" (Cardigans cover)
This makes me want to tease my hair, put on combat boots and go to Neo tonight.

Del Davis "A World Without Love" (Peter & Gordon cover, comp. Paul McCartney)

SoKo "No Love" (The Teenagers cover)
I've seen Showgirls far too many times myself. Perhaps not for the T&A, but for the awful, awful, awful "plot" and "acting." Aaaahh, Nomi. How I miss you.

Jose Gonzalez "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (Joy Division cover)

Bettie Serveert "Lover I Don't Have to Love" (Bright Eyes cover)
I've posted this before, but it's my favorite "love song that's not quite a love song" cover.

Noise Ratchet "Crush" (Mandy Moore cover)

Tinyfolk "Love You" (Syd Barrett cover)
You know I loves the bands from Bloomington, Indiana. They are my Valentines.

The Pigeon Detectives "The Power of Love" (Huey Lewis & the News cover)

The Waltons "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" (Neil Young cover)

Yo La Tengo "I Wanna Be Your Lover" (Bob Dylan cover)

Minotaur Shock "The Best of My Love" (Eagles cover)
There are many things that amuse me about my father's immense record collection (which, for the most part, now belongs to me), not the least of which is the fact that it includes no fewer than two copies of every Eagles LP. I know the '70s were heady days, especially in a college town full of hippies who might put motorcycle helmets on your kid:

Still, it cracks me up that my dad and his friends wore out multiple Eagles albums. Hilarious.

Didn't even know I needed it.

2008-02-14T11:42:00.007-06:00

If all goes according to plan, in a few hours there will appear here a love-themed post, despite the fact that I'm one of those bitter spinsters with a cat who whines about Hallmark holidays. (Clarification on ambiguous sentence structure: I whine, the cat doesn't.) Until said post surfaces, please enjoy this animated video (as featured on today's episode of Yo Gabba Gabba), which is set to a cover of Free Design's "I Found Love" as performed by the Trembling Blue Stars.

They both went down to Berlin, joined the Ice Capades.

2008-02-12T17:51:00.001-06:00

Apparently my blogging fingers have been frozen by the never-ending Chicago winter! Still, before I forget, I wanted to let you know that there is a great little downloadable cover of The Ramones' "Judy is a Punk" over at the MySpace page of The Pawners' Society, a band featuring members of The Grackles and Scotland Yard Gospel Choir (among others). And, if you're in Chicago, you can check them out this Friday the 15th at Subterranean.

Oh, and you can download and/or listen to the most recent Drunk Covers show by the Waiting Room here.

A quick plug for something I love.

2008-01-30T19:19:00.001-06:00

1. You love the music of artists both old and new.
2. You have cable.
3. Your cable package includes Fuse.

Hey, Americans, if you meet the above criteria and you're not already regularly watching Later... with Jools Holland—which airs M-F at 1 PM and 3 AM Eastern (that's noon and 2 AM for locals)—you're doing yourself a disservice. Ryan alerted me about a month ago that Fuse was showing old episodes (as in a year or two old) in syndication and, although the show's been around for decades in the UK and I've known about it since its inception, it was my first time actually watching an entire episode. I've been hooked since. I DVR it every day.

For those not in the know, every episode features approximately 3 to 8 different acts sharing a stage, each playing a song or two on their own (and sometimes together). Jools engages some in brief interviews as well. What's great is that each day's selection is pretty eclectic—e.g. today's featured the Dixie Chicks, Paolo Nutini, Gogol Bordello, The Automatic, The Dresden Dolls, The Fratellis—so it's not solely an indie wankfest nor a mainstream nightmare. I often find myself intrigued by acts I'd normally pass by, if for no other reason than the performances tend to be top-rate and celebrate the diversity of music and a true appreciation for the craft of songwriting and performing. Of course, every now and then said artists perform covers. Hell, I was even entertained by the Black Eyed Peas performance, for chrissakes!

So, um, yeah. Look into it. It's so refreshing to see a "music" channel that actually features music!

Random shuffle post. Always a trove of treasures. And, sometimes, haiku.

2008-01-30T01:30:00.002-06:00

Chica & the Folder "I'll Come Running"< (Brian Eno cover)
Chilean-German?
Stark, electronic, Eno?
Where do I sign up?

Claude Denjean & Synthesizer "Alone Again (Naturally)" (Gilbert O'Sullivan cover)
French Moog mastery...
One-hit wonder (U.S.-wise)...
Synthy yacht rock rules.

Cursive "Frankly, Mr. Shankly" (Smiths cover)
I sort of feel bad...
I had no idea that
Cursive still lives on.

Emocapella* "Enjoy Your Day" (Alkaline Trio cover)
Welcome, first of two
indie a cappella acts!
I choo-choo-choose you.

The Hot Stewards "Tell it to my Heart" (Taylor Dayne cover)
Glitchy shuffle play
chooses two songs by one act.
See below also.

The Hot Stewards "Touch Me" (Samantha Fox cover)
Circa '89,
Jules and I often sang this
as Ethel Merman.

Indie Rockappella (aka Nathan Smart) "Come On, Feel the Illinoise" (Sufjan Stevens cover)
Remember above?
The two a cappella tracks?
This is the second.

James William Hindle "I Started a Joke" (Bee Gees cover)
Charming Brit folkster
covers the quintessential
sad Bee Gees ballad.

Kompressor "Debra" (Beck cover)
Crazy faux-German
post-industrial madness.
An Ohian ruse.

Leigh Nash "Father and Son" (Cat Stevens cover)
Not a fan of bands
like Sixpence None the Richer.
I enjoy this though.

The Riff Randells "Girls Like Me" (Nikki & the Corvettes cover)
Cult-film characters
make good powerpop band names.
Make a note of it.

Riton "Killing an Arab" (Cure cover)
We live in a world
that treats truth tellers like freaks.
So don't kill strangers.

The Rubinoos "Heroes and Villains" (Beach Boys cover)
D'oh! A cappella!
There are three instead of two!
Though 'tis not emo.

The Rubinoos "Thorn in My Side" (Eurythmics cover)
Blasted shuffle play!
I like Crimes Against Music,
but I'm nuts that way.

Sandro "Podemos Solucionarlo (We Can Work It Out)" (Beatles cover in Spanish)
The Spanish words for
"bee" and "sheep" sound similar.
Could cause confusion.

Serial Skanksters "Denise" (Randy & the Rainbows/Blondie cover)
Blondie covered it,
sans "e" and avec aplomb. And
un peu de français.

Streetwize "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang" (Dr. Dre./Snoop Doggy Dogg cover)
Not to be confused
with the boy band from Deutschland.
Nay, this is smooth jazz.

The Droyds "Beat on the Brat" (Ramones cover)
I love Droyds covers,
even when they're really slow.
At least I think so...

We Are Telephone "Division Day" (Elliott Smith cover)
Too many young men,
tortured and sad, leave us with
mysteries unsolved.

The Yoshida Brothers "Oh, My Love" (John Lennon cover)
Western music blends
with Tsugaru-jamisen
to bring us solace.

*Emocapella:
Consider adding a "p"
for best portmanteau.

Feel the darkness of the black metal bands. (Or not.)

2008-01-24T16:14:00.001-06:00

I should be posting a slew of random tracks within the next few hours. Until then, Pitchfork is offering an Of Montreal cover the M.I.A./Parvati Kahn song "Jimmy" available for download here. Get to it, hipsters, et. al.

Stuff it up the hole in your culture!

2008-01-09T23:45:00.001-06:00

Remember a few days ago when I said I'd post this week? Well, you're soaking in it! I figured the best way to mark my return was with a giant list determined, as is often my wont, by shuffling the 12,000+ covers on my hard drive and picking the first 20 that came up.

Dream Girls "I Can Fly" (Rainey cover, comp. Grady/ Holding/ Pain/ Riley)
What better way to begin than with a cover of a song originally featured in the classic film Girls Just Want to Have Fun? I miss that version of Sarah Jessica Parker.

Jenny Gear "Vanities" (Mary Black cover, comp. Noel Brazil)
Apparently this gal was a Canadian Idol contestant. Sounds better than most American Idol contestants, methinks.

The Tiger Lillies "Send in the Clowns" (comp. Sondheim)
I'm not afraid of clowns, in fact I quite enjoy even the most frightening clown imagery. If I were afraid of clowns, however, this version would definitely exacerbate my phobia.

Audrey 3000 feat. Mr. Hopkinson's Computer "Baby I Got Your Money" (ODB & Kelis cover)
I've never had nuthin' but love for A3000 and MHC.

The Hardtimes "Here, There, and Everywhere" (Beatles cover)
These guys were regulars on Dick Clark's TV show Where The Action Is! in the '60s. Apparently.

Trio Sourire "Satisfaction" (French Rolling Stones cover)

Bile "Do You Wanna Touch Me? (Oh Yeah)" (Gary Glitter cover)
This song was always salacious, but is even more so in the wake of Glitter's more recent fates, no? This version sounds like something to which I'd have made out with a stranger in those bed-like things on the second floor of Medusa's in the early '90s (not to be confused with what passes for Medusa's today). Not that I'd have ever really done such a thing. Nope. Not me. Never.

The Hunt for Yoshi "Walk on the Ocean" (Toad the Wet Sprocket cover)
God, I hate '90s radio rock. At least this version's existence amuses me.

The Dresden Dolls "Two-Headed Boy" (Neutral Milk Hotel cover)

I Corvi "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" (Italian Sonny & Cher cover)
This song is really popular with the Italians, and I approve.

Brando "Plants & Rags" (PJ Harvey cover)
Thanks, as always, to the awesome Indiana-based and -focused Musical Family Tree.

The Classic Metropolitan Orchestra "Raspberry Beret" (Prince cover)
Normally I'd scoff and forward right past a track like this when it hits, but it came just as my pretty hipster neighbors were in the middle of their approximately 4,956th loud-ass argument, and I have to admit it cheered me up a bit.

The Monolators "Mr. Roboto" (Styx cover)
The spoken intro cracks me up.

Anorak "That's Entertainment" (The Jam cover)
Spanish electonric awesomeness from their downloadable Synthetic Pop Covers from the European Space Agency LP.

Mysteries of Life "That's How Strong My Love Is" (O.V. Wright cover, comp. Roosevelt Jamison)
Another Indiana fave. And, no, Otis Redding wasn't the original performer. I Googled it and everything!

Rockabye Baby! "1979" (Smashing Pumpkins cover)

Soil & Eclipse "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (U2 cover)
If I didn't already sort of hate U2, I might now.

Teddy Thompson "The Future" (Leonard Cohen cover)
Richard and Linda's boy sure can cover a song, I swear.

The Posies "O-o-h Child" (The Five Stairsteps cover)

The Leathercoated Minds "Along Comes Mary" (The Association cover)
Before J.J. Cale's wrote songs for Clapton, he did stuff like this.

All the cool kids are doing it.

2007-12-17T15:13:00.001-06:00

You've likely already seen this elsewhere, but Cassettes Won't Listen has a downloadable all-covers EP whose artwork pays homage to that classic '90s era cut-out bin "favorite," No Alternative.

Similarly, Okkervil River recently posted an covers EP, the Golden Opportunities Mixtape, which is available for free download at their official site.

The music that I constantly play says nothing to you about your life.

2007-12-11T23:18:00.001-06:00

Most of today's tracks are softer than I generally post because I'm sleepy. Too sleepy, in fact, to write anything about them. Zzzzzzzzz.

Benny Quick "California Sun" (Rivieras cover in German)

Cats and Jammers "Beautiful Stranger" (Madonna cover)

Karen Souza "Creep" (Radiohead cover)

Paper Camera "Don't Pass Me By" (Beatles cover)

Sarah Harmer "Just a Closer Walk With Thee" (Traditional)

Cansei de Ser Sexy (CSS) "Knife" (Grizzly Bear cover)

The Puppini Sisters "Panic" (Smiths cover)

The Lance Gambit Trio "Parklife" (Blur cover)

The Lullaby Ensemble "Wait" (White Lion cover)

Grand Mal "Winter In" (Gene Clark cover)

Kings, cocaine and Irish puppets.

2007-12-06T03:46:00.001-06:00

No cigarettes. No sleep. No light. No sound.

2007-11-27T22:59:00.001-06:00

I've been listening to the Hollies version of this (which is the first version that was a hit, but not the first that was recorded) pretty regularly lately. I've no idea what's up with that. Although it's become apparent to me that Radiohead's "Creep" might not exist without it.

Jorge Gonzalez "Necesito Poder Respirar (The Air That I Breathe)" (comp. Albert Hammond/Mike Hazelwood)

Steve Wynn "The Air That I Breathe" (comp. Albert Hammond/Mike Hazelwood)

The Mavericks "The Air That I Breathe" (comp. Albert Hammond/Mike Hazelwood)

Olivia Newton-John "The Air That I Breathe" (comp. Albert Hammond/Mike Hazelwood)

Nobody told me it was gonna turn out this way.

2007-11-25T16:05:00.001-06:00

Sorry for the slight delay. Holidays and back pain and whatnot.

Greg Lowery Band "Ain't Even Done With the Night" (John Cougar Mellencamp cover)

Blue Bloods "Authority Song" (John Cougar Mellencamp cover)

Hot Water Music "Authority Song" (John Cougar Mellencamp cover)

Operation Cliff Clavin "Authority Song" (John Cougar Mellencamp cover)

Keystone All-Stars "Authority Song" (John Cougar Mellencamp cover)

Vitamin String Quartet "Cherry Bomb" (John Cougar Mellencamp cover)

Uriah Heep "Hot Night in a Cold Town" (John Cougar Mellencamp cover)

Pat Benatar "I Need a Lover" (John Cougar Mellencamp cover)

The bluegrass Tribute Band "Lonely Ol' Night" (John Cougar Mellencamp cover)
A piece of Lobstar trivia: I was 12 or 13 and was at the Fun Frolic in Bloomington, Indiana, the night they shot this video.

Avail "Pink Houses" (John Cougar Mellencamp cover)

Vibrascope "Pinkhausen" (John Cougar Mellencamp cover)
I was planning not to comment on any of these covers, but I added the personal trivia above so I feel I have to say this here: When it's the mid-1990s and you have two close friends who imbibe various substances on a regular basis and have a four track, you have to be prepared for things like this. Um, yeah.

Eli Barsi "Small Town" (John Cougar Mellencamp cover)

Jon Cougar Concentration Camp "Small Town" (John Cougar Mellencamp cover)

Gimme strength for Round 5.

2007-11-21T02:04:00.001-06:00

I've traveled many roads to hell over the years, but the one I'll discuss now is the one paved with good intentions. Yeah, posting every day was hard enough when I was a hardcore slacker, but I'm finding it an impossibility now that I'm working a full-time, night-time temp job that's far more physically demanding than the desk-drone jobs I've worked the past 7 or so years. Then again, I did decide to refer to my everyday attempt as NaNoCoMo, and half of the people I know who attempt NaNoWriMo give up by the third week as well. So, in a way I met the goal. I will still try to post a few times a week from now until the end of time. Or something like that. All I know is that within the next 48 hours I'm sharing all the covers I have of John Mellencamp songs that are currently on my hard drive. Be very afraid.

P.S. Buy shirts from Threadless' Holiday sale.

Tonite [sic] I'm crawling out from in it.

2007-11-19T00:33:00.002-06:00

I'm trying to make up for the brief gap this weekend by posting 12 songs. They're all over the map as usual, but all are better than that catastrophic Sugarland cover of Beyonce's "Irreplaceable" on tonight's American Music Awards, IMO.

Jason Groth (and friends?) "Gold Hick" (Guided By Voices cover)

Jason Groth (and friends?) "King and Caroline" (Guided By Voices cover)
Jason lives in Indiana, is a friend of my best pal Ryan and is/has been in lots of bands, such as Magnolia Electric Co., The Impossible Shapes, The Coke Dares, etc. He's also apparently a man after my own heart and recently recorded a track-for-track tribute to GBV's Alien Lanes, which is an awesome thing to do. He sent it to Ryan, Ryan sent it to me, and here we all are.

Gravioli "The Kids Are Alright" (The Who cover)
Speaking of my best pal Ryan, this is a quick cover he recorded the other day and sent to me. I didn't ask him whether it was okay to post it here, but I'm a loner, Dottie. A rebel! He's known me 15 years, I think he knows that all covers sent to me risk an appearance here unless I'm warned otherwise.

The McRackins "Love Is Alright Tonite" (Rick Springfield cover)
Here's another song whose title not only utilizes the "word" alright, but also the "word" tonite. The original Springfield track is not only used brilliantly in Wet Hot American Summer but is also the first song on Side A of Working Class Dog, the album I chose to blare earlier today to drown out the sound of my disgustingly young and attractive hipster neighbors arguing—an act of retaliation that resulted in a slightly uncomfortable verbal exchange, which was later resolved. Hooray for indie peace!

The Wave Pictures "A Change Is Gonna Come" (Sam Cooke cover)
Somehow, in a manner unbeknownst to me, a track by The Wave Pictures with a wacky title wound up on my hard drive and in my shuffle play yesterday. I Googled them, found this track on their MySpace page and liked it enough to post here.

Mog Stunt Team "Hello There" (Cheap Trick cover)
Sometimes the songs with simplest lyrics rock the most. I'm not necessarily saying that's the case here. Just sayin'.

Hey "Hanging on the Telephone" (Nerves cover)
I posted a cover of this not too long ago, but this band is Polish and I don't post enough Polish stuff.

Deadbolt "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" (comp. Burt Bacharach)
This comes from That's New Pussycat: A Surf Tribute to Burt Bacharach, although this is more psychobilly than surf. Or maybe just psycho.

The Beautiful South "You're the One that I Want" (Olivia Newton-John/John Travolta cover, from Grease)
Very often, when bands release all-cover albums such as The Beautiful South's Golddiggas, Headnodders & Folk Songs, it winds up seeming to be more about providing a showcase of said band's idols than a means to create interesting new music. I think in the case of this TBS track, they did a little of both.

Lawnmower Deth "Up The Junction" (Squeeze cover)
This is totally my guilty cover pleasure of the week.

Dump "Vienna" (Ultravox cover)
Keeping with the self-recorded theme of the first few tracks (and thanks to the fact that I was in Dave's Records the other day and they were playing Ultravox and it made me so very happy), here is an old favorite of mine.

The Mountain Goats "Dirty Old Town" (Ewan MacColl cover)
This is here because I [heart] the Mountain Goats and couldn't afford to go see them the other day.

Mírame!

2007-11-16T23:35:00.002-06:00

Well, I'm not surprised NaNoCoMo has a glitch or two. Neither is anyone reading, I'm guessing. There's some glitch with my chosen FTP and I'm too busy/lazy to figure it out right now (or to download a different program). Hopefully, I'll post some actual tracks tomorrow. Until then, I hope you won't want to kill me for this post. (The last one is not the best, but it's my favorite.)

It could go on forever, but even I have my limits!

Tomorrow's too late: Accept me today!

2007-11-14T23:56:00.002-06:00

As random a post as any and written just under the wire!

Ni-Hao! "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio" (Ramones cover)

Band "In God We Trust" (Stryper cover)

Matsuri "No More Sorry" (My Bloody Valentine cover)

I'm the one who's dreaming.

2007-11-13T17:48:00.001-06:00

Stay away from these tracks if you're diabetic, because they are so twee and cute and poppy they will make your teeth hurt. I Like Japanese Hardcore was a short-lived Plan-It-X-related project out of Bloomington, IN, where their sole album (that features only one of the two-person act, actually) was recorded at local indie radio station WFHB. I get in the mood for the ILJH recording from time to time, particularly the song in which they sort of bash another Bloomington band I was never that into. If you like these covers, you can grab the whole recording for free and read a little more about the band here.

I Like Japanese Hardcore "In Your Bed" (Cub cover)

I Like Japanese Hardcore "Fine Day For Sailing" (Go Sailor cover)

Earth is afire.

2007-11-12T17:39:00.002-06:00

Dear universe: It's awesome that you got me free tickets to the Georgie James/Aqueduct show because it ruled. However, it's not awesome when I lose the footage I shot of Aqueduct performing Warren G's "Regulate" and when both my Internet service is down and the water in my building is shut off practically all day. You're lucky that I have tomorrow's Duran Duran tribute night at Neo to make up for it. Kthnxbye!

Powderfinger "The Chauffeur" (Duran Duran cover)

Mr. T Experience "Is There Something I Should Know?" (Duran Duran cover)

Rhode Island Boys Choir "I Don't Want Your Love" (Duran Duran cover)

Rats With Wings "Hungry Like the Wolf" (Duran Duran cover)

It's the freakin' weekend baby, I'm about to have me some fun.

2007-11-11T18:56:00.001-06:00

Well, someone slept in today in preparation for the Aqueduct show she won free tickets to, so "today's" MP3s will more than likely be posted "tomorrow" (aka whatever time I return from the show). Sorry, kids, but Liza doesn't turn down the free indie rock.

Don't want to be a boy; you want to be a man.

2007-11-10T23:46:00.001-06:00

It's nearly midnight, I'm just back from a somewhat annoying '80s-themed interactive show, my "too pretty for their own good" hipster next-door neighbors are yet again taunting me with their loud "lovemaking," and I'm so dedicated to my NaNoCoMo mission, I'm posting some songs.

I was contacted via IM today on my favorite P2P network by a charming fellow who once sent me a cover that I meant to post but forgot. (I get a lot of songs sent to me in addition to those I find on my own, so that tends to happens a lot—sorry!) Anyhow, Jamie Cameron (aka The Last Dinosaur and Destroying Something Beautiful, etc.) is a talented singer/songwriter/instrumentalist/indie label creator who likes Threadless shirts and whose covers are all very pretty. I'm posting a couple, but you can grab a few more here. Pretty good for a recovering bedroom rocker, I say.

The Last Dinosaur (UK) "Beat It" (Michael Jackson cover)

Destroying Something Beautiful (UK) "Someday" (Steve Earle cover)

The only road they've ever known.

2007-11-10T13:35:00.001-06:00

Rose Polenzani, Sharon Lewis, Dinty Child, Dave Champagne, Jess Fox, Kimon Kirk, Joel Ninesling, and Ry Cavanaugh

I am kinda sorta your best friend.

2007-11-09T17:00:00.001-06:00

I'd like to start off with a little reminder: If you read Copy, Right? via the LiveJournal feed, please know that I am not notified when people leave comments there. If you want to leave a comment you'll be sure I'll see, please leave it at Copy, Right? proper.

Speaking of the massive popularity of Copy, Right? (ha!), it appears mine is one of a slew of MP3 blogs nominated by Hey! Nielsen and Billboard.com's "Best Music Blog" contest. It is my nature to be self-deprecating, so I will say right now that—due to the presence of tons of other, better nominees—I don't expect to come close to winning. Although, if you're one of those types who likes to create lots of new Internet accounts and vote for things, voting begins Monday. If I win one of the prizes I could win some free downloads and you all know what that means: Non-Stop College A Capella Jam 2007!

Speaking of non-stop college a capella jams (just kidding), I got an e-mail yesterday from Dent May (and his Magical Ukelele?) alerting me to his MySpace page, the "About Me" section of which features a free downloadable ZIP file of his latest EP that features a cover of one of my favorite songs ever, Prince's "When You Were Mine." Hearing his version drew a memory from the recesses of my brain that I once sang "When You Were Mine" at some queer-positive (I was the token straight member of OUT at the time, heh) event at the Collins Coffeehouse at IU accompanied by my best pal Ryan on guitar. Unfortunately, while I'm sure my version had its own distinct charm, it was not as good as Dent May's by a long shot. I'm sort of in love with the whole EP, particularly "College Town Boy," because, I swear, I totally know that guy! We probably all do. In particular, fans of Jonathan Richman, the Magnetic Fields, Don Lennon and the like should download it ASAP.

Speaking of free downloadable ZIP files, those clamoring for video-game-style covers of all sorts of bands from the Beatles to the Gin Blossoms to Fall Out Boy to Saosin to a whole slew of acts with which I'm not particularly familiar, The Hunt for Yoshi can more than fulfill your needs. There has to be a person or two reading who "clamors" for such things, right?

Speaking of clamoring for things, it won't come as a surprise to anyone to know that I lust for strange foreign cover songs. Therefore, I feel it imperative that I wish a Happy First Birthday to Eurocovers!

Speaking of awesome cover blogs, I'm about to post today's MP3s. Just a heads-up that, due to my staggeringly awesome post-every-day-this-month thing, I'll probably start unlinking tracks that are more than a week old as I go. So if you see something you want to grab, don't put it off too long!

Hello Saferide "Teen Line" (The Shivvers cover)
My favorite jangly Swedish tweemo singer/songwriter meets my favorite overlooked power pop hit and I giddily explode. Heaven!

The Methadones feat. Annie Soviette "Goodbye to You" (Scandal cover)
I hope one day to see this Chicago punk/power-pop band live—although I'm not quite into the scene enough to go to Riot Fest next week to do so—but until then, I revel in their all-covers album 21st Century Power Pop Riot, for quite obvious reasons.

Bjorn Again "Stop! (More)" (Erasure cover)
While power pop has been ruling my life lately, I have to admit I found myself in a very Erasure mood today. Interpret that however you wish—unless you wish to do so in the style of Abba, which has obviously already been done.

Piano Tribute Players "Teenagers" (My Chemical Romance cover)
When I win the lottery and buy a player piano, I will program in all of my screamo favorites.

Inkubus Sukkubus "Paint It Black" (Rolling Stones cover)
I feel a dearth of goth here lately and thus resolve it.

Run Run Run "Fade Into You (Z-Trip Remix)" (Mazzy Star cover)
I'm all entried out now. Just listen to it.

What's the attraction in what they're doing?

2007-11-08T23:26:00.001-06:00

Tommy Keene "Carrie Anne" (Hollies cover)
This is one of my favorite '60s pop songs, but I have to admit I always found myself curious about the games of pretend played by British children. "I played the janitor/ You played a monitor"??? Weird. I was always Wonder Woman or the Virgin Mary or something. But, yeah, janitors are cool. Way to strive for realism in your fantasies, freaks!

Also, long-time powerpopper Tommy Keene rules.

The Shivvers "Hey Deanie" (Shaun Cassidy cover/comp. Eric Carmen)
The first version of this song I loved was, of course, Shaun Cassidy's. Carmen later recorded it himself, but originally he wrote it for Shaun's album Born Late—or "Born Cute" if you refer to the repeated sloppy writing of 5-year-old me (see below)—along with my personal favorite "That's Rock 'n' Roll," which has the cheesiest lyrics ever. (And which I will personally cover on my own all-covers album that will probably never really exist. A realistic dream to be sure, but at least I'm not pretending to be a janitor!)

When I was in the first grade, my Catholic school held a talent show in the rectory's annex and a gal with a short haircut wore a shiny satin jacket and blue jeans and lip synched a Shaun Cassidy song as her friends played adoring fans who rushed the stage. I was 6 years old and thought it was the most awesome thing I'd ever seen. I'm 35 now and it still ranks pretty high.

Also, Milwaukee's own female-led powerpoppers The Shivvers ruled.

Can't help but think of yesterday.

2007-11-07T22:19:00.001-06:00

George Michael's 1988 Faith tour gave me many concert firsts: 1) It was the first time I'd purchased tickets for a September show as early as February or March 2) It was the first ticket that cost almost $30 with service charges 3) It was my first (I think) concert at the Rosemont Horizon (now the Allstate Arena) and 4) It was the first to involve a cheesy-as-hell laser show. In other words, I'm old and things suck now. Or something curmudgeonly like that.

The Boy Least Likely To "Faith" (George Michael cover)

Trash Pour 4 "Father Figure" (George Michael cover)

Tonight's the night.

2007-11-06T23:49:00.001-06:00

Class "Strobe Light" (B-52's cover)

Bluetip "52 Girls" (B-52's cover)

Aviador Dro "Planet Claire" (Spanish B-52's cover)

...and I know the night is fading, and I know that time's gonna fly...

2007-11-05T23:27:00.001-06:00

I feel like on any given day I'd be just as likely to dislike it, but right now I'm sort of in love with Portland (OR) band Sexton Blake's all-covers album, Plays the Hits! Sounds sort of like the all-covers album I've always imagined me (along with my more musically talented friends) making one day.

Sexton Blake "I Need Love" (LL Cool J cover)

Sexton Blake "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" (Air Supply cover)

All this machinery making modern music.

2007-11-04T19:49:00.001-06:00

Technically, I started writing this on the 4th but—thanks to an interruption from my ISP and the continuation of the days-long Freaks and Geeks marathon my friend and I are holding3I'm not posting until the 5th. Speaking of Freaks and Geeks, covers of songs that were featured on F&G at some point is the theme of this post. Apologies in advance for the bulk of them.

Rosetta Stone "The Spirit of Radio" (Rush cover)

Rev. Milton Brunson & The Thompson Community Choir "Jesus Is Just Alright With Me" (Byrds cover/comp. Reynolds)

Woodrow Jackson Orchestra ft. Money Mark "Love's Theme" (Love Unlimited Orchestra cover)

Lisa Mychols "Look Sharp!" (Joe Jackson cover)

The Binghamton Crosbys "Renegade" (Styx cover)

Monica Green "25 or 6 to 4" (Chicago cover)

Botox "Fashion" (David Bowie cover)

Arvid Tuba "Do You Love Me?" (Kiss cover)

An image of you and of me and we're laughing and loving it all.

2007-11-03T20:20:00.001-05:00

I'm very hungover, but let that not keep me from achieving my goal of posting a few songs a day this month.

General Store "Hold Me Now" (Thompson Twins cover)

Microsillon feat. Eugénie Allquezar "This Is Not America" (David Bowie cover)

Home is where I want to be, but I guess I'm already there.

2007-11-02T03:55:00.001-05:00

Gal and Lad "Going to Maine" (Mountain Goats cover)
A random Google search while cover hunting led me to the MySpace page of the delightful Gal and Lad, where you can download this track along with a few of their popdorable originals.

Farrah "It's Different for Girls" (Joe Jackson cover)
The dreamy lead singer for Farrah, a UK power pop band, sounds about 15 years old. And I'm okay with that.

Bettye LaVette "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got" (Sinead O'Connor cover)
My friend Ray introduced me to this somewhat odd soul cover, which is featured on LaVette's album of somewhat odd soul covers, I've Got My Own Hell to Raise—which is itself named after a lyric from a Fiona Apple song likewise on the album.

Mysteries of Life "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" (Talking Heads cover)
Ah, Bloomington's own. (Indiana, of course.) Many talented and cute gals and guys have weaved in and out of this band and I love them all. god only knows how many times I've seen them live. Probably enough to never have to see them again. But that doesn't mean that I don't want to.

Les Calamités "When You Find Out" (Nerves cover)
I kind of always presumed that the Nerves original was actually a cover of some '60s garage/psych nugget, but no: It merely showcased a genre from which they drew inspiration. Les Calamités take it a step further by making it sound like crunchy old French DIY brilliance. If this recording existed decades ago and someone told me Les Calamités were the original performers, I'd have no reason to doubt that.

Zongamin "Third Uncle" (Brian Eno cover)
Experimental indienewwavetechnojazzfunk acts like Zongamin are usually a bit too weirdly all-over-the-map for me to pay more than 10 seconds worth of attention to them, but I must admit this cover makes me very happy.

All things grow.

2007-11-01T00:00:00.001-05:00

NaNoCoMo inaugural post, yo!

Dessous Chics "Supersonic" (Oasis cover)
Vivent les fils electros!

Microfilm "Chicago" (Sufjan Stevens cover)
Chicago's Microfilm has been churning out lots of electro goodness, most of which can easily be purchased over at iTunes and eMusic. So if it's your thing, you should definitely buy some of their stuff.

It's not a bad thing. It's not a good thing.

2007-10-31T17:02:00.001-05:00

Hey, kids, I'm here to announce my participation in NaNoCoMo. Yes, considering I just made that up, that does mean I'm the sole participant. Basically, my plan is to post at least two covers a day every day in November. And while NaNoCoMo won't officially begin until tomorrow, today I will point those clamoring for downloadable DIY Guided By Voices tribute albums created by GBV fans from the Postal Blowfish mailing list to the Monumental Box.

We're all in the mood for a melody.

2007-10-25T04:04:00.001-05:00

Hey, New Yorkers! If you're looking for something different to do tomorrow on the LES, why not head out to a free all-covers show performed by rock pianist (and environmentalist!) Danny Ross? I mean, seriously, you know it's been ages since your last all-covers piano-rock show. Am I right? If it were happening here, I know I'd go.

Who: Danny Ross
What: Covers Show
When: Friday October 26th, 8PM, FREE!, Ages 21+
Where: Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen St just south of Houston in Manhattan's Lower East Side

Who loves you, pretty baby?

2007-10-19T13:35:00.001-05:00

So, I thought that when I finally posted new tracks I'd keep with my power pop theme. Then, via an outing in celebration of my mother's birthday, my focus shifted after attending a performance of the Chicago production of:

Jersey Boys is really a cute show. Well, either that or the guys playing the Four Seasons were really cute. Or both. If you're looking for a lame review from me, I'll say that the book was a tad cheesy for my taste, but the sets were cleverly done and the performances of the actors were solid, especially when it came to the crux of all musicals: singing and dancing. OMG, cute guys in suits (including the dreamiest Drew Gehling playing Bob Gaudio to the geekiest degree!) harmonizing and dancing in sync? In heaven—heh, as if!—they'll surround me for eternity!

So, yeah, I got on a Four Seasons/Frankie Valli kick and dug through my collection as well as gathered a few things I didn't have previously to bring you this whopping post. Yes, you're seeing 30 tracks there, ladies and gentleman! That's the most I've ever posted at one time, but I figure I waited so long to post, you deserve it. (Well, that and that this is only 1/3 of what I could have posted and what I was able to narrow it down to.) Let's all just cross our fingers that my bandwidth is as ready for action as I am.

Edith Massey "Big Girls Don't Cry" (Four Seasons cover)
Ah, this is a weirdo classic I've meant to post at least a million times but never got around to—as well as the first of two John Waters stars covering a Four Seasons song in this post. We miss you and your eggs, Edith!

Liquor Giants "Big Man In Town" (Four Seasons cover)
Because I never go in order when I write about tracks, this is the last one I'm writing and I'm burned out and don't have much to say except that I tend to like big men. Right now, Steve Agee has replaced Donal Logue as my No. 1 celebrity crush because I think he'd be more likely to want to just sit around watching stupid shit on TV with me.

King Kurt "Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby Goodbye)" (Four Seasons cover)
I was going to post the Bay City Rollers version of this instead, but I caught a snippet of Love Actually on cable the other day and decided that its inclusion in a RomCom means enough people have heard it already.

The Colourfield "Can't Get Enough Of You Baby" (Four Seasons cover)
I wish I could be more open-minded and loving when it comes to acts that cover songs to the point of terrorizing ubiquity, but I can't. Therefore, Smash Mouth's version of this song makes me shudder to this day, and in the wake of its reign, listening to any version is difficult. That said, I do have a soft spot for British new wave Terry Hall (ex Specials and Fun Boy Three, natch) projects. This reminds me of the Lightning Seeds. Of course, this recording preceded the Lightning Seeds first album by about five years, so I guess the Lightning Seeds remind me of this.

Grapefruit "C'mon Marianne" (Four Seasons cover)
The cool thing about being in a psych (or psych-era) band in the '60s is that you could cover a hit less than a year or two after the original hit for no apparent reason and no one would bat an eyelash. But that was mostly because most people weren't buying psych albums. Sorry, kids.

Basil Henriques & the Waikiki Islanders "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" (Frankie Valli cover)
Had I so desired, I could have posted 30 tracks of covers of this song and this song alone. And then done 30 more the next day. I do not so desire. This is the first of a handful of instrumental covers in this post.

Ken Yokoyama "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" (Frankie Valli cover)
I know you were thinking: Wow, six songs in and no Japanese punk yet? Patience, my pretties. Patience.

Mina "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" (Frankie Valli cover)
Mina sings one of my all time favorite foreign language songs ("Ta-ra-ta-ta," in case you're curious), so I figured I'd throw her version in here.

Shiina Ringo "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" (Frankie Valli cover)
Not my favorite of her covers, but better than a lot of the ones I didn't post.

ZARD "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" (Frankie Valli cover)
This version made the list because of the kids in the chorus. Yay for kids in choruses!

The Rockin' Berries "Dawn (Go Away)" (Four Seasons cover)
See what I wrote for "C'mon Marianne."

The Fatback Band "December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night!)" (Four Seasons cover)
The major cause of perceived fatback/backfat is actually an ill-fitting bra. Don't you pay any attention Oprah or Tim Gunn? Get fitted, already!

Yannick "Ces Soirées La" ["December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night!)]" (Four Seasons cover, French)
Not to ruin the surprise for those who plan to see Jersey Boys, but it [SPOILER ALERT!] opens with a brief performance of a version of this cover. I found it a curious, almost jarring intro, but that was mostly because I think the temporary tension and confusion of all the Baby Boomers in the audience when they saw a person of color in baggy pants and crooked baseball cap was palpable and it seeped into me via osmosis.

ApologetiX "December, 5 or 6 BC (Oh, Holy Night!)"< (Four Seasons cover/parody/Bible story)
Did you know there was a Christian parody band setting Bible stories to the tunes of hits from yesterday and today? Well, you're soaking in it. And you know, as jaded as I am, I've heard much worse. And old friend/co-worker of mine is a pastor and Christian musician and even she once told me, "The very best Christian song is only as good as a very mediocre non-Christian song." So far, I've found her assessment more than accurate, but at least in this band's little parodies the focus is on teaching Biblical facts—facts as in the stories it tells are actually written in the Bible, not facts as in things written in the Bible have been proved in any way—and not on converting non-believers. Anyhow, they have songs set to tracks as varied as Van Halen's "Panama" and Fountains of Wayne's "Stacey's Mom." Wait for it... "JC's Mom"!!! You know you're curious!

Johnny Johnson & Bandwagon "Let's Hang On" (Four Seasons cover)
Dear Motowny/Northern Souly covers of '50s/'60s pop hits: You almost always rule. Thanks for everything! Love, Liza.

Queimada "Let's Hang On" (Four Seasons cover)
This is my mother's favorite Four Seasons song (the original is, not this version, obviously) but it's only sung in the show in a very short snippet. I was kind of bummed for her. I like this version, not that it strays much from the original except accent-wise.

Richard Anthony "Tiens Bon" ["Let's Hang On"] (Four Seasons cover, French)
Speaking of accents, this one's in a whole other language. Freaky!

Arthur Lyman "My Eyes Adored You" (Frankie Valli cover)
The king of exotica and the king of covers, both the musical kind and the packaging kind.

Esther Phillips "Native New Yorker" (Frankie Valli / Odyssey cover)
This is sort of a stretch since the first group to have a hit with it was Odyssey, but Frankie recorded it first. You can tell it was written for him once you know, can't you? There are a handful of covers of this, but I chose this one for its sassiness. (And because I don't think I've ever typed the word sassiness before, and I like it!)

Die Five Tops "Rag Doll" (Four Seasons cover, German)
This one's in German.

The Quick "Rag Doll" (Four Seasons cover)
Let not this post fool you, I'm still immersed in my newfound obsession with power pop. Therefore, I was excited to be able to pull out this glammy power pop nugget for this occasion. The Quick was a DIY Los Angeles band led by a young, effete-as-ever Danny Wilde (I forgive you the ubiquity of the Friends theme, my love!) and I would like to invent a time machine, set it to 1976 and stalk them.

Pete Anderson "Sherry" (Four Seasons cover)
Weird that both of the "Sherry" covers are instrumentals, but at least they're totally different genres of instrumental music, I guess. (Actually, it's not so weird in fact because there aren't really that many "Sherry" covers out there, lyrics or no.) I wouldn't have guessed I'd run into any roots-rock guitar Four Seasons covers in my scavenges, but I would have been wrong. I guess it really HAS all been done! The Barenaked Ladies have pwned me yet again!

Santo & Johnny "Sherry" (Four Seasons cover)
Now THIS is the kind of instrumental guitar Four Seasons cover I expected to hear. As we learned above, there's room for all kinds of interpretations in Jesus' world.

LB "Silence Is Golden" (Four Seasons cover)
Well, just as I couldn't not post a Japanese punk cover today, I certainly couldn't have a post this long that didn't feature at least one "that doesn't sound anything like the original at all" track. Leave it to our old friend LB (aka Lassigue Bendthaus & DJ Atom Heart & Señor Coconut & Uwe Schmidt) to weird things up for us electronically!

The Klaxons "The Night" (Frankie Valli cover)
A pretty standard indie cover, yet I find it very sexy.

David Bisbal "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)" (Four Seasons cover, partially in Spanish)
True, the Walker Brothers version is likely more famous, but again, Frankie et. al. did it first. There are millions of versions of this one as well, but I thought it was about time for cheesy Spanish disco.

Keane "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)" (Four Seasons cover)
Keane is a band I sometimes secretly like and sometimes secretly hate. The lead singer is pretty damned dreamy in person, though, as I saw him once at SmartBar after the M.I.A./LCD Soundsystem show a few years ago. Mmmm, corduroy pants...

Divine "Walk Like A Man" (Four Seasons cover)
Every year around Halloween, I say I'm going to go as Divine. Then every year around Halloween, I realize that I have nowhere near the amount of money I would need to create the perfect Divine costume, and I won't do it if it's not perfect. Most of my inactivity isn't laziness; it's perfectionism!

Mary Jane Girls "Walk Like A Man" (Four Seasons cover)
Ted Danson and Howie Mandel have gone on to much greener pastures since their performances in Blake Edwards' A Fine Mess, the soundtrack to which featured this gem. Danson is in two of my favorite shows (Damages and Curb your Enthusiasm) and Howie is somehow inexplicably charming America in that tedious game show. If only the Mary Jane Girls were able to meet the same fate. Listening to this, I'm guessing we can all see why that might not have meant to be. Oh no I didn't!!!

Oizone "Working My Way Back To You" (Four Seasons cover)
Hey, the Japanese certainly don't corner the market on punk covers. We can't ignore UK punks and their "clever" names. (Oizone rhymes with Boyzone, get it? It's okay if you didn't. Trust me.)

I like kites!

2007-10-12T18:01:00.001-05:00

If you were curious about the Yo Gabba Gabba clip of the Parallelograms covering Free Design's "Kites Are Fun" I mentioned an entry or two ago, you can now see it here.

In other news, yes, I will post a new entry or two soon. I've been busy with job interviews and weather-shift-related colds and whatnot.

They could knock me off my feet until I'm flat on the floor.

2007-09-20T16:46:00.001-05:00

A little over a year ago I posted a great country cover of Mariah Carey's "My All" by Chicago band Devin & The Straights and said that I couldn't wait to see them live. Well, I did wait quite a long time. I had just missed their set the night I saw Textbook Committee and Farewell Captain at the Beat Kitchen, so my next option was to head to Chicago's big gay street festival, Northalsted Market Days, in August to see them. Besides, their adorable former band member and longtime Copy, Right? reader and subsequent Internet friend Landon joined them on vocals and harmonica, so I felt particularly driven toward my goal. They did not disappoint. Charming, funny, gay, straight, talented and prone to performing covers? If that's not up my alley, I'm not sure what is. Luckily, I got some video. Hooray for modern technology and digital cameras with halfway decent video recording capabilities!

D&TS covering "Jackson" (comp. Lieber/Wheeler):

D&TS covering Cher's "Just Like Jesse James":

What up, Brobee?

2007-09-19T18:35:00.001-05:00

You know how I said a couple of posts back that I didn't know much about the Aquabats aside from their wackiness? Well, since then, I've become mildly obsessed with Nick Jr.'s new kids show Yo Gabba Gabba, which was created by one of the Aquabats. Weird how that sort of information serendipity happens, innit? Those of you unfamiliar with Yo Gabba Gabba, it's basically a show for preschoolers that features some pretty inventive characters and cool, often deliciously retro animation and awesome indie pop. (Here's an article about it.) Today's episode, for instance, included a performance by the adorable Salteens (who've been featured here in the past) and a freaking brilliant animated piece by Nick Cross set to a dreamy cover of Free Design's "Kites Are Fun" by the Parallelograms. And Mark Mothersbaugh often shows up to draw things like potato bugs on skateboards.

Sadly, I currently have no cover-related Yo Gabba Gabba music or video to offer you— though there is a slew of non-cover YGG stuff to be found on YouTube, including the Aggrolites singing about bananas and Elijah Wood doing the slightly creepy "Puppetmaster" dancey dance—but I felt like confessing that I record YGG every day now to watch with my imaginary hipster toddler.

I could go on forever, but I won't.

2007-09-17T18:26:00.001-05:00

The Silverfish covers Jellyfish's "Bedspring Kiss":

McFly, aka whiny emo power-pop boy band band with annoying name, covers Jellyfish's "Baby's Coming Back":

JTG Implosion awesomely covers ELO's "Turn To Stone" at International Pop Overthrow Atlanta 2007

The Smokin' Baloneys (?) cover "Starry Eyes" by The Records—a great, energetic live cover with poor video/sound quality.

Debbie looking hotter than ever in the video for the song most people don't realize is a cover (see previous entry):

Your voice across the line gives me a strange sensation.

2007-09-15T22:28:00.002-05:00

I had a dream last night that if I went record shopping today I'd find something by old-school Bloomington arty popsters Arson Garden on vinyl. My dreams never come true. That's okay, though, because they've covered a power pop classic and that suits my mood. (Thanks, as always, to Musical Family Tree for their extensive collection of Indiana-related bands old and new.)

Arson Garden "Hanging on the Telephone" (Nerves cover)
This is from a show they performed at Jake's in 1991. I wasn't there because I wasn't quite old enough to go to Jake's in 1991. I used to be young!

Labour of lust.

2007-09-14T05:43:00.001-05:00

What a post delay, huh? I'm very much the type of person whose interests come in waves and the blog wave just didn't hit me for a while there. Longtime readers are accustomed to this pattern, so I won't necessarily apologize, but I felt a warning was necessary for newer readers. Blah, blah, blah, but now the weather smacks of fall (and fall's my favorite) and the wave crashed into me today and here I am.

Another wave that's pummeled me (aside from a momentary desire to use annoying Internet abbreviations) the past week is the delightfully crushing force of power pop both old and new—hence the theme of today's post and, quite possibly, the next few posts to come. Let's all live in fear (and glee!) of a probable future of an all-"Without You" post, shall we? And an onslaught of YouTube-found videos of varying quality. (See below.)

The covers you'll find will either be A) power pop acts covering non-powerpoppers B) non-powerpoppers covering power pop acts or, in many cases, C) power pop acts covering other power pop acts. You know how I roll.

The Diodes "Red Rubber Ball" (Cyrkle cover, comp. Paul Simon)
"Red Rubber Ball" is near the top of my very long list of favorite songs of all time. You never suspected I was an optimist, did you?

Candy "She Loves You" (Beatles cover)
Ah. LA. Power pop and big glam-rock hair. It sometimes makes me wish I was born on the West Coast.

The Lambrettas "Somebody to Love" (Jefferson Airplane cover)
Leaning a bit more into new wave than power pop, IMHO, but they have their moments.

The Cokes "Cheri" (20/20 cover, comp. Paul Collins)
Dear Japanese power pop act: Please be the band in my dream prom that enters through the fog on a team of black unicorns with silver reins and glittery rainbow-striped horns. KTHNXBYE!

Velvet Crush "Remember the Lightning" (20/20 cover)
I'm getting tired of writing and can't think of anything to say about Velvet Crush or 20/20 except that I like the former and I love the latter. But the cover art for VC's Teenage Symphonies to God is on a list of my favorites. I want to date that cartoon boy. If he's straight.

The Rubinoos "Little Willy" (Sweet cover)
I never write these silly snippets in the order the tracks are listed and it's almost 5 a.m. and I can't sleep so I've nothing to say here except that it's a good thing I'm not wealthy because, if I were, my house would be full of insane "I can't believe this exists" crap like this. As my current financial situation stands, it's not in the cards for me. But, hey, there are still about 102 shopping days until Christmas, you know...

Lush "I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend" (Rubinoos cover)
I would let the Lush gals be my girlfriends. I miss them.

Note to Avril Lavigne: Hey! (Hey!) You! (You!) This sounds exactly like that song you and your co-songsmith "wrote"! Oh, that trend-setting Kelly Osbourne/Linda Perry collabo!

Dar Williams "All Men are Liars" (Nick Lowe cover)
Nick Lowe's acerbic lyrics? Check. Dar Williams's similarly sardonic glint and irresistible charm? Check. Rick Astley getting pwned? Check. What more could you need? Srsly.

The 27 Various "Great Big World" (Plimsouls cover)
Kicking off this creamy Plimsouls-related center is a track I only remembered existed after I started thinking about The 27 Various for another reason. Earlier today I went to the local used record shop and spotted their album Approximately for $4.99 and I didn't buy it because I thought I already had it on vinyl. On the walk home I thought to myself, "Wait... I have that one, right?" When I returned, I checked my records and, duh, it's the only vinyl LP of theirs I don't have (not to mention one I realize I didn't even think was on vinyl at all)! Well, I know where I'm headed tomorrow afternoon.

Anyhow, I've mentioned before that I love The 27 Various, a band most people have never heard of, and this cover is simple but pleases me immensely. It seems to come from a radio show performance replete with witty pre-song banter, which makes the early 90s fangirl in me even more giddy about its existence.

The Aquabats "Zero Hour" (Plimsouls cover)
I don't know much about the Aquabats except they're a ska band in the jam-packed "my, aren't we wacky?!?" subset of the genre. Therefore I will share a conversation with myself that took place in my head earlier.

Liza: I wonder where this resurgence in my love for power pop began.
Liza: It was probably Labor Day weekend when Encore was showing all of those crappy-but-awesome '80s movies.
Liza: Yeah, I think the soundtrack music seeped into my head and made me long to be a Los Angelean teen trying desperately to party and get laid.
Liza: Ah, to be in a scene with Eric Stoltz or Andrew McCarthy with the Plimsouls or the Nerves playing in the background!
Liza: Right? That would rule, but you know what?
Liza: What?
Liza: You're too old for that now. I mean, you're about the same age now as the Jacqueline Bisset character is supposed to be in Class.
Liza: Holy crap!
Liza: Not exactly related, but isn't it weird that REM had a song on the Bachelor Party soundtrack?
Liza: Yeah, that is weird. But that REM song doesn't even really sound like REM in retrospect. It's actually perfect for the Bachelor Party soundtrack.
Liza: Hmm. I just thought of something: Maybe the obsession with power pop happened because it seems as if Peter Case is suddenly everywhere in magazines.
Liza: Yeah, isn't he though?
Liza: Well, maybe not everywhere. Maybe only in the past few issues Paste.
Liza: Heh. Yeah. That doesn't exactly constitute everywhere, but Paste certainly had a hand in it.
Liza: Word.

Scene.

Ingram Hill "A Million Miles Away" (Plimsouls cover)
Ingram Hill sounds like the name of the name of the fictional publishing company where the chubby, sassy heroine of the chick lit book I'll never write works. The band Ingram Hill sounds like a roots rock/country/adult contemporary blend with just a slight aftertaste of emo. (Speaking of blends and aftertastes, I could totally imagine them as one of many Starbucks featured performers.) I'm afraid Ingram Hill—which is the name of the band, not the name of a person in the band—might not be enough of either to fit in anywhere. But good luck to them in their market (which is unsurprisingly admittedly not my thing) as I was very surprised to enjoy this cover far more than I thought I would.

The Plimsouls "Time Won't Let Me" (Outsiders cover)
Oh, wait. This is the last snippet I have to write. Damn, just when I was about to finally go to sleep. Like many gals and guys of my generation, I was introduced to the music of the Plimsouls through the new wave/power poptacular movie, "Valley Girl. Hooray for that.

Unrelated to music but related to my long-running obsession with Valley Girl, last month I could have seen this remake of "Valley Girl," at the Chicago Underground Flim Festival but I didn't because I just learned today that it existed. I'm so fired. Those interested can see the a snippet of it around the 23-minute mark here. If you have an hour to kill, you can also view snippets of the artist's Velvet Underground and Runaways mini, um, biopics and hear her talk about her process and other stuff interesting to art students. She's doing the kind of stuff I always talk about doing but never do because I thought no one but my friends and I would find it worthwhile or amusing. Apparently I overestimated the taste of the powers that be in the art world. So, yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. You'll either find the videos annoying or hilarious or both. You've been warned. (Note to self and anyone willing to take on the endeavor: 1. Try to find out the bands covering the soundtrack songs and acquire them somehow AND 2. Get to work on that all-sock-puppet version of Solarbabies.)

The Records "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?" (Rolling Stones cover)
The British Big Star. (I'm not coining that, FYI. It's how people have described them and my use does not imply my endorsement as such.)

Material Issue "I'd Wait a Million Years" (Grass Roots cover)
It kills me that I somehow never managed to see Material Issue live. Hopefully Jim will serenade me when I get to Blogger heaven.

She Blonde Swede "Crazy" (Material Issue cover)
I know nothing about She Blonde Swede except you can download a slew of live covers they've done at various gigs over at the Internet Archive and that they seem to have good taste. Have I mentioned lately how much the Internet rulz?

Bowling for Soup "Sick of Myself" (Matthew Sweet cover)
I have to admit the few anachronisms in the song and video for their cheesy hit "1985" still annoy me because I'm a geek, but it was a pleasant surprise to find they're MS fans.

It's kind to be cruel*, so I now subject you to this:

*Preemptive strikes: 1. Please no e-mails correcting this wording. I did it on purpose. 2. I know this is not a list of every cover ever of or by every power pop band in history. I can only do so much at a time.

Music in a musical? How can they go wrong?

2007-09-08T18:47:00.001-05:00

There's a hiccup in my web hosting right now that should be fixed shortly and will result in a real post soon. Really.

Until then, allow me to bring out my inner musical theatre dork. (You know I'm a dork, because I spell it with an "r-e" and not an "e-r.") Now, with the exception of my role as Mother Jaguar teaching her son how to hunt tortoises and hedgehogs in a Kipling-based Bloomington, IN, community theatre children's musical, I don't have any experience in the genre. Although that's probably more than a lot of people have, I suppose, but I digress.

That said, nearly all the women I know who are my age went through a phase in which they wished they were in Grease or Annie or whatever regardless of their level of talent. It's right up there with the "princess wedding" dream we're fed, although much cooler, IMO. This applies for most of the men into musical theatre too, I think. (Note: It's only "cooler" to those who didn't actually want the "princess" wedding" once they were grown up, of course.) It is also my theory that many of the best of those women secretly wished they were gay men. Or maybe that was just me, but enough of my geeky and sordid psychological issues.

Aaaaaanyhow, that long overly self-conscious introduction background paragraph exists so I can display the following video of Baldwin-Wallace musical theatre grads rehearsing their version of the opening song from the overly self-conscious (but in a good way) off-Broadway musical [title of show]. My Internet friend Duncan from New York (who's sung lots of covers at the Ukulele Cabaret over the years) turned me on to [tos], a funny musical about writing a funny musical, and my inner musical theatre dork is hooked. I'm reading their blog, watching informational snippets, and loving the "toscast" path-to-Broadway videos: 1, 2, 3. If it sounds like your type of inner musical dork kind of thing, then click all these links, baby. If not, keep your snarky comments to yourself!

I'm totally looking forward to "Viva Forever."

2007-09-04T16:26:00.002-05:00

New post coming very soon, I promise. But just in case I don't post it today, I wanted to alert you of the following upcoming covers-related event from our UK friends at The Waiting Room tomorrow (ish) on ErrorFM. Because I'm lazy, I'm cutting and pasting the info sent to me:

Hello You Scamps.

Have you ever felt embarrassed listening to one-hit wonders or pop gems of yesteryear? Fear not. Your favorite Indie superstars are giving the OK by joining in together for "Guilt By Association", a collection of songs by today's most exciting Indie talent re-interpreting their favorite guilty pleasure pop songs. Petra Haden delivers a soaring acapella version of Journey's anthem Don't Stop Believin'. Will Oldham/Bonnie 'Prince' Billy turns Mariah Carey's Can't Take That Away into a bittersweet synth ballad. Jim O'Rourke, who produced albums for Wilco, Beth Orton and Joanna Newsom transforms the Spice Girls' ballad Viva Forever into something that wouldn't have been out of place as a take out of a Beth Orton session.

Lets all wallow, then, in our guilt, this Wednesday Evening, 5th September, 10pm-Midnight (BST) on The Waiting Room, via www.errorfm.com, and enjoy these remembered gems, indie-style.

Tracks:

1. Petra Haden "Don't Stop Believin" (Journey)
2. Devendra Banhart "Don't Look Back In Anger" (Oasis)
3. Mark Mulcahy "From This Moment On" (Shania Twain)
4. Luna "Straight Up" (Paula Abdul)
5. The Concretes "Back For Good" (Take That)
6. Jim O'Rourke "Viva Forever" (Spice Girls)
7. Goat "Sugar We're Going Down" (Fall Out Boy)
8. Will Oldham "Can't Take That Away" (Mariah Carey)
9. Woody Jackson Orchestra ft Money Mark
"Love's Theme (Love Unlimited Orchestra)"
10. Porter Block "Breaking Free" (High School Musical)
11. Mooney Suzuki "Just Like Jesse James" (Cher)
12. Geoff Farina "Two Tickets To Paradise" (Eddie Money)
13. Casey Shea "Chop Suey" (System of a Down)
14. Superchunk "Say My Name" (Destiny's Child)
15. Mike Watt "Burning For You" (Blue Oyster Cult)

plus, aside from this plethora of goodness, we also get time to squeeze in some usual live, nonsensical chat & catch up, as well as un-related cover versions by 4 more wonderful tuneful types to get your ears all-a-poppin & your hearts all-a-gladdin.

Spoiled, I hear you say? You, we are confident, are only just beginning to understand the full potential of said emotion.

Come, then, drench your selves in our fancy.

x Hope Eternal & one half of Drunk Country

Keep in mind that those not on UK time will have to do some math to find out when that is for them. If that's too much work for you, and it just might be, I'm guessing the podcast will surface here after the fact. Ah, what the heck, here's a quick (not all-inclusive, but hopefully helpful nonetheless) time chart for the live broadcast for those interested:

Pacific: 2 PM, Sept. 5
Mountain: 3 PM, Sept. 5
Central: 4 PM, Sept. 5
Eastern: 5 PM, Sept. 5
AST: 6 PM, Sept. 5
GMT: 10 PM, Sept. 5
CET: 11 PM, Sept. 5
AU: 7 AM, Sept. 6

Hopefully that's accurate.

It's a good time for Superman to lift the sun into the sky.

2007-08-27T17:20:00.001-05:00

First: Threadless is having its $10 Back to School Sale, which ends Sept. 3.

Second, from my best pal Ryan:

I picked up Jim Derogatis' Flaming Lips bio at the bookstore on a whim yesterday. Reading it has prompted me to look for old Lips footage on you tube. Before I made any progress with that I ran across this nice video of a girl playing "Waiting for a Superman". I really like it.

Dear boy, I'm gonna make you a man.

2007-08-24T15:22:00.001-05:00

In celebration of the fact that the storm-related blockwide (or more) brownout affecting my neighborhood for the past 24 hours hasn't affected my Internet access, here is a post! I figure posting for the first time in weeks is a good way to pass the time while I wait for everything in my refrigerator to melt and spoil.

The Raincoats "Lola" (Kinks cover)
For a while there, everyone seemed to want to know my opinion of the NY Post's "Best 100 Cover Songs of All Time" thing. Um, yeah. Let's just say that I scan all "Best Cover" lists for the Raincoats' version of "Lola." If I'm unable to locate it, I don't really pay much attention to the rest of what's there. I mean, Orgy's version of "Blue Monday" made the list? Are you kidding me?

Shampoo "House of Love" (East 17 cover)
Hell, even this is better than most of the covers on that list!

The Belles "Melvin (Gloria)" (Them cover)

Nico "The End" (Doors cover)

Luminous Orange "Sunday Morning" (Velvet Undeground cover)

Rachel Z "Tonight, Tonight" (Smashing Pumpkins cover)

Jason Falkner "This Will Be Our Year" (Zombies cover)

Angels Of Epistemology "Fiction Romance" (Buzzcocks cover)

Silent League "Can't Get It Out OF My Head" (ELO cover)

Sarah Blasko "Don't Dream It's Over" (Crowded House cover)

The Walls "Ain't Nobody" (Chaka Khan cover)

Alice Wonders "Here Comes Your Man" (Pixies cover)

He was a stranger in our land.

2007-08-13T12:30:00.001-05:00

I've been slacking on my blog reading for the past month or two, so I was shocked to learn a few days ago of Lee Hazlewood's death on August 4. I know that there have been a slew of celebrity deaths in the past week or two, but it's unfathomable that I didn't read or hear mention of Hazlewood's passing via ANY mainstream media outlet until I specifically hunted them out after reading of his death via bloggers. A shame. I loved him. RIP, Lee.

Lee Hazlewood "It Was a Very Good Year" (Frank Sinatra cover, comp. Ervin Drake)
Thank you, Lee, for many very good years of music. I, for one, will sorely miss you and your talent.

Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood "Jackson" (comp. Lieber/Wheeler)
I get that the Johnny Cash/June Carter version won a Grammy, but I still don't see why theirs is the most popular version of this song. (Although Cash's duet with Miss Piggy is one of my favorites.) Honestly, I think Johnny and June's version lacks the sense of deadpan snarky resignation that Nancy and Lee's has. Theirs is coyer. Grittier. Angrier. Sexier. And it's one of my favorite songs of all time.

OP8 "Sand" (Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood cover, comp. Lee Hazlewood)
OP8 was a project featuring Lisa Germano, Howe Gelb (Giant Sand) and Joey Burns and John Convertino (Giant Sand/Calexico). Their sole album Slush—which features a cover of Neil Young's "Round and Round" as well as a slew of lush originals—is one of my favorite albums of the 1990s.

Calexico feat. Valerie Leulliot "Sundown, Sundown" (Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood cover, comp. Lee Hazlewood)
Speaking of Calexico, here's another of their Hazlewood covers. This and the following track come from Total Lee! A Tribute to Lee Hazlewood album.

Lambchop "I'm Glad I Never..." (Lee Hazlewood cover)
I'm not the hugest fan of alt-country or Americana, but when it's done well I'm all for it. I discovered Lambchop, a Nashville band, via the handful of covers they've done, but I'm now a fan of their originals as well. It makes me sad that this track is so short.

Caroline Williams and Spectre "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" (Nancy Sinatra cover, comp. Lee Hazlewood)
I have so many covers of this that I just put them on shuffle and picked the first one that hit that I hadn't already posted in the past. And here it is!

Steve Wynn Quintet "Summer Wine" (Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood cover, comp. Lee Hazlewood)
Steve Wynn's post-Dream Syndicate catalog is so immense that I've weaved in and out of it for years never deciding whether I was into it or not. I do know, however, that I really like the stuff the quintet has put out.

Have a drink, have a drive, go out and see what you can find.

2007-08-03T14:48:00.002-05:00

I totally meant to mention this the other day when its first airing on ErrorFM.com occurred, but luckily the podcast era ensures later listenings: The Waiting Room (Hope Eternal & Drunk Country) presents Drunk Covers III.

Legs are required for jumping, dancing.

2007-08-03T07:00:00.001-05:00

OMG, I hate the new Blogger deal where you have to be signed in on your linked Gmail account and whatnot. I didn't realize how much I hated it until, in the middle of writing this post, I logged into a different Gmail account but kept updating the blog only to have Blogger NOT SAVE any of my updates as I made them. So, just know that I initially spent a good deal of time writing little accompanying snippets to each of the following tracks but only a few were written before the e-mail gaffe and now I'm too annoyed to rewrite the others—including the one in which I confess to having sung "Ultimate" at karaoke.

Enjoy!

Lil' Dave Merriman "I Palindrome I" (They Might Be Giants cover)
Dave is a good friend of my pal Jessica and acquaintance of mine because he fronts both the Arrivals and the local GBV tribute band, Textbook Committee. I used to be quite the TMBG fan, although I haven't advertised it so much in recent years.

Jay Buchanan "Lemon" (U2 cover)
When my friend Ryan (who is/was a pretty big U2 fan back in the day, depending on the era) visited a few weeks ago, I believe we were making fun of "Lemon." Or maybe I was making fun of it and he and my other friend Brent chimed in. Regardless, it reminded me that I didn't hate this '60s-esque blue-eyed soul/R&B cover of it.

Palomar "I'll Come Running" (Brian Eno cover)

Fabienne Louves "She Works Hard for the Money" (Donna Summer cover in Swiss German)
The Swiss are allowed to have pop stars too, I suppose.

Jared Louche and the Aliens "Search and Destroy" (Iggy and the Stooges cover)

Takeshi Terauchi & The Bunnys "One Fine Day (aria from Madame Butterfly)" (comp. Puccini)
I didn't realize how much I needed Japanese Ventures-style surf-rock covers of famous classical pieces until now.

Skye Sweetnam "Part of Your World" (from The Little Mermaid, comp. Menken/Ashman)

Nerina Pallot "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (Joy Division cover)

Animal Jazz "Frozen" (Madonna cover)

Karen Jo Fields "Famous Blue Raincoat" (Leonard Cohen cover)

Spoon "Decora" (Yo La Tengo cover)

Astrud "With Whom to Dance" (Magnetic Fields cover)

It's what you do to me.

2007-07-31T16:41:00.002-05:00

I vow to try to have new songs for you tomorrow. Until then, please enjoy this animatronic bear "covering" the new emo smash ballad (that I hate, particularly thanks to the crappy "poetic" backward sentence structure of "even more in love with me you'd fall"), "Hey There Delilah" by the Plain White T's:

Somehow the song improves when bear-sung.

Burnin' a hole in my pocket.

2007-07-24T01:37:00.001-05:00

Well, my guilt at disappearing for so long came to a head today and I'm back! I was inexplicably social and busy job hunting for a couple of weeks there and then took a week to decompress.

One of the things I did in the weeks I was absent was attend the first night of the Pitchfork Music Festival with my best pals Ryan and Lisa. Good times, if you ignore the fact that the sound was way too quiet for a Sonic Youth show. Or any other show for that matter, really. Whatevs. (Yeah, I said it.) They played Daydream Nation in its entirety and that's all that matters.

Before my unplanned sabbatical, I promised a slew of SY covers and today I deliver. The timing seems particularly right since rumor (or should I say rumour?) has it the Guardian mentioned C,R? recently and that, obviously, rules. Welcome to any new readers/listeners!

Black Tape for a Blue Girl "Shadow of a Doubt" (Sonic Youth cover)

The Faint "Mote" (Sonic Youth cover)

Camper Van Beethoven "I Love Her All the Time" (Sonic Youth cover)

BM Linx "100 Percent" (Sonic Youth cover)

Vincent Gillioz "Silver Rocket" (Sonic Youth cover)

Red Martian "Chapel Hill" (Sonic Youth cover)

Charlotte Greig "Cotton Crown" (Sonic Youth cover)

Stationary Odyssey "Dirty Boots" (Sonic Youth cover)

The Go! Team "Bull in the Heather" (Sonic Youth cover)

Mudhoney "Halloween" (Sonic Youth cover)

Brother James "White Cross" (Sonic Youth cover)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs "The Diamond Sea" (Sonic Youth cover)

Extra thick, extra long, the way we were wasted.

2007-07-08T14:57:00.001-05:00

I was MIA there for a while, huh? I guess my plan to accept all affordable social invitations in the face of perhaps being forced to leave Chicago due to lack of viable employment is in full effect. So, yeah, in the midst of Pride weekend, "celebrating" my birthday, trying to get/preparing to go to interviews and having friends cool enough to buy tons and tons of drinks, I almost forgot about the blog. Sorry, kids.

One of the cool things I did recently (as recently as last night, even), was attend the aforementioned cover-fest at the Beat Kitchen. And while the awesome GBV tributalicious Textbook Committee delivered as usual, I was also extremely pleasantly surprised by the musical prowess of a band I'd never seen before: Farewell Captain. Seriously, their all-cover set was so awesome that I remarked to my friend Jessica (who I have to thank profusely because I was initially waffling on whether to go out into the sweltering night with very little pocket money and she offered to be my sugar daddy and encouraged me to go) that if they were a real indie cover band that played every week, I would go see them every time. (Of course, even if they don't play covers, I will check out their non-cover sets should the opportunity arise.)

Among many other favorite moments, their rendition of Teenage Fanclub's "The Concept" was particularly phenomenal. Sadly, I missed the first half the song because we came late, but whatever. What I saw the rest of their set ruled as well. Such as this cover of "Web in Front" by the Archers of Loaf that features a few extra vocals from my new friend John Sellers, author of Perfect From Now On: How Indie Rock Saved My Life, which you should totally buy:

A good drunken time indeed!

I'll be busy this week as well with job interviews, a visiting friend, Sonic Youth at Pitchfork and karaoke, but I'll try to post a few tracks in the next day or two.

When the sun shines we'll shine together.

2007-06-28T07:11:00.001-05:00

I got one of the most shocking and unexpected birthday gifts today in my e-mail: a message from a label rep who actually sent me a link to a cover song! Therefore, I felt only right in pointing you all in the direction of Scott Simons (ex-The Argument, whose cover of the Cars' "Hello Again" was pretty good and was posted here a few years back) and his version of Rihanna's spring/summer jam, "Umbrella." You can download it here or over at his MySpace page. Man, these dreamy solo male indie singer/songwriters are practically tripping over themselves to turn crunk and/or R&B hits into sensitive ballads lately, aren't they? Whatever. I'm down.

Within the reach of my hands.

2007-06-27T14:55:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I had the somewhat lame idea to do a two-for-Tuesday type of thing today and, in the middle of figuring out what songs to use, I realized that it was already Tuesday and I wouldn't actually be posting until Wednesday. The best-laid plans, eh? Here were a few that were on my "maybe" list.

Lampshade "Good Day Sunshine" (Beatles cover)
I didn't think I'd ever see the day when a Danish/Swedish twee cover of anything might be too sickly sweet for even me. Seriously, this is by far not the worst cover I've heard of this, nor is it all that bad if twee Scandinavian covers are your bag, but it makes my teeth hurt.

Roy Redmond "Good Day Sunshine" (Beatles cover)
Man, talk about channeling Otis for an awesomely soulful cover. I can't find out too much about this Roy Redmond character, but I'm guessing one Otis Redding was enough for everybody.

Kunamaka "Hunting High and Low" (A-ha cover)
In an alternate reality, Mike Patton is French and this is one of his many projects.

Sissel Vera Pettersen and Nikolaj Hess "Hunting High and Low" (A-ha cover)
I can't say that ethereal vocal/piano jazz is necessarily my thing, but I am pleasantly surprised by By This River, the collaboration cover album from Danish piano/composer Nikolaj Hess and Norwegian vocalist/saxophonist/composer Sissel Vera Pettersen. Eno? A-ha? Blur? Depeche Mode? I'd rather hear those acts covered by jazz and/or classical musicians with technical skill than by a punk band full of 18-year-olds who can barely play.

EverEve "Fade to Grey" (Visage cover)
Aside from a Nouvelle Vague here and a Konki Duet there, most covers of "Fade to Grey" are synthy, dancey tracks that sound like little more than Hi-NRG remixes of the original. This, at least, is a gothy, metally, synthy version replete with an introductory quote from Babylon 5.

The Gregorian Masters of Chant "Fade to Grey" (Visage cover)
Remember when chant tributes were more poplar than bluegrass tributes? Those were the days, my friends.

Chrome "Here Come the Warm Jets" (Brian Eno cover)
Ah, Chrome. The band so many people have never heard of who influenced so many of the same people's favorite bands. Isn't that always the way? I'm not sure which later incarnation of Chrome this is. Is it just Damon Edge? Is it just Helios Creed? I don't know, but it's still 100 times better than most of the stuff you find on electronic tribute albums.

Arturo Stalteri "Here Come the Warm Jets" (Brian Eno cover)
Another jazz/classical instrumental piano arrangement perfect for my imaginary coffee shop.

Union 13 "Roots Radicals" (Spanish-language Rancid cover)
I'm currently experiencing a bit of guilty pleasure in the form of the Tim Armstrong/Skye Sweetnam ska/pop "Into Action." Why guilty? I don't know exactly. Despite liking many ska, ska/punk, ska/pop songs, I never felt comfortable aligning myself with it. I never felt punk or mod or cool or lame or whatever enough. I didn't have enough tattoos or a poor enough work ethic or something to fit in with the die-hard fans. My hesitance to commit today is probably just lingers from the '90s when I cared far more about what other people thought of me than I do now. Aaaanyhow, Tim Armstrong's new "guilty" pleasure reminded me that I once considered a few Rancid songs to be my "guilty" pleasures. This Spanish-language version by Los Angeles's Union 13 makes me happy, although I suspect that if it were in English I wouldn't like it as much.

The Covert Agency "Roots Radicals" (Rancid cover)
See? These guys don't sound guilty about it in the least.

Also, in honor of my good friend Eric's birthday today—which is always a pleasant stepping stone into my own birthday tomorrow—here's some video of a live cover of Clutch's "Big News" as performed by Dozer and featuring Troy and Bill from Mastodon also—aka people from bands I might appreciate a little more if I were a big angry man. But, hey, Dozer's from Sweden, so I can't be completely disinterested in them.

You miss too much these days if you stop and think.

2007-06-22T18:41:00.002-05:00

Judge me harshly if you must, but I've never been much of a U2 fan. Therefore—although I have many—covers of U2 songs tend not to excite me very much. All of that said, I'm kind of in love with SongFight regular Jeff Fal's Add Musical Program podcast (which is often chock-full of covers) and his free downloadable tribute, Add Covers Achtung Baby. And if you like what you hear, you can download a slew of his originals as well directly from the ADD Home Page. I've been meaning to bring all of this up for a while, so why not now?

Picture my amazement.

2007-06-22T17:51:00.001-05:00

There are a slew of Guided by Voices tribute acts out there, and most of them have MySpace pages, but for some odd reason I just found about the Girl Guides, who describe themselves as a "girls only!!" GBV covers project. I'm suspicious that that isn't true since there are male vocals on the cover of "Motor Away," but whatever. The stuff there is still delicious. Sadly, my favorite cover of the three on their MySpace page, "Always Crush Me," is the only one that's unavailable for download, but you should head over there to hear it anyway and to download the other tracks. Edit: "Always Crush Me" is now downloadable there thanks to Sarah of Girl Guides. We all win!

Perfect from now on.

2007-06-21T06:17:00.002-05:00

For various reasons, I'd been thinking pretty seriously the past 24 hours about deleting this blog entirely or going on a hiatus. But then I thought how messed-up it would be for me to abandon one of the few things in my life that consistently brings both me and thousands of others—according to reviews, stats, comments and e-mail inbox—joy. Screw that. If any of you in my "real life" reading have nothing better to do with your lives that you spend part of it cataloging the things I say and do that piss you off so you can later attempt to lord it over me, that's your glitch, not mine. In the immortal words of Popeye, I am what I am. Take it or leave it.

Please, faithful readers, no need to leave supportive (or otherwise) comments on this topic. I don't want to waste any more time thinking about or discussing it. I'm not going anywhere for now. I know most of you reading like what I do here and think I'm cool. And I like what I do here and think I'm cool. That's all that matters here.

Now, let's get on with the show, shall we?

Speaking of shows, all of you Chicago indie rockers may be interested to know that my new e-acquaintance and fellow Guided By Voices fanatic, author John Sellers, is going to be in town soon for a few events. He's promoting his book Perfect From Now On: How Indie Rock Saved My Life, which I'm very much looking forward to reading. He'll be reading, signing, meeting and greeting at the Book Cellar at 7PM on Monday, July 2. Rumor has it there's wine involved, which is always exciting. If you can't make that event or you need a little more rock with your lit and liquor, he'll also be reading at the Beat Kitchen at 10:30PM on Saturday, July 7, followed/accompanied by Dayton's Billy Catfish and local faves Farewell Captain (who, rumor has it, are planning to perform an all-cover set of indie standards) and headlining hooligans extraordinaire, the premier Chicago-area (and beyond?) Guided By Voices tribute band, Textbook Committee. Should be a good time, provided you don't get so GBV-style drunk you don't remember where you were.

And speaking of covers of indie staples...

Tom 7 "14 Cheerleader Coldfront" (Guided By Voices cover)
My favorite track from Tom 7's downloadable tribute to GBV.

Nickel Creek "Spit on a Stranger" (Pavement cover)
This made the rounds on the MP3 blog circuit about a year ago, and I say rightfully so. I'm all for twee bluegrass.

Rheinallt H. Rowlands "Gwawr Newydd Yn Cilio (New Dawn Fades)" (Welsh Joy Division cover)
A reader (sorry, I don't remember who!) sent me this a while back, and I'm indebted. What other Welsh covers out there should I/we know about?

Richard Hawley "Some Candy Talking" (The Jesus & Mary Chain cover)
Definitely one of the most worthwhile tracks on that Q cover sampler that came out a year or two ago.

Straylight Run "Velvet Waltz" (Built to Spill cover)
Apparently there's some emo drama surrounding this band, but even I'm not bored enough to look up what it is.

Ruby Isle "Teen Age Riot" (Sonic Youth cover)
How cute and poppy is that intro? I'm hoping to post an all-Sonic Youth post soon to celebrate that my best friend Ryan is visiting me next month and taking me to see Sonic Youth perform Daydream Nation at the Pitchfork fest. I've inexplicably never seen Sonic youth live before, but I figure that's the thing to see... even if it means I have to be outside for a few hours in a dusty field full of hipsters during sweltering mid-July.

Geoff Keezer "Lose My Breath" (My Bloody Valentine cover)
You know that imaginary coffee shop of mine? Jazz piano versions of shoegaze classics will definitely be on the menu.

Axton Kincaid "I Wanna Be Adored" (The Stone Roses cover)
One of the few Stone Roses covers that didn't make it into my Brit Pop-themed posts a few months back. And another twee bluegrass cover, since apparently that's what the kids are craving.

Maydrïm "Shakespeare's Sister" (The Smiths cover)
Pretty, electronic, Spanish. Why not?

Brother Love Canal "Gigantic" (The Pixies cover)
This is my homage to the soon approaching Pride festivities here in the city. I can totally see most people, especially die-hard Pixies fans, loathing this, but I have to admit it makes me laugh and I'd totally dance to its chill Vengaboysian rhythms. (This marks the third time in the blog's history that I've described a song as Vengaboysian, and I'm certain all the kids are eventually going to allow it to permeate their lexicon. Watch your etymological back, Rachael Ray!!!)

Dirt Bike Annie "Are you Ready for the Summer" (Meatballs theme, comp. Bernstein/Gimbel)
Okay, this isn't an indie staple. It's just my way for saying Happy Summer to everyone out there who, unlike me, actually likes it and wants to celebrate it. And because Meatballs rules. Chris Makepeace, I miss you!!!

Try this trick and spin it. Yeah.

2007-06-18T11:39:00.001-05:00

I heart Mr. Hopkinson's Computer.

Frightened of the things I might find.

2007-06-15T07:28:00.001-05:00

The Hot Stewards "The Edge of Heaven" (Wham! cover)

Juliane Werding "Niemand Hat Zeit (Too Much Time on My Hands)" (German Styx cover)

Spouse "Voices Carry" ('Til Tuesday cover)

Ronnie Spector "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory" (Johnny Thunders cover)

The Robustos "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" (comp. Whitfield/Strong)

The Black Kites "Lucretia My Reflection" (The Sisters of Mercy cover)

Jenny Owen Youngs "Hot in Herre" (Nelly cover)

The Creams "Yesterday" (The Beatles cover)

Voltaire "Caught a Lite Sneeze" (Tori Amos cover)

Beyond Mirth "Uninvited" (Alanis Morrissette cover)

I remember when I lost my mind.

2007-06-10T17:33:00.001-05:00

I hope this doesn't come off bitchy or anything, but I'd really appreciate it if those of you sending MP3s to my inbox would check to see whether or not I've already posted the tracks first. There is a search bar in the upper left corner of the site that should assist you in said endeavor. Granted, chances are good that even if I've not posted it, I already have it, but at least there's a chance I haven't.

Similarly, all of you bands and PR people who tell me you "love my site" and want me to "review" your work? I'm calling bullshit because almost NONE of you seem to realize I ONLY POST COVER SONGS.

Now to offset how cranky I am right now, reader K2 alerted me to this and I think I like it better than any of the tons of other covers of this track out there right now:

Upstairs at Liza's

2007-06-09T23:30:00.001-05:00

Lately I've revisited what I thought was a long-gone obsession with Yazoo's Upstairs at Eric's album. It's generally the first LP I think to throw on the turntable when I'm doing housework. And it's as awesome as ever. Here's a little tribute:

01 Terminal Choice "Don't Go" (Yaz/Yazoo cover)

02 Blind Before Dawn "Too Pieces" (Yaz/Yazoo cover)

03 The Hi-Fives "Bad Connection" (Yaz/Yazoo cover)
This is my favorite of the lot. It makes me very happy.

04 Marianne Nowottny "I Before E Except After C" (Yaz/Yazoo cover)

05 Steve Adam "Midnight" (Yaz/Yazoo cover)

06 Soviet "In My Room" (Yaz/Yazoo cover)

07 Even in Blackouts "Only You" (Yaz/Yazoo cover)

08 Suspiria "Goodbye Seventies" (Yaz/Yazoo cover)

09 Tom Jones "Situation" (Yaz/Yazoo cover)

10 Gold Chains & Jillian Eva "Winter Kills" (Yaz/Yazoo cover)

And to make up for the fact that I was unable to locate evidence of anyone having covered the last track of the U@E album—"Bring Your Love Down (Didn't I)"—here are a few extra Yazoo-related tracks:

Garbo and Telepong "Nobody's Diary" (Yaz/Yazoo cover)

Fink "All Cried Out" (Alison Moyet cover)

You must not know 'bout him.

2007-06-01T09:03:00.001-05:00

Just when the original managed to escape the constant playlist in my head, here comes a cover that puts it right back there. Thanks to reader Jill who pointed me in the direction of a guy named D and his cover of Beyonce's "Irreplaceable," which you can download over at his MySpace page. I'm loving it.

Turn backoh, ohthe hands of time.

2007-05-29T13:20:00.001-05:00

It just occurred to me that I've been blogging covers for more than three years, so to celebrate I've decided to do what I rarely do and revisit some gems from the past. Below are tracks I posted in 2004 that are either reader or personal faves (and, in a few cases, just weird/bad tracks that amuse me). I know a lot of readers didn't know about me back then. I believe I timed these so that they could be burned to audio disc for posterity, should you be so inclined. Enjoy!

Collections from 2005-2007 forthcoming.

(Unrelated: Buy Threadless shirts!)

Copy, Right's Best Posts of 2004 (and one accidentally from 2005) Revisited

01 The Frogs "Vacation" (Go-Go's cover)
Originally posted October 12, 2004.

02 Jason Falkner "Photograph" (Def Leppard cover)
Originally posted November 2, 2004.

03 The Quakes "The Killing Moon" (Echo & the Bunnymen cover)
Originally posted November 2, 2004.

04 The Deldagos "Mr. Blue Sky" (ELO cover)
Originally posted June 29, 2004.

05 Aroah "Cupid Come" (My Bloody Valentine cover)
Originally posted April 7, 2004.

06 Jamelia "Numb" (Linkin Park cover)
Originally posted September 7, 2004. (Actually, this is not the studio version that was in that post but a later live recording because I couldn't readily find the studio track in my millions of back-up discs. You get the gist.)

06 Hikashu "The Model" (Kraftwerk cover)
Originally posted July 16, 2004.

08 The Notwist "Johnny & Mary" (Robert Palmer cover)
Originally posted March 14, 2005. (D'oh! I thought it was 2004. Whatever.)

09 Pixels "Gigamuffin" (Pixies cover, sort of)
Originally posted November 22, 2004.

10 Low IQ 01 feat. Yukari Fresh "Anarchy in the UK" (Sex Pistols cover)
Originally posted July 22, 2004.

11 The Softies "Together Forever" (Rick Astley cover)
Originally posted March 29, 2004.

12 My Chemical Romance "All I Want for Christmas is You" (Mariah Carey cover)
Originally posted December 19, 2004.

13 Solex "Shady Lane" (Pavement cover)
Originally posted March 9, 2004.

14 The Balenescu Quartet "Pocket Calculator" (Kraftwerk cover)
Originally posted June 18, 2004.

15 Cinerama "All the Things She Said" (t.A.T.u. cover)
Originally posted March 29, 2004.

16 Macha & Bedhead "Believe" (Cher cover)
Originally posted March 9, 2004.

<17 Mogwai "Don't Cry" (Guns N' Roses cover)
Originally posted October 26, 2004.

18 Sobaki Tobaka! "In Your Room" (Depeche Mode cover)
Originally posted June 2, 2004.

19 Class "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off" (Jermaine Stewart cover)
Originally posted May 27, 2004.

20 Clem Snide "Beautiful" (Christina Aguilera cover)
Originally posted March 5, 2004.

Throw off your mental chains.

2007-05-22T16:17:00.001-05:00

I want to blog about a few of these (aka warn you about some of them), but I have a friend visiting from out of town and I don't have the time. Sorry, yo.

Edit, Thurs. May 24, 7:35 AM Central Time: One of my web hosts has been having intermittent DNS issues and is working to fix it. If you've had difficulty downloading these tracks, my apologies. I just uploaded them to a different host so they should be working momentarily. Please give it a moment and refresh your browser and try again.

Bob Nanna "Emperor's New Clothes" (Sinead O'Connor cover)

Beat Crusaders "New Song" (Howard Jones cover)

Gazzara "Turn it on Again" (Genesis cover)

Graveworm "Holding Out for a Hero" (Bonnie Tyler cover)

Kaiser Chiefs "What Time is Love?" (The KLF cover)

Len "Cool it Now" (New Edition cover)

Rosa "Let the River Run" (Carly Simon cover)

Shizuka "If you Need Someone" (The Field Mice cover)

Siela "Plainsong" (The Cure cover)

Sunshiners "Shake the Disease" (Depeche Mode cover)

Tarkio (Colin Meloy) "Goodbye Girl" (Squeeze cover)

The Wonder Stuff "Inside You" (Pop Will Eat Itself cover)

No, I would not give you false hope.

2007-05-13T18:41:00.001-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all you crazy moms reading. As promised, here are a few mom-themed tracks. I barely managed to post this in a timely fashion, but am proud that I have. Now if I can get it completed before the Survivor finale, we'll all win! That means I can only give comments on a few tracks—which, let's face it, are always more about me than the songs anyhow—so I'm sure you'll live.

Sadly, most songs about or referencing mothers or mamas or moms are not always the most sentimental or forgiving, and I apologize for that. Still, I think I managed to find a decent balance. Sure, it was difficult to narrow it down so that only one track mentions a desire to kill a mother and have sex with her corpse, but somehow I did.

Dana & Karen Kletter "Your Mother Wants to Know" (Scrawl cover)
I've previously mentioned my former Scrawl obsession, and this song is the one that really sealed the deal for me. I was so excited to learn that it's been covered, and I think this version adds a new dimension to it. The original, obviously, delivers the same message lyrically, but does so with a jaded tone I so related to at the time I first heard it. Not that the delivery can't be bitter AND sentimental, of course, but this cover makes me feel sadder for the mother than the protagonist, and the original does the opposite.

Bongwater "Julia" (Beatles cover)
John Lennon loved his mom. When he wrote this, anyhow.

Neutral Milk Hotel feat. Chris Knox "Mother" (John Lennon cover)
As you might imagine, it gets pretty screamy at the end. Be prepared to turn the volume down a bit unless you're into that.

Old 97's "Mama Tried" (Merle Haggard cover)
Speaking of mothers and Merle Haggard, when I was about 8-10 years old, my mother took me to a Merle Haggard concert at the Holiday Star Plaza. During the intermission (weird that there was an intermission at a concert), an old woman passed out on the floor and started vomiting, which mildly traumatized me. I could think of nothing else for the duration of the show. Not even during "Okie from Muskogee."

Pioneers "Mother and Child Reunion" (Paul Simon cover)
I'm not a big reggae fan, which is a shame considering the multitudes of reggae covers that exist. This track, however, makes me very happy.

The Section Quartet "I Wanna Get A Mohawk (But Mom Won't Let Me Get One)" (AFI cover)
Sometimes mothers are right, kid.

Stone 588 "Dream for Mother" (Christian Death cover)
The aforementioned sexist, matricidal, necrophiliac Mother's Day classic.

The Hydes "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby (Standing in the Shadow)?" (Rolling Stones cover)

Satirine "Mama's Boy" (Ramones cover)

Bouncing Souls "Mommy, Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight?" (Misfits cover)

Glen Meadmore "There's No One Like Mother to Me" (Carter Family cover)

Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen "Your Mother Should Know" (Beatles cover)

We could be sister and brother.

2007-05-13T04:21:00.001-05:00

Awesome local music blog Radio Free Chicago has an all-cover podcast available for your listening pleasure here. I will respectively disagree with the writer's assertion that Nick Cave's cover of Pulp's "Disco 2000" is particularly genius, as I've long found it surprisingly and disappointingly tedious, but to each his or her own, yes? (Particularly considering some of the cheesy or otherwise questionable covers I actually like, no?) Still, you might hear covers there you've never heard and you might love the Nick Cave track, so what are you waiting for?

Hmmm. Podcasting...

Just a boy who's meant to sing this song.

2007-05-12T22:07:00.001-05:00

Okay, when I make a mistake I admit it. Had I known years ago that the Internet would become what it has become, I might have actually tried a little harder to sustain a committed relationship beyond a few weeks and perhaps might have revised my plans to never have a child. But how could we have ever predicted that we would eventually live in a world where we could record our young children singing karaoke versions of My Chemical Romance's "Welcome to the Black Parade" for all the world to hear?

Brendan - Welcome ...

Holy crap, that's adorable. Weird the things that actually make my biological clock almost want to tick, no?

You want to see whatever common people see.

2007-05-12T01:19:00.001-05:00

As you all know, YouTube is rife with covers by people no one has ever heard of who happen to have webcams, but every now and again you'll stumble on something/someone who isn't total crap and is just plain charming and cute. It doesn't seem remotely possible that it would be legal for me to find someone born in 1987 so damned adorable, but it is. I cannot believe 1987 was 20 years ago.

Anthony Hill covers Pulp and Lily Allen, respectively:

I've been changing my mind.

2007-05-11T23:55:00.001-05:00

It's amazing how long it takes to perform everyday tasks when the scroll wheel on your mouse suddenly stops working. I practically feel as if I'm Laura Ingalls (and her numerous siblings) having to do homework with chalk on a small personal slate. I'm working on posting a mom-themed post before Sunday. We'll see how long it actually takes me.

Hmm. I think I've hit a mid-entry change of heart and have decided to post a few tracks before the mom post. I did it quick, so the tags might not be as detailed as I generally like them to be. Here goes:

Mollycuddle "U Mass" (Pixies cover)
Mollycuddle is a sickeningly cute name for a band. Or a child carrier.

De Saloon & Denisse Malabrán (of Chilean group Saiko) "Erase/Rewind" (Cardigans cover)
In this cover, Denisse Malabrán's sounds a bit like my friend Ami's, though not quite as good. Lo, I like seeing people cover Cardigans songs besides "Lovefool," paricularly with south American accents, so it's all good to me.

S.H.E "Bie Shuo Dui Bu Qi (Everytime)" (Britney Spears cover in Chinese, I think)
I'm too lazy sans functioning scroll wheel to talk about S.H.E, so I'll let Wikipedia do it for me. They've done a lot of covers.

DJ Goldfinger feat. Felisha "Runaway (Goldfinger's NRG Single Edit)" (Bon Jovi cover)
It's just your standard cheesy dance cover, yet still somehow a million times better than any of the crappy performances by American Idol contestants on Bon Jovi night. I know, I know. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up in the first place. (Aside: I hate Blake sooooooooo much.)

[spunge] "Circle in the Sand" (Belinda Carlisle cover)
A band whose name includes pointless brackets would generally fall off my radar just on principle, but for a dime-a-dozen ska/punk cover, it could certainly be much worse.

I don't mind doing some time.

2007-05-04T20:31:00.001-05:00

AJ Draper & the Force of Nature "Stars are Blind" (Paris Hilton cover)
So, Paris Hilton is supposedly going to jail, which I have to admit amuses me despite my general apathy toward celebutards. In her honor, here is a cover from a Michigan band whose albums I found free online. God, I can't even imagine being young in the heyday of the Internet. Maybe I'd have actually done something with my life. Or at least recorded some songs and put them up on the Internet.

Play me a song to set me free.

2007-05-03T21:38:00.001-05:00

Perturbazione "Portami Via di Qua, Sto Male (Get Me Away from Here, I'm Dying)" (Italian Belle and Sebastian cover)

Dionysos & Louise Attaque perform Blur's "Song 2":

We all look elsewhere.

2007-05-03T17:47:00.001-05:00

Just in case you're not obsessively checking what I add to my blog roll, I feel I need to point you in the direction of Absonderpop—as well as its German-language counterpart, should that interest you—where you can download originals, remixes and many many covers of whatever song is featured each entry. Seriously, if you like what I do and enjoy collecting as many covers as possible in a range of genres, you'd be remiss not to check it early and often.

I got nothing to say I ain't said before.

2007-05-02T18:49:00.001-05:00

Lambchop "This Corrosion" (Sisters of Mercy cover)
It's a genre I never got too obsessed with, this dark alt-country-meets-chamber-pop stuff, and I'm not sure why since I actually quite like it. Well, I was once temporarily obsessed with 16 Horsepower, but that was about a decade ago. Anyhow, I'm revisiting it, and find that I love it when these type of outfits cover goth staples.

Speaking of 16HP, for your viewing & listening pleasure, allegedly they chose Joy Division's "Heart and Soul" as their final live song ever:

Just like you and me.

2007-05-01T22:03:00.001-05:00

I was thinking I might try to post at least one cover a day this month, but figured I'd post a bunch of songs now in case I backpedal.

The Avalanches "Do you Know the Way to San Jose" (comp. Burt Bacharach)
I think this is a "totally love" or "totally hate" it track, and I'm in the former category. I'm a huge Bacharach fan, but must admit that even some of my favorite Bacharach covers are terribly run-of-the-mill. The last thing I'd expect to hear in a DYKTWTSJ cover is a lick from My Bloody Valentine's "I Only Said," and I approve.

Brewer & Shipley "All Along the Watchtower" (Bob Dylan cover)
I've been in a strange '70s folk phase lately, and this is a product of that.

Floppy "Radiostar No Higeki (Video Killed the Radio Star)" (Japanese Buggles cover)
There are so many covers of this out there and I've posted a few. This isn't my favorite of the lot—that honor belongs to Hi-Posi's version (I know I don't often repost songs, but what the heck?)—but it's a bouncy little novelty.

Built to Spill "I Try" (Macy Gray cover)
The other day a thought popped in my head: I used to be mildly obsessed with Built to Spill yet couldn't remember the last time I listened to anything by them. Granted, I was jonesing for their non-cover work, but I still thought I'd share a cover today.

Collide "The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)" (Fun Boy Three cover)
I bought a used copy of Fun Boy Three's first LP and haven't been able to get this song out of my head since. But it's better than other recent earworms of mine. (See below.)

George White Group "Gypsy Woman" (Crystal Waters cover)
One of my most-hated hits of the '90s. I can almost listen to it now without retching. This version annoys me far less, but it still gets the grating original suck in my head.

Grizzly Bear "He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss)" (The Crystals cover)
I shared a video of this the other day, and a few readers have clamored for an MP3 version. This is not from the same performance as that in the video, but I hope it will suffice. BTW: I think you should buy Grizzly Bear's album because it's brilliant.

Jesper Henriksen "Try Again" (Aaliyah cover)
A weird kismet hit the other day when reader Lyss sent me an e-mail pointing me to this track on Jesper's MySpace a mere hour or two after I'd downloaded it somewhere else. And there are few things I like more than a good sexy R&B jam in acoustic cover form by someone from Scandinavia.

Mariah M. "Bring Me Edelweiss (2000)" (Edelweiss cover)
An innocuous cover of an innocuous song. Why not?

Nutz "One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)" (Bob Dylan cover)
I might like this more than the White Stripes version, and for a completely different reason.

Teenage Fanclub "The Ballad of John & Yoko" (Beatles cover)
Nothing much to say here except I like Teenage Fanclub and I like this song.

Timex Social Club "Go Away Little Girl" (comp. Goffin/King)
Not that I expected much from the guys who brought us "Rumors," but I'm surprised at how bland this is.

I can tell that we are gonna be friends.

2007-05-01T04:05:00.001-05:00

If you're looking for a great way to kill just over an hour, one of the charming Drunk Country fellows has a delightful, informative covers-themed podcast currently available for listening/downloading here. Highly recommended.

You don't have to drink right now, but you can dip your feet.

2007-04-29T00:47:00.001-05:00

Usually when I get form-letter mass e-mails from bands or their record companies, they do not contain any information relating to covers. In fact, most of the "I'm a big fan of your blog and you might want to review my band/a band represented by the label I work for" do not contain information relating to covers. Some "big fans" they are, huh? Aaaaaaaanyhooo, today's Minty Fresh mass e-mail actually delivered in the form of a very pretty cover of the Killers' "When You Were Young" as performed by Astrid Swan, whose album drops May 22. You can download it here.

Scala believes in you.

2007-04-27T12:19:00.001-05:00

Scala and Kolacny Bros., the wildly popular choir whose covers have been featured here three or four times, is attempting to create the world's longest canon. If you're interested in adding to the project by videotaping yourself singing a snippet of Kylie Minogue's "I Believe in You" (and subsequently being entered in a contest to win a Wii, among other things), visit the Scala and Kolacny Bros. canon site.

Thanks to Aurélie from Scala for the heads-up!

Feels like more than a kiss to me.

2007-04-27T03:10:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite so so so so wrong songs ever as performed by the pretty pretty pretty pretty boys of Grizzly Bear. They've covered this a lot while touring and this video recording, although cut off just before the end, is pretty awesome.