We'll always be together, however far it seems.

Bran Van 3000 "Cum On Feel The Noize" (Slade cover)
I knew that when I returned to make good on my Minimum 2 Songs A Day In October promise I would use a version of "Cum on Feel the Noize" to start things off, but I wasn't sure which. But today when I was finally faced with the decision, it became clear: Pick what you know and love. While this track isn't necessarily my favorite on the album, Bran Van's debut album Glee is start-to-finish one of my favorite albums of all time. It's the perfect "It's bright and sunny and I'm in a fucking great mood" album and it genre hops like the badass muthafucka it is. If you're down with Glee, well, then you're down with me.

Lali Puna "Together in Electric Dreams" (Human League cover)
I am currently obsessed with the glitchy lush starkness (oxymoronic, I know) of Lali Puna. Perhaps you should be as well.

Dar Williams feat. Ani DiFranco "Comfortably Numb" (Pink Floyd cover)
Dar is my girl. You don't even know. Like the aforementioned Glee, her Mortal City is an album I never get sick of that cheers me up every time I hear it. It opened my mind to folk music at a time in my life when I otherwise wouldn't have given it the time of day. Such a pretty voice. Such clever lyrics. Perfect. Her latest effort, My Better Self, from whence this track comes, is politically driven and features a slew of equally genius guest artists. If you're into what you hear here, the entire album is available for preview here at Download.com and features a cover of Neil Young's "Everybody Knows this is Nowhere," on which she duets with Marshall Crenshaw. She also has a cover of the Beatles' "You Won't See Me" on This Bird has Flown, the forthcoming (Release Date: Oct. 25) indie/folksy Razor & Tie tribute to Rubber Soul.

Low "Nowhere Man" (Beatles cover)
Hey! Speaking of the forthcoming Razor & Tie tribute to Rubber Soul, perhaps I should let you enjoy what is, in my opinion, one of its finest tracks (not a difficult task to complete, really, given its less-than-innovative companions—sorry, hipsters!) by our old friends Low. I'm so glad Low finally popped themselves up a bit. Now I can listen to them without wanting to slit my writs. Well, less than usual anyhow.

Unrelated to covers but still cool: Threadless is having one of its wonderful Everything is $10 sales until Monday. The clown puking shirt shall be mine!!! (Well, except that it's sold out. Sigh.)

Cover for a cause.

The dB's, the old-school power-popsters who've recently reunited and are playing the Hideout Block Party this weekend, are offering a download of a new cover of "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" for those who contribute via the PayPal link on their site to the Katrina relief effort. Pretty cool, huh?

Techno for an answer?

Okay, I admit I don't know what makes something techno versus electronica versus trance versus plain ol' dance music. Just when I think I have it all figured out, someone tells me I'm wrong. A die-hard member of the Ministry of sound, I'm not.

Boogie Pimps "Sunny" (comp. Bobby Hebb)
This one's my favorite.

Royal Gigolos "California Dreamin' (Tek House Extend Mix)" (The Mamas and the Papas cover)
Russians love to dance too! Check out this page to sample other mixes of this track or to watch the video.

Linus Loves feat. Sam Obernik "Stand Back (Linus Loves Friday's Child Remix)" (Stevie Nicks cover)

Firewater "Is That All There Is?" (comp. Leiber and Stoller)
Okay, this isn't techno or electronica or whatever, but I've always loved this song and I like this version and I thought it was the perfect song to end this paltry post. And it's definitely pro-dancing.

Don't push me 'cause I'm close to the edge.

I don't have time to be witty or make many comments. Here's what you're getting: some rock, some punk, some swing/rockabilly, some bluegrass, a Scandinavian experimental take on country, etc. Not necessarily in that order.

Asylum Street Spankers "Paul Revere" (Beastie Boys cover)

The Flash Express "The Message" (Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five cover)

Yeti Girl "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" (Marilyn Monroe cover)

Paul Westerberg and Joan Jett "Let's Do It" (comp. Cole Porter)

Suzi Quatro "Born to Run" (Bruce Springsteen cover)

Susanna and the Magical Orchestra "Jolene"< (Dolly Parton cover)

Dick Brave and the Backbeats "Walk this Way" (Aerosmith cover)

Claude François "J'ai Joué et J'ai Perdu (I Fought the Law and the Law Won)" (Bobby Fuller Four cover)
"I played and I lost"? Um, close, I guess.

Bad Livers "Lust for Life" (Iggy Pop cover)

I have no choice; I hear your voice.

Okay, I know I'm always saying how I won't make guarantees that I'll post stuff other people have sent me, but I'm busy in my work life and lazy in my home life and you'll take these and you'll like them!!! (Note: You may not actually like them.) All were sent to me by readers sometime in the past few months. Some I had already, a few I didn't. (It happens!) Sorry if you sent me something and it's not on today's list. I'm also sorry I'm too lazy to research who sent what.

But before we get to those, I'd be remiss if I didn't point you in the direction of a website featuring the Tuvan punk (you read right) stylings of Albert Kuvezin and Yat-Kha. Head over there to download a few tracks, including one of the most unique "Love Will Tear Us Aparts" ever.

Crackout "Caught Out There" (Kelis cover)
Definitely raised my eyebrows in that "really, someone like this covered something like that???" way when it hit my inbox.

The Entertainment System "Bigmouth Strikes Again" (Smiths cover)
My poor friend Mikey is forever trying to find covers I've never heard and was very depressed after sending this to me that I already had this Texas band's cover ('cause I had found it here one day). Sorry, Mikey. I still love you.

PJ Pooterhoots "No Go [I Can't Go for That]" (Hall & Oates cover)
You know, it's not bad. Except it gets the original stuck in my head and I hate the original—not necessarily based on the quality of the song itself but based on the bad memories it conjures up, which are shudder-inducing. What can I say? Age 9 was rough for me.

Now It's Overhead "Book of Love" (Magnetic Fields cover)
I had a feeling that the Magnetic Fields post a few days ago would result in a slew of comments and e-mails chiding me for not picking the right covers and/or suggesting tracks I already had but just didn't feel like posting, but I took the risk anyhow 'cause I live on the edge, man. Consider this an acknowledgement that, yes, I know there are many more to be had. Speaking of, I forgot to mention this page full of Magnetic Fields covers as performed by The Wake in my last Mag Fields post.

Glitterbug "Like a Prayer" (Madonna cover)
Surprisingly poptastic.

Johnny Domino "Forever in Blue Jeans" (Neil Diamond cover)
One of my favorite Diamond tracks. Johnny also posts a lot of covers over on his blog. If you're not already reading it, you should be.

Oranger "Vegetables" (Beach Boys cover)
Jeez, what was Van Dyke Parks on? I needs me some of that.

Rilo Kiley "Let My Love Open the Door" (Pete Townshend cover)
Sing along with everyone's favorite band of somewhat depressing cutesters.

Eve Massacre "3L3CTR1C DR3AMS" (Human League cover)
If this were a friend's 4-track project and I were super high, I'd probably like this a lot more.

Stanford Counterpoint "Don't Speak" (No Doubt cover)
College acappella groups. Is there anything they can't geek up?

Mystery singer] "Ask Me" (Elvis Presley cover)
So my stepdad tells me that a friend/colleague (whose identity I shall protect) of his has gotten really into karaoke, going to karaoke bars many times a week and competing in contests. I immediately insist that we have to go watch him sometime because I live for spectacles, especially karaoke spectacles. (So far no luck!) My stepdad then breaks the news that his friend/colleague has gone so far as to record his own CD. Giddy like a little girl, I beg him to get a hold of one for me. Again, no luck, but about a month later this arrived via e-mail from my stepdad's address. All I can say is I've certainly heard far worse karaoke regulars. That, of course, is not saying much.

The day is beautiful and so are you.

Recently the Arcade Fire (a band I otherwise quite enjoy) mutilated my favorite Magnetic Fields song, "Born on a Train," and lots of other blogs posted it and called it good. It freaked me out. They didn't even start at the beginning! And it sounded like a bad Tom Waits impression. Shudder. I'm not saying all of the covers here are great, by any means, but none of them (not even the ones by Peter Gabriel or Chrash!) make me as angry as the Arcade Fire cover, which, I'm sorry, is so bad I'm not even going to post for you to hear how bad it is.

Aaaanyhooo, Stephin Merritt writes wonderfully deadpan songs about the true nature of human emotions and I love him. Though not quite as much as some.

!!! "Take Ecstasy With Me" (Magnetic Fields cover)
Note the proper spelling of ecstasy. Ecstacy is one of my biggest pet peeves.

Divine Comedy "With Whom to Dance" (Magnetic Fields cover)
The morose and acerbic covering the morose and acerbic always works for me.

Kelly Hogan "Papa Was a Rodeo" (Magnetic Fields cover)
Viva la Chicago-based alt-country!

Evelyn "Smoke and Mirrors" (Magnetic Fields cover)
Does anyone know anything about Evelyn? This was on a Teenbeet Records sampler from 1998, but the liner notes don't tell me much. Whatever. It's okay.

Superchunk "100,000 Fireflies" (Magnetic Fields cover)
I like Superchunk.

Peter Gabriel "Book of Love" (Magnetic Fields cover)
I've said it before, but I hate Peter Gabriel. Yes, even "In Your Eyes." Hate him. This is from the soundtrack of some movie that totally sucked.

Kings of Convenience "The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side" (Magnetic Fields cover)

Chrash "I Don't Want to Get Over You" (Magnetic Fields cover)
Whoa. I don't know what's worse, their cover or the "astute" diatribe that precedes it.

Mary Lou Lord "I Don't Want to Get Over You" (Magnetic Fields cover)
Here's a more palatable version.

Edit: An anonyomus poster just reminded me of a link I totally meant to add to this post but forgot because work got busy. You can find a handful of Mag Fields covers at It's Meaningless.

Have you never been mellow?

My Morning Jacket "Tyrone" (Erykah Badu cover)

Lori Carson "I Saw The Light" (Todd Rundgren cover)

The Early November "The Power of Love" (Huey Lewis and the News cover)

Feel the heat with somebody.

I wish I had more time/less of a life so I could point you in the direction of other MP3 blogs when they post covers, but I just don't. Although I'm making an exception today because I feel like it. Muppetpastor has a handful of "What the Fuck?" covers up right now, and you should head over there. David Byrne's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" is a favorite of mine.

I know the meaning of life—it doesn't help me a bit.

Sleeper "Other End of the Telescope" ('Til Tuesday cover)
I loved 'Til Tuesday well beyond the one-hit-wonderness of "Voices Carry." And I'm not alone, Elvis Costello liked them enough to co-write this song with Aimee Mann and it would up on TT's third album well before it was on any of Costello's own. Another band I liked a lot nearly a decade ago was Sleeper, one of the lesser-known (Stateside, anyhow) of the whole 1990s Brit-pop revolution.

Paul Anka "The Love Cats" (Cure cover)
Anka's whole Rock Swings album is pretty ace, but this is my favorite track by far.

Number One Cup "Here" (Pavement cover)
This is my favorite Pavement song covered by Number One Cup, a Chicago outfit that I saw a handful of times at Lounge Ax before it closed. This wasn't because I any really affinity for them (which is not to say that I disliked them, I just liked a lot of similar bands more), but instead was because a cute label rep I made out with from time to time got me into their shows for free. Ah. I miss the days when I was a whore for free music.

Jason Falkner "A Song from Under the Floorboards" (Magazine cover)
One of my favorite new-wave classics covered by one of my favorite people to hear doing covers. Nearly every line of this song could be a motto for my personality. Yay for songs that celebrate giving up!

Bodyjar "Your Racist Friend" (They Might be Giants cover)
A while back, I mentioned I was on the prowl for the We Might be Giants Too discs and since have hunted them both down. Um. Yeah. Not the best stuff on earth. This cover by Aussie punkers is the best track on them and I already had acquired a copy of it ages ago. My wait was for naught.

Babybird "I can Sing a Rainbow" (written by Arthur Hamilton)
File this under "I'm not quite sure I know why this exists." The colors in the lyrics are way off, and kid worth his or her salt could tell you that. How much orange do we need in a rainbow, Steve?

Clumsy Lovers "Open up Your Heart (And Let the Sunshine In)" (written by Carl Stuart Hamblen)
And while we're on the topic of children's classics, here's one of many songs TV helped me learn. Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm couldn't talk, but they could sing this poppy little spiritual country ditty and become superstars, and as a child, I often would get this trapped in my head for weeks at a time. I like this version far better than Frente's, mostly because the voice of the chick from Frente gives me a toothache. Also, this puts a little country back in it and, regardless of how many twits say "I like all kinds of music ... except country," country rules.

Are you ready for the time of your life?

Sorry I'm so sporadic all the time. I was all stressed out the past few weeks with job-related woe, but now I'm back on track. I start a shiny new job in a few weeks, but until then, I suppose I'll have a little more time to post.

Today's random smattering involves songs that—either the original or the cover—make me nostalgic. But I guess that could be the theme of all my posts.

Herman Dune "Smalltown Boy" (Bronski Beat cover)
I'm a really big fan of Herman Dune, covers or no—although had it not been for his covers, I might not have learned about his original stuff.

Propaganda "Femme Fatale" (Velvet Underground cover)
Ah, Propaganda! Could this remind me more of gay boys I lusted after in the '80s? Probably not.

Kirsty MacColl "You Just Haven't Earned it Yet Baby" (Smiths cover)
Kirsty rules. I miss her. (I post lots of Smiths covers, don't I?)

The Detroit Cobras "Breakaway" (Irma Thomas cover, written by Jackie DeShannon)
Six degrees of picking covers: Kirsty always reminds me of Tracey Ullman (because Tracey covered Kirsty's "They Don't Know," of course) and when I think of Tracey, I remember her version of "Breakaway," which was my first introduction to the songs of Irma Thomas. The Detroit Cobras LOVE Irma Thomas. I think they've covered nearly every Irma Thomas hit.

They Might Be Giants "Maybe I Know" (Lesley Gore cover)
I've long been a fan of the 1960s girl-singer "I know my boyfriend is a jerk, but I just can't get enough of him" tracks. (See above as well.) This was always one of my favorites in the genre. In fact, nearly every song on Lesley Gore's greatest hits album is.

The Housemartins "Caravan of Love" (Isley Brothers cover)
Dorky, fey, British? Delicious.

The Number 12 Looks Like You "My Sharona" (The Knack cover)
Thanks to SoulSeek's "upload" feature, this wound up in my files when my pal Eric sent it my way. Yeah. It sounds like something he'd know about.

The Polecats "John, I'm Only Dancing" (David Bowie cover)
I had some sort of attack last week in which I absolutely had to listen to the Polecats' "Make a Circuit With Me" about 10 times in a row. I'm not sure where that impulse came from, but I did it and it jostled my memory of this.

Rasputina "Bad Moon Rising" (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover)
I used to make fun of Rasputina because I was mired in an anti-goth love of shoegaze and Brit-pop when I became aware of them, but in retrospect I don't hate them at all. This is pretty good.

St. Etienne "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" (Neil Young cover)
I was in my sophomore year of college when St. Etienne's Foxbase Alpha came out and I remember heading out to Ozarka's in my winter coat to buy it. A few months later, I was listening to it and one of my annoying roommate's "boyfriends" overheard me playing it and said, "Man, that girl listens to weird shit." Heh. I think it was the most non-weird CD in my collection at the time.

Heads-up/reminder: I've received a lot of comments and e-mails lately with requests and/or questions on how readers can "submit" a song to the site. Um. Unfortunately, that's not really how I work this thing. As always, if you have a song you want me to know about or hear, feel free to send it my way, but I make no guarantees it will end up here. Keep in mind that my cover sickness is full-blown, and in most cases, I probably already have it and/or know about it and/or have ALREADY POSTED IT. Heh. People alerting me to songs I've already posted are my favorite.

Gray skies are gonna clear up!

Many thanks (uh, I think) to a Live Journal friend who pointed me in the direction of this collection of MP3s of every song ever sung by the Golden Girls. Be very afraid.

Push the button. Don't push the button.

I try not to post from work on a regular basis, but my contract is up here soon and I'm bored, so why the hell not? I've been a little too preoccupied lately with Flickr, so I wasn't able to come up with any theme for today's selection or find an entire album from which to cull gems, so back to the random smattering it is! Enjoy. (And, fellow Chicagoans, if your organization is looking for a hard-working smartass with great administrative and customer service skills and a wealth of useless information trapped inside her head, please let me know.)

Blondie "Out in the Streets (1975 demo version)" (Shangri-Las cover)
I love the Shangri-Las and I love old-school Blondie. This song gets caught in my head quite frequently.

The Ukrainians "Batyar (Bigmouth Strikes Again)" (Smiths cover)
From their Smiths cover EP Pisni Iz The Smiths, which features a handful of Ukrainian folk versions of classic Smiths songs.

Two Nice Girls "Cotton Crown" (Sonic Youth cover)
Lesbian folk singers covering Sonic Youth? Why not? From their album Like a Version, which also includes the Speed Racer theme song, among other odd covers and medleys.

Muse "Feeling Good" (Nina Simone cover)
Personally, I've tried and I just can't get into Muse, but I've been told I'm wrong by more than a few people.

Har Mar Superstar "Alone Again, Naturally" (Gilbert O'Sullivan cover)
Sean Na Na? Calvin Krime? Har Mar Superstar? Whoever. Personality disorders turn me on.

Cansei de Ser Sexy "Hollywood" (Madonna cover)
Someone reminded me of this in a comment a few entries back. I like it.

If I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know.

These tracks come from the same mostly horrifying When Pigs Fly: Songs You Never Thought You'd Hear CD from whence the Ani DiFranco/Jackie Chan version of "Unforgettable" I posted here and the Billy Preston cover of "Girls on Film" I posted here.

The Connells "Insane in the Brain" (Cypress Hill cover)
The Connells always seemed like a band I should have been able to get into in the same way as I got into, say, Buffalo Tom or The Posies or Lloyd Cole or something, but I never could. At least I gave it the ol' college try.

Devo "Ohio" (Neil Young cover)
I listened to my dad's vinyl copy of "Freedom of Choice" quite a bit as a kid, and now it is mine. This isn't as good as anything on that album, but it's still one of the best tracks on this album.

Don Ho "Shock the Monkey" (Peter Gabriel cover)
My paternal grandfather was a professional golfer and he and my grandmother spent a few months every winter in Hawaii. They took me with them a few times, most notably when I was 2 1/2 (I was very excited by the half, you know). We spent some time on both Oahu and Maui and the story goes that one night they took me to a lounge where Don Ho was playing and I joined him on stage for "Tiny Bubbles." I vaguely remember the layout of the lounge and the candles on the table, but I don't remember what I'm certain was my stellar performance. However, I suspect it was probably a little better than this track.

Lesley Gore "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" (AC/DC cover)
I try to picture the call in which Lesley was asked to participate in this, and my brain implodes. Lesley is one of my favorite singers ever, but it's difficult for me to admit that after listening to this.

The Oak Ridge Boys "Carry On Wayward Son" (Kansas cover)
Heh. It's not saying much, but think this is my favorite cover on the album. I love those country gospel harmonies, what can I say?

Take a walk on the wiggly side.

All I know about Andrew Denton I learned right here. He's some dorky Australian personality with a radio show or something and he's put out a few "Musical Challenge" discs, not unlike the Like a Version discs referenced in the last post. Here are some of the most listenable tracks from them. Um, kinda.

The Wiggles "Walk on the Wild Side" (Lou Reed cover)
I was blissfully unaware of the existence of the Wiggles until I took up a babysitting gig while I was unemployed a few years ago. Man. Those guys creep me the hell out. But the kiddies seem to like them. Obviously, they've cleaned up the lyrics a bit.

Willie Nelson "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (Nirvana cover)
It's too bad he sang so little of the song, I'd have liked it to go on longer.

Screaming Jets "My Heart Will Go On" (Celine Dion cover)
Unfortunately, I was working megastore music retail when Titanic came out and had to create a giant Christmastime Celine Dion display and endure hearing this song on the overhead speakers for months. On the plus side, we did get these ultra-cheap tacky little promotional "Le Coeur de la Mer" pendants to give out with a purchase of the soundtrack, which I wore en masse many times. You'd be surprised how fancy you can look wearing 15 of those at a time. I think I still have one somewhere; I should wear it more often.

Mark Lizotte "I Write the Songs" (Barry Manilow cover)
If you told me this was the Black Crowes, I'd probably believe you. An interesting take.

Gina Jeffreys "Kryptonite" (3 Doors Down cover)
3 Doors Down? ZZZZzzzz. Gina Jeffreys? Better than 3 Doors Down. As if that means anything.

Josh Joplin "Eye of the Tiger" (Survivor cover)
Eh, it's okay. Kinda reminds me of 3 Doors Down though.

The Delltones "Pretty Vacant" (Sex Pistols cover)
Doo-wop punk? I'm all for it.

Notice me. Take my hand.

Today I give you tracks from CDs put out by a few foreign (to me, anyhow) radio stations. Apparently the new rage is to get current local pop stars to cover songs old and new for albums to benefit various charities. And I'm, obviously, all for that. I'm sharing tracks from two different albums today, and I have others for the days to follow. I think you'll mostly be pleasantly surprised. At least I am.

From Ireland's today FM Even Better Than the Real Thing Vol. 2 (I posted tracks from the first volume way back when):

Bell x1 "Like I Love You/Slow" (Justin Timberlake/Kylie Minogue cover medley)
This is the first I've heard of Bell x1 and I'm very intrigued. They sound so sexy. Or maybe it's the Sixteen Horsepowerish banjo feel. Or the bottle of wine I've had tonight has gone to my head, among other places.

Mickey Harte "I Don't Want You Back" (Eamon cover)
It'd be better with the curse words intact—"feck"?—but go Mickey! Anyone who could make this song somewhat listenable is okay by me.

Glen Hansard & Colm MacConlomaire of The Frames "Every Time" (Britney Spears cover)
The original was always a huge guilty pleasure for me, even if they did remove the blood from the bathtub scene in the video. Britney running so earnestly in little else but a man's white oxford shirt? It touched me, y'all. This version as well makes me want to make out with hot Irish guys. (Yeah. I shouldn't drink so much before posting.)

Vyvienne Long "Seven Nation Army" (White Stripes cover)
I need more cellists in my life. My sole dreamy cellist friend, Joey, moved to California a few years ago. Whenever I smell sandalwood I think of him. Hand claps, on the other hand, remind me of participating in Catholic-school sing-along songs that involved ridiculous hand motions and whatnot. I'm so glad I'm not Catholic anymore.

From Australia's Triple J station's Like A Version:

The Pictures "Milkshake" (Kelis cover)
A lo-fi garagey "Baba O'Reilly"-sounding Kelis cover? And not changing all the boys to girls? Yes, please, a thousand times yes! (Although I do hate it when a band doesn't even find out the lyrics before covering a song. "I want it all"? Um. No. It's "Warm it up." Guys are the worst at guessing lyrics, I swear. no offense.)

Darren Hanlon "Don't Stop" (Fleetwood Mac cover)
I feel similarly about this Hanlon chap as I do about Bell x1, which is weird since one of my many idiosyncrasies is an irrational anti-attraction I have to Australian men. No, I don't know where it comes from either. I'm nuts.

The Cat Empire "Hotel California" (Eagles cover)
Hotel California was one of the first albums in my dad's record collection I began listening to nonstop once I was old and alert enough to realize how fucking awesome my dad's record collection was. (Seriously, how cool my dad is still freaks me out regularly, people.) This version is my introduction to the Cat Empire, whom I seem to like despite my aversion to reggae-influenced acts. (A few ska bands aside.) French lyrics and what I believe to be an accordion help it. It's very Moulin Rogue meets Buena Vista Social Club. (Heh, and they said I couldn't be a music critic!) I like this better than the songs available on their site, but they seem like a band that would put on a good show. Even if they do look like frat boys. (Not that I have anything against frat boys. I'm sure some have redeeming qualities. Really.)

Nothing can move us ... we should be moving.

Politically, I have a few issues with the Live 8 performances, but I don't maintain this blog to engage in political debates. Therefore, I will direct you to this page, which features QuickTime movies of all of the Live 8 performances—a handful of which were covers. (Rumor has it that you can watch all the performances at AOL.com as well, but I'm sure as hell not heading over there or linking to them to find out.)

Here are the covers I had the patience to root out that you can check for once you get there (there are probably more than those listed, but my eyes glazed over after a while):

In London:

Ms. Dynamite covering Bob Marley's "Redemption Song"

Robbie Williams covering Queen's "We Will Rock You"

Dido singing the Neneh Cherry part of "7 Seconds" with Youssou N'Dour

In Philadelphia:

Maroon 5 covering Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World"

In Berlin:

Die Totenhosen covering the McCoys' "Hang on Sloopy"

Green Day covering Queen's "We are the Champions"

Juan Diego Flores" singing Rodgers and Hammerstein's "You'll Never Walk Alone"

Roxy Music doing their version of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy"

Otto Waalkes singing Billy Joel's "Piano Man"

In Paris:

Craig David and Tina Arena dueting the Beatles' "Come Together"

David Hallyday covering the Knack's "My Sharona"

In Rome:

Noa covering Alan Parsons Project's "Eye in the Sky"

Thursday night your stocking needed mending.

I'm currently loving the Thai psych/garage madness (both the covers and the originals) of Thai Beat A Go-Go Volumes 1 and 2. Fans of the 5.6.7.8's are likely to enjoy. Here's a little sampler:

Payom Moogda "Tamai Dern Sae (What'd I Say)" (Ray Charles cover)
Apparently this track's Thai title translates into "Why do you walk like a drunkard?" Awesome.

Sakarin Boonpit "Kotmorn Yoop Yap (All Shook Up)" (Elvis Presley cover)

Sodai Chaengkij "Shake Baby Shake" (which is actually "Cool, Cool Ways") (Jerry Lee Lewis cover)

Sodai Chaengkij "Lady Madonna" (Beatles cover)
I think Sodai is my favorite, so I gave you two of her tracks.

Suda Chuenbarn "Funky Broadway" (Christian)

Traces "Je T'aime, Moi Non Plus" (Serge Gainsbourg cover)

A place nobody dared to go ... except Menudo and me.

Menudo "Xanadu" (ELO/Olivia Newton-John cover)
Oh ... my... God. My pal Louis—whose Damaged Hearing radio show you can (and should) listen to here on Tuesday afternoons and Friday nights—sent me this Holy Grail today and I'm freaking out. This is in the category of covers I knew existed and desperately wanted but hadn't been able to locate on my own. A rarity, that. I believe this is the first incarnation of Menudo (read: Ricky Melendez, not Martin) and I'm in love with the horror of it. It hits me like a cannonball.

Somewhat related—and I'm dating myself big-time here (yeah, MTV, I actually lived in a '70s house): Does anyone remember the episode of Silver Spoons where Ricky Stratton (Ricky-now-Rick Schroeder) sneaks into a hotel to convince Menudo to play at his birthday party so he can impress a girl he likes and they come out on that little train and play a song, I think, and when the song is over, the girl screams, "Ricky, I love you!" and rich-kid Ricky thinks she's talking about him, but she was really talking about Ricky in Menudo and she runs to him and hugs him and Ricky Stratton is all heartbroken? That was the shit.

Also related: Does anyone remember the little mini-videos Menudo had on ABC in the early '80s that inexplicably replaced Schoolhouse Rock, I believe, that were about the most inane subjects ever? For decades now whenever I go to a "shopping mall," I get that damned song stuck in my head. "If there's anything you like, you can always find it in the shopping mall. Made in China, Philippines ... something something something ... in a shopping mall." Dude, according to Menudo, you can even find parrots that speak French in shopping malls. I've no proof of that though. How can there not be a site somewhere dedicated to those snippets? I need MP3s and video. Desperately. Louis? Anyone?

One more thing. Spanish speakers help me out here: Am I hearing things or does this translation indicate that someone is playing an "armonica fantastico"? There wasn't a reference to a fantastic harmonica in the original, but there should have been!

We're all so famous!

So I was linked in yesterday's LA Times article on MP3 blogs, huh? I guess I should actually start posting more regularly for the next few weeks. (Which has actually been my plan now that the holiday weekend is over.) Look for some new tracks tonight.

Dance in front yo' mirror when you're on the phone.

Wang Chung "Hot in Herre" (Nelly cover)
Thanks to reader MuffinMan who was able to get me this MP3 so you can download the best cover performed on the otherwise godawful run of Hit Me Baby One More Time.