Can you tell I'm slightly addicted?

Threadless has reprinted/added a handful of shirts and the sale's still going on, so...

Thank you for the music.

I meant to post this entry on Thanksgiving, but I'm not surprised I'm two days behind. Simply put, much like Depeche Mode or Black Sabbath or David Bowie and the like, Abba simply has a million tribute albums dedicated to them and have influenced artists of nearly every genre. As I've stated before here and here, this could become an all-Abba cover blog and I could post multiple tracks a day for decades and still not repeat any tracks. Therefore, assembling the following list involved heading deep into my discs and giving up when I couldn't find what I wanted and trying to find them *cough* elsewhere. I've had Abba on the brain since catching their 30th anniversary documentary on Ovation the other day and realizing how fantastically talented they were, which, really, I knew long ago. And because I've been listing to Madonna's "Hung Up" on a loop for weeks, which I'm pretty sure now is more for the "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" sample than anything else.

Anyhow, I've finally managed to escape from days of foraging for Abba covers (falling into the A-Hole?) and I bring the following nuts and berries your way. Thanks to Abba for a cornucopia of hits and thanks to all of you for paying attention to my obsessions. I really appreciate the fact that I have an audience at all, let alone such a friendly, knowledgeable and supportive one. You guys rule.

Any Trouble "The Name of the Game" (Abba cover)
RIYL: Live old-school Elvis Costello

Five Iron Frenzy "Mamma Mia" (Abba cover)
RIYL: Reel Big Fish, Hot Topic, "Stacy's Mom"

The Nils Landgren Funk Unit "Voulez-Vous" (Abba cover)
RIYL: Rufus, Swedish trombonists (Landgren performed on many of Abba's originals, "Voulez-Vous" included.)

Arno "Knowing Me, Knowing You" (Abba cover)
RIYL: Paolo Conte, Tom Waits

Steven Wilson "The Day Before You Came" (Abba cover)
RIYL: Porcupine Tree, Hermann Dune, the Travis version of "...Baby, One More Time"

Erasure "Take a Chance (On Me)" (Abba cover)
RIYL: Um, Erasure and really lame, out of place "reggae" bridges

Eldissa "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" (Abba cover)
RIYL: the Eldissa track I posted in the last entry

Redd Kross "Dancing Queen" (Abba cover)
RIYL: The Runaways, '70s glam rock

Gabba "S.O.S." (Abba cover)
RIYL: Beatallica-style hybrids, Ramones, .5.6.7.8's

Bananarama "Waterloo" (Abba cover)
RIYL: Over-produced pap

Wing "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" (Abba cover)
RIYL: Miss Piggy, B.J. Snowden, seizures

Information Society "Lay All Your Love on Me" (Abba cover)
RIYL: Living in a Box, Sa-Fire

Queen of Japan "The Winner Takes it All" (Abba cover)
RIYL: Stereo Total, Ladytron

Gore Gore Gays "Tal y Como Es (Does Your Mother Know?)" (Spanish Abba cover)
RIYL: Billy Idol, Pansy Division, Doo-Wop (I'd be interested to find out from Spanish speakers if the Spanish lyrics even come close to the meaning of the original.)

Metalium "Thank you for the Music" (Abba cover)
RIYL: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Stryper

This is what we'll do.

Eldissa "Go West" (Village People cover)
Um. I'm not big on lounge-y Caribbean-sounding bossa-nova, really, but I am in-fucking-love with Eldissa's What a Difference, which is billed as "classic music from the disco era reworked as bossa nova and acoustic lounge." This one is the most insanely delectable to me. I'll include another in the Thanksgiving post I'm working on for tomorrow.

Oh, no. Not me. I never lost control.

CJ Sleez "Cool Rider" (from Grease 2)
This is sort of how I always imagined this song should sound. I totally believe that Canadian hard-rocker CJ Sleez really wants a cool rider. Michelle Pfeiffer? Not so much.

Des de Moor and Russell Churney "The Man Who Sold the World" (David Bowie cover)
Thanks to one of my favorite SoulSeekers who recommended the Darkness and Disgrace album of Bowie covers to me. I'm a fan of acts that convincingly pull off cabaret covers without making them overwrought.

Suicide "96 Tears" (? and the Mysterians cover)
The most recent (here in the States anyhow) issue of Wire magazine features a cover story on covers focusing on those that were somehow made greater or changed significantly by those doing the covering. Frankly, a lot of stuff mentioned seemed to be esoteric for esotericism's sake, but what can you expect from UK music critics? They know a lot of stuff and why not prove it from time to time. Anyhow, reading the article did serve to remind me of a few things I've been meaning to post (such as this track) and introduced me to a few things I'd not heard previously, so check it out if you can.

Unrelated: The Threadless $10 Holiday Sale is still going on. They're out of a lot of shirts, but a few new shirts were printed this week.

If we could start anew, I wouldn't hesitate.

I've been really disappointed lately with many of the hyped tribute/cover albums geared specifically toward the indie crowd. The soundtrack to the video game Stubbs the Zombie is no exception. Death Cab For Cutie's "Earth Angel" is like nails on a chalkboard to me, although I don't particularly have anything against DCFC most days. Ben Kweller's cutesy "Lollipop" makes me want to punch him. I'm not sure why. And don't get me started on the Dandy Warhols' godawful "All I Have to Do is Dream." Owning lots of guitar pedals is not reason enough to use them. Die, all of you! Heh. These violent reactions may be a result of the requisite emo/indie backlash we all get once in a while, or it may be that the songs actually suck. It's so hard for me to tell in these heady days of irony. Anyhow, here are a few that don't necessarily make me want to shove pencils in my ears. I guess.

Rogue Wave "Everyday" (Buddy Holly cover)
Here's yet another song that uses the adjective everyday when it really needs to use adjective/noun combo every day. I know it's rock, people, but come on! The intro to this reminds me of "Welcome to the Cheap Seats" by the Wonderstuff. And Pat Spurgeon is a a great drummer (though I'm not sure this track is the best example of it since it's so subdued) and is a really nice guy. Here's a dark, blurry picture I took of him last weekend playing with Antenna:

Oranger "Mr. Sandman" (comp. Pat Ballard)
Though my predilection toward acts heavily influenced by the Beach Boys has dwindled since the mid-'90s, I do tend to enjoy it when an Oranger track hits my iPod's shuffle once in a while.

Clem Snide "Tears on my Pillow" (Little Anthony & the Imperials cover)
Hmm. Clem Snide has taken a step away from alt.country and immersed themselves in indie pop, eh? Good for them. I believe I once read a review in which the singer's voice was described as "Muppety." I like Muppets.

It's that time again.

Not music related except that all the cool kids at concerts wear 'em: The Threadless $10 Holiday Sale is upon us. I love dressing my friends in Threadless tees, so I just thought I'd mention it. I'll post actual songs later today.

I know what you think and what's in your mind.

I meant to post these before I left for the Musical Family Tree Fest last week—which was awesome and nostalgia-riffic, by the way—but I couldn't remember which server they were on and I had mistyped the track names and whatnot. Heh. I suck. Anyhow, the following tracks are actually submissions sent to me via readers of the site who have their own bands/projects. This happens quite frequently, but I'm usually quite afraid of the results. Not so in this case.

Luxxury "I Know There's Something Going On" (Frida cover)
This is my new favorite new-wavey cover, sent by Baron Von Luxxury. I sang this song at a karaoke bar a few months ago, and no one in the audience who wasn't part of my group seemed to have any idea what it was. But I'm a long-time Abba fan (Super Trouper was one of the first non-kiddie LPs I bought for myself as a child), and Frida rocks my world. And this version is the fucking jam. Seriously.

Mr. Hopkinson's Computer Sings "Where is My Mind" (Pixies cover)
Mr. Hopkinson, how I love you. You always comment and teach me about new things. And now that I know that in performances "you" are just a TV on a stick, I'm even more happy to have you around.

Listen, listen, she's calling to you...

I always thought the "Feed the Birds (Tuppence a Bag)" snowglobe scene of Mary Poppins seemed really dark and out of place in the film. I'm glad to hear that some people decide to cover it at all and, especially, that it retains both its whimsy and its creepiness when they do.

Tell me how long before the right one.

Too busy to comment, really, but I genuinely like both of these.

Saeta "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" (Smiths cover)

Popguns "Can't Ignore the Train" (10,000 Maniacs cover)

Nothing really matters, anyone can see.

Man, I've been wanting to post for the past few days and time just kept on slipping slipping slipping into the future. And then earlier today, Blogger was freaking out on me. Anyhoooo...

First, I wanted to say that I'm glad at least a few of you enjoyed the Rose Murphy tracks from the previous entry and I wanted to give you all a non-cover of hers to enjoy: "Busy Line". It's my favorite.

TRS-80 "Everyday is Halloween" (Ministry cover)
I meant to post this on Halloween, of course. My favorite Ministry story is from my senior year of high school. One day my mom came home from a trip to Southlake Mall and told me she had a surprise for me and handed me a TicketMaster envelope. Within were two tickets to the Ministry/KMFDM show that was to take place at the holiday Star Plaza—a venue that usually featured Englebert Humperdinck and Jeff Foxworthy, but that would from time to time have some more modern acts. But even those modern acts were slightly more mainstream. That this concert, replete with a cage built around the stage that people were climbing and stage diving from, despite threats not to do so, was at this venue was weird. Weirder still was the fact that my mother was aware of the names of any industrial/synth bands I liked, let alone that she would spontaneously buy tickets for me. I remember there were two little 10-year-old girls behind us who were so out of place and clamoring for this track, which they never played because they were too awesome to please the people who only knew that song. Don't get me wrong, I did relate to the song and dance to it at Jubilation, Off the Alley or Medusa's, but it annoyed me that it became so popular. It also annoyed me that "everyday" was one word instead of two, as it's not being used as an adjective, but I digress.

Hmm. Since I'm in a rambling mood and most people don't read what I write anyhow, I will now list all of the shows I remember seeing at the Holiday Star Plaza:

Beatlemania, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown!, Merle Haggard (during the intermission of which an 8-year-old Liza got to see an old woman pass out and vomit all over herself), the Pointer Sisters (my mom won tickets or something and I fell asleep), New Edition (first concert I attended without a parent in the audience with me), Poison (after which my friends and I got threatened by stoners at Arby's), Duran Duran (the 1989 incarnation), Ministry/KMFDM. I think that's it.

Ebn Ozn "Rockin' Robin" (comp. Jimmy Thomas)
I remember kind of liking Ebn Ozn's one hit, "A E I O U and Sometimes Y" (and bought the LP it's on for 49 cents last week), but this is torture. The kind of torture that amuses me, of course.

Lush "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" (Middle of the Road cover)
While we're on the subject of iffy cover songs referencing birds, may I present this, um, gem. Seriously, I can't tell what I think of this song. I was completely unfamiliar with the original and the other subsequent covers of it, and I'm surprised at how ridiculous songs can be and yet still hit the charts. This track, as well as those directly below, come from the 1990 album Alvin Lives In Leeds: Anti Poll Tax Trax, and I have to say my opinion of all of them tends to sway depending on my varying levels of inebriation. But I guess that would be true of every track I post.

Cud "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Queen cover)
Hey, experts: This is kinda grebo, right? At first it annoyed me, but now it reminds me of Maxi Geil! & Playcolt and other arty bands, and that turns me on a little bit.

14 Iced Bears "Summer Nights" (From Grease)
Better than the version I posted the other day at least. If apathetic shoegazey psychedelic Britpop boys whining is your thing, anyhow.

Okay, I gotta go listen to the new K-Fed jam again. Now that's good music!!!

You took the part that once was my heart.

I meant to post these the other day in celebration of my best pal Ryan's birthday, since he's the one who hipped me to the jazz-vocal stylings of Rose Murphy. I'm not the biggest fan of jazz vocals, but hers are so quirky and cute and she makes strange noises and throws "chee chee" into everything and it makes me happy. Just like Ryan does.

Rose Murphy "Button Up Your Overcoat" (comp. Lew Brown/Buddy DeSylva/Ray Henderson)

Rose Murphy feat. Slam Stewart "All of Me" (comp. Gerald Marks/Seymour Simons)

People might say that I should strive for more, but I'm so happy I don't see the point.

T42 "Heartbreak Hotel" (Elvis Presley cover)
This is one of those rare tracks that I download, don't listen to right away and forget about completely. Then one day, it hits my shuffle play while I'm reading a magazine and I think, "What's this? Is it on that Anything Box album I downloaded a while back? It must be, because it doesn't sound like a cover." But no. Closer inspection (you can inspect things with your ears, right?) leads me to find it is in fact a cover. One that's so gloriously odd and amusing and dead-on in terms of achieving whatever it wants to achieve that I'm able to ignore any mediocrity within and revel in its mission. Especially when I learned that this dedicated synth duo was from Dallas, of all places. (And should not be confused with the Luxembourgian act of the same name. Hmm. Luxembourgian. Now there's a word I don't use very often.) I love that so many late-'80s synthpop acts I thought were European—e.g. Information Society, Anything Box, Cause & Effect, Book of Love [See Below]—weren't European in the least. What I also enjoy about this track is that it reminds me of a cover band named Situation Grey that was popular when I was in college. I hated Situation Grey with a passion, most likely, in retrospect, because I was in that requisite alt.grrrl anti-cover-band phase and jealous that they were so damned popular and were able to get good-paying gigs at frat parties and whatnot. Members of Situation Grey went onto to join/form bands I didn't hate, which also irked me. I'm over it now. Totally.

I Am the World Trade Center "Going Underground" (The Jam cover)
I had this whole spiel planned about how I think I missed my calling by not becoming an anorectic (I'd have to have a years-long bout of at least bulimia to get into cute little vintage dresses and the like) hipster who learned to play keyboards so I could monotonously, apathetically and somewhat off-key "sing" in an emo-synth band. Then I learned that the chick in this band is in remission from Hodgkin'’s Lymphoma and it didn't seem appropriate. Yeah.

Hi-Skool "Summer Nights" (from Grease)
For those who found Aqua's work to be a little too deep and melodic, have I got the track for you! This actually hit the charts a few years ago for a few weeks in Belgium, birthplace of the Smurfs. So no real surprises there.

Book of Love "Tubular Bells (Remix)" (Mike Oldfield cover, theme from The Exorcist)
Halloween's approaching and this was the only relevant track I could find on my hard drive in the three minutes I allotted myself toward the find-something-Halloweeny goal. I'm not used to this version that doesn't, unlike the track I wore out in high school that was on Sire's Just Say Yo compilation, mix right into BOL's "Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls." But with the aid of vodka or whiskey, I'd certainly dance to it at a Halloween party.

All the world is a little town.

So, I finally grabbed that Q with the John Lennon cover (I chose Beatles-era John, although in retrospect I wish I'd have opted for older John) that mentions Copy, Right? and wouldn't you know that it came with one of Q's standard half-good/half-crap tribute CDs they like to add when some big anniversary comes up. Perfect.

Maximo Park "Isolation" (John Lennon cover)
Maximo Park (sorry for the umlaut deprivation) is one of my favorites of the whole new new-wave canon. This track is more a reimagination than a cover, in a way, and I like it because I like MP's little Wirey/Magaziney/Smithsy schtick. I could see a lot of people despising it, of course, but I'm just happy to see covers from John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band rather than the same tired Beatles covers we always see. Or another godawful live version of "Imagine," which Madonna provides on the same CD—which you might have already suffered through if you, like me, subjected yourself to that Madonna documentary on MTV the other day.

Joseph Arthur "Look at Me" (John Lennon cover)
Another John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band track that I remember loving in high school. I've gone out of my way in the past to ignore Joseph Arthur, but I'm not certain why (okay, it might have had something to do with my aversion to Peter Gabriel) as I don't hate this track in the least.

He said, "Come on let's take a ride," and I said, "Okay!"

What can I say? I owe a big part of my music obsession to movies like Valley Girl and the new music I heard in the background of party scenes. My Flirts, Sparks and Felony LPs are a testament to that. And I'm still loving the copy of Josie Cotton's Convertible Music I bought for 49 cents a few weeks ago. Therefore, I dedicate today's tracks to the great racetrack-skirted Josie Cotton. (And her cover of "Tell Him" is still available in this post, but not for long!)

Josie Cotton "School is In" (Gary U.S. Bonds cover)
The school I went to never had bands play at dances like Josie did in the prom scene of Valley Girl, which is probably a good thing since the chances of getting someone as cool as Josie Cotton to play in Hammond, Indiana are slim to none.

Pansy Division "He Could Be the One" (Josie Cotton cover)
Oh, you had to know that Pansy Division loved them some Josie Cotton. I'm all for the creation of more all-gay punk acts. Seriously. And kudos to them for not going for "Johnny, Are You Queer?" That would've been too pat.

Screeching Weasel "Johnny, are You [Queer]?" (Josie Cotton cover)
I know the original is certainly not the most politically correct new wave song in the world [although most of the guys I liked in high school that pulled the same stuff on me most definitely eventually came out], but the title of this is listed as "Johnny, are You Weird?" on the SW album, and it confuses me as it surely sounds like they're saying "queer" in the actual track. What's up with that? I believe I once met one of the Weasels at SmartBar after a concert at the Metro and he was reading a book about Hegel and was very friendly to me. Boring story, I know.

Whenever I'm gone the strain is lighter.

The 27 Various "Whenever I'm Gone" (The Prisoners cover)
I am so in love with Rhino's new Children of Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The Second Psychedelic Era 1976-1995 box set. While it doesn't include many true covers, it's dedicated to acts covering the sound of the first psychedelic era (as featured on the Nuggets and Nuggets II box sets) and I love almost every track I've had the time to listen to thus far. The original version of this song is on the aforementioned Children of Nuggets box set; however, I must admit I like this cover better. Of course, I'm biased since I'm pretty much a fan of all things Ed Ackerson (The 27 Various, Antenna, Polara, etc.). And I'm not even from Minneapolis! The 27 Various were heavily influenced by the psychedelic era even when they began pushing toward a more shoegazey sound. And although long out of print, I still listen to their albums pretty frequently. [Insert another reference to the fact that I'm still freaking out about the Antenna reunion, among others, at the Musical Family Tree Fest here.] And I know it's a long shot, but no one out there would happen to have the first two 27 Various LPs Hi and Yes, Indeed, would they? Because I'd REALLY freak out if I could get a hold of those.

The 27 Various "Burned" (Buffalo Springfield cover/comp. Neil Young)
While I'm at it, why don't I include one more cover by the band I love that you probably couldn't care less about?

My middle name is not Jane.

Eenie Meenie Records has a new tribute album dedicated to the works of Bruce Haack and Esther Nelson and Dimension 5 Records called Dimension Mix, featuring a handful of your indie faves covering space-pop kids songs of which I was only very vaguely aware prior to this tribute. Go here to download Fantastic Plastic Machine's version of "I'm Bruce" and The Apples in Stereo's version of "Liza Jane." If you like what you hear, consider buying the album, as its proceeds go to Cure Autism Now. And you might as well check out the non-covers there as well. Might I recommend a little Space Needle? I was a fan back in the day.

Silly me, why haven't I found another?

I've seen links to this guy a few times over the past week, and my friend Mark just mentioned him as well, so I figure I should help to up his stats. This quirky Jonathan Coulton character is working on a cover album [or saying that he's working on a cover album whose working title mildy annoys me, but whatever], which will include covers of "Baby Got Back," which you can get here, and "Bills, Bills, Bills," which you can get in the intro currently on his main page. I prefer the latter, if for no other reason than I think there are already enough "Baby Got Back" covers in the world. Seriously. Well, that and I'm nostalgic for the days when Destiny's Child songs didn't paint them as submissive, gold-digging (okay, they gold-dig in "Bills," but at least they call the freeloaders out) idiots trying to convince us they'd ever date a gangster who wasn't already a multimillionaire rap star. [See "Soldier" and "Cater 2 U" for examples of DC songs I hate.]

Do you have another opinion?

Life Without Buildings "Pop Life" (Prince cover)
Uh. Um. Okay. I thought another Prince cover might be fun. I'm pretty sure I was wrong. Recommended to those who always found Bjork's voice a little too on-key, if said creatures exist. Other than that, it's not that bad. This came from a compilation from Homesleep Records, and this download page features a handful of the other covers, such as:

Midwest - "Pale Day" [originally performed by Motorpsycho]

Yuppie Flu -"Plainsong" [originally performed by Cure]

Giardini di Miro' feat. Julie's Haircut - "Floor Pile" [originally performed by Shannon Wright]

Mirabilia feat. Pete Bassman - "Walking With Jesus" [originally performed by Spacemen3]

The same page also offers a few tracks from Homesleep's Pavement tribute as well.

TV on the Radio "Mr. Grieves" (Pixies cover)
When it comes to tribute albums people tend to grab from me on my P2P of choice, those dedicated to the Pixies tend to be the most popular. This track that I like, of course, isn't on any of them, so too bad for them, eh?

Something Corporate "Just Like a Woman" (Bob Dylan cover)
Nobody feels any pain, huh? That's where you're wrong, Terrible Mainstream Post-Punk Band #967. That my ears somehow managed to refrain from bleeding while listening to this fucking shit is a miracle.

I just want your extra time and your ...

Age of Chance "Kiss" (Prince cover)
I got an e-mail from my pal Mikey yesterday asking me if I remembered a cover of "Kiss" from the '80s that wasn't by Art of Noise or Tom Jones but that he once had on 12-inch. Nothing besides the godawful Westlife version came to mind, but he rightfully shot that down. I made a mental note to look it up when I got home from work. But, hopefully, I won't have to now as I ransacked the 49-cent bin at the local used record shop tonight after work and serendipitously stumbled upon this gem:



Here's a choice quote, courtesy of the band's site: "“Prince'’s version is just the sound of cocktail glasses tinkling & wine bar small talk. We wanted to make a dance sound that represented iron foundries, civil unrest & motorway fatalities."” Heh. Awesome.

And, Mikey, if this indeed what you were requesting, you'll be pleased to know that I don't remember it. I think I was vaguely aware of their "Disco Inferno" cover, but not this one. (Speaking of, anyone who has an mp3 of that would please me muchly if he or she would send it my way.)

And I do like it. I've been revisiting Pop Will Eat Itself lately, and this track (and the cover art on their albums) definitely reminds me of PWEI (and maybe Big Audio Dynamite, Gang of Four and Human League as well). Yay for '80s covers that surprise me!

Fall is here, hear the yell.

I remember when "Fell in Love with a Girl" made it big on the radio and I kept thinking, "I can't believe music like this is on the radio." It just seemed odd to hear something so retro-yet-innovative right after the latest Nickelback hit. Similarly, when electroclash was enough of a presence to actually acquire the name "electroclash," I was shocked that so many people seemed into it. Not because it was all bad, mind you, but the opposite. Unfortunately, when two new things make it big, there are often big "you got your peanut butter in my chocolate/you got your chocolate in my peanut butter!" revelations made by second-rate producers that result in scary combinations like ElectroStripes: An Electro Tribute to the White Stripes. (And before anyone asks, yes, I'm also familiar with the Red Stripes' equally perplexing—but at the very least purposely tongue-in-cheek—efforts.) These types of mix-and-match tributes always reminds me of the early '90s when both flannel shirts and flouncy pirate shirts were in fashion and someone got the bright idea to make flannel flouncy pirate shirts. (Which I know because my mother bought me one thinking I'd like it. She didn't know any better.) But flannel just doesn't flounce, y'know? And a Chuck Taylor pump just doesn't have any practical use. And with that, here are today's tracks. At least they're short.

Satin and Circuits "Hotel Yorba" (White Stripes cover)

Sin-The-Tik feat. Commie 64 "We're going to Be Friends" (White Stripes cover)