31 January 2013 - Dandy Warhols - The Wreck (of the Edmund Fitzgerald)

It's especially poignant to hear a cover when there is a personal connection to the song.

In this case, singer Courtney Taylor had a cousin - the third mate -who died on the real-life Edmunnd Fitzgerald.  For him, Gordon Lightfoot's classic really means something.  So, when he puts a dirge-like feel on this cover, you know he's singing it with real emotion.



This is one of two covers of this song that the Dandy Warhols did.  Here is the other, which is even a little more ghostly and less dirge-y with the jangly acoustic guitar.

30 January 2013 - Sugarland - Sex on Fire

About 15 minutes ago the Emergency Broadcast System rudely interrupted my Beverly Hills 90210 viewing with one of those annoying tests. I did get a good laugh out of the brief experience as Faith Hill's Mississippi Girl was playing in the background before and after the test. BINGO, find a cover of Mississippi Girl and post it today. Hell yeah! Hell no. Couldn't really find a good one. But, I did stumble upon one of my favorite country duos playing some Kings of Leon. Works for me.

29 January 2013 - Meaghan Smith - Here Comes Your Man

Pixies covers work best when the vocalist does not try to do a Black Francis impersonation.  There is only one Black Francis, so it is best to make the song your own.

Which Meaghan Smith does extremely well here.  From the movie "500 Days of Summer", this video features Ms. Smith riding a bike.  And her lips are moving!  It's a quiet and subtle reading of a classic song, and not at all like the original.  But it still works.



For those who didn't get my "her lips are moving" joke, here is the original video, itself an homage to a Talk Talk video.

28 January 2013 - Pink - Janie's Got A Gun

Here's another video from the former annual MTV Icon series (if you recall I recently posted Blink covering the Cure from the 2004 show). In 2002, MTV decided to celebrate Aerosmith (yeah, I have no idea why either . . . but it happened). Pink was there and she performed this hit song from Aerosmith's Pump album.

25 January 2013 - Disturbed - Land of Confusion

I never would have imagined this heavy a cover of the classic late Genesis tune, which was one of my favorites in its original version.  Phil Collins mustered up a fair amount of anger in fear in this Cold War-era song, and Disturbed have amped up that anger in a post-September 11th era.

The story behind this cover is: Disturbed wanted to find a song that was nothing like them, and make it their own.  Mission accomplished - this is the biggest hit they've had to date.

24 January 2013 - Richard Cheese - Gangnam Style and Gin and Juice

OK, I promise this is the last odd cover for some time. While GWAR playing Kansas and Pat Boone playing Deep Purple and GNR was pretty awesome, they can't really top the righteousness of lounge lizard extraordinaire Richard Cheese swingin' to Psy and Snoop Dogg. Dig it baby!



Here's Mr. Cheese sippin' on some Gin and Juice. Laid back...

22 January 2013 - Pat Boone - Smoke on the Water & Paradise City

So, last Friday I rendered myself speechless when I posted a video of GWAR playing Carry on Wayward Son. It got me thinking (never a good idea) about other odd covers out there. I think I found a few good ones. You've been warned.

In the summer of 1996 I was fresh-faced and out of college. I was working as an editor/reporter for my hometown's weekly newspaper. The office was a quick skateboard ride away from my mom's house (yup, I was living rent-free at my mom's house). Two weeks into the job a used record store opened up next to my office. Needless to say I was in heaven. I spent more time there than I did in my own office (which probably explains why I only lasted a year...I was going to quit anyway to move to DC). The record store owner was a former banker who said "screw it, I'm opening up a record store" (my kind of guy). We became fast friends. He gave me first dibs on any "new" used stock he received. Things were good.

One day I was sitting in my office when the phone rang. "Scott, you gotta get over here," my record store owner friend said. He rarely called my office so I knew it had to be good. I rushed over. When I barreled through the door he thrust this gem into my hands. Yes, the squeaky clean Pat Boone had just released a metal cover album. "DUUUUDE, you have put it on," I plead. He reluctantly put it on (somehow he knew the disaster that he was unleashing unto our ears). For the next 40 or so minutes we ran the gamut of emotions (mostly us laughing uncontrollably until we started crying).

I never did buy No More Mr. Nice Guy. Shame really, as it's being sold on Amazon for over $50. Who would have thunk it?

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OK, this one isn't a video per se, but you have to give up to Mr. Boone for tackling a little Guns 'N' Roses.

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