31 July 2012 - Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya, & Pink - Lady Marmalade

We almost forgot one from last week's Hall of Fame Week on Wicked Guilty Pleasures, where we featured P!nk.  This cover of a Labelle classic featured her and three other women with gigantic voices.  Now, brush up on your French and enjoy.

30 July 2012 - Matisyahu - Use Somebody

I can't say that I'm really into Matisyahu or Kings of Leon (although I do like this song), but this video kind of intrigued me. It's pretty true to to the original...well at least until the beatbox breakdown at the end. I have to admit though that it's pretty good.

27 July 2012 - Weezer - Pumped Up Kicks

Do I really need to say anything about this live video? It's Weezer covering last year's uberhit by Foster the People. What are you waiting for? Click on the video box and party!

25 July 2012 - Linkin Park - Rolling in the Deep

I was tooling around YouTube this morning looking for inspiration for today's post when this unexpected Adele cover popped up. I've never really liked Linkin Park (OK, I'll admit that Crawling was a rad tune), but I have to say this is a very subtle and well-done cover. Call me surprised.

24 July 2012 - Eli Young Band - Even If It Breaks Your Heart

The Eli Young Band has now spent the last two weeks atop the country charts with today's song (one of my personal favorites at the moment and a really cool video as well). What I didn't know is that it was a cover (this is really becoming a sad trend with me lately isn't it?). While I knew the song was co-written by Nashville singer/songwriter Will Hoge, I had no idea that he recorded it for his 2009 record The Wreckage. It's a pretty solid record and I'm definitely going to check out the rest of his catalog.

23 July 2012 - Mindy Smith - Jolene

The concert train keeps rolling...Tomorrow night I'm seeing one of my favorite singers - Mindy Smith. For the record, this will be my forth concert in the last 12 days.

I was first introduced to Mindy when her debut record One Moment More came out in 2004. Our local independent radio station played her fantastic single Come To Jesus a lot (look for that video tomorrow at Your Forgotten Favorite). I of course bought the record and fell in love with it. Sadly, I didn't get a chance to see her when she toured for One Moment More, BUT I did get to see her a couple years later on her Long Island Shores tour. As expected, it was a great performance (I even had a chance to chat with her after the show, which I always appreciate). Needless to say, I'm pretty psyched to see her again tomorrow.

So that brings us to today's video from her debut record. Here's her stunning cover of Dolly Parton's classic (with Dolly providing backing vocals).

20 July 2012 - Elizabeth Cook - Sunday Morning

Me and Elizabeth

I wrote about Elizabeth Cook yesterday at Your Forgotten Favorite so I'll keep it short and sweet today. I'm really excited to see her play again tonight. Here's the video for her Velvet Underground cover which appeared on the album Balls.

19 July 2012 - Sixpence None The Richer - Don't Dream It's Over / There She Goes

True story - I saw Sixpence None The Richer opening for a Natalie-free 10,000 Maniacs at St. Bonaventure University in 1994.  This was years before they had any hits - they were just a little Christian rock band.  I enjoyed them an awful lot, and was really happy to see that they became big hitmakers.

Yes, I do have a signed copy of their first CD.  Why do you ask?

This song is a cover of a classic done originally by Crowded House.  The original is, to my knowledge, the only hit song to ever use the words "deluge" and "obliteration".  The cover is brighter and sublime - Leigh Nash captures the feel of the song well, without sounding morose.



I always thought this second song was an odd choice for cover.  After all, it was written for a man, and for that matter, a two-part harmony.   However, this version ended up being a bigger hit than the original, and still kept the earnest sweetness of The La's.  That earnest sweetness comes naturally to Sixpence None The Richer, actually.....

18 July 2012 - Mandy Moore - Have A Little Faith In Me

So I was going to post a live video of Mandy Moore covering XTC's Senses Working Overtime from her Coverage album. Unfortunately, I remembered that I already did so at Wicked Guilty Pleasures. I could just repost that here, but that'd be cheating and I ain't no cheater. I may be lazy, but I'm no cheater. Never fear though, I found another Mandy Moore video to post. It's her cover of one of John Hiatt's most well-known songs.

17 July 2012 - Save Ferris - Come on Eileen

The original version of this song, by Dexy's Midnight Runners, is on my list of Least Favorite Songs in History, right next to Stairway to Heaven and Don't Stop Believin'.  Save Ferris added a ska feel to the song and made it fifty times better. The fun seen here is what the original should have been.

Rather than sit here and comment on how Monique Powell is a far more suited vocalist for this song than the self-obsessed Kevin Rowland, I'll let you enjoy the video.

16 July 2012 - Less Than Jake - I Think I Love You

Some days I have a ton of things to say about either a particular band or song. Today is not one of those days (obviously). So just sit back, relax and enjoy this fun ska-punk cover of a Partridge Family classic.

13 July 2012 - Nouvelle Vague - Dancing With Myself and Love Will Tear Us Apart

You'd think that with it being Friday the 13th I'd be able could come up with a suitable cover for the day. You'd be wrong. Instead, here's a French band that does bossa nova covers of 80s/new wave songs. Here's their version of Billy Idol's Dancing With Myself.

 

Since I'm suffering from a lack of intelligent things to say today, you get an extra video (it's my way of bumping up the font on a term paper...do kids still try that?). Here's a live version of them playing Joy Division's classic tune Love Will Tear Us Apart.

12 July 2012 - that dog. - Midnight At The Oasis

We've featured that dog. member Petra Haden already.  This song is a little different than that was.

The original Midnight at the Oasis, performed by Maria Muldaur, was a cool, mellow, AM Gold anthem to... well, let's just say it's in the same vein as Afternoon Delight and we'll leave it at that.  In this case, the sultan's son is waiting until midnight, as opposed to during the day.

This version of the song adds two things that the original could not deliver.  The first is the harmonious vocals of Petra Haden and Anna Waronker.  The second is the fuzzy, punky guitars. Put all this together (along with the news that that dog. is back together), and you have a superior version.

I apologize for the video.  The song is 100% worth it.

11 July 2012 - Kenny Chesney (with Grace Potter) - You and Tequila

Today's post, is pretty much the same as the one I did on Monday, only worse. While I knew You and Tequila was written by Matraca Berg and Deana Carter (two fantastic singer/songwriters), I had no idea that both had previously recorded the song. It appeared on Carter's I'm Just a Girl album and on Berg's latest, The Dreaming Fields. Embarrassingly, I OWN both of these records. I guess I just don't listen to Carter's older records nearly enough anymore and just forgot about it (my feeble brain can only hold so much information). There's NO EXCUSE for me not remembering Berg's version though. Her record was released LAST YEAR and I have had Chesney's album since it came out in 2010. The song was clearly in my consciousness when I got Berg's record, as Hemingway's Whiskey was one of my favorite records of the year and still gets a ton of play at my house. I must have somehow "missed" Berg's version (I'm usually doing 800 things at once while I'm listening to music...you know...cleaning, organizing, chasing cats, sending texts, tweeting, facebooking, breakdancing, etc.). For whatever reasons though, it's a shame, because both Carter and Berg's versions are exceptional (just listened to both of them).

Basically, I either need to slow down on the new releases (and give them each enough time to fully sink in) or make time to revisit my older records each week (instead of listening to my current faves over and over again). Probably a little bit of both I suppose.

10 July 2012 - The Sugarcubes - Motorcycle Mama

When I was a DJ at WSBU, St. Bonaventure University's radio station, there was a CD sampler from Rubaiyat, the Elektra Records 40th Anniversary tribute album.

On that CD, there was a handwritten note.  "Don't Play Motorcycle Mama!"  There might have been an expletive scrawled in there somewhere.

That's like a dare.  Became a staple of my shows.  And I got a lot of angry calls about it, mostly from late night program director Jonathan Falls, who wrote the note.  He did NOT like this tune.  I think the CD ultimately disappeared, which was OK, because I had my own copy of Rubaiyat.

I do.  First of all, I clearly am a fan of covers.  I mean, c'mon, I made this blog.  Second of all, I really liked The Sugarcubes, featuring the unique Björk (before she wore a swan costume) and the equally unique Einar Örn in harmony, were an Icelandic supergroup if there ever was one.  This song was originally performed by boring 70's AM Radio Mellow Gold staples Sailcat, and it was a laid-back tribute to rebellion.  The Sugarcubes made it both peppier and angrier at the same time (even if they didn't entirely understand all the words they were singing).

9 July 2012 - Julie Roberts - Whiskey and You

Me and Julie

First off, I'd like to thank Tony for covering for my lazy beach bumness last week. I had every intention to post, but the OBX weather was just too awesome to sit in front of a laptop (plus I had a bunch of books to barrel my way through: Mansfield Park, The Punk Rock Book of Lists, Dave Mustaine's autobiography and the first two books in the Hunger Games series).

Anyway, this track off Julie's latest record Alive really blew me away the first time I heard it. But, I never knew it was a cover until recently. Since I'm seeing Tim McGraw perform soon I decided to reacquaint myself with his back catalog. One afternoon I put on his Let it Go cd while doing some work around the house. Imagine my surprise when I heard one of my favorite Julie Roberts songs, or should I say, one of my favorite songs done by Julie Roberts. Regardless of who played it first, it's a great sad country tune.

6 July 2012 - Bran Van 3000 - Cum On Feel The Noise

A cover of a cover? Originally done by Slade, famously (and excellently) covered by Quiet Riot, this cover by BV3K is quieter, cooler, and more electronic.  I am generally a fan of Bran Van 3000, and I think you'll be seeing them around these blogs again really soon.

No video, but the song is worth it.

5 July 2012 - Fun. - Call Me Maybe

Fun. have had one of the biggest hits of 2012 with "We Are Young", which is like fingernails on a chalkboard for me.  However, their version of another big hit of 2012 is compelling.  I mean, it's not like I have well-documented love for this song or anything like that.  This version is more reminiscent of the many, early acoustic versions of the original.

4 July 2012 - Heart - Alone

The late 70's band Heart made a comeback in the mid-80's, which included this power ballad.  They showed that they still had chops.

They also did it with someone else's song.  The song was originally recorded by i-Ten, who wrote it, and was previously covered by John Stamos.  This version was far and away the most popular version, but it was very faithful to the original, right down to the piano and harmonies. However, Ann Wilson's vocal really makes the song - she truly belts the song and shows her anguish.

It ended up being Heart's biggest hit of their entire career, making it to #1 worldwide, including spending three weeks there in the US.

As a bonus, here are the Wilson sisters performing the song in an acoustic setting.  They still got it.

3 July 2012 - Todd Snider - Fortunate Son

I've always enjoyed this version of the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic. Todd Snider is not as brash as John Fogharty, but is rather quiet in his anger and protest.  There is a version that he recorded in studio with Patty Griffin, but this live version captures the emotion just perfectly.  Enjoy.

2 July 2012 - George Harrison - Got My Mind Set On You

I bet you thought this former Beatle wrote this song.  You would be wrong.  It was originally performed by R&B singer James Ray in 1962.

Really, this song is worth it just for the video and the obvious dancing stunt double.  However, George really makes the song his own by bringing happiness and spirit to it.  The original featured horns - this version was able to bring the same excitement with guitars and percussion.