29 March 2013 - The Chickeneers - Ho Hey

There are bands that come along and change the face of music. The Chickeneers are not that band, but Blake Shelton is clucking hilarious in this clip from last night's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

28 March 2013 - Fishbone - Date Rape

I have misgivings about this song.  Even in its original version, by Sublime, it seems to make light of both date rape and prison rape.  I think the intention was to be a cautionary tale, but I still have my misgivings.  Frankly, Sublime had misgivings about it themselves - it was originally written as a jokey reference to a drunken comment made at a party.

Having said that, I clearly posted it anyway.  Sublime was an iconic ska band, and this was an iconic ska song.  They listed Fishbone as a huge influence, so for them to cover this song is a tremendous honor.  They do a really good job on the cover, too!

27 March 2013 - Telekinesis - The Concept

Here's Seattle indie rocker Michael Benjamin Lerner (AKA Telekinesis) playing a chill version of one of my favorite Teenage Fanclub songs on a street in Switzerland.

26 March 2013 - I Think We're Alone Now special edition

Admit it.  You love this song.

ADMIT IT!

And even if you don't think you do yet, you need to do yourself a favor and read this all the way to the end.  You'll be a fan by the time you hit bottom.

This 1986 single was Tiffany's biggest hit, but not her only one.  What many people don't realize - this wasn't her first single.  Which means that there might have been a few people who knew who she was when she went on that mall tour to record this amazingly low-budget but truly memorable video.

But we're here to talk about the song.  Tommy James and The Shondells were the original artists on this song, and they did a pretty bland version.  Still, it was a hit - it reached #4 on the Billboard charts.  Tiffany (who initially hated the song) added a young feel and more bounce to the song, and it reached #1 on the Billboard charts and was a monster hit worldwide.



Tiffany made the song, which wasn't all that memorable, into an iconic hit that she made her own.  That hasn't stopped other people from covering it.  Here's a cover by British girl group Girls Aloud, featuring the great Cheryl Tweedy Cole.  I have to be honest - I didn't think I'd like this version. At all.  But it grows on me.  Those ladies harmonize extremely well, and also give a light, fluffy song a much harder edge and slightly darker feel.

Plus, they're robbing a casino in the video.  What's cooler than that?



As hard as those ladies made the song, no one has done it quite like Snuff.  Favorites of Thrasher magazine fans, Snuff made a truly viable punk song out of this.  It's fun, and I feel like I could get in the pit and dance to this.



It's important to note that Tiffany really took ownership of this song. Weezer think they're covering Tiffany here.  They might be basing their cover off her version, but they didn't give proper credit.


By the way, Tiffany has come back to this song.  And it isn't the light pop song that it once was.  She turns it into a country-twinged ballad.  And I have to tell you, it's really good.  I hope you read down this far and are listening to it right now.  It's worth it.

25 March 2013 - Darius Rucker - Wagon Wheel

Let's start the week off with with the second single off Darius "Don't Call Me Hootie" Rucker's fourth solo album True Believers (to be released on May 21st). Wagon Wheel was "co-written" by Bob Dylan and Old Crow Medicine Show (you can go here to get the whole story). And yes, that is indeed Lady Antebellum singing backing vocals (Darius supported Lady A on their Own the Night tour).

22 March 2013 - Muse - Sign O' The Times

Well this is just a bit awkward. I'm not really a fan of Muse or Prince for that matter, but I have to say that this cover is pretty damn cool. See, I can keep an open mind to "new to me" music.

21 March 2013 - Andrea Corr - The Needle and the Damage Done

Andrea Corr - of The Corrs - doing Neil Young? And beautifully? Yes, please.

 

20 March 2013 - Madi Diaz - Straight Up

Me and Madi at the Ram's Head merch table.

I got into Madi Diaz's music kind of on a whim a little over a year ago when her Plastic Moon record came out. I had heard great things about her (and the price was right) so I gave it a shot and bought the download from Amazon (yes, I still pay for my music). Of course I thought the record was fantastic (I know it's shocking, me getting into another singer/songwriter who also happens to be a woman). A couple months later (actually, it was a year ago next week), I got to see her open for Rachel Yamagata. It was a tremendous show which made me an even bigger fan of hers. I seem to remember her playing this surprisingly cool Paul Abdul cover that night. Check it out!

19 March 2013 - Juliana Hatfield - Say It Ain't So

I apologize.  We missed a milestone yesterday. Totally Covered had its first birthday!

And I've been saving this cover for that occasion.  We opened this blog with a Juliana Hatfield cover.  We start Year 2 with another, a cover of a Weezer classic.  This version is more stripped-down, but Juliana accurately captures the ache of the original.



And, just a reminder..... she was on the cover of Sassy Magazine.

18 March 2013 - Dustin Lynch - Just The Way You Are

Well, my mind is completely blank today (I blame yesterday's Guinness intake). Good thing that this is a blog where the music comes first (well, mostly). So yeah...anyway, here's country singer Dustin Lynch playing Bruno Mars's smash hit from 2010.

Me and Dustin last summer

15 March 2013 - Flogging Molly - Folsom Prison Blues

Happy St. Patrick's Day weekend! Let's get the party started with Flogging Molly playing a classic by the Man in Black. And kiddies remember, if you're going to drink this weekend, DRINK A LOT (and then of course get a ride or walk home...or better yet, just pass out under the pool table, bar owners love that). Cheers!

14 March 2013 - The Minutemen - The Red and The Black

It's Pi Day.  So, I figured today was the best day to pull out a cover by the band that did "God Bows To Math."

But when I pull out a cover by The Minutemen, I pull out THE cover by The Minutemen. The band covered the song several times, in several different versions.  This version, stripped down and acoustic, with George playing the skins with his hands.... and Watt on a guitar instead of the boom stick.  Watt also takes lead vocal on this version, with d. Boon backing him on guitar.  All in all, an epic cover.

13 March 2013 - Jake Owen - Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down

Everyone's covered Kris Kristofferson's Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down -- from Johnny Cash to Crooked Fingers (among the hundreds of others). It's a killer song. Hell, I've been known to sing it to no one in particular on one of those particularly "rough" Sunday mornings. Well, here's the most recent version of it performed by Barefoot Blue Jean Night singer Jake Owen.

12 March 2013 - Hanson- We Are Never Getting Back Together

I am not a fan of Taylor Swift.  But this song is a gem.

I am a fan of Taylor Hanson.  And they perform this gem fantastically.

That's all I have to say about it.  Just listen.

11 March 2013 - Jeff Tweedy - I Gotta Feeling

I honestly have no idea what I was actually searching for when I found this video of Wilco's Jeff Tweedy playing The Black Eyed Peas "classic" I Gotta Feeling. I'm sure glad I found it though because this is ridiculously funny on so many levels. DRANK!



Of course, it's hard to top Rallo, Cleveland Jr., and Donna's version.

8 March 2013 - Frank Turner - The District Sleeps Tonight

I got my Postal Service tickets today! I'm beyond excited as I never thought I'd get a chance to see them. Or, if I did get a chance to see them, it would be at one of those insufferable all weekend concert festivals where you have to sleep in a tent amongst the smelly indie/hippie masses and barely remember the band you saw five hours ago because you've seen 10 others since then (I could go on with my festival crankiness, but I'll save it for another day). Anyway, yes, I'm excited. Since I've already posted Iron and Wine's cover of Such Great Heights I thought I'd go with Frank Turner's cover of The District Sleeps Tonight.

7 March 2013 - One Direction - One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)

I feel like I'm pandering here.  I mean, I am posting this video for two reasons.

1. My 8-year-old daughter is a huge 1D fan.  And I promised her.
2. I'm pandering, trying to get more page views by choosing a hot boy band.

The cover(s) itself (themselves)?  It's not the worst thing I've ever heard.  It's full of energy, to be sure. Their Blondie cover - "One Way or Another" - really highlights just how creepy this song is, as written.  Their Undertones cover - "Teenage Kicks" - is surprisingly good, bringing more energy to a song that was originally delivered in a kind of monotone.

The single itself was released to support Comic Relief, as their official Red Nose Day charity. Comic Relief is a UK charity that helps impoverished people in Africa, and not the charity that Robin Williams, Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg promote (which is concerned with poverty in the US).  Go to their site for more detail.

6 March 2013 - Imelda May - Tainted Love

I had every intention of posting Marilyn Manson's version of Soft Cell's Tainted Love today. I really did. Stop laughing. Anyway, I stumbled across this ridiculously awesome rockabilly version by Dublin's Imelda May and knew I had to post this one instead. WOW! Call me an instant fan. I really need to hear more from her.

5 March 2013 - The Feelies - Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey & I Wanna Be Your Dog

The Feelies are a fun band, and one that I've been a fan of for many years.

So, it makes sense that they'd cover the Beatles' most serious and poignant song.  This is from a live performance in 2010.  I love how they take a song that is upbeat and fun and make it frenetic and stressful!  Enjoy!



Here's another performance from Maxwell's, in Hoboken, NJ, in 2011.  They start with another cover - "I Wanna Be Your Dog" by The Stooges - but go into a slightly calmer cover of the same song as above.  Only slightly calmer, mind you.  The audio is generally better, though.

4 March 2013 - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - White Rabbit

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals are the baddest band in the land. Here they are playing a groovy Jefferson Airplane classic.

1 March 2013 - Incubus - Hungry Like The Wolf

So when I got it into my feeble mind this morning to find a Duran Duran cover, I hardly thought I'd be posting an Incubus video. But these things happen...I suppose. I have to say though, that this is a pretty decent (despite the bleepy bloopy noises the DJ makes at the end, which I find to be horribly annoying and distracting).