28 July 2023 - Mac Davis - In The Ghetto

I did mention that Mac Davis would eventually cover his own song - and it's this song, which was really his first big hit, that probably allowed him to move forward with a music career.  This is the version I grew up with.

It's more than a heartbreaking story, though.  It's a call to action.  And I think Mac Davis makes that more clear than Elvis Presley could.  

27 July 2023 - The Cranberries - In The Ghetto

The Cranberries covering the Mac Davis-penned Elvis Presley classic song is something to behold.  It's almost as if they understand the poverty and cycle of violence that led to this song.  

26 July 2023 - Reba McEntire & Darius Rucker - In The Ghetto

After Mac Davis, who wrote this song (made famous by Elvis Presley), passed away in 2020, it was appropriate to honor such a prolific songwriter who had a pretty solid recording career in his own right.

On November 11, 2020, at the County Music Association Awards, Reba McEntire and Darius Rucker did exactly that - and they did so beautifully.  They would immediate release this as a single.  

18 July 2023 - Bongwater - Porpoise Song

This Monkees cover was the b-side to "You Don't Love Me Yet".  How this gem was hidden on a b-side is beyond me.  Ann Magnuson is no Mickey Dolenz, but she clearly understands the spirit of the original.  

17 July 2023 - Bongwater - You Don't Love Me Yet

This song was my first exposure to Bongwater AND to the music of Roky Erickson.  

Originally released as a non-album single in 1988 and then rereleased as part of a tribute compilation called Where The Pyramid Meets The Eye,   On its surface, it's a beautifully performed song by the band, with Ann Magnuson bringing a vulnerability to the song that even Roky Erickson didn't in the original. 

If you watch this video - which includes what seems like a non-sequetor intro by Screamin' Jay Hawkins - you see that Bongwater was far more than a simple band, but were just as much about performance art as they were about the music. The band - which was Magnuson and the mononymous Kramer - are also joined by Bob Weir from the Grateful Dead for this performance.

14 July 2023 - The Linda Lindas - Big Mouth

The Linda Lindas are a band that was started on kind a whim in a backyard, and grew into a pretty solid punk band.

This performance, recorded as a benefit, occured in 2021.  The band members ranged from ages 11 to 17 at the time.  To hear The Muffs played so credibly and with such passion by such a young band is impressive. This performance came soon after the release of the Amy Poehler movie Moxie!, in which the band appears and performs a couple of songs, including this one.  

So, I was impressed with their age until I found this performance of the same song from two years earlier - in 2019, a little more than a year into the band.  Do the math (band members were aged 8 to 14 at its inception). Their parents are raising them right.  

13 July 2023 - The Muffs & The Bangles - Rain

There's a project out of LA called the Wild Honey Orchestra, which features a lot of Los Angelas-based musicians.  Unusual collaborations aren't... well, unusual.  

This is from a 2014 autism benefit concert, and you can see three Bangles on the microphone on the side - but this Beatles cover is the Kim Shattuck show (although Debbi Peterson and Susanna Hoffs both provide audible tambourine as well).

12 July 2023 - The Muffs - Manta Ray

Kim Shattuck would go on to tour with the Pixies (which I said here) but before that, her band The Muffs would cover them in live shows. 

"Manta Ray" was a B-side to "Monkey Gone To Heaven".   I've looked.  This song wasn't on the setlist when Kim was touring with them.  Objectively, this is one of favorite Pixies songs, and The Muffs do it a little better.  

11 July 2023 - Carpenters - Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft

This might be the biggest WTF song the Carpenters ever did.  A cover of a Klaatu... uh, classic,   It was a minor hit for Klaatu in 1976, and a slightly less minor hit for the Carpenters in 1977.   

Also, it's The Recognized Anthem Of World Contact Day.  No, seriously, the Carpenters used that tagline.  They were then repeatedly asked when World Contact Day was, not realizing that it was a direct reference to a lyric in the song, apparently.  

10 July 2023 - Berlin - She Sells Santuary

I expect synth-pop-rock from Berlin during the 1980s.

I don't expect Berlin to come out with a hard-rocking kick-ass cover of a Cult classic.  No, not that kind of cult classic.  The Cult.  The band.  

Anyway, this 2022 live cover really did not fail to take my breath away.

That's the end of my post.  I have no more words.  

7 July 2023 - Gabrielle Aplin - Space Oddity

Gabrielle Aplin is a British singer-songwriter who has earned some success and accalaim in Europe. 

We're probably going to have to feature her on Wicked Guilty Pleasures soon, because she's incredible on her own, but she knocks this David Bowie cover out of the park.  

6 July 2023 - Shiny Toy Guns - Major Tom

Yes, it is live.   And yes, it is the OFFICIAL video.  Shiny Toy Guns brings a modern feel to the Peter Schilling classic.  This version was recorded as part of a Lincoln commercial - but ended up being a pretty popular single in its own right.

The song peaked at #97 on the charts in 2009 - which constitutes their biggest hit.  

5 July 2023 - Cœur de Pirate - Tous les Garçons et les Filles

I felt like a blogging challenge today, and by challenge, I mean keeping the œ in my clipboard for as long as possible.

Well, I have a bigger challenge with this next sentence because I don't have a ç on my keyboard either.

You see, Cœur de Pirate covered this classic French song, originally sung by Françoise Hardy, so beautifully, that, despite the non-English characters, I couldn't not post it.  It's faithful, and yet brings a modern feel to the 1962 classic. 

4 July 2023 - Olivia Rodrigo - Seether

Happy 4th of July!  We're celebrating here at Totally Covered with a Veruca Salt classic.

Of course, it's not Veruca Salt singing it.  It's Olivia Rodrigo, and we really hope she releases this as a single, because she gets mid-90's grunge like no one else in her generation we've heard.  

3 July 2023 - Flower Face - Ain't No Sunshine

I'm trying to be better about posting here.  I know a lot of you really enjoy this blog, and posts here actually seem to do a little better than the ones on Wicked Guilty Pleasures.

I don't know.  It's a lot.  I've thought about combining the two blogs. But at the end of the day, I love having the two, because I can do some surprising "I didn't know that was a cover" stuff way more obviously.

That, of course, does not apply here.   This is a song written and originally performed by Bill Withers, but given an ethereal take by Flower Face (probably recorded in her bedroom).  I've been listening to a lot of Flower Face lately, having discovered her earlier this year, 

Anyway, this is a quiet and beautiful cover, and you should listen to it.

1 July 2023 - Olivia Rodrigo & Avril Lavigne - Complicated

Happy Canada Day! We're celebrating here at Totally Covered with an Avril Lavigne classic.

Of course, it's not Avril Lavigne singing it alone.  It's Olivia Rodrigo singing it with her, and we really hope she releases this as a single, because she gets the music of the inventor of punk like no one else in her generation we've heard.