Monthly Archives: July 2014

Cover Friday: “Treat Her Right”

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Commitments
The Commitments

“Treat Her Right”
by The Commitments (originally by Roy Head and the Traits)
from the soundtrack to The Commitments
1991
Buy the album on Amazon

The Commitments was one of our go-to movies for late nights at college.  I don’t remember seeing it in the theaters, so I think it was almost exclusively watched on VHS rentals from More Than Video.  I’m not sure who in my group found it, but we could recite it from memory, at least the parts we could make out through the Irish brogue.  This movie hit some soft spots for me: Motown/soul/blues music, ensemble pieces and weird accents.  Plus, what a  fun band to listen to.  Case in point, the opening song to the movie.

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Cover Friday: “Forever Young”

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Casino Twilight Dogs
Casino Twilight Dogs

“Forever Young”
by Youth Group (originally by Alphaville)
from the album Casino Twilight Dogs
2006
Buy the album on Amazon

I’m going to keep this one short. It’s 1 in the morning, and I’m exhausted, but I’m not going to get a chance to post during the day and I can’t very well give Lance a hard time about Karaoke Thursday if I don’t post for #CoverFriday.

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Karaoke Thursday: “Burn After Writing”

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On the Impossible Past
On the Impossible Past

“Burn After Writing”
by the Menzingers
from the album On The Impossible Past
2012
Buy the album on Amazon

A couple of thoughts before I really dig in.  First, it’s kind of fucking amazing that neither one of us has talked in-depth about how fantastic this album is.  And it’s not like the band puts out constantly stellar material, but this particular album I’ll put up there against most of my favorite albums from my favorite groups.  Second, it’s totally Thursday and I never did a Karaoke Tuesday post, but two days late is hard to fake, so I’m coming clean.  The shame of this Karaoke Thursday post title will haunt me at least until I finish writing this post.

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Karaoke Tuesday: “Torn”

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Left of the Middle
Left of the Middle

“Torn”
by Natalie Imbruglia
from the album Left of the Middle
1997
Buy the album on Amazon

Like a wandering storyteller traveling the land, regaling the local townfolk with stories of adventures from afar, I often like to tell new friends and old tales of great karaoke adventures. As I’m also clearly not above self-deprecation, one of the stories I like to share is of the lowest karaoke moment for my dear friend Lance and I.

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Cover Friday: “Money”

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Backbeat
Backbeat

“Money”
by the Backbeat Band (originally by Barret Strong)
from the soundtrack to Backbeat
1994
Buy the album on Amazon

Oh man, I had two songs in mind for my cover selection today, both covers of Motown classics, but this one gets the nod today because I’ve been listening to a lot of Afghan Whigs lately.  I’ll file that other one away for later.  This is actually an all-star 90s alternative cover of a Beatles cover of a Barrett Strong track.  It features members of REM, Gumball, Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Soul Asylum and Afghan Whigs.

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Cover Friday: “Jessie’s Girl”

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Made for Working
Made for Working

“Jessie’s Girl”
by Matt the Electrician (originally by Rick Springfield)
from the album Made for Working
2003
Buy the album on Amazon

Not a ton to say on this song. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but just a nice, mellow version of a classic song. I’ve said before I have a weakness for cookie cutter emo and punk bands doing covers, but also included in that list are acoustic covers in most genres. I’m not very good at it, but I occasionally check the rss feed for http://coverlaydown.com/, and I’m pretty sure that’s how I came across this song one day.

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Karaoke Tuesday: “Bad”

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The Unforgettable Fire
The Unforgettable Fire

“Bad”
by U2
from the album The Unforgettable Fire
1984
Buy the album on Amazon

I hadn’t picked a song for today yet, and Lance went with U2, so it seemed like a good enough direction as any (after all, he and I have done U2 medleys before). U2 has never been on my list of favorite bands. I owned The Joshua Tree when I grew up, and there are some undeniably epic, classic songs on it, and throughout the years some of their other songs have hooked me, and usually hooked me hard. I respectfully accept their place in the rock pantheon, but I’ve mostly stuck with their hits, and am still discovering classics within that list.
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Karaoke Tuesday: “All I Want Is You”

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Rattle & Hum
Rattle & Hum

“All I Want Is You”
by U2
from the album Rattle & Hum
1988
Buy the album on Amazon

Although I’m not much of a U2 fan these days, there’s no denying that they have some amazing songs and albums in their catalog (if you don’t think Joshua Tree is a perfect album, please leave the planet now).  Rattle & Hum is a mixed bag sandwiched between the aforementioned Joshua Tree and the brilliant Achtung Baby (which should have been their final album).  There is a ton of filler and disappointing covers but they also include some downright amazing tracks, notably “God Part II,” “Desire” and my pick for Karaoke Tuesday, “All I Want Is You.”

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July Power Songs: “Fuck You”

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True North
True North

“Fuck You”
by Bad Religion
from the album True North
2013
Buy the album on Amazon

I’m cheating a bit with this month’s theme, but give me a break.  I’ve been Hollywood for a week.  Also, June Power Songs were so much fun, and I still have a massive list of tracks I want to slot in there, so since it’s my turn to pick the theme, I’m extending power songs into July.

This post is gonna be quick, like this amazing song from Bad Religion.  I like Bad Religion a lot, but I’m not a disciple by any means.  Their album Stranger The Fiction is definitely in my top 100 albums of all time, but I realize for most Bad Religion fans that’s like saying Wings was Paul’s McCartney’s best band (I should also come clean and say that I don’t really love the Beatles).  But after The Gray Race I kind of lost track of the band.  Until True North.

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Cover Friday: “Like a Prayer”

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On the Run
On the Run

“Like a Prayer”
by Bigod 20 (originally by Madonna)
from the album On the Run
1992
Buy the album on Amazon

To show how bad my memory is, I didn’t remember I posted a Madonna cover last week as well until I came to post this.

I’ve never enjoyed going to a dance club that just plays electronic music, but, though I haven’t done it in years, I used to love going to dance at clubs with industrial/goth/alternative nights. I like to dance but I want music that has words, that I can sing along to (even if it’s just in my head), that I know has an end and that I know well enough to dance to the timing of it. This is one of the songs I used to love hearing and dancing to. It’s such a great dance song and also such a great subversion of the original. The original was the only Madonna single I ever bought, and I listened to it a ton, so it made me love this version more.
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