“Torn”
by Natalie Imbruglia
from the album Left of the Middle
1997
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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.
“Money”
by the Backbeat Band (originally by Barret Strong)
from the soundtrack to Backbeat
1994
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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.
“Jessie’s Girl”
by Matt the Electrician (originally by Rick Springfield)
from the album Made for Working
2003
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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.
“Bad”
by U2
from the album The Unforgettable Fire
1984
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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.
Continue reading Karaoke Tuesday: “Bad”
“All I Want Is You”
by U2
from the album Rattle & Hum
1988
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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.”
“Fuck You”
by Bad Religion
from the album True North
2013
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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.
“Like a Prayer”
by Bigod 20 (originally by Madonna)
from the album On the Run
1992
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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.
Continue reading Cover Friday: “Like a Prayer”
“Piano Man”
by Billy Joel
from the album Piano Man
1973
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Likely the only time Billy Joel will be on this blog, but never say never. This is one of my favorite, A-list songs to sing. Counting just as much towards the final grade is that this is one of the most universal songs I sing, which means if I’m in a new mixed crowd, this is on the shortlist as a safe song. That happened a few nights ago in fact (more on that later).
“Like a Virgin”
by Teenage Fanclub (originally by Madonna)
from the album What You Do to Me
1992
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I’ll write some other time about how I came by Teenage Fanclub (and some #CoverFriday I’ll post Buffalo Tom covering Teenage Fanclub), but decided to go with this for the week. This cover was first released a year earlier on Teenage Fanclub’s second album The King, but I know it from this EP/”maxi-single”, which I picked up along the way.
“Sunglasses at Night”
by Corey Hart
from the album First Offense
1983
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Yes, i totally missed KaraokeTuesday last week, and admittedly I nearly missed it today (what can I say, it was a day off from work – yay Canada!). This is why Lance and I are blog buddies, to egg each other on when the other one forgets.