“True”
by Spandau Ballet
from the album True
1983
Buy the album on Amazon
A quintessential classic 80’s song. There are songs that fit that description in all the wrong ways. This is not one of them. Unless you just have never heard it before, as soon as those breathy sighs start, I don’t think there’s a person who doesn’t love this song. It’s pure class (just look at the singer in the video!) and romance.
Continue reading Karaoke Tuesday: “True”
“Girlfriend”
by Matthew Sweet
from the album Girlfriend
1991
Buy the album on Amazon
“Girlfriend” is unskippable. If it comes up on shuffle, I’ll always stop whatever search I was on and listen. The entire album is an amazing collection of songs. It’s both timeless and very specifically early 90s.
I remember sitting at home on Sunday nights watching 120 Minutes and desperately hoping Dave Kendall would hint that this song was coming up after the break. The video featured clips from the film Space Adventure Cobra and it was just the perfect choice for the song. And who didn’t want that silver-haired, blue jumpsuited vixen as his girlfriend? Continue reading Karaoke Tuesday: “Girlfriend”
“A Quick One While He’s Away”
by My Morning Jacket w/Eddie Vedder (originally by The Who)
from the film Immagine in Cornice
2006
Buy the DVD on Amazon
Even if you’re not the world’s biggest The Who fan (I’m not), chances are that you’ve heard the original version of this song during the payback scene from the film Rushmore. The mini-opera runs about nine minutes and is kind of all over the place. I wouldn’t necessarily called it a fun-filled song (although *spoilers* there’s a happy ending), but there’s something about the way My Morning Jacket and Eddie Vedder bring this song to life that is just so joyful.
Continue reading Cover Friday: “A Quick One While He’s Away”
“Crazy Mary”
by Pearl Jam (originally by Victoria Williams)
from the album Sweet Relief: A Benefit for Victoria Williams
1993
Buy the album on Amazon
Following Lance’s example of a random Pearl Jam cover. When the benefit album this cover was part of first came out, I didn’t know anything about Victoria Williams, and I admittedly still don’t, but I used to always go for these types of compilation albums if there was at least one artist I liked. I don’t really do that anymore, partly because I never know about them, and partly because I finally realized I usually only liked one or two songs on them. This is one of three songs on this album that actually stuck with me.
Continue reading Cover Friday: “Crazy Mary”
“Violet”
by Hole
from the album Live Through This
1994
Buy the album on Amazon
I never got too into Hole, but I remember there used to be a commercial for a contest for some beer where you could win tickets to see Hole live, and they would show a clip of them playing this song in concert. I saw the commercial so many times that I got totally hooked on this song. It’s got that great loudquietloud thing going on.
“Three Days”
by Jane’s Addiction
from the album Ritual de lo Habitual
1990
Buy the album on Amazon
The first song that came to mind when Chris picked Power Songs as this month’s theme was “Three Days.” Last year, while prepping for my move to Texas, I found a big cache of MiniDisc mixes I had assembled back in the late 90s. One of the cover labels read Epix of Rök. At the center of that mix was this almost eleven-minute monster of a song. So I’m going on record and saying that “Three Days” is a Power Epic.
“Total Eclipse of the Heart”
by Bonnie Tyler
from the album Faster Than the Speed of the Night
1983
Buy the on Amazon
I think i’ve resisted this long enough. Yes, it’s completely a karaoke cliché. Yes, it is totally overdone. Yes, it always has the potential to be completely epic.
Continue reading Karaoke Tuesday: “Total Eclipse of the Heart”
“Under the Milky Way”
The Church
from the album Starfish
1988
Buy the album on Amazon
I’ve never quite nailed this song to my satisfaction but it’s had a firm position in my karaoke song list for a few years. As to when it made its first appearance, it was almost assuredly a drunken addition one evening at a NYC basement karaoke bar. But the song weaseled its way into my heart a long time before that.
“Time After Time”
by QuietDrive (originally by Cyndi Lauper)
from the album When All That’s Left Is You
2006
Buy the album on Amazon
I’ve got an admitted weakness for cookie cutter emo and/or punk bands doing cover versions of songs I grew up with, and this is a prime example. I don’t need to say much about this – I’ve already talked about how much I love the original, and I really love this version as well.
Continue reading Cover Friday: “Time After Time”
“Cinnamon Girl”
by Smashing Pumpkins (originally by Neil Young)
from the album Pisces Iscariot (Remastered)
1994
Buy the album on Amazon
The Pumpkins again? Sue me. Billy picks great songs to cover and they do them up. Besides featuring a repeat artist, this song also qualifies for the popular I had never heard the original until I realized the cover was a cover lament. I wanna be a Neil Young guy, I really do. But I guess I’m just not ready for a one-to-one relationship with him. Sorry Neil, we’re gonna have have to connect via covers.