“Never Let Me Down Again”
by The Smashing Pumpkins (originally by Depeche Mode)
from the album Siamese Dream [Deluxe Edition]
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All week long I had been planning on a Pumpkins selection for #CoverFriday and then Chris up and did the same thing. And while I absolutely adore “Landslide” — I’d even go so far as to call it superior to the original — I had a different track in mind. Continue reading Cover Friday: “Never Let Me Down Again”
“Landslide”
by The Smashing Pumpkins (originally by Fleetwood Mac)
from the album Pisces Iscariot
1994
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I heard this in a cafe earlier this week and it got stuck in my head.
Yes, I admit, the Pumpkins’ version of this song was my first exposure to it, and I loved it. I remember listening to this album my freshmen year of college, and there was one older guy who lived in the dorms who heard me playing it and quickly denounced it as being inferior to the original.
“From a Million Miles”
by Single Gun Theory
from the album Millions, Like Stars In My Hands, Daggers In My Heart, Wage War
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I remember the very first time I heard “From A Million Miles.” I was sitting in my bedroom and a slight breeze was coming through window. It was after midnight on a Sunday so it was dead quiet in the neighborhood and the only light was the glow from the TV. As soon as the video began to play, I was instantly transported someplace completely different. There was something so exotic about the sounds and imagery.
“El President”
by Drugstore w/ Thom Yorke
from White Magic for Lovers
1998
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Sorry Lance – this is post 2 of 3 of Thom Yorke duets for the #AprilDuets assignment. This is a song that I came across randomly I think as far back as the Napster days. I used to sometimes do searches for things I wouldn’t otherwise know about, like “Thom Yorke duet”.
“Hungry Like The Wolf”
by Reel Big Fish (originally by Duran Duran)
from the album The Duran Duran Tribute Album
1997 Koch Records
Buy the album on Amazon.
I’ve had a few drinks and some Mexican queso fries so I’m feeling a bit silly. This is a totally fun ska cover of a Duran Duran classic (and Lance karaoke staple). It takes a song that should be fun to begin with and makes it a total riot.
I don’t usually feel any pangs of regret when I hear of some secret show I missed or whatever. I’ve seen my fair share of shows and don’t feel deprived. But man, I can’t deny wishing I could have been at the show last night watching Krist and Dave and J and Joan and Kim and all the rest.
http://gothamist.com/2014/04/11/videos_nirvana_friends_played_a_sec.php
“Rush”
by Big Audio Dynamite II
from the album The Globe
1991
Buy the album on Amazon.
So very many choices. Where to start? I don’t remember why I first bought this album. I just remember it was in one of the first batches of BMG or Columbia House cds (of which I partook many many times, for better or worse) I received. I remember my high school friend Joel and I were so into this album, and he would have me play it whenever he was over. This song is incredibly catchy, and like many songs, takes on a special rockingness when played as loud as possible, vs. the more mellow feel it communicates on lower volumes.
“Alienated”
by Urban Dance Squad
from the album Persona Non Grata
1994 Ariola
Buy the album on Amazon.
Sometimes I get in a mood. It’s like you’re in a funk you’re trying to get out of. You’re pretty sure you set the light, but it’s a ways off. This track will get you through. Listen up.
“Baby Got Shot”
by Verbena
from the album Into the Pink
1999 Capital Records
Buy the album on Amazon.
I’m going to slide the time scale a little closer to the 21st century with this selection. “Baby Got Shot” has a lot going for it:
And it’s just heavy and catchy as fuck. And it can’t be overemphasized how much the male/female harmonies on the chorus give the song its edge. Subsequent albums from Verbena were sorely missing this. But Into The Pink has a surplus of great tracks, highlights include:”Sympathy Was Dead,” “Pretty Please” and , “Monkey, I’m Your Man.”
“Balloon”
by Catherine Wheel
from the album Ferment
1992 Fontana Records
Buy the single on iTunes or Amazon.
Like many of eventual favorite bands, I stumbled across Catherine Wheel pretty late in the game. The music video for “Way Down” from 1995’s Happy Days was my first exposure. It was pretty heavy compared to their earlier albums and appealed to the pseudo-metalhead in me. Eventually, during a music drought sometime in the early aughts, I picked up their first two albums. It was a good decision.