Tag Archives: #CoverFriday

Cover Friday: “Physical”

Broken
Broken

“Physical”
by Nine Inch Nails (originally by Adam and the Ants)
from the album Broken
1992
Buy the album on Amazon

I still clearly remember buying Broken when it first came out. My friend Keegan and I went to our favorite indie record store in Littleton the day it came out to pick it up. This was when CDs were still coming in the ridiculously wasteful double-length cardboard sleeves (Broken may have been one of the sleeves I opened up and hung on my wall). I remember opening it in the car and having the little mini CD fall out, which we thought was so cool, and there was the additional (in our minds) coolness factor later when it became known that the mini CD was a limited item. A few years back when I sold all my CDs, that was one of the few that I had hesitations about getting rid of.

Continue reading Cover Friday: “Physical”

Cover Friday: “A Quick One While He’s Away”

Immagine in Cornice
Immagine in Cornice

“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”

Cover Friday: “Crazy Mary”

Sweet Relief
Sweet Relief

“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”

Cover Friday: “Time After Time”

When All That's Left Is You
When All That’s Left Is You

“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”

Cover Friday – “Cinnamon Girl”

Pisces Iscariot
Pisces Iscariot

“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.

Continue reading Cover Friday – “Cinnamon Girl”

Cover Friday – “Leavin’ Here”

Lost Dogs
Lost Dogs

“Leavin’ Here”
by Pearl Jam (originally by Eddie Holland)
from the album Lost Dogs
2003
Buy the album on Amazon

I first caught Pearl Jam’s cover of “Leavin’ Here” on the Home Alive compilation which contained tracks by (mostly) Seattle-based bands.  Sales from the album benefited the Home Alive project which teaches self-defense on a sliding scale payment system and was started following the brutal rape and murder of Gits vocalist, Mia Zapata.  To be honest, none of the tracks really did much for me at the time, but I always loved this PJ track.  Short, fun, and everyone gets a little riff to play.

Continue reading Cover Friday – “Leavin’ Here”

Cover Friday: “Cactus”

Glen Hansard
Glen Hansard

“Cactus”
by Glen Hansard (originally by The Pixies)
from the Acoustic Lakeside Festival, Austria
2012

Ok, I’m breaking convention a little here, since I posted a different cover version of this last week, but the Wikipedia page for the song mentioned that Glen Hansard and The Frames had covered it in concert once, so I went on a search, and found this. I said I didn’t love the Bowie version, but this version is fantastic, so I thought it deserved its own post.

Continue reading Cover Friday: “Cactus”

Cover Friday: “Cactus”

Heathen
Heathen

“Cactus”
by David Bowie (originally by The Pixies)
from the album Heathen
2002
Buy the album on Amazon

I can’t claim to have ever gotten too into Bowie’s music, but there are certainly standouts, and more than anything, I think he’s kind of the coolest. The coolest what? Whatever. Just definitely one of the coolest.

Continue reading Cover Friday: “Cactus”

Cover Friday: “3 Is A Magic Number”

School House Rock! Rocks
School House Rock! Rocks

“3 Is A Magic Number”
by Blind Melon (originally by School House Rock!)
from the album School House Rock! Rocks
1996
Buy the album on Amazon

I found this track on a CMJ magazine sampler CD  sometime in 1996.  A few years later I totally got into MiniDiscs and transferred the tracks I really liked from those sampler CDs to MDs.  And then recently when I was moving down to Austin, I transferred those MD mix discs into iTunes.  This song has survived three generations of media, and rightfully so.  It’s fun, magical little tune and serves as double nostalgia: for Blind Melon and for School House Rock!

Continue reading Cover Friday: “3 Is A Magic Number”

Cover Friday: “Happiness is a Warm Gun”

Pod
Pod

“Happiness is a Warm Gun”
by The Breeders (originally by The Beatles)
from the album Pod
1990
Buy the album on Amazon

I’m already a day late, and with 11 minutes to spare, nearly two days, so I’ll follow Lance’s lead and go with one where I’m slightly embarrassed to admit I only knew this cover version for a long time before I ever heard the original.

Continue reading Cover Friday: “Happiness is a Warm Gun”