“Forever Young”
by Youth Group (originally by Alphaville)
from the album Casino Twilight Dogs
2006
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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.
“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.
“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).
“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.
“Smooth Sailing”
by Queens of the Stone Age
from the album …Like Clockwork
2013
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I once described this song to a friend as a throbbing erection. It’s all about potential. Something’s about to explode.
For my final song in QOTSA week and my latest Power Song selection, I’m choosing “Smooth Sailing.” Really all you need to know about this track you can pull from the lyrics and the video.
“Make It Wit Chu”
by Queens of the Stone Age
from the album Era Vulgaris
2007
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“Who is your favorite band?”
It’s almost an impossible question to answer and completely unfair to ask, because the response can change based on genre, mood, the weather, what you’re eating, etc. For years I would say the Smashing Pumpkins were my favorite. And while Gish is still in my top ten list of all time and Siamese Dream is up there too (we’ll get into my issues with Mellon Collie at some point), I wouldn’t consider them a favorite anymore. The Pixies occupy a spot in the favorite list that’ll probably never fade, unless they keep releasing albums (tarnishing the memory of the original releases). King’s X – the Texas, metal power-trio – will always have a soft spot in my heart. Are these my favorite bands? Yes and no. Yes on some kind of honorary list, but is their current output what’s fueling my fire. No. I think the better question to ask is
“Who is the best band in the world, right now?”
The best band in the world right now is Queens of the Stone Age. The albums are chock full of wonderful and bizarre songs. Nothing quite sounds the same, but you can always tell it’s them. And for a long time I’ve wanted to perform a QOTSA song at karaoke, but the Ginger Elvis‘ range is just so huge that most of my favorites are beyond reach, not to mention unavailable in the book. But I think I might be able to pull off this gem. Maybe.
“Hobo Humpin’ Slobo Babe”
by Whale
from the album We Care
1995
By the album on Amazon
I have no idea where I first heard this, probably either on a CMJ CD sampler, or a Video Music Monthly VHS magazine, but I just know I was hooked. It’s one of those songs that just rocks so hard from the very first note. Continue reading June Power Songs: “Hobo Humpin’ Slobo Babe”
“True”
by Spandau Ballet
from the album True
1983
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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
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“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”