Happy Monday, folks! Though it’s a bit of a dreary one here in Northern Virginia. I assume it’s because of the Nor’easter or the El Nino or whatever. I’ve spent the morning jamming to an old collection of Elton John Covers (it’s called Two Rooms, if you’re curious), and it is the most 1991 collection I have ever heard. Anyway, here’s some covers!
- Kate Bush, “Rocket Man”: Why did she make this a reggae song? Why is there Northumbrian pipe in the last minute and a half of it? Because she’s Kate Fuckin’ Bush, that’s why.
- Santana, “Oye Como Va”: If you’re gonna cover Tito Puente, you go hard with it.
- Wilco, “Thirteen”: There are approximately seventeen billion covers of this Big Star tune, and each one offers just a little something different than the others. There’s a broken vulnerability to the music and Jeff Tweedy’s vocals here that I really like.
- Joe Cocker, “The Letter”: I always associate Joe Coker with powerful covers of others’ songs. He and his band just rip into this one for a barnstormer of a live show.
- Sturgill Simpson, “In Bloom”: Did you know this grunge mainstay could sound all country and soft? Neither did I until Sturgill Simpson covered it.
- Cake, “I Will Survive”: Dripping with 90s irony and not looking to make any friends, this song challenges the listener to meet it on its own terms and just rocks out with trumpet and electric guitar in the extended coda.
- Johnathan Coulton, “Baby Got Back”: Who doesn’t love the quirky white boy covering the Sir Mix-A-Lot classic?
- Harvey Danger, “Save It For Later”: Did you know Harvey Danger recorded more songs than just “Flagpole Sitta?” Did you even know the name of that song was “Flagpole Sitta?”
- Luna, “Most Of The Time”: I’ll admit, I did not expect this band to have a male lead singer. I guess that’s one of my own biases I need to reassess.
- George Harrison, “If Not For You”: Yeah, I’m ending the list with not one but two Dylan covers. Which I can do because it’s my website and my playlist. I can do whatever I want, and I want to end with a beautiful George Harrison cover of a great Bob Dylan song. So sue me.
