To Love Somebody

We're going to do this one backwards. I'm not much of a music buff. I know a lot of songs, but I usually have a hard time identifying who sings what songs or anything like that.

So, I'm a big Ray LaMontagne fan, so I started looking up covers that he's done. And I found this, Ray LaMontagne and Damien Rice on French TV singing To Love Somebody:

Now, again, I'm a little shaky when it comes to who sang what, but I had it in my head that this was a Janis Joplin song, which it is... kinda:

But there in the side bar is a link to the BeeGees, who I know wrote a huge amount of songs:

And then there was a link to Nina Simone, who I know all of one song of hers, but I could of sworn she was from like the 50's... or earlier:

There are others, but after four versions, I'll spare you (the Michael Bolton version.)

I had to turn to Wikipedia on this... it was originally done by the BeeGees, even though, I like the other three way better than the original.

Hey Ya - Outkast

Another song that I would make my best of list since 2000 is Outkast's Hey Ya, just because there is nothing else like it... and you can't help but love it:

Best line - Ya'll don't want to hear me just want to dance.

This guy clearly doesn't want to dance. Poking around on YouTube, it seems like this guy has made a name for himself because of this cover, with all the other covers, including a clip from Scrubs, saying Outkast cover by Matt Weddle by Joannie. Or whoever the person's name is. I kind of like it:

Bittersweet Symphony

So this one's a great, great song... Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve.

Contains contents from EMI... ?

The story of this song, from what I remember is that the strings part and the whole intro was actually first recorded by the Rolling Stones, and the musical director or somebody behind the scenes recognized it and sued the band and they lost all their money from this huge world-wide hit. I'm not sure if it's true, but the Rolling Stones themselves didn't realize it, saying they just thought it was a really good song.

So... while the Verve kinda sorta covered it, this cover is by the band that I would probably think of if somebody asked me to name a sissy band, One Republic:

Some songs just can't be denied... they are too good to get wrong.

You are Healed!

It's time for some Sexual Healing!

Marvin Gaye's awesome. Anybody who has the nerve to sing this song is cool in my book. If this song were written today it would have a bunch of words and phrases that would probably have to be bleeped out to make it on the radio, and I think that's what makes it so great. It's not crude and lewd... it's just being honest. But you have to have a certain presence to sing it, which is why I think Ben Harper does a great job with it:

He's got the same kind of telling-it-how-it-is attitude about it.

I can't not include this one... these guys sound like they mean it too, but in a bit more desperate way. Soul Asylum:

Nightswimming

For me, REM is one of those bands that I can't say I'm a fan of because I don't own any of their albums and I hardly ever listen to them, but every song of theirs I really like. This one's one of their best, Nightswimming:


Some might say this song deserves a quiet night! If you don't think that's a great gong you should probably have to wear a weird amount of blue make-up on your face.I'm all worried about copyright stuff with this blog, so here's the link for the photo. Anyways, here's a great version by Ingrid Michaelson, who's got some pretty cool songs herself. This is pretty cool as it's just her with a playback recorder and a stand-up bass.


Very cool.

Rock Does Swing!

This one's a bit on the bizarre side. Growing up in a time when cable TV, along with MTV, was a luxury, there are only a handful of videos that I distinctly remember before the summer of 1996. (Everything before that was BC to me... before cable.) It has become known as one of the greatest videos of all-time... or at least according to the list makers at MTV... from about 7 or 8 years ago when I still watched MTV with some regularity. Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit:

This video contains contents from Universal Music Group... I felt compelled to say that.

I found this in my search for the video... it's Nirvana, yes, Nirvana - a la Paul Anka:


Rock does swing! I gotta say usually this kind of music isn't for me, but I'm kind of digging the Paul Anka on this one.

Wonderwall: Oasis, Ryan Adams

Tiff has unfairly put pressure on me with my clever title capabilities, so unless I have some grand master cleverosity happening, I'll just fall back on what she said - song and artists as the title. I'm still working out how these posts will be formatted, so I'm going to do a great cover that is definitely not new to me. It's Wonderwall by Oasis:

I tried to write that Oasis's Wonderwall, but I'm not sure if that's right. Oasis' Wonderwall? Anyways, I've always liked this song. I can't say that it was ever a real favorite or anything, but it's pretty cool. Anyways, here's the cover that I've known about... Ryan Adams's's version:

I think it's galaxies beyond, but that's just me... I like Ryan Adams.