one out of ten

When I first decided to try a covers mix, I figured I had plenty of material to pick from. One of the things I love about listening to a lot of music is discovering the different connections between artists, songs and how sometimes an artist's signature song is actually someone else's music. Jimi Hendrix's cover of "All Along the Watchtower" is a classic example, and I thought exploring song origins would be interesting. I spent some time researching and compiling songs, but the mix just wouldn't work, and the post sounded didactic while I was composing it. I listen to a lot of different stuff, but I'm no musician, or historian, and I don't want to pretend to give history lessons — especially if the mix is crap. I decided to go conventional, and pulled together some more contemporary renditions of well-known songs. There's nothing particularly original with this approach, but I think the selections allow the songs to stand on their own merits, as well as showcasing the performers. More importantly, this is a mix I can actually enjoy listening to. We open with an exemplary track from P.M. Dawn. Within seconds, the listener knows whose song this is, but every moment of the song belongs to P.M. Dawn, and their performance absolutely rocks. I've had this song in my collection for 17 years, and I love it. Mobius Band bring their own distorted bent to Radiohead's existential nod to Bob Dylan. Even though this version sounds nothing like Radiohead, Mobius Band manage to bring their own sense of claustrophobia to the piece. Notice how "uptight, uptight, uptight" bends in your ear to become "tied-up, tied-up, tied-up". The Foo Fighters' version of "Down in the Park" perfectly captures Gary Numan's image of dystopian alienation, whose original predated Radiohead by nearly two decades. Greg Laswell's cover of "Your Ghost" picks up the theme of isolation and brings home the sense of loss. Compare it to the original from a few posts back. I love the contrast between Laswell's plaintive cry and Hersh's croon. "Blind Willie McTell" is performed by the Australian supergroup of Tex Perkins from The Cruel Sea (and many other bands), Don Walker from Cold Chisel and guitarist Charlie Owen. I've seen these guys live, in various incarnations, and they're pretty incredible. Owen's restrained guitar underpins the piano in this beautiful arrangement for Triple J's Live at the Wireless session. Dar Williams brings a dreamy depiction of this Pink Floyd classic. I've known about Williams for a few years, but it was only while trawling for suitable tracks that I discovered her album My Better Self, which features this track. I'm looking forward to giving the album more time. Ryan Adams is a dick, but I prefer his cover of Oasis to the original. He manages to bring what feels like real meaning to Noel Gallagher's homage to George Harrison, whereas the original sounds like a radio-friendly anthem. I found Weezer covering the Pixies on an otherwise dreadful album of Pixies "tributes." I selected this track because Rivers Cuomo wasn't trying to out-do the Pixies, and instead managed to bring some of the band's distinctive sound to the song. I chose "Gold Dust Woman" because Courtney Love doing Stevie Nicks is too good to resist, and the song just rocks. The Dead Kennedys' "Too Drunk to Fuck" is the first of a trio of probably the most popular covers of this mix. French covers band Nouvelle Vague is fronted by the irresistibly cute Camille Dalmais, subverting Jello Biafra's already subversive anti-boofhead song. When I first heard Martina Topley-Bird singing with Tricky, I thought their version was the original. It was more than a year later that someone mentioned it was actually a cover of a Public Enemy song, "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos," which is worth investigating for the extended lyrics, even if you're not into rap. I almost didn't include Devo's "Satisfaction," because I thought it might be too mainstream, which is a lame reason, so I got over it. And it perfectly captures my goal of presenting songs which stand on their own, while still retaining a link to original artist. I had no such problem with Rogue Wave, whom I'd never heard of before. I'm keen to discover some more of their own music. The Record Club is a project organised by Beck Hanson, where he gets together with some musicians, and they cover an entire album. "Never Tear Us Apart" comes from their work on Kick. Take a look at http://www.beck.com/recordclub/. "Hand on Your Heart" is another song which took me by surprise. I only found out by chance the song was originally recorded by Kylie Minogue. Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun," of course, is instantly recognisable. Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé transform Chris Cornell's surreal lyrics into an otherworldly cabaret. The original is an amazing song, but I like this one, not only for its proudly cheesy arrangement, but because I can actually understand the words. I love Regina Spektor's music, and I find her version of "Real Love" moving — which is disturbing when I recall it was written for Yoko Ono. Johnny Cash's cover of Nick Cave's "The Mercy Seat" is more unnerving than moving. Cash, deeply religious but no angel, embellishes Cave's allusions to the holy throne of the Old Testament with his own persona of the convicted innocent man, which persona is itself subverted as the song unfolds. Rebecca Barnard's stripped cover of "Alive" is not only beautiful in its own right; she's arranged it in a key which I can actually sing. I'll spare us all my version. Theodore Sturgeon said, "Ninety percent of everything is crud." Compiling this post has been an object lesson in that revelation. There are so many bad covers, either because they're nothing more than karaoke, or they try to somehow outdo the original song or artist. Most of the tracks in this mix are notable departures from the originals, but I think these songs succeed because they fuse the heart of the music with a unique perspective, and bring something new to the listener. I hope you feel the same. TRACK 01 "You Got Me Floatin'," P.M. Dawn (Jimi Hendrix) INDEX: 00:00:00 TRACK 02 "Subterranean Homesick Alien," Mobius Band (Radiohead) INDEX: 04:49:33 TRACK 03 "Down in the Park," Foo Fighters (Gary Numan) INDEX: 09:00:66 TRACK 04 "Your Ghost," Greg Laswell (Kristin Hersh) INDEX: 13:05:18 TRACK 05 "Blind Willie McTell," Tex Perkins, Don Walker & Charlie Owen (Bob Dylan) INDEX: 16:43:66 TRACK 06 "Comfortably Numb," Dar Williams (Pink Floyd) INDEX: 22:31:14 TRACK 07 "Wonderwall," Ryan Adams (Oasis) INDEX: 27:54:52 TRACK 08 "Velouria," Weezer (The Pixies) INDEX: 32:00:25 TRACK 09 "Gold Dust Woman," Hole (Fleetwood Mac) INDEX: 35:52:52 TRACK 10 "Too Drunk to Fuck," Nouvelle Vague (Dead Kennedys) INDEX: 40:58:00 TRACK 11 "Black Steel," Tricky (Public Enemy) INDEX: 43:14:12 TRACK 12 "Satisfaction (I Can't Get Me No)," Devo (Rolling Stones) INDEX: 48:50:49 TRACK 13 "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite," Rogue Wave (R.E.M) INDEX: 51:31:21 TRACK 14 "Never Tear Us Apart," The Record Club (INXS) INDEX: 56:26:02 TRACK 15 "Hand on Your Heart," José González (Kylie Minogue) INDEX: 59:38:15 TRACK 16 "Black Hole Sun," Steve & Eydie (Soundgarden) INDEX: 63:10:67 TRACK 17 "Real Love," Regina Spektor (John Lennon) INDEX: 67:41:11 TRACK 18 "The Mercy Seat," Johnny Cash (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) INDEX: 70:52:68 TRACK 19 "Alive," Rebecca's Empire (Pearl Jam) INDEX: 75:25:35