Don't think twice its alright

Last cover song of the year, better make it good! We got a little preview for next years release of "chimes of freedom" Bob Dylan's 4 disc tribute. Adele of course contributes her cover of To Make You Feel My Love, which I could post, but we've all heard it before.
I'm going to post a song by an artist I don't really care for. I don't own any of her songs,which she sold alot, but just didn't hit a chord with me. She's a wanna be Lady Gaga I think, kind of a freak, not really a good voice for anything like that either... Until I heard this song...
Bob Dylan's original is of course just him, an acoustic guitar and a harmonica. Kesha's version is even more stripped down, almost acapella. I think the only other music is a low cello in the background. Which leaves room for Kesha to have to carry the song with only her voice. To my suprise she does, and does it greatly. I never knew she could sing, her songs are all pop and heavily produced.
Towards the end of the song its hard to tell, she either is sniffling from a cold or maybe she's emotionally involved and that brings on the tears n sniffles?
Either way sounds great I think. Here you go with Kesha's cover of Bob Dylan's "Dont think twice its all right".

I wish I had a River

So, its Christmas cover song time.
Everybody has their favorite Christmas song(s). When you listen to the radio you hear the same thing thats been played for 50+ years. Some people will tell you Nat King Cole's The Christmas song is their favorite, or Bing Crosby's White Christmas, ect...
Me personally, I like the less conventional songs, or the non traditional pieces.
Some of them may include Brandi Carlile's The Heartache Can Wait, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy's cover of Mr. Snow Miser or Ray Charles' That Spirit of Christmas to name a few.
If I had to choose a favorite though I think it would be River by Joni Mitchel. Which I believe I heard somewhere it really wasn't meant to be a Christmas song, but ended up being that way.
There are some good covers out there, there are some mediocre ones out there too.
Here are some of my favorite covers of Joni Mitchel's River:
Rosie Thomas, Amie Mann, Angus Stone and believe it or not Robert Downey Jr. Thats right Ironman himself sang the song on an episode of an Alley Mcbeal TV show. So they put it on a Christmas album.

Two for Tuesday

Back in high school there wasn't much to do. In a way it was like the 1940's where people gathered around the radio and listened to shows. Me & my friends would listen to the radio, for music though. At the time the 'pop' station we listened to had a different segment every night. 'New music Monday', they played a new song. 'Two for Tuesday' they played 2 songs by a certain artist, I believe Wednesday was 'sing for your suggestion',you called in and sang a line from a song, if the DJ liked it he played your request. Can't remember Thursday. I think Friday was 'Friday I'm in love', where you call in and dedicate a song or something. I remember at least once during the program someone would dedicate Ugly kid Joe's song "I hate everything about you". Funny stuff, we tuned in for that mostly, see who was gonna get the 'hate' song.
Anyway, I can't think of Tuesday without thinking "Two for Tuesday". for some reason maybe that was my favorite. Maybe I remember it the most because nothing was going on Tuesdays and I caught that program the most?
So today is a Two for Tuesday! With the release of Evanescence's new self titled album I had to make adjustments to some of my mixed Evanescence CDs I listen to in the car. Neither of these 2 songs are from that CD ( which is good by the way )but I had to add 3 slow songs to my slow songs CD. Since I was re-burning the mix I added 2 other songs that were not on the original slow mix CD. Here are those 2 songs, both covers, both just Amy Lee.
1st comes from the movie Nightmare Before Christmas and the CD "A nightmare Revisited". That CD is kinda cool. Amy covers 'Sally's Song'. On that CD Marilyn Manson does an awesome version of 'This is Halloween'. Here is Amy Lee with Sally's Song



2nd is off the 'Muppets:The green album' titled Halfway down the stairs.

I couldn't remember the song from the muppets so I had to youtube it. Then It came back to me. Here is the original video from the muppets that had this song.

Everybody Hurts

So R.E.M. announced they are splitting up, the band is no longer. Which comes as a suprise cuz I thought they were threw along time ago? Hadn't heard anything new or good since the early 90's.
Their album Automatic For The People is probably in everyone's collection. That was/is one of the best albums ever I think. From that album came one of my all time favorite songs, Everybody Hurts.
I thought about using the Corrs' cover version they did from an MTV Uplugged session. But alot of people know that one, so I went deeper and found this ditty by someone named Frida. Its not that big of a deal. She's not that great of a singer, the arrangement isn't anything to fuss over, but its by a woman and a piano which is different from the original by a man and guitars.

Closer

Doing a little something different this time around. Still a cover, but a couple instrumental versions.
Kings of Leon's Closer is a fantastic song! It has a sound and feel to it that reminds me of the old days living at home when I'd sit on the floor in my room and listen to music. I had only the glow of the stereo lights, usually the headphones were on, leaning up against the bed. I can't think of the songs it reminds me of, all I know is that it takes me back to that spot for some reason. Or before turning on the dirt road to go home I'd go strait up a different dirt road where you'd climb a little hill and have an overlook of Bridger Valley. I'd go there sometimes, sit on the hood of the truck and blast some tunes.
There's just something about being isolated with just you and a stereo.
Anyway, thats what I get from this song. The mood, the spooky feel, the lyrics just hit a cord somewhere.
There are thousands of covers of this song, some good, alot bad. I found a group 'The piano tribute players' that do nothing but cover songs, by you guessed it-piano.
They did a couple of kings of Leon songs. I loved their version of Closer. Even though there is only one instrument playing you still get the overall feel of the original song, that darker, listening alone mood to it.
Next version of Closer is another instrumental version, but this time acoustically covered. The group is Guitar tribute players, wonder if they are the same people as the piano guys? They use a violin along with guitars and although you don't get the dark/spooky mood I love from the piano and original its still good and has its own qualities. This version makes me think of driving through the desert for some reason, still kinda lonely but different.
I have tons of covers I wanna do, but when I sit and decide which to post I just blank. Or when I'm driving and hear one I think I'll do that, but then forget what it was.
I added the original song by Kings of Leon in case you haven't heard it before, so you get what I mean.

I Saw Red

In rememberence of Jani Lane, lead singer of the 80's hair band 'Warrant'. I submit this "part 2" or covering of their own song I saw red.
Its just an acoustic guitar and Jani singing. The original if you don't remember was a Classic power ballad. This version was a B side to another Warrant cassette single I picked up back in the day. Huh,huh cassette singles. I still have my giant collection of them, crazy. I loved the B sides.
Anyway, Warrant's acoustic versoin of I saw red:

Walk on by

So the other day as I was traveling for work I went through an old CD envelope. Listened to some old compilation CDs I had made. On one of these I heard "Walk on by" by Cyndi Lauper. Many years ago when I first heard this song, it was from Cyndi's cover album "At Last". Where she covered alot of 'old' songs.
Walk on by was originally recorded by Dionne Warwick I believe. I've always loved Cyndi Lauper. From back when she first came out in the 80's, to now. When she stopped coloring her hair 50 different ways and wearing outrageous costumes, and just concentrated on singing and being professional, I think thats when she shined. She has an amazing voice. You never heard her sing many ballads. In the early-mid 90's she put out a 'greatest hits' album. It had a few ballads on there, and they were my favorite.
So going back a few years, a retro artist covering a golden oldie, I give you Cyndi's Lauper's take on Dionne Warwick's Walk On By:

Rolling in the Park

Yeah I got lazy on this one. Not an old song, not an unknown either. Probably the biggest hit so far this year I think. Wanna hear something crazy? Back in the day artists sold albums by the millions. Since 2004 when they started tracking digital download sales (legally) there have only been 2 albums that have sold over a million "full" album downloads. And one album with a million full CD downloads plus a million actual CD purchases. Sure there are singles that sell in the multi millions, but full albums and CD album purchases.
Eminem's Recovery and Adele's 21. Lady Gaga's Monster will hit that mark soon. Adele is the first and only artist to do both so far. Pretty crazy feet in this age of the digital download era.
Which brings us to this cover. Adele's first single off the new album blew up on the charts and the covers. Its probably been covered by 100's of thousands amatures and has been done by dozens of professional artists.
Linkin Park's front man Chester Bennington pretty much is the only dude to have the pipes necessary to belt out the chorus. They bring it down with just a piano and the vocals. There is another acoustic attempt thats on youtube, but they polish with this one.

With Every Heartbeat Part 2

Another artist covering their own song in a way, and we call it either acoustic version or Part 2.
Robyn actually came on the music scene back in the early 90's from the UK. You may remember a dance hit called "Show me love". Then she fell off the face of the earth as far as the US is concerned. I know I never really heard from her again...until channel surfing the other night.
So you think you can dance, this couple was in mid routine, doing a creative dance with some stretchy/bouncy fabric attached to eachother, pulling away, coming back, that kinda thing. The dance didn't make me keep it on that show, but rather the song they were dancing too. It went really well with the choreography, made me stop and listen and really look at what was going on. I thought, "what a good song".
So I googled it, found what it was and listened to it. What I heard wasn't the same thing. What I was finding was an upbeat dance song that resembled what I heard.
Googily, googliy, found it. BBC radio broadcast version. Close to or maybe this was the version I heard, so I'll take it.
This is what I love about covers. Taking a song that was produced one way, and doing it another in order to give it a different feel and meaning. I heard this version first, so after hearing the original I think, "that was stupid, why not record it this way and release it, its way better and sounds like it was actually meant to be this more simple and elegant." The lyrics don't sound like they belong in a pop/dance song either. Why do record companies not have enough faith in the ballads? Let them be heard!
Heres Robyn with her own song live BBC radio piano version:


Here is the "original" version release in the UK back in 2008:

Everybody's got a Price

This week I went lazy. Can't remember what I was gonna post. Anyway came across this little diddy.
Ban called Karmin, I think its just a girl and a dude. Anyway the cover Jessie J (ft B.O.B)'s song Price Tag. Its acoustic, the girl sounds alot like Jessie J, but what I really dig is the trombone! Without it, its just another youtube cover.
The trombone gives the song a new dimension and keeps the "pep" of the original.

Yellow

I couldn't decide which to post as the cover this time. Torn between both of them.
So I'll post both and we'll do a poll, see which one is better.
The song being covered is Coldplay's Yellow. We have well known Sara Bareilles doing an amazing, maybe too simple version. The piano, I had to listen to a couple times in order to appreciate it.
Next up is Jem. Not from Jem and the Holograms. This version is where I'm leaning towards. More effort into the arrangement and more of a lullabye. Both interpretations went softer and more mellow. Both have turned Yellow into Gold in my mind.

Born to Express Yourself

This is a cover of a mashup. Now sometimes mashups are considered covers. you can take one song and put it to the music of another, "covering" it per say. Mashups in my opinion are that, 2 or more songs mashed together. Usually mashups are similar songs or have similar music.
We have here 2 songs that are so similar that many accuse Lady Gaga's Born this way of plagerism for Madonna's Express your self. 90% of people would probably agree if you played them side by side. Same cord progression, melodies, just sped up a little and off timed hook exchanges. Madonna doesn't care so people should leave it alone.
Anyways, there are tons and tons of mashups of these two songs. There are even several mashup covers. What we have here is a unique event. Both songs are of the "pop" variety, have different lyrics and different meanings and identities.
What Doll & the Kicks have done is made one song out of two. So they've actually covered 2 songs with one blended song that sounds like one song. If you've never heard Madonna's Express yourself or Lady Gaga's Born this way you couldn't tell this was two different songs.
They have their own video on youtube for this but, I went with a slide show of my "smiley face". I'm expressing the way I was born!

Fix You

I almost wanted to put this on the other blog but since it’s a cover I’ll post it here. And instead of detailing why I like this version ( which is obvious after you watch/listen ) I’m going to disperse a little of why I chose it.
I think somewhere FB or MS I’ve posted a link to this before, but oh well, here we go again. It disserves a second go around. I’m sure someone hasn’t seen it yet.
2 things
1st, if anyone knows me they know how much I like watching old people on TV and movies. Grumpy old men and Everybody loves Raymond especially for the “old people”. I’m not in a hurry to get old but I look forward to the day (60yrs old) when my boys get to change my diapers!
2nd, I haven’t had much success so far this season in running or loosing weight. This afternoon’s run was short and tough. The last couple runs have been difficult to even go short distances.
So after watching the biggest loser I find myself in the usual self pity funk. I’m trying to figure out whats wrong, why can’t I stop eating and drinking the crap, why can’t I push through miles or the pace like I did last year? Why can’t I get and stay motivated? Why can’t I fix this?
Which made me think of the Coldplay tune “Fix you”. The first verse and part of the chorus keep trying to ring out in my head.

When you try your best, but you don't succeed
When you get what you want, but not what you need
When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse…
…Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Of course the song and especially this video means something else entirely. Watching Fred Nittles sit up there with his oxygen tank and the rest of the Young @ Heart chorus sing this for one of their own that passed away a week before the performance is something else.
Young @ Heart Chorus covering Coldplay's Fix you.
They've disabled embedded video for this, so you'll have to follow the link.
Fix you

Here is a 2 for from Young @ Heart. Another example of interpretation of a song. They don't really do a different version, but the simple fact of who they gives the song a different meaning. From a punk band to senior citizens, pure gold.
Young @ Heart covering the Ramone's I wanna be sedated

Cuttin' the Cheese

So its a "2 for 1" on this post. I wanted to post a song by cover artists Richard Cheese, but had a hard time nailing it down to just 1 song, so you got 2.
Richard Cheese is a jazz/swing artist that does only covers I believe, and does them really well. Some of them are downright funny. It is amazing to me how someone can take a song and arrange it into something else completely different.
Our first song for example is a cover of Disturb's song "Down with the sickness".
Sickness is a heavy metal song. Really you can't cover heavy metal songs unless you go in a different direction than the original. Here is the original version,language edited.

And here is Richard Cheese jazzin' it up.


2nd song I couldn't let go is RC's version of Michael Jackson & Paul Mcartney's classic "The Girl is Mine". I know what your thinking, "Thats a duet! Who is Richard going to sing with?" Well he gets a little help from Steven Hawking!
Stole the video from someone who already made a video to go along with the song.



Richard Cheese has several albums of covers, all like this. He's worth checking out.

Go your own way

Many years ago Fleetwood Mac brought us the classic "Go your own way". The band Snow & Voices did a lovely cover of it last year. Whispery voices and melodic guitar in a slow ballad vs the up-tempo original. Another great example of going in a different direction and doing a fantastic job of it. Enjoy!



Just one picture of Owen, taken a couple years ago in the pool at the bottom of Bridal Viel falls in Provo canyon.

Part 2

Only into my 3rd post on this new Mog and I'm deviating off course, just by a little bit though. The title of this post is part 2, because I'm posting a song thats not really a cover but part 2 (version 2), I love the way you lie part 2. Rhanna supplied the chorus for one of last year's biggest hits and grammy winning song. Eminem busted out the rhymes. On Rihanna's album Loud she has the full solo song. The one I'm posting is a stripped down piano version, gives more to the song by showing less.
I love it when artists "cover" their own songs, kinda of like doing a part 2 version. Most of the time its an up-tempo song brought to ballad status. Some of my favorites are 3am by Matchbox 20,It's my life by Bon jovi and Beautiful disaster by Kelly Clarkson.
Here is Rihanna with Love The Way You Lie part 2 (piano version). I stole the video from some other dude and added the song and a burning picture of Batman. Not really trying to accompish anything here, just thought it would be cool or something.

In response to....Bad Romances

If you search on youtube for "Lady Gaga Bad Romance cover" you'll get like 18,500 results. Now I'm gonna be honest. Lady Gaga is a guilty pleasure of mine. Personally do I think she's a freak? YES. Do I like her music? Yes I do.
Bad Romance is so far my favorite song she's done. When it came out (like every song now days) it gets covered by thousands of people. The rare occasion even another famous artist will give you their interpretation of the song. Chris Daughrty did a decent one.
I seriously watched maybe 100 or more Bad Romance covers on youtube last year. Everyone has their favorite, I picked mine. Its by some dude only known as Derek What. He went in a different direction then the pop dance song. Using just a guitar, some keyboard and voice autotune he gives us a slower, darker sound. Made the song his own, wasn't trying to copy anyone or Lady G herself.
I put the song to a stupid video with dudes calling it Rad Bromance. Dont let the video distract from the tune though.
Derek What Bad Romance



Kiley H. likes this one by Jared Leto. Its good too, I do like the use of guitar instead of singing the "romma ma ma..." parts. Which do you like?

I need you now

I wasn't sure what to post first. It was too hard to nail down my favorite cover,or use the newest discovered covered song.
I went with last years grammy winning song originally by Lady Antebellum "I need you now". The cover is by Adele and Darius Rucker. Adele-my favorite artist of the year so far (new album 21 is a must listen). Darius Rucker known as "Hootie" from Hootie & the Blowfish (turned solo country artist).
The duet is a good mix using country and blues voices. Although they stayed true to the original tune, just performing a tribute to Laday A with nothing spectacular and nothing new or different, I like it.
I like the song, both artists and their tribute. Here you go, enjoy!