Have I mentioned lately how much I’ve enjoyed this little Friday diversion? Well, I have. As noted on Monday, I’m looking for some collaboration on this one. If you’ve got a list, send me the link or leave it in the comments. And so, without further ado…
1. I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow (instrumental) – John Hartford. I forget if there’s three versions of this song on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack or four, but it doesn’t matter. They’re all worth listening to.
2. Justify My Love – Madonna. “Sometimes I sing and dance around the house in my underwear. Doesn’t make me Madonna. Never will.” One of my favorite movie quotes of all time. If you ask me nicely, I can say it with a pretty passable imitation of Joan Cusack’s Staten Island accent. Given that all of my sister’s friends in high school sounded like that, this should be no surprise.
3. Take The “A” Train – Duke Ellington. One of my favorite versions of this song was done by the Ray Brown Trio, on the awesome album “Soular Energy”, where it was rendered as a slow, funky waltz. I’ve gotta track down a copy of that CD some day – all I had was a taped version of the CD my summer-of-1987 housemate Pete owned, and Lord only knows where that is now.
4. Don’t Give Up – Peter Gabriel. Do you think anyone’s ever told Kate Bush that she could cut back on the breathy-voice thing by about fifty percent without losing the overall effect? Just curious.
5. Pick Up The Pieces – Average White Band. I could swear I played a jazz band arrangement of this sucker back in high school. You’d be amazed what they arrange for jazz band.
6. For The Longest Time – Billy Joel. In my senior year at Trinity, the concert choir sold singing telegrams as a Valentine’s Day fundraiser. I got to co-sing the lead on this one, which was all kinds of fun. We also offered “You Can’t Hurry Love”, “My Funny Valentine”, “You Are My Sunshine”, “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling”, and – easily our bestseller – “Sit On My Face (And Tell Me That You Love Me)”. Hey, it was college, you know?
7. Rock Around The Clock – Bill Haley and the Comets. Like (I suspect) most children of the 70s, I can’t hear this song without thinking of the TV show Happy Days. Sit on it, Pottsie.
8. Deal – Doctor John. From an excellent collection of Grateful Dead covers called “Deadicated”. I don’t think I have the original version in my collection, but I do have a lot of original/cover combos for other songs. I may have to base a Random Ten on that some day.
9. Bitter Tears – INXS. Is there a band with a more distinctive sound than INXS? As in, you can tell within a few beats that you’re hearing an INXS song, whether it’s one you’ve ever heard before or not? I can’t think of any offhand.
10. Home, Sweet Home – Aerosmith. True story: In 1997, my dad and I were driving through the back roads of Oregon, on our way to some small town for a minor league baseball game (it might have been in Bend, I don’t remember exactly) where we’d meet up with my uncles and some cousins. Somehow, we’d managed to find a decent radio station along the way. Just as we were approaching a road sign announcing that we had entered the city of Sweet Home, Oregon, this particular song came on the radio. Clearly, we were in the right place at the right time.
That’s my ten for the week. What’s yours? Send me a link or leave ’em in the comments.
UPDATE: Here’s Greg’s list.
UPDATE: Coyote Mercury and H-Town Grooves join in.
Did mine. You’re right about INXS.
Mine is here.
The labor movement doesn’t want me doing this kind of blogging on their time (although I did manage a shout out to Ry Cooder’s latest on the blog), so I’m left with putting it up in comments:
1) Burning Down the House, Bonnie Raitt. From her live album. Its not what I ever expected her to cover.
2) Closing Time. Tom Waits.
3) One for My Baby (And One More For the Road), Sinatra. If you’d asked me in h.s. if this is something I’d ever listen to unironically, I’d have scoffed.
4) Rock of Ages, Donna The Buffalo. This is one of the few bands with whom my entire relationship has been conducted on-line. I’ve never bought a cd, seen them live or heard them on the radio.
5) Your a Big Girl, Bob Dylan. Blood on the Tracks.
6) Have You Seen Your Mother Baby, Rolling Stones. I first heard this when I bought an old Stones live album at St. Marks Sounds for like $1.99 in 1980 or ’81.
7) If I had a Hammer, Nanci Griffith. All us guys from Brooklyn listen to Nanci. This track is one of my son’s favorites.
8) I Believe I’m Going to Make It, Joe Tex. My sister gave me this cd.
9) Where the Old Oak Grows. Stone Coyotes. I heard this playing in a bookstore and asked the clerk about it.
10) Here Comes a Regular. The placemats. I still just love this band.
That was a pretty mellow set.