It’s very sad that Liza has put an end to her Copy, Right? blog. It’s a great loss to everybody who loves covers, music, or amusing writing. This blog would not exist without the example and inspiration of Copy, Right. I wish Liza all the best.

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I’m up before dawn today because I’m participating in Bike The Drive. It’s a hoot riding your bike down Lake Shore Drive without the fear of instant death you’d have on any other day.

Botanica “Broken Bicycles” (Tom Waits)
I was really hoping that Scarlett Johansson’s album of Tom Waits covers would include “Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis.” I guess that was just too much to hope for. I’m pretty unimpressed with both her song selections and her performance, but I’m not at all surprised. This song’s a much more impressive cover of a pretty obscure tune from Mr. Waits.

Nazareth “My White Bicycle” (Tomorrow)
Tomorrow was Steve Howe’s band before he joined Yes. The original is a minor psychedelic masterpiece of backwards-looped instruments and weird stereo panning. Nazareth turned it into a pretty horrible cock-rock monstrosity, but it’s still a song about a bicycle.

John Fahey “Bicycle Built For Two” (comp. Harry Dacre)
Sticklers for musical history will note that the proper name for this song is “Daisy Bell” even though it is arguably better known with the title John Fahey used.

Upsilon Acrux “Bicycle Race” (Queen)
It’s great to hear a band obviously have such fun covering a song.

The Vindictives “Bike” (Pink Floyd)
You just don’t hear a whole lot of punk covers of Pink Floyd songs. Especially not Pink Floyd songs written by Syd Barrett.