People in other countries have been known to complain about American cultural imperialism. But those same people can fight back by co-opting American music and making it their own. Like these folks did.

Bugotak “Maadai-Kara (Mission Impossible)” (Lalo Schifrin)
Like I’ve always said, you can’t have enough Tuvan throat singing. I have no idea what they’re singing since as far as I know this song doesn’t have any lyrics.

Seu Jorge “Suffragette City” (David Bowie)
My wife and I may be the only two people in America who liked The Life Aquatic as a movie as well as a soundtrack.

Tarika “Malalako (Be My Baby)” (The Ronettes)
Tarika is a band from Madagascar who first found a large American audience on the Land Out Of Time album that Henry Kaiser and David Lindley recorded there. This very cosmopolitan song includes verses sung in English, French, and Malgasy.

Cat Empire “Hotel California” (The Eagles)
I first posted this song when Cover Freak was two months old and nobody was reading it. I’m posting it again to give Cat Empire some much-deserved exposure to a wider audience. And to make the French love me.

Kazik Staszewski “W glebokim dole (Way Down in the Hole)” (Tom Waits)
Readers with premium cable might recognize this song as the theme to the HBO series The Wire. This version comes from an album of Tom Waits covers that Mr. Staszewski released in 2003. Special thanks to Yaroslav for letting me know this album exists and to Uncle Flakey for helping me get my hands on the whole album.