Radblow Me: I got a note from the dynamic George Blowfish letting me know that the theme for this week’s Radblow is covers. That’s six hours of streaming internet radio goodness. Check it out. After you check out Cover Freak, of course.

…

I’ve often made the snarky remark that any song can be a reggae song. Even though ska is really just double-time reggae I’ve always found it much more interesting than reggae. Probably because most ska bands have a horn section that gives them more to work with than the typical reggae instrumentation. And the guitar is often more aggressive. So let’s all put on our skinny ties and start jumping around.

The Skunks “YMCA” (Village People)
Disco songs are so simply constructed that they lend themselves to all sorts of different arrangements and musical styles. This version sounds joyous and not particularly gay. And once again I must ask if anybody can explain why an ode to anonymous gay sex at the YMCA is used as a crowd singalong at sporting events.

Hi-Standard “Pink Panther Theme” (Henry Mancini)
Update: I’ve been informed that this song is actually by a Japanese band called Hi-Standard. That’s what I get for believing everything that an mp3 tells me about itself.

The intro has a great slinky bass line. Then the rest of it blows by in under a minute.

SKAndalous All-Stars “Creep” (Radiohead)
Really nice horn arrangement on this one. It contains the whiny self pity of the original but also manages to bring some hope to the song. I may be a creep but I can change, baby.

Tommy McCook & The Skatalites “Lara’s Theme” (Dr. Zhivago soundtrack)
I got this from a CD of “original ska anthems” that I downloaded from Chocoreve a while back. This is probably my favorite version of this song. I can just see Lara in a dress with a tiny black and white checkerboard pattern.

Fifi “Mirror In The Bathroom” (English Beat)
This song starts out sounding like a pretty pedestrian cover of the original ska classic. Then it grabs you by the throat and starts screaming in your face. It also features one of the greatest lyrics ever written: “Can I take you to a restaurant?/It’s got glass tables/You can watch yourself while you are eating.” They just don’t write ’em like that anymore.

Sonseed “Jesus Is A Friend Of Mine”
This one isn’t a cover, but I just had to share. Thanks to Mr. Squid for bringing it to my attention.