As Johnny Cougar so memorably told us, if you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything. Everybody needs something to believe in, something to give your life purpose and meaning, something to cling to in times of trouble. Don’t know what to believe? Let me help you out.

The Beat Farmers “Reason To Believe” (Bruce Springsteen)
At the end of every hard-earned day people find some reason to believe in something, whether they choose to believe that a runaway lover will return or that a dead dog will get up and run.

I still miss Country Dick Montana and the Beat Farmers. They were one of the most fun live bands I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing. The closest thing to them today is the Waco Brothers. They used to rock this song harder than Broooooce could ever dream of doing.

Hearts Of Palm UK “Would You Believe” (Billy Nicholls)
Billy Nicholls and his album Would You Believe are probably more well-known in England than America. Over there it’s heralded as the British Pet Sounds. There are indeed similarities in tone and style, although I don’t know any American who would put Billy Nicholls on a par with Brian Wilson.

This cover sounds nothing like the original, which is a beautiful song that is definitely of its time. This is all synthesizers and clattering percussion. There’s more interesting stuff by these people at their MySpace Page.

Sally Timms “Reason To Believe” (Tim Harden)
It’s a simple song but it nicely captures a situation that we’ve all been in. Your lover blindsides you with deceit and still you try to find a reason to believe him/her. You do it because you’re committed to the relationship and you’re not about to abandon all the work you’ve put into it. Or you do it for the children. Or you do it because you’re not prepared to face the world alone. But in the end you’re delaying the inevitable. And deep down inside you know it.

This is a nice live recording of Miss Timms. She’s a wonderful singer but she can be a bit mercurial on stage. I’m a little surprised that she didn’t stop this song to verbally abuse the people who were talking when she was singing. I’ve seen her do it more than once. I’ve also seen her hand out marmite to the audience. That unpredictability is one of the best things about going to one of her too-infrequent shows.

Smash Mouth “I’m A Believer” (The Monkees)
Here’s a song about love and belief that has a happy ending. And what else would you expect from a Monkees tune?

Smash Mouth is my guilty pleasure. One night I was channel surfing and came across an hour-long show that had a 30 minute set from Sugar Ray and a 30 minute set from Smash Mouth. I stopped surfing to watch Sugar Ray because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. They were pretty terrible. I didn’t have much hope for Smash Mouth and I enjoyed them immensely.

The Cast of “Glee” “Don’t Stop Believin'” (Journey)
There are people who view Journey as a guilty pleasure. I am not among them. But this number from the cast of Glee is fun. Special thanks to Uncle Flakey for sending it my way.