From time to time the delightful Mrs. Freak suggests a theme for Cover Freak. They’re usually pretty good suggestions, but I don’t always get to them right away. I might have some ideas of my own for themes or I just might not feel like putting together a post on that topic for awhile. Well, back in November Mrs. Freak suggested that I feature girl groups in a post and she was recently complaining that I hadn’t done anything with her suggestion yet. Keeping your spouse happy is an important part of a long and successful marriage, so here’s the girl group post.
Steve Carlson “Be My Baby” (The Ronettes)
The Ronettes version is generally regarded as the ultimate example of Phil Spector’s Wall Of Sound. There are boatloads of covers of this song out there, most of them emulating the Wall Of Sound to some extent. Steve Carlson does a wonderful acoustic version, full of earnest teenage yearning and very nice percussion.
The Afghan Whigs “Come See About Me” (The Supremes)
The Supremes weren’t originally Diana Ross’ band. Motown Records started grooming her as a solo act and really screwed the rest of the ladies in the group. Mary Wilson was quite bitter about that for awhile but she’s probably over it now that she’s got that out-of-court settlement. For some reason this version sounds vaguely threatening to me, like it’s working on that Mary Wilson vibe.
Smith “Baby It’s You” (The Shirelles)
This is some great makeout music. It’s the kind of thing I’d expect to hear near closing time in a smoky sweaty bar when everybody gets a chance to do a slow grind with their favorite person.
Superchunk “Say My Name” (Destiny’s Child)
This song comes from the very good Guilt By Association CD from Engine Room Records. The label sent me that CD when it came out and I’ve featured several songs from it and linked back to their web page for the CD. Imagine my surprise when I was browsing my local used record shop and found GBA Volume Two. I guess they decided that the awesome media marketing power of Cover Freak wasn’t awesome enough to send out another CD. I can’t help feeling like my high school sweetheart jilted me.
Zebrahead “Wannabe” (The Spice Girls)
The appeal of the Spice Girls has always eluded me. They can’t sing, they can’t dance, and they’re not very good looking. Except for the one Eddie Murphy knocked up. She’s pretty cute. How did they sell so many records?
No “He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss),” perhaps the most disturbing girl group song ever? Grizzly Bear has a couple of different versions floating out there, as does my favorite hot mess of the 90s, Courtney Love (Hole).
A wonderful list, regardless.
I’ve posted “He Hit Me” every year in my Valentine’s Day post for the past three years, much to my wife’s chagrin. I’ve posted both the Grizzly Bear and Hole versions. I’ve recently started looking around for other covers for this year’s post. If you know of any others (I’ve also posted the Motels version) please let me know.
yay!
and I would have been really m.ad if you posted “He Hit Me” on MY post. I’m resigned to it on Valentine’s Day
I know I’m a bit late checking in, but I thought you’d appreciate Mike Doughty’s comment on the Spice Girls once during a show. He said something to the effect of: “The Spice Girls can’t sing, can’t dance, can’t play instruments, but they’re number 1 in 47 countries. Now THAT’S punk rock!”