Thanks For Your Support
I renewed the web hosting contract for Cover Freak last week. I paid for it with the kind donations of my readers. Thanks to all of you for your generous support. I’ll try to make sure you get your money’s worth in the upcoming year.

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The holiday season was not too happy for the Freak family this year. A week before Christmas my brother became seriously ill. I got a call at 4 a.m. telling me to come to the hospital to see him before he died. Thanks to skilled doctors and advanced medical technology my brother cheated death. He came home from the hospital last week, a little worse for wear but still better off than the alternative. I’m glad he’s still with us, I’m glad he’s back home, and I’m glad that I get to post songs about life instead of songs about death.

The Blind Corn Liquor Pickers “Once In A Lifetime” (Talking Heads)
This has got to be one of the weirdest songs ever to become widely popular. Just when I think that society has lost all appreciation of anything with artistic merit something like this comes along and restores my faith in humanity.

Big Daddy “A Day In The Life” (The Beatles)
I never realized that there was a straight line from Buddy Holly to the Beatles until I heard this song. This is from Big Daddy’s brilliant Sgt. Pepper’s album, where they covered the entire Beatles album in various 50s musical styles.

Harry Nilsson “Always Look At The Bright Side Of Life” (Monty Python)
Alright, this song deals with death in addition to life. But it does it so cheerfully. I remember reading that Life Of Brian is considered the Pythons’ greatest film in England, while Holy Grail is considered by Americans to be their best effort. It’s not that surprising when you consider that the U.S. was founded by religious fanatics with thin skins.

Anggun “Life On Mars?” (David Bowie)
This is from an album called Snow On The Sahara, which really applies to the feel of this song. There are a lot of sounds layered on top of each other here, including the ever-popular pan flute.

Denis Fischer “Lust For Life” (Iggy Pop)
This song is really dark and troubling. It sounds like he’s got a lust for the kind of life you see people living in a David Lynch film. I always feel like I need to take a shower after listening to it.