I recently acquired several very nice wooden cigar boxes. I like cigar boxes and I use them for storing stuff. But even I have to admit that I have all the cigar boxes I need. I was casting about for something to do with these new boxes and since I’m learning to play the mandolin I thought I might take a shot at building a cigar box mandolin. Looking around online I found quite a bit of information and plans for building cigar box guitars and ukuleles, but very little information on how to build a cigar box mandolin. Seems like the most productive thing I can do with my frustration over this is to turn it into a Cover Freak post.

Angelique Kidjo “Little Boxes” (Malvina Reynolds)
I’ve never seen the TV program Weeds because it’s on Showtime and I live in a basic cable household. But I love the program because they spent two seasons getting a different artist to cover this song every week to use as the show’s theme. The songs all sound different and almost all of them are keepers. I particularly love this African-flavored version.

Enormous Richard “Music Box Dancer” (Frank Mills)
This song was originally an instrumental, but these guys apparently felt that what it was lacking were demented lyrics. The line about “dainty ballerina clothes and enormous thighs” is particularly inspired.

Storybox “Let’s Go Crazy” (The Clash)
Rock journalist Jimmy Guterman put together the Sandinista Project, where he got 36 artists to each cover a tune from the Sandinista album. The results are uneven, as they often are on a project like this. Storybox does a fine job, slowing this song down a half-step and adding mariachi horns.

Richard Cheese “Man In The Box” (Alice In Chains)
What can be said about the Cheese Man that hasn’t already been said? He can make any song sound swanky.

Band In A Box “All Cats Are Grey” (The Cure)
I’ve never liked the Cure, the whiny singing and monotonous synthesizers get on my nerves. So I was prepared to not like this song. But I really dig the atmospheric chamber orchestra treatment.