It’s been a rough week for me. Of course we had the blizzard that started Tuesday night. Tuesday night I was stricken with the flu and praying to the porcelain god. That lasted until Wednesday, at which point I promptly came down with a nasty head/chest cold. Mrs. Freak heroically shoveled most of the snow before she split for warmer climes but I still had to chisel my way through a major snow drift to get our cars out of the garage.

So now I’m tired. Bone weary. I really need some sleep.

Mule Train “Where Did You Sleep” (Lead Belly)
This song is generally done as a sad blues song, but it always seemed to me that there was a deep vein of anger there. Consider that vein tapped in this incredibly pissed-off cowpunk version.

Hideki “I’m Only Sleeping” (The Beatles)
If my daughter is around while I’m working on a Cover Freak post she is generally unimpressed by the music I’m previewing. This one actually prompted her to come into my office and listen. It helps that she’s a Beatles fan but this is a nice rollicking take on a Beatles song you don’t hear all that often.

Terry Hill & Marijne “Dream A Little Dream Of Me” (Frankie Laine)
Speaking of my daughter, Mrs. Freak used to sing this song to her at bedtime. Maybe that’s why I find this cover so gosh darn charming.

The Dandy Warhols “All I Have To Do Is Dream” (Everly Brothers)
There’s a new generation out there that relates to video games the same way that my generation relates to television and movies. I was surprised when a Cover Freak reader turned me on to the soundtrack from the game Stubbs The Zombie. The idea that a video game would have a soundtrack beyond that annoyingly repetitive Super Mario music was very good to know. And I was even happier that most of the music on that soundtrack was very good.

Sleepy LaBeef “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” (The Carter Family)
When I saw Sleepy LaBeef he didn’t seem sleepy at all. He was actually pretty feisty. I don’t know if he was playing with a pickup band like Chuck Berry does or if there was some deeper problem, but he started chewing out his guitar player on stage and threatening to fire him on the spot. It was both amusing and uncomfortable to watch.

If you’re curious about who that woman is singing with Sleepy, it’s Maria Muldaur.