I’m taking a week off from theme-mongering to bring you many different things, all ground up together.

Glass Eye “Minnie The Moocher” (Cab Calloway)
Whoever these Glass Eye people are, they bring a definite rock attitude to the jazz standard.

Diodes “Red Rubber Ball” (Cyrcle)
I’ve heard that the Diodes recorded this song after learning that Paul Simon (who wrote it) hated punk rock. But try as they might the song’s sunny pop nature shines through. I’ve often thought it would be really fun if Motorhead covered this one.

Petra Hayden “Don’t Stop Believin'” (Journey)
Journey is one of the bands that made me start hating commercial radio when I was in high school. I thought that there was nothing redeeming about any of their songs until I heard this charming a capella version. It’s from the very excellent Guilt By Association CD.

Anna Fermin’s Trigger Gospel “The Box It Came In” (Wanda Jackson)
For the uninitiated, Wanda Jackson is a longtime rockabilly/country performer who is still performing and inspiring woman musicians to this day. Anna Fermin is simply one of the most talented singers on the planet.

Jaymz Bee and the Royal Jelly Orchestra “You Oughta Know” (Alanis Morissette)
No, it’s not an Avril Levigne song, it’s an Alanis Morissette song. I gotta stop writing this stuff when I’m sleep-deprived. And while I appreciate readers writing to point out when I make a mistake, there’s no need to be hostile about it. This is just my hobby, after all.

Anyway, it’s still a fun, goofy song on a miserable February day.

Thanks to Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson for the nice mention in the Courier-Mail. And welcome Aussies!

Well kids, here we are approaching once again that Hallmark holiday that cynically makes people feel the need to express their affection through the purchase of cards, flowers and chocolates. Since Valentine’s Day can make the dateless feel bad about themselves, I present songs to make you feel better about love.

The Impossibles “Ben” (Michael Jackson)
The warning signs are always so easy to see in retrospect. Why did nobody try to help Michael Jackson when he was singing love songs to rats?

Special thanks to Dylan for letting me know about this song.

Pansy Division “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other” (Willie Nelson)
This song should have been on the Brokeback Mountain soundtrack but it wasn’t. Willie Nelson released it to cash in on the popularity of the movie. The song was written by somebody else years before the movie came out.

The Motels “He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)” (Crystals)
My wife is very disturbed that I’m posting a cover of this song on Valentine’s Day two years in a row.

The Holmes Brothers “I Want You To Want Me” (Cheap Trick)
This has to be one of the most soulful covers of a pop tune ever. It’s beautiful and mines emotion that Cheap Trick never even hinted at.

Special thanks to Dan G for sending me this one.

Poi Dog Pondering “Lay My Love” (Brian Eno and John Cale)
Brian Eno has said that he hates songs that are written in the first person. So as a joke he wrote this song that starts every verse with the word “I.”

The singer describes himself as the “termite of temptation” and the “crow of desperation.” Would you really want a guy like that to lay his love around you?

Administrative note: Coverfreak moved to a new home on Tuesday. Seems that after the writeup in the Guardian I started getting so many visitors and using so much bandwdith that my former web host decided to cancel my account. As far as I can tell everything is working as it should, but if there are any problems drop me a line.

Yesterday was Groundhog Day and Thursday marks the start of the Chinese Year of the Rat. So it seems an opportune time for songs by and about rodents.

I was disappointed that I couldn’t find a decent cover of Michael Jackson’s “Ben.” If you have a good cover of that tune let me know and I’ll include it in next week’s Valentine’s Day post.

Dolapdere Big Gang “Hell” (Squirrel Nut Zippers)
I’m really digging this Turkish Romany band. Thanks to Steve Wiles for hipping me to this album.

The Squirrels “Seasons In The Sun/The Hustle” (Terry Jacks/Van McCoy)
I wonder if the kid they got to sing this knew what he was getting into. I also wonder what on earth made them combine these two songs.

Tori Amos “I Don’t Like Mondays” (Boomtown Rats)
Pretty much what you’d expect from Tori Amos. Breathy, closely miked vocals and down tempo piano. It makes me long for the Boomtown Rats version, which I never liked in the first place.

Split Lip Rayfield “Pop Goes The Weasel” (Traditional)
I was afraid that SLR would break up after the death of Kirk Rundstrom but they’re not only still together they’re on tour, making the world safe for speed-metal bluegrass.

Screeching Weasel “I Can See Clearly Now” (Johnny Nash)
I’ve always thought that Screeching Weasel is just about the perfect name for a punk band. It just puts everything right on the table.

First off, I just want to pass on something that I read the other day. It seems that Scarlett Johansson will be releasing an album of Tom Waits covers. I’m sure that she can’t be a worse singer than she is an actress, but I’m very afraid.

One of the things I’ve always admired about people with musical talent is their ability to take old music that’s part of our genetic code and rework it in a modern style. Here are a few examples.

Kaleidoscope “Cuckoo”
Kaleidoscope was David Lindley‘s band before he went on to work with Jackson Browne and become a famous session musician. I realize that this song doesn’t sound modern by today’s standards, but it did when acid rock ruled the land.

Cylob “Drunken Sailor”
Drum machines and computer-generated vocals. Now that’s what I call modern.

Lemonheads “Knoxville Girl”
I couldn’t do a post of traditional songs without including at least one murder ballad. Just be glad I’m not posting Zamfir’s version of “Banks Of The Ohio.”

I thought Evan Dando was a complete lightweight until I heard this. They don’t rearrange the song so much as just play it on jangly pop guitars.

Blind Boys of Alabama “Amazing Grace”
They sing this song to the tune of “House Of The Rising Sun” which is pretty cool. I think I’d like it better if they sang it to the tune of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” but they didn’t ask me.

The Moldy Peaches “Little Bunny Foo Foo”
Yes, it’s everybody’s favorite obnoxious children’s song.

Apparently the Sunday Star Times in New Zealand picked up the story from the Guardian. So, welcome Kiwis!

Longtime readers already know of my profound and undying devotion to Tom Jones. He’s a great singer, a dynamic performer, and a proud Welshman. He’s willing to work with anybody and sing any kind of song. Tom Jones pretty much personifies showbiz for me.

Tom Jones and Zucchero “She Drives Me Crazy” (Fine Young Cannibals)
This version is much more fully-orchestrated and way more joyous than the original.

Tom Jones “Black Betty” (Ram Jam)
This song seems to be one that you either love or hate. Needless to say, it really curls my toes.

Tom Jones and the Cardigans “Burning Down The House” (Talking Heads)
I have much less trouble with the idea of Tom Jones covering Talking Heads than I have with the Cardigans doing it.

Tom Jones “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor” (Arctic Monkeys)
This was recorded at the Princess Diana tribute concert last year. It features Joe Perry of Aerosmith on the guitar. What more could you want?

Tom Jones and Isaac Hayes “Don’t Let Go” (Jimmy Witherspoon)
Like I said, TJ will record any song with anybody.

Jon Langford and the Pine Valley Cosmonauts “Delilah” (Tom Jones)
I’ve heard Langford (another proud Welshman) refer to this song as the Welsh national anthem when he performs it live. Wales is more messed up than I thought.