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And now we have a little of this and a little of that…

Rasputina “Rock And Roll” (Led Zeppelin)
A string arrangement of Led Zep sounds like a Really Bad Idea but these folks have the attitude to pull it off.

The Wedding Present “Cumberland Gap” (Traditional/Woody Guthrie)
An absolutely smoking version of the old fiddle tune.

Clumsy Lovers “Open Up Your Heart (And Let The Sunshine In)” (McGuire Sisters)
This very chipper song includes the religious lyrics that Pebbles and Bamm Bamm left out when they sang it on The Flintstones.

Scissor Sisters “Take Me Out” (Franz Ferdinand)
I’ve never really gotten into Franz Ferdinand. I’ve liked the songs I’ve heard on the radio but they never made me want to run out and get more of their stuff. This version sounds like Elton John circa Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

Ozzy Osbourne “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” (Traditional)
I’ve been trying to put together a post of baseball songs but couldn’t find enough decent covers. So having a second song with Take Me Out in the title is the feeble excuse I’m using to post this one now.

This was recorded when Ozzy sang the seventh inning stretch at Wrigley Field a couple of years ago. Listen carefully and you’ll hear him mumble “I can’t remember what I have to say.”

Movie soundtracks are very different now than they were even ten years ago. Nowadays soundtracks just collect existing songs that fit into the film. Back in the day people actually wrote music specifically for a movie. Like these songs.

Mickey Dolenz “Talk To The Animals” (From Dr. Dolittle)
It can’t be easy being an ex-Monkee. You have to find something to do with yourself between reunion tours. Mr. Dolenz really should have cultivated some other hobby. Any other hobby.

You’d never know it from this version but the song won an Oscar for Best Original Song.

Jon Langford “The Perfect Nanny” (From Mary Poppins)
You may know Mr. Langford from his work with the Mekons, the Waco Brothers, or the Pine Valley Cosmonauts. You might know him from his work to help eliminate the death penalty. You might know him as a nationally-renowned artist. In addition to all that Mr. Langford managed to record this little two-step for the NPR radio show This American Life.

The International Karate Plus “Grease (Reprise)” (From Grease)
I know what you’re thinking. Grease was a Broadway musical. This tune was written by Barry Gibb specifically for the movie version.

Moby “James Bond Theme” (from Dr. No)
Update: Alert reader Amy pointed out that Moby changed the time signature on this song from 3/4 to 4/4. That sort of thing is pretty unusual outside of the world of jazz.

A little disco for my taste but a pretty thorough updating of the well-worn song.

Ronnie Ong “Buttons and Bows” (from The Paleface)
Another Best Original Song Oscar. Great fuzz guitar.

Well, not really. I spent a significant chunk of that decade as an awkward pimply adolescent. But the radio was pretty interesting.

Lots of radio stations in the 70s played a format they called Album Oriented Rock, which meant that they played pretty much anything. You had payola getting weird (and often long) songs on the air. Radio consultants and corporate ownership of multiple stations were just starting to happen. The result was that you’d hear all kinds of stuff on the radio (often back to back) that you’d never hear today, even on satellite radio.

Shonen Knife “Top Of The World” (The Carpenters)
This is pretty much the only Carpenters song that doesn’t depress me. And the girls of Shonen Knife make it even happier.

Smashing Pumpkins “Jackie Blue” (Ozark Mountain Daredevils)
Billy Corgan has always worn his love of Classic Rock on his sleeve, and it serves him well here. This was recorded when the Pumpkins were still a relatively unknown local band in Chicago.

Robyn Hitchcock “Kung Fu Fighting” (Carl Douglas)
At last an a capella version of this song. Our long national nightmare is over.

L’Aura “Life On Mars” (David Bowie)
A nice poppy tune that doesn’t take itself as seriously as the original.

King Missile “Still The One” (Orleans)
Really fun and kinda slap-happy. I like this much better than “Detachable Penis.”

Administrative Note: Take a look at the Links section over on the right side of the page. I’ve added a guestbook and a bulletin board. I used to have a guestbook but nobody used it so I took it down. They’re back to see if folks are interested. You can sign up as a member of the bulletin board but you don’t have to, guests can post to it. You can still send me email if you prefer to do that.

People who know a lot more about music than I do say that the music of Burt Bacharach sounds simple but is challenging to play and sing. This week we check out what various artists have done with his deceptively difficult songs.

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs & Fishbone “What’s New Pussycat?” (Tom Jones)
Regular readers should have figured out by now that I have a deep and abiding love for Tom Jones. Most of the rest of Mr. Bacharach’s best songs were originally recorded by Dionne Warwick (as you’ll see below), so we all need to give Mr. Jones his proper respect for this one.

This Spanglish ska arrangement just floors me. It’s a wonderfully fun tune.

Stephanie McIntosh “Wishin’ And Hopin'” (Dionne Warwick)
If he was born just a little later, Mr. Bacharach would have written nothing but power-pop songs like this one.

Diana King “I Say A Little Prayer For You” (Dionne Warwick)
I often sarcastically comment that any song can be a reggae song, but this one actually works quite nicely.

The Captain Howdy “Always Something There To Remind Me” (Sandie Shaw)
Penn Jillette: Magician, Singer, Gameshow Host, Renaissance Man. For you trivia fans, Captain Howdy was the name Satan went by in the movie The Exorcist.

The Stranglers “Walk On By” (Dionne Warwick)
The Stranglers were always a difficult band to classify and this song is a good example. It totally rocks out with a killer keyboard solo, but it’s also got a punk sensibility.

Sometimes you hear Christian types lament that the devil has all the good music. Nonsense! There’s plenty of good music for the righteous crowd. And the heathens in the audience should keep in mind that a good song is a good song, even if you might disagree with its message.

Notting Hillbillies “Weapon of Prayer” (Louvin Brothers)
The Notting Hillbillies were a one-off side project that Mark Knopfler did back when Dire Straits was still happening.

I believe that the Louvin Brothers were Southern Baptists but this song has a Quaker vibe that I reallly like.

The Persuasions “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” (The Jubilee Singers)
Great doo-wop vocal arrangement of the old spiritual. For some reason the Persuasions included this tune on a collection of children’s songs.

Jello Biafra and Mojo Nixon “Plastic Jesus” (The Goldcoast Singers)
The breakup of the Dead Kennedys made Jello look like a huge jerk, but he sounds like a fun loving guy here. One of my all-time favorite hymns.

Groovegrass Boyz “Stand By Me” (Comp. Charles Tindley)
This album featured Doc Watson and Bootsy Collins (neither of whom is on this song) and sought to introduce country and western music to a new audience of young fans. I don’t know if they achieved their goals, but I like it a lot.

Bauhaus “Spirit In The Sky” (Norman Greenbaum)
These guys don’t sound nearly as happy to be going up to see the Spirit In The Sky as Mr. Greenbaum is. I guess that’s what being Goth is all about.