I seem to be settling into a pattern where I have one theme-free post per month. It works for me, I hope it works for you.

Winechuggers “Six Months In A Leaky Boat” (Split Enz)
It seems pretty harmless now, but the original version of this song was banned in England when it came out because it was thought to be about the Falklands War. Even if it was, the lyrics don’t make much sense so I’m not sure if it was supposed to be pro-war or anti-war.

I’ve also discovered that there are apparently many people out there who love the original song but absolutely hate Split Enz. I’m sort of indifferent to both. This is a downtempo version that loses the goofy vibe of the original while allowing you to really hear what gibberish the lyrics are.

Lou Reed “This Magic Moment” (Drifters)
This is from a Doc Pomus tribute CD that came out awhile back. I wasn’t very familiar with his work as a songwriter until I got this CD and realized that he was a hitmaking machine.

Shonen Knife “Daydream Believer” (Monkees)
I love Shonen Knife and really dig their take on “Top Of The World.” I’m posting this one because it’s probably a little less familiar to American audiences.

Blues Magoos “Heartbreak Hotel” (Elvis Presley)
If Elvis had lived, this is what chronic drug abuse might have done to him. Great solo on the vibes. From the last Blues Magoos album, “Never Going Back to Georgia.” This was the opening track, the rest of the record got even weirder.

Scala Choir “I Touch Myself” (Divinyls)
The new-wave ode to onanism gets the choral treatment. It makes me laugh every time I hear it.

The dynamic Uncle Flakey recently sent me a CD with twenty (count ’em!) versions of Ring of Fire. I just had to share a few.

And don’t forget that Johnny Cash’s version of “Ring of Fire” was a cover. June Carter was married to somebody else and madly in love with the Man In Black when she wrote the song. It was first recorded by her sister Anita Carter in 1962. Then Johnny called in the mariachis and recorded his own version in 1963.

Ray Charles “Ring of Fire”
Smooth. Really smooth.

Social Distortion “Ring of Fire
They find the aggression in the song that Brother Ray somehow missed.

Wall of Voodoo “Ring of Fire”
This version has always sounded vaguely disturbing to me. Much more typical of what they sounded like than “Mexican Radio.”

Frank Zappa “Ring of Fire”
FZ had his band learn “Ring of Fire” so they could perform it with Johnny Cash, who happened to be in the same town that night. Unfortunately Johnny’s wife (June Carter Cash) got sick and he couldn’t make it to the show. They played the song anyway, but I really wish Johnny could have been there.

Dick Dale and his Del-Tones “Ring of Fire”
Dick Dale goes country? Johnny Cash goes surfing? A rare vocal from Mr. Dale.

Eric Burdon and the Animals “Ring of Fire”
Once again I have to ask, who told him that this was a good idea?

Back in the day people had to make music without all those synthesizers and amplifiers and electricity. In that spirit, here’s some interesting acoustic covers.

Nina Gordon “Straight Outta Compton” (NWA)
I was googling something else and stumbled across this. She sounds so wholesome as she threatens to bust a cap in your ass.

Travis “Hit Me Baby One More Time” (Britney Spears)
Lots of people pick on poor Britney by covering her songs for laughs, but as you can hear on this song she does have some very talented songwriters working for her. Even if she has no discernable talent of her own.

Bluehouse “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” (Marvin Gaye)
Two white chicks with acoustic guitars singing a Motown classic. Yet somehow it works.

Danny Michel “Young Americans” (David Bowie)
I like this way better than the original. But then I have a thing for slide guitar.

Gina Jeffries “Creep” (Radiohead)
I know the world doesn’t really need another cover of “Creep” or any other Radiohead song for that matter, but this one’s really good. Honest.

When you’re a music fan and a parent it’s often a struggle to find children’s music that doesn’t make your skin crawl. I’m not putting a fatwa out on Raffi and Barney, but I’d really like to beat them senseless. Just once.

Moxy Fruvous “Spiderman” (Theme from the TV cartoon)
Update: Alert reader Adam tells me that this song is not by They Might Be Giants, but rather from the Moxy Fruvous album “Bargainville.” Curses! Deceived by the Internet again!

Butthole Surfers “Underdog” (Theme from the TV cartoon)
Last night I stumbled across Kill Bill Vol. 2 on TBS. I just love David Carradine’s soliloquy on Superman (“He doesn’t have to become Superman. When he wakes up in the morning he is Superman.”)

Kelly Hogan “Rubber Duckie” (Ernie from Sesame Street)
When Sesame Street came out I was just a little too old for it. So I never really knew much about it until my daughter came along. I gotta say that their music is, by and large, very well done.

Kelly Hogan is from Georgia and lives in Chicago, where she tends bar at the Hideout in addition to singing. She can really belt out a song and is a lot of fun to hear live.

John Secada “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” (Fred Rogers)
Okay, this one makes my skin crawl. It’s just so wretched that I had to post it.

The Persuasions “On The Good Ship Lollipop” (Shirley Temple)
You’ve just gotta love an entire CD of doo-wop versions of kids songs.

There is a great danger in the land. Even today foreigners are corrupting our beloved American songs!

Los Rockin’ Rebeldes “Danny Boy” (comp. Frederick Weatherly)
I hate “Danny Boy.” It’s maudlin and it’s guaranteed to suck the life out of any room in which it is sung. It should be banned from every karaoke machine on the planet.

That said, I kinda like this Spanish garage-rock version. It’s sort of fun.

Karel Gott “Rot und Schwarz (Paint It Black)” (Rolling Stones)
This one popped up recently at Germans Under Cover, a great source for all your German cover needs.

Karel Gott has made a very successful career out of being the German Tom Jones. He really puts his all into this tune. I imagine that somebody had to shoot him with a tranquilizer dart after he finished recording it.

The Cat Empire “Hotel California” (The Eagles)
This is from another Australian radio compilation called Like A Version. Different radio station, different morning show, apparently the same concept as Andrew Denton’s Musical Challenge.

It’s both more menacing and more joyful than the original version. And it’s got one wicked accordion solo.

Seu Jorge “Life on Mars?” (David Bowie)
One of many great David Bowie covers by Seu Jorge on the Life Aquatic soundtrack. Lots of people seem to love the soundtrack but hate the movie. I really like both. Bill Murray is criminally underappreciated.

Gipsy Kings “Hotel California” (The Eagles)
What is this strange fascination that foreigners have with the Eagles? I dunno but I’m glad that it resulted in this chipper flamenco version of the classic rock staple.