Yule Shoot Your Eye Out [Skyway Traffic / Fallout Boy] 12 Days Of Covers

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Merry Christmas, I could care less ...

Merry Christmas Baby [Three Blazers / Southern Culture on The Skids] 12 Days of Covers

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This is one of my favorite Christmas song, cover or not. Although the fact it's a cover certainly helps things. Covering the Three Blazers 1947 song, here's Southern Culture On The Skids (Or SCOTS for those hip) camel walking a kick ass cover of Merry Christmas Baby.

The Christmas Song [Hootie and the Blowfish / Mel Torme] 12 Days Of Covers

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I wonder if the Velvet Fog, Mel Torme realized his legacy would be as a joke on Night Court? Here's Hootie and His Blowfish covering The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire).

Baby, It's Cold Outside [Lady Antebellum / Ricardo Montalban & Ester Williams] 12 Days Of Covers

  

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Have you ever actually listened to the words of "Baby, It's Cold Outside?" The guy tells the girl to stay, and the girl asks "Say What's in this drink?" So it's a song about date rape. Merry flippin' Christmas.

It was first recorded for the movie "Neptune's Daughter" by Ester Williams and Ricardo Montalban. Wait a minute .... Ricardo Monalban? I guess on Fantasy Island date rape it okay, or something.

Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home) [Death Cab For Cutie / Darlene Love] 12 Days Of Covers

 

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Darlene Love's Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) has been called the greatest rock Christmas song ever. She performs it yearly on Letterman's last show before Christmas. In all it's a classic. Here's Death Cab For Cutie taking a stab at it.

Do They Know It's Christmas [Weston and Bouncing Souls / Band Aid] 12 Days Of Covers

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 I always thought a singing a Christmas song for African famine relief was kinda weird because I don't think of Africa as a continent that does a whole lot of Christianity anyway. I mean they ask, "Do they know it's Christmas time?" and my thought has always been, "No, they don't and likely don't care." Maybe I'm dumb though. Anyway here's Weston and Bouncing Souls covering the Bob Geldolf penned tune

In a Big Country [Dashboard Confessional / Big Country]

 

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In a Big Country, dreams stay with you ... but for some reason the name of the bad that originally recorded this Dashboard Confessional cover didn't stay with me. I had to search the internet. Apparently the band that originally recorded the song "In A Big Country" was in fact Big Country. So ... thanks Wikipedia. *facepalm*

Justice For All My Lovin' [Beatallica / Beatles & Metallica]

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I could explain to you the concept of the band Beatallica, but if you can't guess by the name of the band or the name of the track ... leave now.

I Want Candy [Bow Wow Wow; Aaron Carter; Melanie C/ Strangeloves ] Deep Cover & Cover to Cover

"I Want Candy" is best known as recorded in the early days of MTV. But in reality it's originally a 60's surf-abilly song by the Strangeloves. Also apparently it's one of those songs that seems innocent at first, but then you find out it is about sex.

Which is kinda scary because the most popular cover of the song was done by Bow Wow Wow, who at the time had a 15 year old lead singer.

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So less scary is the version done by Aaron Carter when he was 13 ...

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Wait ... that's even more scary. This version is not scary though. It's Sporty (Spice).

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Scary covers ... about wanting candy. Because it's Halloween. You saw where I was going with that right?

U Got The Look [ Gary Numan / Prince ]

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It is the opinion of this humble blogger that Prince is one of the most underrated rock musicians ever. He's a wicked fiend on the guitar, but he also practices the art of self restraint, so he's never all in your face about it, so when he decides to really less loose, you're all like "Whoa! Where the hell did that come from.

Not to mention in his heyday, he was so far ahead of his time, both musically and socially. He thought about the whole y2k problem in the 80's ... wait, that's not what 1999 was about. Okay well he invented text messaging short hand years before txting was popular used in such song titles as "I Would Die 4 U", "Nothing Compares 2 U" and the ditty here covered by Gary Numan, " U Got the Look."

You don't remember Gary Numan? Here try this "Here in my car; I feel safest of all; something something; in Carz; bloop blebleep bloop." Yeah, he's that guy.

Gangnam Style [ Josh Woodward / Psy ]

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Finally a song that'll make Carly Rae Jepson say "This song is overplayed."

 Josh Woodward covering Psy and it's a free download.

Just The Way You Are [Pierce the Veil; Boyce Avenue; Jimi D; Ahmir; Megan Nicole, Alex Goot / Bruno Mars]

Just the Way you are seems to be the current "it" song to cover. Don't believe me? Here's a smattering. Mainly because I don't get to use the word "smattering" enough. Also "jinkies" ... can't remember the last time I used that in casual conversation.


For the protopunks, here's Pierce the veil's take ...

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If you wanna rock down to the light accoustic Boyce Avenue ...

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Ya mon, there's a reggae cover too by Jimi D ...

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Need an R&B version, Ahmir has provided ...

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What about a female vocal version? Here's Megan Nicole.

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What about another version? Alex Goot is a hoot.

Ohio [Devo / Neil Young]

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At first glance it seems to be absolutely bizarre for Devo to be covering the Neil Young protest song "Ohio." But seeing as Devo is from Akron, Ohio (where I currently reside BTW) and the song is about the Kent State massacres and Kent only a few miles away, it does kinda sorta make sense in a weird round about way.

Goodnight my Angel [John Stamos / Billy Joel]

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Every singer wants to be an actor, every actor wants to be a singer. The singer to actor works most of the time, the actor to singer not so much. Remember Eddie Murphy? Bruce Willis? William Fucking Shatner?!?

Anyway back in 2006 someone thought it'd be a good idea to get a bunch of actors together, including Xena and what's-her-name-with-a-smile-like-a-velocoraptor from Alias and record a bunch of non-traditional lullabies. Surprisingly it didn't suck. Here from his pre-Glee singing career is Uncle Jesse ... I mean John Stamos covering Billy Joel.

(I Could) Never Take The Place Of Your Man [Goo Goo Dolls / Prince]

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This one goes way back in the Goo Goo dolls catalog. Way before anyone had ever heard of them to 1990. This particular track doesn't have Johnny Rzeznik on vocals and therefor is almost completely unrecognizable as the Goo Goo Dolls, but I promise you it's them covering Prince.

Redemtion Song [Wyclef Jean / Bob Marley]

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From the 9/11 memorial concert telethon, Wyclef covering Bob Marley.

Fly Me To The Moon [Skanatra / Frank Sinatra]

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With in the world of of cover bands, there exists the tribute band. Tribute bands, unlike the straight up cover band, only does covers of songs by one artists. Sometimes the tribute bands are just straight up impersonators, but sometimes they put an awesome twist on the original artists and wind up with an awesome gimmick and band name. There's Mini Kiss, who you might have seen in a Dr. Pepper commerical. They're a little person Kiss Tribute band. There's Lez Zepplin, a tribute band whose members are all lesbians. There's the Misfats, a heavyset Misfits knock off. Black Diamond is a great Neil Diamond impersonator, as long as you don't look at his skin color. There's MANdona, which has to be a favorite on the drag queen circut.

Today's cover is by Skanatra, a ska group that you guessed it, covers the Old Blue Eyes in the Ska style. Neat!

Do You Really Want To Hurt Me [Melanie Safka / Culture Club]

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I have no idea who this chick is, but she showed up in my FB feed and the cover has banjos! Need I say more?

Ordinary World [Fenix TX / Duran Duran]

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Duran Duran is named after the villian in the French Jane Fonda Sexplotation sci-fi movie Barberella.

Fenix-TX was originally named Riverfenix, but changes to Fenix TX after a cease and desist from the estate of the late actor.

Lay Lady Lay [Ministry / Bob Dylan]

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Any band worth a damn does a Bob Dylan cover. But a band isn't worth a damn until it does a Dylan cover. Whoa, deep!

Here's Ministry covering Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay."

Love Will Keep Us Together [Nickelback / Captain and Tenille]

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If I had five cents for every crappy song I heard on the bar's jukebox last night, I'd have a Nickelback.

When Santa runs out of coal, he gives the naughty kids Nickelback CD's.

All kidding aside, congrats to newly engaged front man Chad Kroeger on his impending nuptials to Avril Lavigne. They go together like Chocolate and Peanut Butter. If both Chocolate and Peanut Butter were both made of pure Canadian Evil. Avril, if you pull a Yoko Ono with Nickelback then I'll be so .... actually that's a pretty good plan. Let's do that.

Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now [Starting Line /Starship]

Starship is one of those bands that has gone through so many line up changes you need an diagram just to follow it. Everyone know the whole name/line up changes from Jefferson Airplane, to Jefferson Starship to Starship. There was also a brief pause as Starship Jefferson in there. But before all that, the group was called  Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra and consisted of three members of the Grateful Dead (including Jerry), David Crosby, Graham Nash and Grace Slick and others who would continue onto the form Jefferson Airplane. There also was briefly a group called "Jefferson Starship - The Next Generation" formed of a hodgepodge of the different artists to be in the every changing lineup. So there's your history lesson for the day. 

Here's The Starting Line covering the Starship incantation.

Pop Goes The World [LMP / Men Without Hats]

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All I Wanna Do (Is Make Love To You) [Halestrom / Heart]

Covering Heart is difficult. Those Wilson sisters are hard to match for sheer intensity, especially Ann Wilson's boombastic vocals. However Halestrom has a go at it and flippin' nails it vocally and adds some  staying extra crunchy in milk guitars. Take that you silly rabbit.

Mr. Brightside [Boyce Avenue / Killers]

I saw a shirt the other day that said "Started out with a kiss, How did it end up like this?" Now you might think this was an officially licensed piece of Killers' merchandise, but no, it was a maternity shirt. Well I guess if you're going to cover up that baby bump, might as well make it tacky.

Speaking of covers, here's Boyce Avenue covering Mr. Brightside.