The Not-Pop Jukebox

In keeping with the cover song theme for this weekend, I thought I'd share on of my favorite nonsense songs, both the original Rubber Biscuit from The Chips and the ever-so-much-better version made famous by The Blues Brothers.

I cannot watch Dan Ackroyd without hearing this song and wishing that John Belushi were still performing with him. The pair had a chemistry that crackled and fizzed on every song and that made their covers things of beauty to hear, even when they were as goofy as Rubber Biscuit. While you can still enjoy the fruits of Ackroyd's abiding love of the blues at The House of Blues, you just don't get that frisson from his performances any more. At least you can listen to the old recordings and watch the first Blues Brothers movie.

Today, I'm thrilled to offer my first guest post, from the prolific, eclectic, and every-honest reviewer at Isaac Ashe's Sound Advice. Mr. Ashe has generously offered to share his recent contemplations on covers songs that have gone more right than wrong and included a suggested playlist to back up his own words. Don't miss The Gourds.

IN BETWEEN churning out butter commercials here in the UK, I read recently in the music press that Sex Pistol John Lydon plans to re-record Pink Floyd’s mighty "Dark Side Of The Moon".

He must be howling - the mind boggles trying to imagine him tackle the vocal solo on The Great Gig In The Sky... Nevertheless this news got me thinking about some of the other unlikely cover versions in my collection. Some artists make a career out of this--Richard Cheese, John Barrowman, The Chipmunks--but the cream of the crop for me are those that rarely tackle a cover.

One that worked quite well in my eyes is the late, great, prone-to-jailbait Micheal Jackson and his distinctive take on The Beatles’ Come Together--although Paul McCartney may not have enjoyed hearing it quite as much as I did. Others which raise a smile are The Gourds’ country reworking of Snoop Dogg’s Gin And Juice, which is so wrong it’s rizzle, and Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro, cover version experts, and their unrecognisable version of Fleetwood Mac’s Go Your Own Way.

Of course, not all these ideas come to fruition. Electroshocker Peaches was planning to put on a complete show of her unique “stripped-down” take on Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar until being blocked by the rights holders recently. That would have been some spectacle --at least Peaches, of all people, knows how to get over such heartbreaks.

Because Isaac recommended a song with an R-rated title from Peaches, I've replaced that with a great cover of Insane in the Brain from The Connells and included a cover of The Great Gig in the Sky that includes Peaches and Henry Rollins, as a bonus. This is not to say that the tunes in today's post are work- or child-friendly. Sadly, I couldn't lay my digital hands on the Biffy Clyro cover to include here.

One of the very first songs that I posted was the song that introduced me to Morphine: Early to Bed. Foolishly enough, I didn't search high and/or low enough to find a way to include that song in the post. Happily, I've thought to remedy that lack of knowledge today. I had intended to post only You Look Like Rain, but it's so mellow and sparse that I hesitated to let it stand alone. I can't resist a song that includes a line like, "I can tell that you taste like sky 'cause you look like rain." Why should I, with the lovely saxophone meandering about in the background? But it definitely doesn't fit the up-beat sound here at The NPJ.

Happily, I remembered that, while I had certainly included Early to Bed early in Not-Pop Jukebox history, you weren't able to listen to the song. Thus, I offer a twin-pack of Morphine to you all today, giving two glimpses into the band's sadly defunct sound. For another, you could check my post on another of their songs, Buena.

Quite some time ago, when My Glorious released their EP "Leper", they sent me a copy and I reviewed the band. The thoughtful folks from Austria have now sent me their second album, "Home Is Where the Heart Breaks", released on January 30, 2010. Naturally, it took me a few listens to really feel comfortable choosing a favorite song.

Part of that difficulty lies in the extensive middle of the album. It seems that My Glorious decided to experiment with a lot of sonic additions to their songs, some more successful than others. I quite enjoy Use Me, for example, clocking in at 6:40. The sound is all over the map, though, and the real meat of the song gets a bit buried beneath what I consider to be bonus material.

Make no mistake. My Glorious has included plenty of meat on this full album. They go from rocking out to more emotive ballads and generally demonstrate a healthy range of tastes and lyrical depth. I've chosen to include Atmosphere here (a mere 3:44, in comparison) in part because it includes the lyrics that most intrigued me.

If there's love in the atmosphere
Bring it down, bring it down
If there's love in the atmosphere
We could use it here

In part, I also chose it because it's a much tighter song than Use Me, the other contender for the best track. I'm all for atmospheric layers of sound in a song, but there can be a fine line between creating mood and doodling around self-indulgently. My Glorious seems to still be finding the line between those two but they've created a meaty album that's worth the investment for fans. Should you wish to hear more from both "Leper" and "Home Is Where the Heart Breaks", you can visit their artist page at Grooveshark or at their site linked in the first sentence.

All the Freaky People takes you pretty far out of my usual niches, but I absolutely love this song. It's like someone crossed Barry White, George Clinton and Parliament, and a bunch of politically-aware rappers and hippie jam bands. It's lovely, unexpected, and simply a terrific song. I wanted to share it with you all, particularly as it's from their first album. That means that you can be pleasantly surprised by three more albums and a couple of live ventures after you groove on this one. Check out Michael Franti and Spearhead and I hope that you like them as much as I do.

Many moons ago, before I learned of the joys of Grooveshark, I added this mellow stretch of electro love, Eyes, Lips, Body to The NPJ. I'm sure you'll be shocked to know that I included an imeem player which has since turned itself into an ad rather than a way for you to enjoy the song.

Though I still like this song enough to want more, it's the only song I've ever found by Ramshackle (and the Hackers soundtrack is the only place I've ever found the song). If any of you have a clue as to who the mixer and/or original artist were, please share with me. It's one of those curiosities that drives a music fan crazy.

I know that it's still February, but I'm engaging in a bit of wishful thinking today. Bobby Darin's version of Blue Skies (the first on the list below) is one of my favorite songs of all time. You just don't hear anyone hold a note as purely as he does at the end, and he proves with this one that he can swing as well as croon. And, because I love to share and so many people have recorded Blue Skies, I found another ten cover versions including a great Tommy Dorsey shout-fest, a complete rewrite about being eaten by a whale from Dizzy Gillespie, and a trying-too-hard cover from Eva Cassidy. As a bonus, I've tacked on a dozenth track from Blue October that, while not strictly the same song, still made me happy.

Just remember, Bing Crosby can make Blue Skies sound as sad as he likes. It's still a wonderfully celebratory song.

To me, Belly and Frente! go together. They’re two sides of the same musical coin. In fact, they may count as the same side. It’s not just that the bands (and their respective singers, Tanya Donelly and Angie Hart) sound alike. It’s that they share a mood that I find relaxing but that still gets my toes tapping. Belly is stronger, lyrically, but both go beyond the rather little-girl sound of the vocalists to create well-done and truly enjoyable music that has stood up to over fifteen years of repeat listens. These aren’t the flashy types who would win on a televised talent show, but neither do they require computers and adjusting to hit the notes they’ve chosen or a team of ghostwriters to write the songs in the first place. For me, that counts for a whole lot more in the “win” category.

Frente!, however, reformed a few years ago. Rumors have the band re-releasing "Marvin the Album" this year, but I hope that a new album would instead be forthcoming. I've got the old one. I would love to hear Ms. Hart with some new material, however.

I thought I'd posted this one from the tickler file I added, but a quick check of my handy-dandy listings showed me that it was not so. As it's been quite some time since my last Oingo Boingo post, I thought it was high time to share a great, classic Boingo song. As I noted, Danny Elfman makes a questionable sex symbol but, when bouncing along to Elevator Man you hardly consider his looks. This one doesn't get explicit, exactly, but it does rate a raised eyebrow along with the chair dancing it will undoubtedly inspire. All in all, it's a fun little ditty that reminds me of why I so adore Mr. Elfman and hos talented bandmates. I hope you like it as much as I do.

After yesterday's self-congratulatory post, I thought I'd offer something a little shorter and more work-friendly. Sadly, The Mendoza Line broke up in 2007 so there will be no new albums forthcoming. Their existing albums, however, offer a wealth of slightly-fuzzy alt-rock for your enjoyment. If you're unfamiliar with the band, have a listen to It's a Long Line (But It Moves Quickly) and see if you want more. If you like this one, you can listen to a pile of their tracks for free on Grooveshark, and a few of them on the band's MySpace profile.

From time to time, I write notes on a tickler list to remind myself of why I wanted to post a particular song. For this, my big 400th post, I thought I’d share a recent example (well, from the beginning of last December) connected to the posts that were generated from them. Often, I’ll simply wing a post but some come from the long-standing love of a song that I really would like for more people to enjoy. I’m all about sharing, you know. When I add a song to that list, I’ll often write a sentence or two intended to remind me of just why I wanted to post the thing in the first place. Sometimes a whole paragraph will spring to mind but more often, my notes look more like this.

I’ll admit that there have been days when I cannot remember what the heck I meant by some of these cryptic tidbits but generally they’ll trigger a full-bore gush over a particular song. I try not to fawn too much on this blog, and I believe I’m relatively successful, but some songs just make my ears go gooey. Those are the songs that end up in the tickler file like these. Henry Rollins's version of Black Coffee and the Lee Atwater cover of Tee-Ni-Nee-Ni-Nu I own in a format that I can't upload because my CDs are simply too old and the fact that I can't find them on-line makes it clear that they are, indeed, not pop.

Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day. I suppose this song works for my holiday selection, as well.

• Elevator Man (DE unlikely sex symbol but this is definitely an eyebrow-waggler)
  Food & Creative Love (I can’t help it, I’m hungry…among other things.)
• Ruby Soho (Yes, it’s Rancid. Yes, it sounds like The Clash.)
• Youth Culture Killed My Dog (A lament.)
• Black Coffee (It’s Rollins on Black Flag. A classic rant.)
• The Great Atomic Power (A great SCOTS cover, but where’s the original?)
• Oh Bondage (Up Yours) (Dare I? This must come with a PG-17 tag.) [Note: see below, and be warned.]
• Doggie Bounce (Speaking of parental guidance…)
• Te-Ni-Nee-Ni-Nu (I must upload this somewhere. People need to hear it.)
• Swingin’ with Tiger Woods (The Big Swing) (What, I can resist the hot topic?!)

In case you missed the opening ceremonies last night, the Winter Olympics have begun. Naturally, that means a song of Olympic proportions, or at least one that includes the word in the title. Along the way in that search, I uncovered Stompin' Tom Connors, who, I must say, I am shocked made no appearance in the ceremonies. Sure, he just celebrated his 74th birthday, but at the very least they could have played his Olympic Song when the torch bearers were just standing around waiting for the technical difficulties with the cauldron to be resolved. He is a famous Canadian, after all, and likely younger than the figure skating that carried in the Olympic flag.

[Note: In cased you missed it, I now have pages up for my posts listed by artist and by song title. They need (a lot of) polishing polishing but they've got 450 songs listed up through about a week ago. Let me know if you see any really egregious typos (like the one where I reversed the song and artist names). Thanks!]

As promised, I thought I'd share some more from Die Toten Hosen with you all. While this song hardly represents the band's usual sound, it is the one the brought me to the band in the first place. Hip Hop Bommi Bop features rapper Fab 5 Freddy, who, I can't help but feel, was coached in phonetic German for this one. You can still have a lot of fun with the track, as I do every time I hear it. It reminds me of the fun and goofy melds that used to come out regularly, as hip hop and rap became more mainstream and the stars worked more often with bands well outside their own genres. It seems a long time since I've heard a famous rapper backed by a well-known rock band. If you know of recent examples, please let me know. In the meantime, enjoy!

I thought we'd go in a different direction, today, after the old-school punk of yesterday. How about some hard-core electronica, courtesy of those wacky Dirty Disco Youth folks? You'd love some? I just happen to have a bit right here.

I thought I'd mention, while you're enjoying that that my 400th post is coming up this week. I'll be doing a sort of compilation opst again, for that one. If I have time, I'll finish getting the directory pages posted, as well. Please let me know if there's anything else that would help you to find great music at The NPJ. With so much already here, I'd hate for you to miss anything.

If there's one punk song that almost everyone knows, it's Sheena Is a Punk Rocker. It's seminal, people, practically a standard for punk bands. I've assembled here a pile steaming punk rebelliousness, starting with the original Ramones version, meandering through Husker Du (there'll be more from those folks soon), Yo La Tengo, Rancid, The Vandals, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Die Toten Hosen (look for more from them, as well). Honestly, I couldn't have put together a more entertaining set if I'd planned it from the start. Here's to Tuesday, and rockin' out in the middle of the week for no reason.

For those of you unfamiliar with animoto and the wonderful ability they give you to create your own videos, or with the fine folks at BlogCatalog who give thousands of bloggers a place to play (mostly) nicely together, I give you the fruits of polybore's labors there, the overture to Mozart's Marriage of Figaro with the avatars of willing participants. I, your humble not-pop servant, show up very early in the video so keep your eyes peeled for the funky sneaks. Tomorrow? Classic punk.

Obviously, I used my music-picking time today to update The NPJ. If you'll cast your eyes to the top of the screen you'll notice a new page (actually, two, as I've created an "About The NPJ" page as well). I've more to do, obviously, but it's a start! As my quickie-pick for this Superbowl Sunday, please accept Errortype: 11 and their ambitiously-titled Better than the Superbowl. It's on-topic, at least, even if it's not a song I'd recommend on any other day. It's pretty rockin', just not that well-executed.

I had intended to post a single Los Fabulosos Cadillacs song for today, but I thought that I'd give you a much larger post in apology for a mere four posts last week. The moment I heard the band's cover of Should I Stay or Should I Go I knew that you all needed more. While listening to various covers and "inspired by" songs, I realized that people should not be allowed to tag their own songs. I heard one that was labeled as Korn but which was a rap song (I didn't include that one because it was filled with naughty words but you can hear it here if you're curious). Another was supposedly from the Sex Pistols but was actually the original Clash version. Picture me rolling my eyes, now.

At any rate, I have included the Los Fabulosos Cadillacs version (in Spanish, thank you very much), the original Clash version, one from Living Color, and a jazzy track from The Cooltrane Quartet. There's also an uninspired cover from MxPx, a mash-up of Should I Stay or Should I Go with Blame It on the Boogie from Loo & Placido that I thought I'd already posted here. As a bonus, I threw in Should I Stay or Should I Blow from The BPA, becuase, well, I like it. I don't think I've ever had a a post with so many different tags!

What would Black History Month be without James Brown? Boring, that's what. For today, as my contribution to remembering the history of African-American people in the US, let's enjoy an atypically political song from The Godfather of Soul. Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud) not only offers some insight into the mindset of people in the late 1960s but a funky beat and some classic James Brown wails and squeals. As an anthem, Say It Loud has a lot to be said for it. Share any other nominees you have for Black History Month theme songs, if you would. I'm curious to see what others find as stirring (and/or funky).

There are few things that make a not-pop music snob happier than to sing an old folk tune along with The Cramps with her kids wailing back-up. Give it a try sometime and see if it doesn’t give you a lift on a rough day.

Of course it could just be The Cramps’s version of Shortnin’ Bread, which we tend to sing at the top of our lungs while leaping about the house like mad people, but I’m guessing my little guys howling, “Put on the skillet,” has a lot to do with it.

I could hardly leave you all with a single version of the song. It’s been around for quite a while, you know. You'll find here The Cramps, of course, Taj Mahal, The Ink Spots, and The Beach Boys for your entertainment.

I've included The Andrews Sisters on this one as well, which definitely counts as a cover. You can hear the conscious imitation of "colored" pronunciation in their version. It's an interesting interpretation, however, and has a lot of the Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy to it. Considering the historical context, I'm willing to overlook the condescension that I read into the performance and enjoy the song itself. I hope that you will, too.