The Not-Pop Jukebox

In reposting from five years ago, I keep finding playlists that I created in Grooveshark that have all disappeared into an abyss never to be seen again. They included as many as forty versions of or thematically related songs that I spent hours curating. Ring of Fire was one of the first, and it was blessedly short!

Happily, the song and its covers have not paled over time. My family still sings it at full volume when shuffle blesses us with a version. Here's hoping the rest of my recreations go as smoothly! Here's the original post and the new video playlist with the addition of the actual original from Anita Carter and a couple of other great burning covers (don't miss DragonForce and don't look for Coldplay--this is the Not-Pop Jukebox, you know).

I feel that I should start with a disclaimer that I don’t watch American Idol. I do, however, like many of Johnny Cash’s songs and Ring of Fire in particular. It caught my eye that one of the contestants performed a very unusual version of that song last night and the wildly varying opinions led me to watch the video.

While I wasn’t crazy about the arrangement, the many posts and comments that I read expressing the opinion that Johnny Cash was spinning in his grave made me go looking for even more versions of Ring of Fire. I suspect that The Man in Black would have given the contestant a hearty pat on the back for taking such chances rather than being offended by the unusual interpretation. Of all of the country stars whose songs he could have chosen, I think Cash is the most likely to enjoy such a creative rendition.

Consider these versions of Ring of Fire, most of which were recorded while Mr. Cash was still alive (and, for the better-known acts, almost certainly with his permission). Try Grace Jones’ reggae-tinged version, Ray Charles’ soulful cover, or Blondie’s punk-country take on it. I’ve included Johnny Cash himself at the end (he's at the beginning, now), for a reminder of how it originally sounded. There’s a bit of nasty language in the Social Distortion cover, so if that will upset you then you may want to skip it.

It's time to plug the Not-Pop Jukebox back in, and what better way to do that than to go back to my first song and re-post the song with a new way to listen to it? As far as I can tell, no alternative to the wonders that were Grooveshark are going to arise and I miss posting so we're going with videos. The post went thus (I used to be more succinct):

I remember when Dance the Night Away was a old David-Lee-Roth-era Van Halen tune. I can admit that I rather liked it then; I'm old enough not to blush about my occasional enjoyment of hair band hits. But the song was due for an update. Along came the Forces of Evil in 2003, with their ska rendition of the song on the album "Friend or Foe".

I'll add to my original blurb that Dance the Night Away was Van Halen's first hit, when I was but a wee music fan, and that the story behind it could only have come from a group that paid their dues playing dive bars. Whoever that woman was that inspired the song, the world of rock and roll thanks you.

It's surprising how many people think Howard Jones was a one-hit wonder, based entirely on the beautiful Everlasting Love and the lack of other hits from the "Cross That Line" album. Now, I adore the album because Howard Jones has an amazing talent that doesn't get enough appreciation, but I can see why he didn't dance all over the Top 10 with the songs on it.

I spent a good chunk of the 80s basking in the warm, rich sound of Howard Jones and this album saddened me, not because it wasn't beautiful and deep but because I knew it would spell the end of his popularity. By the mid-90s most people had forgotten the hits off "Dream into Action" (and what an amazing crossover that album made) and, when they heard his name, Everlasting Love was the only song they remembered. Ah, well, at least it was a song well worth being known for, even if it was the best you'd ever made.

I try not to overwhelm you all with awesome, Danny-Elfman-filled goodness but some days I just have to share. While Everybody Needs finishes out the theoretically solo 1984 album, "So Lo", we all know it was a record contract dodge and the rest of Oingo Boingo is backing him.

The real question about this album is, "What is it that Everybody Needs?" As with so much Boingo, this album as well, the answer is usually, "A release." It's often, "A way to escape my life," and sometimes, "To know that I'm not the only one." Considering the depth and breadth of bad behavior Elfman and Co. explored over the years, you'd be hard pressed to find something you know better than to do that you keep finding yourself doing that isn't shared by plenty of others.

Of course, now we have the Internet and need Oingo Boingo much less. We can get that reassurance via a simple Google search that will bring us thousands of results to soothe our sense of deviance. Personally, I still like to go back to the old-school way and let Danny Elfman tell me I'm okay.

I defy you, my darlings, to scowl through this song. I double dog dare you to resist the urge to pop your hips with Michael Jackson at the brilliance of the Prado Perez track that is the backing music to Lou Bega's Mambo No. 5. Beat It No. 5 shows you all precisely why I love mashups: Mambo Jackson that somehow still works, though you'd likely never have thought to yourself, "I wonder if the King of Pop ever did the mambo?"

This wondrous piece of smile-inducing mashup gold is, as are all my Mashups of the Month, available free of charge from it's sharp-witted creator, DJ Rozroz. Should you wander over to his profile you will see that he's a wizard with the oldies as well as a fan of the 80s.

I wanted to let you all know that I've begun a page for The NPJ on Google+ where I'm posting some random videos with a little commentary and highlighting posts from the blog. If you're a member over there do let me know so I can get you circled!

As a reward for reading that self-promotion, please enjoy my favorite cover song, at least for the moment. It makes me smile every time, in part because it sounds like they're having so much fun and in part because it's a music-snob guilt-free way to listen to Wake Me Up Before You Go Go. Wham! never had it so good as Shawn Mullins makes it.

It's Nikola Tesla's birthday today, so I thought we should have a song celebrating his contribution to modern science. Sadly, all of the songs I could find sucked. There are, however, always the 80s on which to fall back.

In case you weren't alive back then, you may not know that OMD stands for Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. It's no wonder no one calls the band that. But Tesla Girls is a somewhat nonsensical song that seems to celebrate women of science, or at least women who are interested in electricity. Don't watch the video: it will only confuse you.

Have a listen to some classic OMD from 1984 and do let me know if you have a good Tesla song. I can always use a new one for next year!

Ah, the siren call of women murmuring "you are a powerhouse of love" directly in your ear! Powerhouse, to me, is a love song of the highest order. In part that's because it sounds dirty until you listen to the lyrics and in part it's because of the Howard Jones synth-slaying playing complete with a pounding rhythm. That sounds dirty, too, but in reality a song that makes my honey shake his heiney with me shows what love is all about, because my honey don't dance.

Okay, that may have been TMI, so I'm going to just let you jam to the 80s hit-maker who's still out there doing his thing. Have a listen to Powerhouse and let me know if it's a love song that makes you as happy as it does me.

For Friday, have one of my all-time favorite love songs: Not My Slave. I'm not generally the violins and sweeping gowns type, you know. This one offers that unique Danny Elfman twist (and voice) and a huge Oingo Boingo sound perfect for spinning wildly in the arms of the one you love. Where else can you find lines like, "We make ourselves like clay from someone else's dreams?" Now list to it, darn it! I'm off to dance.

Yet again, a mashup has introduced me to a song I've never heard outside it. I can't help but think the original Eric Hassle song will suffer by comparison. Dan Mei has used Katrina & the Waves cheer that mopey Hassle right up by shining a little sunshine on him. Voila! Hurtful Sunshine.

You can, of course, download it from Dan Mei Productions for free, as with all the mashups I post. As a side note, Mr. Mei and the rest of Mashup Industries has restarted their wonderful site filled with mashes, remixes, and more so you can pick up many of your favorite DJs from the same place. That's got me Walking on Sunshine.

With a big thank you to +Kirk Jordan for reintroducing me to Daniel Amos, I bring you the song that made me think, "I loved these guys!" Rocket Packs sadly still resonates as much today as it did in 1984. Why aren't we living in space? Why are we still so far from love?

While the Devo-esque sound of Rocket Packs couldn't be more 80s (especially as they keep saying, "It's the 80s") don't let it fool you into thinking this is some flash-in-the-pan band. Daniel Amos got together in 1974 and released their most recent album (as far as I can tell) in 2002. As far as I can tell, their sound covers a wide range of genres, including somewhat rockabilly and folk rock as well as something a bit on the harder side. They also have a religious bent that you don't get at all from this song or many of their others, though they really aren't "beat you over the head" about it even on "Bibleland".

At any rate, give Daniel Amos a listen and let me know if you know what happened to those promised Rocket Packs. Share if you've got a favorite song from the band as well!

From time to time it amuses me to realize that there are pop songs out there that I know thought I’ve never heard the original. When I think of Adele, for instance, I think of her as re-imagined by Marc Johnce (with all sorts of pop music) and DJs from Mars (with Robin S). I’ve heard her over thrash metal and slowed down to a lady Barry White. I have no idea how the song is “supposed” to sound.

Daft Beatles mashed Rolling in the Deep with Sweet Dreams. DJ Maya Jakobson added some classical and some Britney Spears to make ‘Til the Swan Lose Deep Control. Dan Mei chose to lay Adele over Fire and Flames to give her that 200-bpm, flame-broiled bite. ShyBoy slowed her and rolled her with Underworld to make Born in the Deep (Rolling Slippy).

Then there's Ryan Nellis, who rolled Adele through the Eye of the Tiger and the one that slew me, the piece de resistance, Wick-it the Instigator's Rolling in the Fire, which takes Rolling in the Deep and gives it some deep funk.

Naturally, you can download all of these for free. Just click the links above. I've got a set at SoundCloud so that you can hear them but Dan Mei's track isn't there so you get that one on a separate player. Have a listen and let me know which you like best, or if you're true to the original.

While Trout Fishing in America has more in common with Flight of the Conchords than they do Simon and Garfunkel, they did improve upon a wonderfully fun song that I thought I ought to share with you all. It's one of the few coffee songs I haven't posted.

I like this version better than the album version because they're not trying to get the audience to sing along. I would like them to keep going faster and faster at the end until they trip over their own tongues, though. That would be wildly entertaining.

At any rate, have a Proper Cup of Coffee with Trout Fishing in America. Whatever you do don't listen to the Andrews Sisters version of the song. It's dreadful. One would have thought they didn't have a copper pot between them!

I thought it might be nice to post a little wake-up music for that dude who's been out for a couple of days. What better to welcome him back than a cautionary tale about the dangers of Big Brother from Oingo Boingo? In case that was too obscure, Wake Up (It's 1984).

Now, when the "Good for Your Soul" album dropped in 1983 people naturally assumed it was a song about the following year. I heard this quite a bit in 1984 and then people thought it was stupid and dated and stopped listening to it. Those people clearly don't read.

Happily, I was just at the right age for Orwell and so read 1984 and Animal Farm right about this time. Naturally, the song speaks to me, more so every year--or at least ever legislative session. So, happy Jesus wake up day to you all and have a little Boingo to get you going.

Of late, no one seems to know the difference between "jive" and "jibe". For those of you who want to know how to use jive properly in a sentence, I have eight songs, from across a few decades and at least six genres, to help explain it. Also, I'm fond of making theme posts like this, much like my Big Shuffle list.

Have a listen to The Four Charms and then Grammatik remixing the same song (though the Nat King Cole version). Don your roller skates and jive with the Bee Gees and then take them off again for some 80s goodness from Men at Work. Swing between Guns n' Roses and Mojo Nixon, with a little Screamin' Jay Hawkins thrown in the mix. And if you just can't get enough, pop over to my playlist of Java Jive for a steaming pile of coffee-flavored jive talkin'.

I've got something almost brand new for you for this month's MotM. It's Michael Jackson versus -M-, which turns out to make the King of Pop even poppier (as if that were a word). It doesn't seem possible, but last month had Rick James with extra funk so why not ViC making MJ bounce?

I defy you not to enjoy MoJo to the point of chair dancing strenuously, if not actually getting up and jamming. Go on, click play. And if the track alone doesn't do it for you (don't lie, darlings, I know it did) you can watch the hysterical video mashup as well.

So get ready for a massive, double dose of pop from the Not-Pop Jukebox. Not only can you listen to Mojo, you can download it for free right here thanks to official.fm and ViC.

Once upon a time, Thomas Dolby had an enormous hit and then fell from the chart's graces with an almost-audible thud. That, my dears, was a crying shame. For proof that he had more to offer, have a listen to Hyperactive!, a song that's only gotten more relevant over the decades since it was released.

In case you weren't aware, Mr. Dolby is still out there making great music. Proof? How about "A Map Of The Floating City"? You've got an awful lot of catching up to do.

Partial as I've always been to the phrase "knee-deep in the hoopla", and as often as I danced my fool head off to We Built This City, I have a challenger to Jefferson Starship's ownership of city building songs. While Bright Lights Social Hour didn't specify in their song title, that's what Bare Hands, Bare Feet is about: building a city.

And so I ask you, my darlings, to listen to the song back-to-back (because, if you're like me, you'd forgotten how interesting the lyrics for We Built This City actually are) and tell me which you think more inspiring for the builders among us. Also, dance. Both songs are worthy and I won't tell anyone.

Sometimes I forget that I'm not twenty any longer. Then I'll bump into a song that I love tagged with a reminder of how old it is. Once in a Lifetime is one of those songs. The story goes like this:

Once upon a time, cable television was a bit of a novelty. Then some geniuses decided that they should take this new-ish medium and make a station that played music videos all day, except for short breaks for news about music. It was the most amazing thing I had seen in my to-that-point short life. One of the videos that enjoyed heavy rotation was Once in a Lifetime.

That was 32 years ago.

A better part of the story goes like this: Brian Eno and David Byrne make amazing music together. The Talking Heads recorded some of what they wrote and Once in a Lifetime still stands as the best of those songs.

Now story time is over. You young whipper-snappers have a listen and find out what MTV was for, 'way back then, and then realize that David Byrne and Brian Eno are still making amazing music together. Go find it.

I'm feeling old-school tonight so I'm reaching way back to 1985 for Slick Rick (then known as MC Ricky D) and Doug E. Fresh. La Di Da Di came out on the B side of The Show but, despite the "six minutes" ear worm the latter engendered, I think it's a more fun song.

La Di Da Di has been sampled and referenced by everyone from Beyonce and PSY to Sublime and Mos Def. It's also been covered by Snoop Dogg and Korn. If you're looking for a building block to basic 80s hip hop knowledge, you can't beat Slick Rick and Doug E Fresh.

The best part of the song, however, is the silly story it tells of a day in the life of Slick Rick. If you want more early hip hop (and who doesn't?) I've got 29 more songs that'll take you back to the days when you could understand every word and the backbeats were simple. In the meantime, have a listen to La Di Da Di and tell me if you think this was a true story.