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.

In case you were unaware, Eels dropped a new album today--"Wonderful, Glorious". You know what that means: Eels for the evening! I'm sharing Peach Blossom because it's got a great, fuzzy bass line and...well, actually I'm not sharing it with you directly because I can't embed it. You'll have to click over to SoundCloud because the label did not allow embedding.

Instead, have a great older Eels song, one that my kids adore. Maybe it's the line that says "It's alright to act like a turd". Whatever the case, I Like Birds has become not only a family favorite but a bit of a catchphrase when buying time or changing the subject. It's also a great dancing-around-the-living-room song. Until I get my digital hands on a widget for the new stuff, have some older Eels to tide you over.

I like birds.

To be fair, only my eldest really likes Uh. It's something of an earworm for him and he'll burst into guttural song in the least likely of places. Naturally, I join him while the youngest sticks his fingers in his ears and hubby moves over somewhere he can pretend he's never met us.

And so I offer you this evening a great groove from a pair of wacky gents, Fujiya & Miyagi as they're known. If you have a chance to enjoy it publicly, at greater-than-moderate volume, while dancing, so much the better!

Bundy is one of those songs that I don't really understand how it came into regular rotation at our house. I believe it was the misapprehension that the leader screams "shut your freezer" in the chorus. That spawns a silly conversation every time it comes on around here.

If I remember correctly the song came to our attention via one video game or another. We jam to the song plenty but somehow I never felt it necessary to find more from such an angry, somewhat creepy band. If you're not familiar with Animal Alpha, would you guess that Bundy is pretty representative of their sound? I'll do some digging one of these days and let you know if it is.

To be fair, my kids like the Me First and the Gimme Gimmes version of Country Roads and they tolerate the John Denver original because they already know all the words. Seeing them sing along if it pops onto the muzac somewhere is truly a treat, particularly if there are some older folks around who still remember John Denver as that sweet boy and never realized he was high most of the time.

But I couldn't post Me First without John Denver, and then when I went to get them I bumped into Toots & the Maytals doing a great reggae version. Well, you know I couldn't stop at three so I started finding more.

I apologize in advance for the David Hasselhoff cover. I just couldn't resist (okay, you're right: I didn't try very hard). The Foggy Mountain Rockers have a pretty good groove going but the lead singer sounds like English is his second language, so bizarre is his accent. Heck, for all I know it is.

The jazzy version from Chick Corea et al sounds pretty much nothing like Country Roads, which makes it just about par for the course. The Olivia Newton-John cover makes you want to stab yourself in the eye with a pixie stick, so very sweet it is, while Ray Charles does a pretty weird country version that just leaves you shaking your head and wondering what meds he was on that day.

Naturally, Willie Nelson does a lovely job, as does Dolly Parton, at least after the shrieking banshee opening that she either stole from or inspired in Olivia Newton-John. And then there's Rednex. Yup, there they are, like Mannheim Steamroller taken over by hillbillies. Enjoy, all!

You know you’re around a Dead Milkmen fan when a story ends with, “Pow! He was decapitated!” Well, in my house he was decaffeinated because we don’t want to traumatize our kids. Of course, the dire consequences of depriving someone of their caffeine remain the same: head over by the sno-cone concession.

If you want to see the full “lyrics” of Stuart, I’ve got those somewhere else. Here, I’d just like to express how much I adore it when my children say to one of their friends, “You know what, [insert name here]? I like you.” The other kids don’t get it but it makes me grin like a fool every time.

Have a listen to Stuart and understand why "Beelzebubba" will always be the Dead Milkmen’s best album. You are, of course, free to disagree, with specific song recommendations to refute my nomination. Then again, you’re more than welcome to cheer my selection with a hearty “hear, hear!” I’d love to hear from you either way.

I don't actually know how anyone could not like Three Legged Dog. Firewater puts enough attitude and enough bounce into the song to get anyone moving. And then there's the "woo woo".

Sorry, I don't have any more to add except that my kids get a great swagger going when they're singing this song. I admit they may have learned it from me.

Imagine, if you will, a young Robert Downey, Jr. in a movie with Rodney Dangerfield. Certainly, this movie requires watching at least once, correct? Now imagine further that an enormous Oingo Boingo fan, all unawares, does so.

In case you have no clue to what I’m referring, it’s Back to School and I was the fan in question. Somehow Danny Elfman’s involvement with the movie had escaped my attention. Imagine my delight when I recognized his signature sound in the score. That was dwarfed by the party scene, when the whole band appeared onstage and performed Dead Man’s Party.

I both hoped and feared that would presage a rush of popularity for the band but, outside of some massive radio play for that song and Weird Science, nothing much changed for them. Their albums were as hard as ever to find (back in the dark days of pre-Internet radio) and their biggest fan base stayed out in California where I happened to be living at the time.

I’ve stayed faithful to my love of Oingo Boingo and of Dead Man’s Party and I’ve passed that love on to my offspring. They know all the words and we sing along with gusto in the car which has, as I’m sure you imagine, led to some fantastic looks at stop lights when I’ve got the top down.

Have a listen to Dead Man’s Party and, if you’ve never seen Back to School, look it up on Netflix or something. It’s not high cinema but it’s a fun flick and you get some truly epic 80s fashion along with great music and an adorably-young Mr. Downey, Jr.

Many, many moons ago one of my first posts on The NPJ was The Bumblebee Tuna Song as re-imagined by Mephiskapheles. In part, I chose it because my family enjoys the song so much that I wanted to share it with everyone. When I started this blog I finally had a way to do that, in an admittedly limited way.

As the only thing included in that post was a cheesy anime compilation video that didn't even show you the band, I thought I'd give you a nice, clean album version. As I close in on 1,000 posts here I'm looking back to see what I did badly at the beginning and trying to give you nicer things. Take this lovely jingle, piled with horns and goofy guys singing like girls, and enjoy.

What do you get when you cross Devo with ska-punk? That’s a pretty stupid question, as you pretty much get Devo. But you could get The Aquabats, which is where I was going with that until I realized it didn’t make any sense.

Skip that first paragraph. The Cat with Two Heads captured the imagination of my children from an early age, the more so when our ever-so-friendly cat showed us why we were the most popular on the block with all the strays. The youngest asked me if next time we could get her to have a kitten with two heads and I had to play this song for him again so that he would understand why that was a bad idea. That distracted him from my assertion that there would not be a next time because the vet was going to "fix" her.

So for today I’m sharing the bizarre fun that is The Aquabats, nerd rock to the core and proud of it. Should enjoy The Cat with Two Heads and seek out more, be aware that the matching spandex costumes are customary for the band. See, I told you they were like Devo.

As you may imagine, music plays pretty constantly around my house. If I’m not listening to a little bit of everything my husband has something a little more hard-core on for our enjoyment. But on those occasions when my kids aren’t around music they sing their own. What comes out of their little mouths, like Ghost of Stephen Foster, can be a big surprise.

This is one of those times when a parent can really feel proud: the tiny ones learned an appreciation of neo-pseudo-swing early and it has stuck with them. For every time they subject me to Top 40 pop I find a way to get them in my car and wield my mp3 player with skill and subtlety to broaden their captive little horizons.

I thought I’d start this series as a way to share with you my little successes (along with songs more songs I love). Ghost of Stephen Foster gets to be first because the video played as much a part in my children’s love of the song as the lyrics, the horns, and the plunking bass. That gives me an excuse to share it with you! At least it’s one thing I’ve done right as a parent. I’ll be going back to label a few other songs I know I’ve posted, as well, so keep an eye on the Songs My Kids Like series!

It hasn’t been all that long since my recent post about Firewater but I had to share again. Since we got our greedy fingers on the album “The Golden Hour” my family has been dancing around and singing, “Hey, Borneo” at inappropriate moments. In my last post I included the last track on the disc—Three-Legged Dog—but I hadn’t yet heard the first. Suffice it to say that it immediately went on my mp3 player and I intend, when my convertible gets out of the shop, to share Borneo with half the residents in town. You can say you heard it here first. (Unless, that is, you’ve already heard it but don’t tell anyone if that’s the case, okay? We wouldn’t want folks to think I’m behind the curve.)

I hereby nominate Borneo as the most fun war protest song since Alice's Restaurant. It doesn't include circles and arrows on the back of each one or a Group W bench but it also doesn't last eighteen-plus minutes. There's a trade-off for everything, you know. At any rate, take a listen and judge for yourself. It's actually better than the Draft Dodger Rag, I swear!

I've bracketed the entire recording career of Firewater in this post to give you an idea of how much awesome you've missed. Twelve years, six albums, and you may never have heard of the band. That, my darlings, is my bread and butter. When I Burn This Place Down was released on their first album, "Get Off the Cross...We Need the Wood for the Fire" in 1996. 'Way back then, Firewater sounded more like Gogol Bordello than the native New Yorkers they are (at least, I think they are. The web seems to lack details on the origins of the gents in question beyond their other bands and projects.) Fast forward to 2008 and you get Three-Legged Dog, a fabulous song in its own right and a clear evolution of the sound to something cleaner but still retaining the energy and verve of the original album. That's the sort of progression I like to hear: better but still themselves.

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.