As I have mentioned before, due to unresolved issues with box.net I am currently in the process of changing hosts for the songs. This has drastic implications for this blog as it means that come July 1st (Wednesday) the vast majority of the song links on this blog will die. Let me repeat that.
On Wednesday all the songs on this blog will become unavailable! Download them NOW!!!
It’s a regrettable situation and if you keep reading you’ll see a way you can help make it less catastrophic. The simple face remains though that I do not have the time to reupload everything. I will probably just do the past month or so and take down all other links. That is over a year and a half’s worth of songs that will be gone on Wednesday. Download them while you still can.
To ease your pain (and my guilt) I have prepared this step-by-step guide to take you through archives to find what you want. Time is running out, so make your move.
A Guide to the Cover Me Archives
1. Scroll down and look at the long lists of artists on the right-hand side. Click on any one to see all the songs I have posted with them, whether they were the coverer or the covered. Bear in mind that the number next to the name is how many posts they are in, not how many songs. For instance there’s a “1” next to Captain Beefheart, but that one post contains ten separate Beefheart covers.
2. Don’t miss the Cover Commissions songs here. These are songs recorded specifically for this blog and they’re top notch.
3. Check out the Full Album covers. They’re my favorite part of the blog, and I hate to see those links die. So to make it easy for you, here are links to all the albums I have covered so far.
The Beatles – Revolver
Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man (links dead)
Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited
Bob Dylan – John Wesley Harding (links dead)
Fleetwood Mac – Rumours
Grateful Dead – Workingman’s Dead
Michael Jackson – Thriller
Metallica – Master of Puppets
Randy Newman – Sail Away
Nirvana – Nevermind
Pixies – Doolittle
Radiohead – In Rainbows
The Rolling Stones – Beggars Banquet
Bruce Springsteen – Born in the U.S.A.
Tom Waits – Mule Variations
Weezer – Weezer (Blue Album)
The Who – Who’s Next
Neil Young – On the Beach
4. Look at the “Blog Archive” on the right. Open various tabs and see what themes look interesting to you. A couple of my personal favorites have been Masturbation, Uncoverables, Best of 2008 Again and Wordless Hooks.
5. Go here to see all the Cover News posts. The links to other sites will continue to work, but scroll to the bottom of each post for that week’s crop of songs submitted by the artists. Support artists sharing their music by checking out their tunes!
6. Go nuts.
How You Can Help
Most links will die. I’ve accepted this. I wish I had to time and energy to reupload everything, but that would be a massive undertaking. However, if any of you are so inclined you can help. I certainly do not want to place an undue burden on your shoulders, but if there is any post in which you download all the songs, why not put ‘em all in a zip file and upload them to rapidshare or mediafire or the like? Post the link to the collection in the comments or email it to me and I will update the original post so the songs are available once more.
Anyone who gets a chance to do this even for one post will earn the eternal gratitude of me and everyone who stumbles across the post later. If anyone does this for several posts, maybe I’ll come up with a prize or something. You pick the week’s theme, or you pick the songs, or anything really. Just a little extra incentive to encourage those of you generous enough with your time to help out.
That’s all for now. Happy downloading, and thank you all for your support and understanding. Keep checking back for new posts, new tunes, and new discoveries.
PS. Here’s a song that seems appropriate:
The Social Services – The Final Countdown (Europe)
