They Say It’s Your Birthday celebrates an artist’s special day with other people singing his or her songs. Let others do the work for a while. Happy birthday!
Since the age of 22, Rivers Cuomo has headed up one of the world’s most beloved alternative rock bands: Weezer. For the last 20 years, Weezer has guided millions of angsty youths through glorious highs, soul-shattering lows and everything in between with hits like “Island In The Sun,” “Say It Ain’t So” and “Hash Pipe.” Continue reading »
I spent this past weekend sick in bed (Woo! Start the pity party!) so that inspired this theme.
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: My server got mad at me for hosting too many files on it and cut off my access. So I will be switching to box.net, but until I move all the files over the next couple days the posts below this will not work.
La Lupe – Fever (Peggy Lee)
A Cuban swing version of this oft-covered staple, it’s got as much balls as a female vocalist can naturally muster. Turns out she’s got a pretty sweet bio too; check out the non-academia-approved version here.
Jill Sobule – Don’t Let Us Get Sick (Warren Zevon)
It’s not one of Zevon’s better-known tunes, but this cover is absolutely gorgeous, a mournful prayer all the more heart-wrenching when you realized Zevon did get sick, and died, far too young. Off the excellent Enjoy Every Sandwich tribute album.
The White Stripes – Love Sick (Bob Dylan)
Everything I like about Jack White in this song: slow singing, organ playing turning into guitar freak-out, banshee screaming, and singing Dylan. Doesn’t get better than that.
The Lounge-O-Lizards – Flagpole Sitta (Harvey Danger)
The artist name should tell you all you need to know about this cover.
Richard Cheese – Down With the Sickness (Disturbed)
What, two novelty easy-listening lounge covers in one post? Yeah, deal with it.
Michael McDaeth – Pennyroyal Tea (Nirvana)
Sounds somewhat like Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged version, but with a singer doing his best Neil Young impression.
“Weird Al” Yankovic – Germs (Nine Inch Nails…sort of)
This isn’t a cover or parody of any specific song, but what Al calls a “style parody,” a cover of a song they should have done. It sounds like their sound, as is no more paranoid than anything Trent would write.
The Delta Cross Band – Legionnaire’s Disease (Bob Dylan)
Another Dylan one, this is hard to compare to the original as there is no original. If Dylan ever recorded it, no recording circulates. This version is good enough to be definitive though.
Status Quo – Getting Better (The Beatles)
What I hope to do. If you thought the production of Sgt. Pepper’s was glossy, this takes it to the next level, making it sound like a TV holiday special.