This is the twenty-third installments of my weekly blog entry series "5 Songs On Shuffle." I’ll put my iTunes on shuffle and blog about the first five songs that play.
"Mashed Potato Time" - Dee Dee Sharp Maltshop Memories: Jukebox Gems
Ooh, that new dance craze, The Mashed Potato! C'mon baby, let's shimmy to "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" but we'll have to take our socks off, so we don't mark up the gym floor. Ahh, the 1950s, so quaint and darling!
"Breathless" - The Corrs In Blue
Did you know for a good few weeks, I thought this was a Shania Twain song. So embarrassing, I know, but finally a DJ did his job and mentioned who was singing it. But when I bought the CD at the Salvation Army a few years later, I learned why it sounded so Twain-y, it was produced by Shania's hubby/producer "Mutt" Lange. Makes sense now! That's why I prefer to own the CD instead of download, you get the CD booklet with all that interesting (at least to me) information.
"Lead Me On" - Amy Grant Lead Me On
Believe it or not, this is my favorite song of all time. I can't explain it, it's one of Amy's better tracks for sure and I do love me some Christian pop. But it's not what most people would expect. Maybe that's why I like it, to keep people guessing.
"When I Kissed The Teacher" - ABBA More Gold
This is an prime example of why the Swedes do pop music better than anybody else. The lyrics are ridiculous, but so catchy. Apparently the intent of kissing the teacher was to embarrass him, only instead they both realized they were in love? Mary Kay Letourneau, much?
"Doo Wop (That Thing)" - Lauryn Hill The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill
I've been in love with Lauryn Hill since I saw her in Sister Act 2, and I think The Fugees version of "Killing Me Softly" is almost as good as the Roberta Flack version. But it was in the car with my cousin Jen and her cassette of the Grammy Nominees that I first heard "Doo Wop (That Thing)" and I was amazed. It's just so funky and cool, and the lyrics were not the normal pop or R&B thing.
Showing posts with label The Corrs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Corrs. Show all posts
Monday, August 25, 2008
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Betwixt The Covers: The Mixtape
Mixwit.com is a fierce website brought to my attention a while ago on the Pop Candy blog, which is a must-read blog for pop culture junkies like me. You can create a digital mixtape, which can then be posted on a blog like this one, (or on your MySpace or Facebook or personal website) I finally had time to sit down and make a mixtape of cover songs that I love, and add a spicy title: Betwixt The Covers.
Some of these are naughty hip-hop songs covered in a more earnest style, like Jill Sobule's folksy take on Nelly's "Hot In Herre" or Alanis's emo-piano version of Black Eyed Peas ode to T&A, "My Humps." Others find the emotional connection in a fluffy pop song and twist it's heartbreaking core, like Grizzly Bear's Daniel Rossen does to JoJo's "Too Little Too Late."
Some are just brilliant takes on brilliant songs, like k. d. lang's masterful cover of Leonard Cohen's modern standard "Hallelujah" or the way Petra Haden recreates Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" (guitar solos and all) using only her voice. Mary J Blige proves that you just need to add a soulful black lady to any song to improve it, just look at her version of "One" by U2. The most beautiful nonsense song of modern times, "Stars Go Blue" by Ryan Adams gets a shimmery pop sheen from Irish group The Corrs. Bryan Adams' "Heaven" was remade into a dance floor anthem a few years ago by DJ Sammy, but the Candlelight Remix is a stunning piano ballad version that will bring a tear to your eyes.
Other's just switch up the gender vocals without disturbing the gender pronouns, like the Artic Monkey's drumtastic reading of Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good" or the Of Montreal version of M.I.A.'s cover of "Jimmy" from the Bollywood film Disco Dancer. It's often just straight up fun, like Britney Spear's "Toxic" covered by Mark Ronson, with a filthy rap from the late Ol' Dirty Bastard, which defies description.
I could have done a mixtape of just David Cook's brilliant covers from American Idol, like "Little Sparrow" and "Billie Jean", but I already did that for three people this week. Instead I'm just including the cover that could have been a radio hit by Goo Goo Dolls or Lifehouse, his take on Mariah Carey's torchy stalker anthem "Always Be My Baby"
And what cover collection would be complete without Rihanna's "Umbrella"? I went with the version that conveyed the most emotion, by Manic Street Preachers, but you can find covers by Marie Digby, Tegan & Sara, Plain White T's, My Chemical Romance and Mandy Moore elsewhere online.
Some of these are naughty hip-hop songs covered in a more earnest style, like Jill Sobule's folksy take on Nelly's "Hot In Herre" or Alanis's emo-piano version of Black Eyed Peas ode to T&A, "My Humps." Others find the emotional connection in a fluffy pop song and twist it's heartbreaking core, like Grizzly Bear's Daniel Rossen does to JoJo's "Too Little Too Late."
Some are just brilliant takes on brilliant songs, like k. d. lang's masterful cover of Leonard Cohen's modern standard "Hallelujah" or the way Petra Haden recreates Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" (guitar solos and all) using only her voice. Mary J Blige proves that you just need to add a soulful black lady to any song to improve it, just look at her version of "One" by U2. The most beautiful nonsense song of modern times, "Stars Go Blue" by Ryan Adams gets a shimmery pop sheen from Irish group The Corrs. Bryan Adams' "Heaven" was remade into a dance floor anthem a few years ago by DJ Sammy, but the Candlelight Remix is a stunning piano ballad version that will bring a tear to your eyes.
Other's just switch up the gender vocals without disturbing the gender pronouns, like the Artic Monkey's drumtastic reading of Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good" or the Of Montreal version of M.I.A.'s cover of "Jimmy" from the Bollywood film Disco Dancer. It's often just straight up fun, like Britney Spear's "Toxic" covered by Mark Ronson, with a filthy rap from the late Ol' Dirty Bastard, which defies description.
I could have done a mixtape of just David Cook's brilliant covers from American Idol, like "Little Sparrow" and "Billie Jean", but I already did that for three people this week. Instead I'm just including the cover that could have been a radio hit by Goo Goo Dolls or Lifehouse, his take on Mariah Carey's torchy stalker anthem "Always Be My Baby"
And what cover collection would be complete without Rihanna's "Umbrella"? I went with the version that conveyed the most emotion, by Manic Street Preachers, but you can find covers by Marie Digby, Tegan & Sara, Plain White T's, My Chemical Romance and Mandy Moore elsewhere online.
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