Covering Black Friday

It's here again. That day we celebrate the birth of Our Lord and Savior by shanking the rotten bastard who bought the last singing bass at Wal-Mart. I'm going to celebrate the holiday a couple of ways with a little music this year.

First, you all know how I love covers, so let's put together another playlist featuring our favorites. I have only one rule for this. Don't repeat songs you've added to previous cover lists.

I'm going to start out with what is currently my favorite cover, Anouk's version of REM's Losing my Religion. Yes, Anouk's a furriner (Dutch), but by God she sings like a merikun.

Next, I'm going to go with three remakes of Beatles tunes from the Across the Universe soundtrack. My inner Frenchman loved that film, and while, like Moulin Rouge, it was heavily panned by critics for being little more than a music video, my inner-Frenchman says, "So fucking what, it was a fantastic long-form music video." The imagery was breathtaking and the approach they took to the songs refreshingly creative. Imagine I Want You sung at an military induction center, the juxtaposition of Vietnam and a breakup for Strawberry Fields (Yes, it sounds crazy, but you have to see it--beautiful), and a small town lesbian cheerleader mournfully singing I want Hold your Hand as an anthem for her unrequited love.

I'm picking my favorite three from that soundrack: Woods' and Mitchum's gospel rendition of Let it Be, the T.V. Carpio version of I Want to Hold Your Hand I mentioned earlier and Dana Fuch's Joplinesque take on Why Don't We Do It In The Road.

Oh, I almost forgot Mary J. Blige's cover of U2's One. I'm listening to it a lot lately. Beautiful. I guess it still qualifies as a cover if she sings it with U2, doesn't it.

we want to hear your contributions. The playlist is called Covering The Holidays.. You can add or search for songs here (provided you haven't added them to previous lists).

username: jcchristian
password: ourmusic

                  

Dancing Liberally (Black Friday Edition)

Tonight we'll move our Black Friday Celebration out to Cafe Wellstone, my inner Frenchman's place Second Life, with a Black Friday Edition of Dancing Liberally. As always, DJ Rocky the Yak player will be spinning the bytes and only punishing us with Bobby Goldborough's Honey or Donny Osmond's Puppy Love when we are bad. Dick! Cheney will be on hand behind the bar again this week, waiting for someone to shoot him in the face with a duck.

Dress up as your favorite Christmas gift, Christmas character, Walmart manager, angry consumer, or just wear black.