The middle-aged dummies are forming a band called "Blanket"! It's a cover band. (1 Viewer)

[Eephus]

Well, I didn't actually see it. Stayed in San Jose and didn't get north of Levi's, so happy to hear I was just cruising a bad section. Since you're close to the restaurant mentioned earlier, you're about 10-12 blocks down Van Ness from his offices where I started my digital driving around.

That part of Van Ness is on the edge of the Tenderloin. It's always been a sketchy part of town although the homeless population has definitely increased in the past decade.

That 1000-1200 section of Van Ness is a block and a half away from one of the coolest music venues in town. The Great American Music Hall dates back to the 1906 earthquake and has been booking shows since the early 70s. We're going to see the post-Shelley Buzzcocks there in a couple of weeks.

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

Sneak previewing my Top 16 Abba Covers
16 - You wont have heard of the artist and may not have even heard the song
15 - Another Swedish metal band does an audacious take on latter Abba song. This closes off the fun section
14 - A medley of 4 Abba songs, done by 5 artists. With love
13- One of the biggest one hit wonders of all time, had an Abba track as the B Side
12- This will be the song I write the most about. By a lot. On Abbas last album. Its an absolute ripper and so mysterious. Not anything like youve hear from Abba before. The cover is by a band who had a monster european hit with another song
11- You don’t often get the first lady of a country releasing an album. She does & it includes an Abba cover. One of their most famous songs
10- One of the most professional covers of an Abba song. It reached number one in many places in its own right
9- 90s girl power pop band do an awesome cover that exceeds the original early Abba song
8- A musical theatre star does an awesome cover of one of Abbas most enduring songs
7- A recently departed musician does a depressing but beautiful cover of one of Abbas most intricate songs
6- This artist is a superstar, but reigns this cover in when this artist was at her artistic peak
5- Abba didnt do many instrumentals and to place the cover this high, it must be good. It is.
4- The most surprising cover on my list. The original song is ok, but this cover just smashes it out of the park.
3- A superstar in another field does an amazing job on one of their most emotional songs. If you are a parent.
2- This cover sounds nothing like the original, but does sound like band covering it. In every unique way possible. Magnificent
1- Abba were very suspicious of this band covering their material. But its done with 100% love and magnificence. The EP was a deserved global hit and any of the tracks on it, deserved a high place here. But this is the best.

 

[scorchy]

When I was invited to go to that playoff game, I clicked on the google map of San Francisco. I wanted a better idea of the location of my buddy's offices. I hit street view. If you ever visited SF between the 80s and 00s, you know what a beautiful city it is. If it comes up in conversation, I alway call it the most beautiful city in the country. Maybe one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Wow, that street view made me sad. I couldn't stop virtual driving the streets. Homeless, trash, grafiti. I'd been told it was. I know what's happened to parts of LA, but this was much worse. Oakland has to be even worse.

SF is still a beautiful city unless you're downtown. It's a walkable, bikeable city of neighborhoods with unique character (and characters).

Downtown was hit hard by the quadruple blow of the pandemic, remote work, layoffs in tech and the death of retail. It's incredible what a ghost town it is now. I worked downtown for my entire career and it used to be busy and vibrant during the work week. It was always kind of dead on evenings and weekends but the loss of the daytime crowd and their money has started the doom loop.

Cities always change and it'll be interesting to see what happens next. SF retains its advantages of location and climate and continues to be a destination for young, creative people.

When I visited SF for the time in ages (like since the late 90s) in 2023, I was definitely a bit shocked. My local friend asked me what I thought and I sent a pic from our corner room at the St. Francis and said "It's still the prettiest city I've ever visited from 30 floors up." It's a shame - my agency has an office near 7th and Market and it's the only one in the Dept that has been given approval for permanent telework, as folks that had worked their for years just don't feel safe.

All that said, even staying downtown, I still love your city I tend to walk everywhere, and even with all the chaos around the tenderloin, it never feels remotely as dangerous as Baltimore. Sure, when I was waiting outside for our table at Zuni, two dudes were screaming and throwing bottles at each other, but it just made me sad instead of scared. So in the end, I walk, and Mrs. Scorchy takes an Uber, and we're both content.

 

[scorchy]

Just a few notes on my last two selections:

Handle with Care - Jenny Lewis (Traveling Wilburys): I'm not gonna lie and say I think this is as good as the original, but if you squint hard enough, maybe it's a decent representation of the early aughts indie version of the Wilburys: Jenny Lewis, Ben Gibbard, M. Ward, and Conor Oberst. Definitely better looking, though that's a pretty low bar.

He Stopped Loving Her Today - Leon Russell (George Jones): with apologies to Steve Goodman/David Allan Coe, this is the perfect country and western song. Pretty straightforward take, though I do like how Leon sings the third verse in contrast to ol' George's talking. I can't near this and not think of Shining Path. Ages ago, Beckster* was telling George Jones stories from all the time she spent living in Nashville - they mainly involved drunkenness, car crashes, and no-shows. We started chatting about this particular song and I said how it was one of the saddest stories ever put to music. Shiney chimed in with "Whaddya mean? He finally got over her..." Beck responded - "Yeah, because he died, dude." Poor shiney was gobsmacked. i just took that as proof that sometimes even the smartest and kindest people you know can still totally miss the boat.

 

[Mt. Man]

#17 Chandelier - Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox (Sia)
Youtube video of cover
Original: Spotify; Youtube
Bonus version (see below): Spotify ' Youtube

Postmodern Jukebox (PMJ) is lengthy to describe. Modern-ish songs done in more of a classic style, sometimes one more appropriate for fifty years before the song was recorded. Some of the band stays from song to song, but you can listen to several in a row (or even an entire album) without necessarily hitting the same singer twice. So let me go off-script and give full credits here:

Vocals - Dani Armstrong. Guitar - Mike Chisnall. Sax - Jacob Scesney. Trumpet - Mike Cottone. Trombone - Lemar Guillary. Bass - Ian Solomon. Drums - Martin Diller. Piano - Scott Bradlee. For comparison, they did another version of the same song (see links above) roughly five years prior that was more bare bones, with violin, cello, drums and Scott again on piano. The singer that crosses over with the #18s? Puddles Pity Party. I can only imagine the surprised reaction had he showed up twice. It wasn't in the cards, though.

I've seen the travelling troupe of PMJ twice, so it's fair to say that I enjoy several of their covers. Maybe I'll link a few; I have to think that PMJ won't show up much to at all going forward. Though they did in the Last 5 out, so who's to say? Anyway, my point is that my choice for which cover might make my list was clear and simple. I can't really compare it to Sia's; probably a bit too apples and oranges. As far as Sia's version goes, Scoresman covered (ha?) that well, and I've already gone long for me, so I'll wrap up here.

At #16, a duet we've only seen once... so far. Without knowing, I'd have to bet that others put this in more of a high-and-mighty position.

 

[Eephus]

15.ee - Glen Campbell - "Times Like These" (Foo Fighters cover)

The original: This song is from Foo Fighters' third album One By One (2002). It's one of their poppier melodies spiced up with the band's driving rhythms and twin guitar attack. It was released as a single and made the usual peripheral charts but 2002 wasn't a good year for Rock bands on the Hot 100. This song made @Just Win Baby top five Foo Fighters songs in the first MAD single artist countdown. There's also a popular acoustic version of the song but the original electric band version provides a better contrast with the cover.

The cover: Campbell covered the song on his excellent 2008 album Meet Glen Campbell which also features songs by Tom Petty, Green Day, U2 and The Replacements. His version recasts "Time Like These" in the expansive style of one of his 60s Pop hits. He makes the song his own and shows the poppy loveliness of the song's melody. The lyrics of the chorus gained extra poignancy when Campbell and his family revealed he'd been suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Is the cover better than the original?: The cover is a great example of an artist taking a very familiar original and making it his own. But I'm going with the original here because it's such a great fusion of Rock and Pop. I also know how beloved the Foos are on this board and I don't want to trigger anyone by picking a Glen Campbell song instead. One thing I will say about the cover is the way it ends is better than the Foo Fighters version which sort of grinds to its conclusion.

Times Like These

Foo Fighters · Song · 2002

open.spotify.com

Times Like These

Foo Fighters · Song · 2002

open.spotify.com

Running scoreboard: Originals 8 - Covers 7

 

[Scoresman]

#17 Chandelier - Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox (Sia)
Youtube video of cover
Original: Spotify; Youtube
Bonus version (see below): Spotify ' Youtube

Postmodern Jukebox (PMJ) is lengthy to describe. Modern-ish songs done in more of a classic style, sometimes one more appropriate for fifty years before the song was recorded. Some of the band stays from song to song, but you can listen to several in a row (or even an entire album) without necessarily hitting the same singer twice. So let me go off-script and give full credits here:

Vocals - Dani Armstrong. Guitar - Mike Chisnall. Sax - Jacob Scesney. Trumpet - Mike Cottone. Trombone - Lemar Guillary. Bass - Ian Solomon. Drums - Martin Diller. Piano - Scott Bradlee. For comparison, they did another version of the same song (see links above) roughly five years prior that was more bare bones, with violin, cello, drums and Scott again on piano. The singer that crosses over with the #18s? Puddles Pity Party. I can only imagine the surprised reaction had he showed up twice. It wasn't in the cards, though.

I've seen the travelling troupe of PMJ twice, so it's fair to say that I enjoy several of their covers. Maybe I'll link a few; I have to think that PMJ won't show up much to at all going forward. Though they did in the Last 5 out, so who's to say? Anyway, my point is that my choice for which cover might make my list was clear and simple. I can't really compare it to Sia's; probably a bit too apples and oranges. As far as Sia's version goes, Scoresman covered (ha?) that well, and I've already gone long for me, so I'll wrap up here.

At #16, a duet we've only seen once... so far. Without knowing, I'd have to bet that others put this in more of a high-and-mighty position.

This is ****ing fantastic and I thank you for posting this. Wow.

Chandelier has become one of my favorite songs and this version is true to the original in the most important way by keeping the emotion and power, but also sounding totally unique.

 

[Scoresman]

In college I went through some questionable phases in music. At one point I was equally into Dave Matthews Band and Marilyn Manson at the same time, for example.

Not many Manson songs have stuck around in my playlists, but the Sweet Dreams cover has. I feel like it explores the darker side of desire, and the cover really fits the band’s style while keeping true to the original.

 

[krista4]

I know I’m way too competitive (I am actually pretty chill now and have figured it out as life has gone on) but if I have a song and someone else took it for lower points than me and gets some positive comments for it, my first reaction isn’t “awesome they like a song, that I like even more” it’s “damn it, I should have ranked that song lower so I could have been the first”.

I am such an idiot lol

As someone observed in an initial M-aD countdown, "If you loved it so much, you should have ranked it lower."

 

[simey]

He Stopped Loving Her Today - Leon Russell (George Jones): with apologies to Steve Goodman/David Allan Coe, this is the perfect country and western song. Pretty straightforward take, though I do like how Leon sings the third verse in contrast to ol' George's talking. I can't hear this and not think of Shining Path. Ages ago, Beckster* was telling George Jones stories from all the time she spent living in Nashville - they mainly involved drunkenness, car crashes, and no-shows. We started chatting about this particular song and I said how it was one of the saddest stories ever put to music. Shiney chimed in with "Whaddya mean? He finally got over her..." Beck responded - "Yeah, because he died, dude." Poor shiney was gobsmacked. i just took that as proof that sometimes even the smartest and kindest people you know can still totally miss the boat.

"Nobody will buy that morbid son of a b*tch." That's what George told his producer when recording the song. It was an instant hit.

 

[krista4]

Greetings from Scottsdale, where I'm struggling to stay awake until 10 for the second night in a row. I don't know what's the matter with me here. Tomorrow is a spring training game and time with extended family, and I get to go home Sunday. Pip, let me know if you need any scouting notes on the Reds or the Rockies.

You're watching baseball in Arizona against your will?

We have a weird league where we vote on which teams to draft from each year. This year the Reds are in but the Rockies aren't (they usually don't make it because their pitchers are useless in fantasy).

Scouting report: One of the Reds pitchers gave up five runs in 2/3 of an inning today. Avoid that guy.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I know I’m way too competitive (I am actually pretty chill now and have figured it out as life has gone on) but if I have a song and someone else took it for lower points than me and gets some positive comments for it, my first reaction isn’t “awesome they like a song, that I like even more” it’s “damn it, I should have ranked that song lower so I could have been the first”.

I am such an idiot lol

As someone observed in an initial M-aD countdown, "If you loved it so much, you should have ranked it lower."

I own ALL the All Along the Watchtowers because I took Neil’s version at 31!

 

[simey]

15.ee - Glen Campbell - "Times Like These" (Foo Fighters cover)

Is the cover better than the original?: The cover is a great example of an artist taking a very familiar original and making it his own. But I'm going with the original here because it's such a great fusion of Rock and Pop. I also know how beloved the Foos are on this board and I don't want to trigger anyone by picking a Glen Campbell song instead. One thing I will say about the cover is the way it ends is better than the Foo Fighters version which sort of grinds to its conclusion.

I like Glen's version best. I like the Foos original too, but this sounds like a Glen Campbell song, and I love him.

 

[simey]

To "own" a song, the one that has the closest to #1 owns it, right?

 

[krista4]

To "own" a song, the one that has the closest to #1 owns it, right?

No.

 

[krista4]

I'm waiting for a deluge of choices for a certain song, but maybe we're all too cantankerous to have chosen it?

We will have a deluge for one, but who knows if it's the one you're thinking of!

 

[simey]

- Leon's "I Stopped Loving Her Today" is very good. Like scorchy, I like Leon singing the spoken part vs the original. I remember reading in the past that they had a hard time recording that part with George, because he kept slurring the part. George's original sounds sadder, but he was in a sad state at that time. The song ended up saving his career and him.
- Glen shows the Foos how it is done in "Times Like These." I feel JWB glaring at me.
- Bettye Lavette grooves in her rendition of "Heart of Gold."
- I didn't know that "Sloop John B" was a cover. It's one of my favorite BB songs. Hopefully k4 isn't singing to herself...this is the worst trip, i've ever been on

 

[simey]

To "own" a song, the one that has the closest to #1 owns it, right?

No.

Everything I thought I knew about that is wrong.

 

[simey]

Well, I didn't actually see it. Stayed in San Jose and didn't get north of Levi's, so happy to hear I was just cruising a bad section. Since you're close to the restaurant mentioned earlier, you're about 10-12 blocks down Van Ness from his offices where I started my digital driving around.

That part of Van Ness is on the edge of the Tenderloin. It's always been a sketchy part of town although the homeless population has definitely increased in the past decade.

That 1000-1200 section of Van Ness is a block and a half away from one of the coolest music venues in town. The Great American Music Hall dates back to the 1906 earthquake and has been booking shows since the early 70s. We're going to see the post-Shelley Buzzcocks there in a couple of weeks.

Is the Inn San Francisco on a bad part of Van Ness? About 15 years ago, I paid for two nights at the Inn San Francisco for my BFF and her husband (who is also a good friend) when they got married as a wedding present. They went on their honeymoon in California, and spent their first two nights in San Francisco. The last time I was there, which I think was 2005, I didn't see any tent people there, but I saw homeless people scattered about, especially near the wharf area. San Francisco is one of my favorite cities.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

OH tally:

OH cover songs I have heard of: 2
OH original songs I have heard of: 8
OH cover artists I have heard of: 9
OH original artists I have heard of: 13

I've heard of The Jesus Lizard, but really only because they had a split single with Nirvana before the latter broke big, and because their frontman would do things onstage that would get him "canceled" nowadays. But the other three categories draw a blank.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Songs from #17 that I know and like and have not previously discussed:

Nobody But Me - Human Beinz (Isley Brothers) -- I had no idea this was a cover. I first heard this song via a much later cover. Dunno if we'll see it. I assumed that was a cover of Human Beinz.
Here Comes the Sun - Nina Simone (The Beatles) -- Only from learning about her through DQ's tireless promotion.
Brown Eyed Girl - Jimmy Buffett (Van Morrison) -- The only time I am aware that Jimmy Buffett performed with Phish, this was the song they played.
Sweet Dreams - Marilyn Manson (Eurythmics) -- Can't really listen to Mr. Warner anymore due to the ick factor, but this performance holds up.
Sloop John B – The Beach Boys (traditional/first known release by The Weavers) -- Like many here, I had no idea this was a cover.

 

[simey]

- I love Widespread Panic's cover of "Arleen." The music in it is great. To Charlie aka Chuckie Boy
- Nice version of "Simple Twist of Fate" by Jeff Tweedy. I think his voice fits the song well, and I love the violin singing along with him.
- The Muffs, led by the late great Kim Shattuck, show they are just as much fun on "Rock & Roll Girl" as The Beat.
- Continuing with a rockin' female lead, Tia Carrere throws down on "Ballroom Blitz."

 

[shuke]

To "own" a song, the one that has the closest to #1 owns it, right?

YES!!!

 

[shuke]

I Am the Walrus - Phish (The Beatles)

Nothing really extraordinary about this cover. This is just such an awesome song that any time you hear it covered live it's a treat. And I think Phish does a pretty decent job.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Pip’s Invitation:

Heart of Gold – Bettye LaVette (Neil Young)

Today my son and I visited my friend who owns a record store -- the first time we have been to his store. I told him about this exercise and that I picked a bunch of Neil covers. His first reaction was "Bettye LaVette's Heart of Gold has to be there." He said if he ever did his own list, that might be on it, though he would find it impossible to narrow down to 31.

Bettye LaVette's version of Heart of Gold is another example of how the song can be reinterpreted without being wedded to Neil's performance. The horn-driven intro is completely different from how Neil began the song. The rhythm guitar and congas are chunky and suggest a way to progress the song without relying on country and folk framing. The vocals that LaVette and her backup singers provide during the chorus are as powerful as anything Aretha and her collaborators came up with. We may well have seen more brilliant genre-hopping Neil covers had Neil not "headed for the ditch" and made deliberately less accessible music starting in 1973.

Unlike Charles Bradley's recording, LaVette's version is a contemporary to the original, but like Bradley, LaVette's talent was not given its just due for most of her career. Emerging in 1962, LaVette had several top 40 R&B hits in the '60s and '70s, but never had sustained commercial success nor stayed with any label for long during those decades. She signed with Atlantic/Atco in 1972 and recorded an album at the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, but for whatever reason the label didn't issue it. However, they did release a couple of songs from the sessions as singles, the first of which was Heart of Gold. It did not chart. The label thought the masters from those sessions were lost in a fire, but they were discovered in 1999 after a French collector expressed interest in finding them. Their issue the following year, along with that of a live album, attracted attention and renewed interest in LaVette, and sparked a career renaissance that continues to this day.

Since I posted the original last round, here is a live version Neil performed on a BBC Radio show in 1971 that was included on the 50th anniversary edition of the Harvest album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZn9QZykx10

At #16, we head into Shuke's territory.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

As I'm still a round behind, here are the new-to-me covers from #18 that I very much enjoyed:

Now That We Found Love - Third World (O'Jays) -- Keeps the best aspects of the original and adds some interesting touches.
Standing in the Doorway – Bonnie Raitt (Robert Zimmerman) -- The same can be said here. I will ALWAYS perk up whenever a Time Out of Mind song comes on, whether it be the original or a cover.
Renegades Of Funk - Rage Against the Machine (Afrika Bambaataa) -- I'll be honest, I usually find RATM annoying despite loving Tom Morello as a guitarist, but this was a tour de force. The funk was in the forefront, as it should be.
Mas Que Nada - Sergio Mendes and The Brasil ‘66 (Jorge Ben Jor) -- Lots of fun.
Dancing Queen - Puddles Pity Party (Abba) -- This is a hell of an interpretation, revealing depths of the song that I did not know existed.
Changes - Charles Bradley (Black Sabbath) x2 -- Yeah, this is the goods.
Waitin' for a Superman - Iron & Wine (The Flaming Lips) -- I was eagerly awaiting for this to come up on the playlist and wasn't disappointed. I will ALWAYS perk up whenever a Soft Bulletin song comes on, whether it be the original or a cover.
Coming to America - David Bowie (Simon & Garfunkel) -- Poignant. (Bookkeeping note: The name of this song is America. Coming to America is an Eddie Murphy movie.) This is the other Yes cover I considered -- I wrote about it in my 1975 countdown.
No Rain – Pickin’ on Series (Blind Melon) -- Revelatory. I like the original unlike some folks, but this shone it in a whole new light.
Eleanor Rigby - Black Pumas (The Beatles) -- Spectacular. Completely reinvents the song and excites with every measure.
White Freightliner Blues - Jimmie Dale Gilmore (Townes Van Zandt) -- Mark it eight, Dude!
Cry To Me - Seal (Solomon Burke) -- Every bit as soulful as Burke, which is hard to do.
Black Hole Sun - Norah Jones (Soundgarden) -- Mindblowing. I wish Cornell had gotten to hear this while he was with us.
The Wind Cries Mary - Sting / John McLaughlin (Jimi Hendrix) -- More interesting than the typical jazzy Sting outings, likely thanks to McLaughlin.

 

[rockaction]

Wow, am I ever scattershot these days. I didn't even write up the Roberta Flack song and we're already on Kim Shattuck and The Muffs.

I'll catch up and write up soon.

Personal anecdote: "Sloop John B" is the song that got me back into the Beach Boys in 1995 or so because of Forrest Gump and its usage there. Two years later, I would be constantly listening to Pet Sounds, Endless Summer, Today!, and Summer Days. . . on old cassettes and records while telling everybody that would listen that The Beach Boys might be the greatest pop/rock band in post-1955 history.

People (mainly my peers) who hadn't heard anything but their questionable and unseriously corny early surf, girl, and car hits would look at me like I'd come down from the hills all bug-eyed and ranting like a neuro-divergent person (you guys like my newfound sensitivity?). "No," I would protest. "The best." Then I would go on to preach their gospel to skeptical ears.

So, anyway, "Sloop John B" brings back memories of 1997 or so and brings that and memories of my friends back clear as a bell. I was transitioning from one group of friends and almost being married to an entirely new group of friends who understood why I had decided not to do that (the old friends weren't quite as supportive, and it was a painful break, but one that needed to happen). Listening to the Beach Boys will always bring that time period back. I don't regret any of it one bit and probably the happiest moments of my life (I'm still happy!) proceeded to take place in the immediate aftermath of it all. But even those stupid travel-sad lyrics meant something back then

So hoist up the John B sail
See how the main sail sets
Call for the captain ashore
Let me go home

 

[simey]

I Am the Walrus - Phish (The Beatles)

Nothing really extraordinary about this cover. This is just such an awesome song that any time you hear it covered live it's a treat. And I think Phish does a pretty decent job.

I agree. The live cover didn't blow me away, but it's good, and I'd be over the moon to hear it be played at a show. It would be a great closer. goo goo g'joob!

 

[Chaos34]

I've been watching hours of random guys and gals playing classical guitars on youtube. I don't know who River Crombie is but this was so good it gave me chills.

Down in a Hole

 

[rockaction]

17. Rock N Roll Girl - The Muffs (The Beat)

As most people that have drafted with me since 2016 know, I have a soft spot for L.A. power-poppers The Muffs. Kim Shattuck, who once played for The Pandoras and had a brief stint with The Pixies (who were not enamored of her rock antics and kicked her out of the band quickly), was the principal songwriter, guitar player, and singer for the band. Her keen ear and deep knowledge of her own vernacular led her to covering this song.

The Beat was a group formed in Los Angeles in 1979 and led by Paul Collins. Their power pop was full of driving guitars and Collins' songwriting proved catchy and proficient. The Beat appeared on American Bandstand and received a pretty good push for their debut album, but they were commercially unsuccessful. Anyway, Kim heard this song and decided to cover it for the Freedom Of Choice cover album back around 1991/2, an album on which various late eighties and early nineties groups covered new wave and power pop hits from a decade earlier.

So, the song is here because I like power pop and enjoy the track. Kim passed a few years back from ALS, and I've often written about how that affected me—how she influenced my taste in music and how The Muffs were an important part of my college years. Even though they never quite broke it big I thought they were larger than life. I had a chance one night to talk to Kim and the band, but I blew it out of shyness. So it was an opportunity missed that I regret to this day. Anyway, RIP, Kim. Godspeed.

 

[Chaos34]

Beethoven moshpit

 

[Eephus]

Is the Inn San Francisco on a bad part of Van Ness? About 15 years ago, I paid for two nights at the Inn San Francisco for my BFF and her husband (who is also a good friend) when they got married as a wedding present. They went on their honeymoon in California, and spent their first two nights in San Francisco. The last time I was there, which I think was 2005, I didn't see any tent people there, but I saw homeless people scattered about, especially near the wharf area. San Francisco is one of my favorite cities.

I used to live around the corner from the Inn San Francisco. It's on South Van Ness which is very different from regular Van Ness. The latter is a major commercial corridor but SVN is a residential part of the Mission district. If you've ever seen The Last Black Man in San Francisco, the beautiful old house that's featured in the movie is on the same block as the Inn.

When we lived in the neighborhood during the late 80s/early 90s, there were sex workers who did their business on the surrounding streets. We occasionally had to shoo them away from turning tricks while blocking our driveway. I've seen articles recently that it's still an issue. In spite of that, I loved living in the Mission and that neighborhood will always have a special place in my heart.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

17. Rock N Roll Girl - The Muffs (The Beat)

As most people that have drafted with me since 2016 know, I have a soft spot for L.A. power-poppers The Muffs. Kim Shattuck, who once played for The Pandoras and had a brief stint with The Pixies (who were not enamored of her rock antics and kicked her out of the band quickly), was the principal songwriter, guitar player, and singer for the band. Her keen ear and deep knowledge of her own vernacular led her to covering this song.

The Beat was a group formed in Los Angeles in 1979 and led by Paul Collins. Their power pop was full of driving guitars and Collins' songwriting proved catchy and proficient. The Beat appeared on American Bandstand and received a pretty good push for their debut album, but they were commercially unsuccessful. Anyway, Kim heard this song and decided to cover it for the Freedom Of Choice cover album back around 1991/2, an album on which various late eighties and early nineties groups covered new wave and power pop hits from a decade earlier.

So, the song is here because I like power pop and enjoy the track. Kim passed a few years back from ALS, and I've often written about how that affected me—how she influenced my taste in music and how The Muffs were an important part of my college years. Even though they never quite broke it big I thought they were larger than life. I had a chance one night to talk to Kim and the band, but I blew it out of shyness. So it was an opportunity missed that I regret to this day. Anyway, RIP, Kim. Godspeed.

Great story. I have trouble conceiving of you as shy, but I would have totally done the same thing in my teens and 20s, but probably not now.

 

[rockaction]

Great story. I have trouble conceiving of you as shy

Thanks, Pip. It was in an alley in Boston at a sold-out show they were playing. Kim and the band were there, and I couldn't get into the show because I didn't have a ticket. For a fleeting moment, I made eye contract with her from across the street, but I couldn't bring myself to approach them for some reason. (They were out having a cigarette and we were the only people out there on the street at the moment.) I'd driven two hours-plus to go see them and was unaware that it was a sold-out show, so I thought for a fleeting moment that I should go up, explain my story, and offer to pay or move equipment around if they'd put me on the set list. But I chickened out. I just couldn't muster the nerve to do it.

In regard to the latter part of the quote, you probably wouldn't believe how shy I was in real life around people I'd just met or didn't know intimately. I wasn't very outgoing at all around people I didn't know, and I was always extraordinarily shy around women and/or girls, depending on my age. I still am to a degree.

Then again, I was voted "Most Outgoing" in high school for one of those senior superlative things in our yearbook, so maybe my self-assessment is way out of whack with what really is. All I can relate is how I felt about social interactions then and now.



I might be oversharing, but there ya go.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Then again, I was voted "Most Outgoing" in high school for one of those senior superlative things in our yearbook

I got "Bull Artist" in mine I wasn't anywhere near as good as the girl I shared it with (it was one boy and one girl for each "award"). Black chick on the hoops team who could sell ice to Eskimos.

 

[simey]

- I like this live version of "Snowblind" by Black Label Society. It seems a tad slower than Black Sabbath's original. The singer has an interesting voice.
- I like that guitar playing in the Treepeople's cover of "Big Mouth Strikes Again."
- Nina rearranges "Here Comes The Sun" on her cover, and the result is sunny and breezy.
- I love when Jimmy Buffett plays his cover of "Brown Eyed Girl" live. He and The Coral Reefer band are fun, and I love the bongo solo that is always in the live version. Wrigley Field example . He was such a joyous man. RIP

 

[simey]

I used to live around the corner from the Inn San Francisco. It's on South Van Ness which is very different from regular Van Ness. The latter is a major commercial corridor but SVN is a residential part of the Mission district. If you've ever seen The Last Black Man in San Francisco, the beautiful old house that's featured in the movie is on the same block as the Inn.

When we lived in the neighborhood during the late 80s/early 90s, there were sex workers who did their business on the surrounding streets. We occasionally had to shoo them away from turning tricks while blocking our driveway. I've seen articles recently that it's still an issue. In spite of that, I loved living in the Mission and that neighborhood will always have a special place in my heart.

The man who owns the Inn San Francisco, or at least the man who owned it back then, was super nice. I asked him if I could send a bottle of wine to him with a note, and he or someone there set it up in my friends' room for their arrival. He said yes, and he said he would upgrade them to his best room if it wasn't booked at that time. He ended up upgrading them to the fanciest room, put out the wine and note, and he or one of his workers added chocolates and other treats to go with the wine. My friends said he was so nice, as were his family and staff. I remember them mentioning a big dog that lived there, too. They had a great stay. The memory will last forever, but their marriage did not. They divorced four years ago.

 

[Charlie Steiner]

- I love when Jimmy Buffett plays his cover of "Brown Eyed Girl" live. He and The Coral Reefer band are fun, and I love the bongo solo that is always in the live version. Wrigley Field example . He was such a joyous man. RIP

I had to re-read this, as it looked like 'bong' solo at first.

 

[rockaction]

I got "Bull Artist" in mine

LOL. You don't say! And thus began a life of chicanery and low-level perfidy.

Excellent.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

I got "Bull Artist" in mine

LOL. You don't say! And thus began a life of chicanery and low-level perfidy.

Excellent.

I was close to a couple of the class officers and I had no shot at "most likely to succeed" or "best looking", so they threw me a bone

 

[simey]

When I was a youngen, I thought human beings was spelled human beans for much longer than I should have. My mom still laughs about that sometimes. The Human Beinz made me think of that. Their cover of "Nobody But Me" is the version I know the best. It's a fun record and sounds so 60s.

 

[rockaction]

I was close to a couple of the class officers and I had no shot at "most likely to succeed" or "best looking", so they threw me a bone

That's like how I happened to be pretty good friends with the main photographer for our collegiate yearbook plus some of the staff, so I wound up all over the yearbook my senior year. I think I had like three or four candid photos in it, and the school had 2700 students. That's way too much rockaction for any yearbook to have, IMO. I'm wearing this stupid, dirty white hat the whole time, too. I just look awful in retrospect. Get a shower, you bum.

 

[rockaction]

When I was youngen, I thought human beings was spelled human beans for much longer than I should have. My mom still laughs about that sometimes. The Human Beinz made me think of that. Their cover of "Nobody But Me" is the version I know the best. It's a fun record and sounds so 60s.

That's an awesome song. Lyres do a cover of "Nobody But Me" and I was inclined to wonder what the point was since the Human Beinz nailed that song. How could you out-frat rock the original? It was impossible to do so.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

My yearbook "honor" was Class Critic. So given that I think I've done really well adhering to the Thumper Rule.

 

[titusbramble]

Alright, so I've already detailed that my next two reveals will be a double wombo combo from the same covering artist, what about the next two? Well they're both live covers, the first is from the covering artist in question's Live Lounge session, the concept of which, much like Radio 1 and the BBC as a whole, rapidly became irrelevant to all much after Jo Whiley left, but it has featured such beauties as Biffy Clyro doing Umbrella, Elbow doing Independent Women, Kaiser Chiefs doing What Time Is Love?, Kasabian doing Out of Space and Starsailor doing Don't Stop Movin', research into which would have given me as a minimum material for an extended last five out. The latter I assumed was also a cover on a Radio 1 live session, given that apparently Mark and Lard were doing backing vocals at the time, but seemingly it was just a straight up cover version on a live show, which later turned up as a B-side on a single off of their most prominent album. The common theme? The lead vocalist knows their cover is ridiculous and can barely stop from breaking out into laughter in both cases

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

When I was a youngen, I thought human beings was spelled human beans for much longer than I should have.

That's why aliens are so dangerous. They eat beans. Human beans.

 

[titusbramble]

Next few picks - the next list has been previewed so will skip that, but the following are:

- Track that has shown up more than once already, so shouldn't be new news but I love the source of how I came to be aware of it

So while it occurs to me this was entirely due to its inclusion in Pulp Fiction and the ridiculousness that is the quality of films in 1994 that it wasn't even the best film not to win Best Picture

 

[titusbramble]

Also this countdown is great for not only getting new tracks, but recalling old ones - I didn't listen to the cover of whoever picked Paranoid Android, but I've not listened to the track in ages despite Radiohead being my favourite band of all time (despite the avatar lol) and I always forget just how perfect the track is

 

[Mt. Man]

With a bit of renewed energy, I’ll tackle the #17s. They were mostly well-known songs again, including some repeats I probably should include as a special shout-out more often. Though this time, that went to something else. Even with(out) that, per usual I had some narrowing down to do. So let’s get to the spotlighting action!

Recognized by title alone: 21
Sounded familiar: 3
Didn’t Know: 9

Selected Favorites:
Nobody But Me - Human Beinz
Sweet Dreams - Marilyn Manson
Ballroom Blitz - Tia Carrere
99 Red Balloons - Goldfinger
Sloop John B - The Beach Boys. Add me to the “didn’t think of it but wish I had” pile.

Hadn’t heard before, but liked
Subterranean Homesick Blues - RADIOBOT
Brown Eyed Girl - Jimmy Buffett
Big Mouth Strike Again - Treepeople
Rock & Roll Girl - The Muffs
Snowblind - Black Label Society

Special Shout-out:
To Both Foo Fighter covers: Times Like These (Glen Campbell) and The Pretender (Steve ‘n Seagulls).Both with that country feel, but each very much their own thing.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

Next few picks - the next list has been previewed so will skip that, but the following are:

- Track that has shown up more than once already, so shouldn't be new news but I love the source of how I came to be aware of it

So while it occurs to me this was entirely due to its inclusion in Pulp Fiction and the ridiculousness that is the quality of films in 1994 that it wasn't even the best film not to win Best Picture

Who the heck voted for Forrest Gump? There are three other movies that are way better on the list that year.