Fong Songs 101 All-Time Covers: #19 to 16

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Just joining us?
I'm counting down 101 of my all-time favourite covers before packing this blog away in the attic.
Read my countdown preamble here.
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19. Ben Folds - Songs of Love [originally by The Divine Comedy]
As you all probably know, I'm a sucker for all things Ben Folds does. My only problem was choosing from a ton of covers both solo and with Ben Folds Five, but I decided to go with this unheralded cover from Ben's Sunny 16 EP. A different mix also appears on the Supersunnyspeedgraphic compilation disc.

18. Bob Seger - Love the One You're With [originally by Stephen Stills]
I've never been entirely clear on the intended meaning of this song. On one hand, it can be viewed as advice to get over your recent heartbreak and "love the one you're with". It can also sounds like it's celebrating adultery: if you're on the road, party on. I don't really know what a "rose in a fisted glove" has to do with either interpretation. From Bob Seger's Smokin' O.P.'s album of almost all covers, this really is a smokin' version.

17. Ella Fitzgerald - Sunshine of Your Love [originally by Cream]
This is me and my weakness for horn sections again. The big band takes the familiar riff and give it some brassy oomph. Ella's magnificent wails complete the song's transformation from psychedelic rock to a real swinger.

16. The Living End - Tainted Love [originally by Gloria Jones]
Tainted Love is probably more known for Soft Cell's 80s reinvention than Gloria Jones' soul original, but by far my favourite all-time version is from Aussie rockers The Living End. Chris Cheney's guitar solo is absolutely killer. This is one of several examples of when a particular cover song inspired me to delve deeper into an artist's catalogue. The Living End eventually became one of my favourite bands.

Tomorrow the Fong Songs 101 countdown continues with some good ol' Canadian Content. We're almost at the Top 10!

Covering CCR

I've been on a Creedence Clearwater Revival kick lately and that's as good a reason as any to share some good CCR covers. This may also have something to do with the recent 12-pack of CCR DLC for Rock Band (oodles of fun!) that's also spurred on the clearly corresponding revival of Creedence on the ol' iPod.

Girl Trouble - Commotion [originally by Creedence Clearwater Revival]
Shortstack - Commotion [originally by Creedence Clearwater Revival]
One of my favourite all-time CCR songs, the killer guitar intro gets me every time.

Chris Farlowe - As Long As I Can See the Light [originally by Creedence Clearwater Revival]
A sweet bluesy take on another one of my CCR favourites.

Maxine Weldon - Lodi [originally by Creedence Clearwater Revival]
Steve introduced me to this horn-infused Lodi cover in a Cover Freak post a couple months ago. I dig it a lot and it's worth revisiting.

Chicory Tip - Lodi [originally by Creedence Clearwater Revival]
Another solid Lodi cover.

James Last - Proud Mary [originally by Creedence Clearwater Revival]
James Last covers always make me chuckle at first, then I inevitably get caught up in their relentlessly upbeat singing and big band arrangements. Cheesy but awesome.

Dread Zeppelin - Born on the Bayou [originally by Creedence Clearwater Revival]
From The Fun Sessions, a Dread Zeppelin album of (gasp!) non-Zeppelin classic rock covers... but, of course, this cover of Born on the Bayou is anchored on the riff from Led Zeppelin's In the Light.

The Living End - Lookin' Out My Back Door (Live) [originally by Creedence Clearwater Revival]
A truncated live cover from the 2001 Lowlands Festival in the Netherlands.

Live from Australia!

A recent tweet from Cover Me's Ray tipped me off about the Australian website Moshcam.com, whose goal is to bring live music to the masses through quality video recordings for free. They've got hundreds of FULL concerts and there are definitely some gems in there. A selection for your consideration with, of course, a covers breakdown:

• 2007/12/17 Amanda Palmer
  -lots o' covers here. Amanda takes on Jason Webley, Regina Spektor, Radiohead, Rihanna, and Leonard Cohen.
  
  
• 2008/02/21 Jeff Martin
  -former Tea Party frontman Jeff Martin takes his solo show on the road. Partial covers of Love the One You're With and In My Time of Dying.
  
  
• 2008/09/27 The Living End
  -no covers, but the "Instrumental Medley" (i.e. E Boogie) is always a thrill to watch.
  
  
• 2008/10/11 Casino Rumblers
  -horn-infused cover of AC/DC's Whole Lotta Rosie
  
  
• 2008/10/12 The New Pornographers
  -includes a cover of ELO's Don't Bring Me Down
  
  
• 2008/11/01 The Vines
  -a slow-paced cover of Outkast's Hey Ya
  
  
• 2009/01/05 The Hives
  -unexpected covers from the Swedish rockers of The Rolling Stones' Beast of Burden, The Saint's Lost and Found, and an interesting punk version of the standard Stormy Weather.
  
  
• 2009/01/08 Tegan & Sara
  -Springsteen's Dancing in the Dark
  
  
• 2009/01/11 Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
  -this was the only video that wasn't working for me, but they do a cover of Sam Cooke's A Change is Gonna Come.
  

Go get lost in the archives and drop a line with any recommendations!

Covers from The Living End

In exactly one month, July 19th, The Living End will release their latest album White Noise. I've mentioned them here and there, but never really given them their proper due on Fong Songs, which is remarkable because

A) They're one of my favourite bands

B) They're very cover friendly

In fact, I consider their Tainted Love as bit of a modern cover classic and it's the song that introduced me to the band. After repeatedly digesting the cover, I was compelled to check out their 1998 self-titled debut and its 2000 follow-up Roll On from the library, both incredible albums. I've been a huge fan ever since, snapping up each subsequent release, though honestly nothing really tops those first two albums (they're just too good).

The Living End - Tainted Love [originally recorded by Gloria Jones]
[**link removed by request**]
This has a great guitar solo by lead singer/guitarist Chris Cheney, who has got to be one of the most underrated guitarists in modern rock. In fact, I can't really think of anyone comparable. His playing is just unreal, especially live. See them perform E Boogie and you'll become a believer. Their song Carry Me Home made an appearance in Guitar Hero II, but I could easily pick about a dozen more Living End tracks that I'd want to play in that or Rock Band. Someone should definitely make it happen.

The Living End - How Do We Know?
This is their latest song from from the upcoming White Noise. It's pretty good and built on some killer riffs, a bit of a different sound than the usual Living End release. Perhaps because everything I hear is filtered through the White Stripes, I'd say it sounds a bit Icky Thump-ish (song, not album), in the same way that Supergrass's Diamond Hoo Ha Man sounds like the Stripes' Blue Orchid.


I was very fortunate to catch them live in 2006 when I was visiting Toronto, an amazing gig that I shockingly never blogged about for some reason. I get the impression there's a massive disparity with the Living End's popularity in their native Australia and here in North America. They were playing at a medium sized nightclub and I went an hour early to line up, though that wasn't necessary since there were only 12 fans in front of me. At first I wasn't even sure I was at the right place. About 20 minutes before the doors opened, the band casually walked by the line and went to a restaurant across the street. That was a bit surreal because I imagine any other band would be mobbed if they did that, whereas here only a handful of people even recognized them, including one guy who immediately began hatching a scheme to go in there and buy the band drinks (successfully I found out later). The opening bands were local band The Mark Inside and The Lashes, whose lead singer jumped off the stage and stepped on my feet while haphazardly dancing. Eventually the place filled up by the time The Living End came on and I was in a particularly great spot, one layer of bodies from the stage, which unexpectedly provided a cushion from the moshers behind me (i.e. instead of being crushed against the stage, I was indirectly crushing others). Um, I'll just let some photos tell the story:








Yeah, needless to say it was awesome. I've got some more photos from the show in a facebook album. Here's a sweet clip from the show, a Mr. Sandman cover:



Here are just a handful of the many covers they've released:
The Living End - I Get a Kick Out of You [originally by Cole Porter]
The Living End - I've Just Seen a Face [originally by The Beatles]
The Living End - Rising Sun [originally by Cold Chisel]

The Living End - Jailbreak (live) [originally by AC/DC]
Recorded live just three days ago on an Aussie webcast, The Living End cover Bon Scott era AC/DC.


The guitar/double bass/drum trio set-up of the band is modeled after the Stray Cats, Brian Setzer's rockabilly group who were a huge influence on the band. In fact, Scott Owen switched from piano to the double bass after seeing the Stray Cats live with Cheney. Pre-Living End, they were a cover band called Runaway Boys after one of the Stray Cats' songs.

Runaway Boys - Rock This Town (live) [originally by Stray Cats]
Runaway Boys - Looking Out My Back Door [originally by Creedence Clearwater Rivival]

"The Living End" itself is borrowed from the 1956 rock & roll movie Rock Around the Clock featuring Bill Haley & The Comets, which ends with that very phrase instead of the usual "The End". For a ton of Living End live tracks and rarities including the full set of Runaway Boys demos, head on over to audio gallery of fansite The 23rd Precinct.

An X-Mas Post

Well, just a few more days until Christmas. Guess it's time to start shopping (no joke). It's also time for Christmas shindigs, chopping down trees, and posting your favourite festive tunes. Usually I'm already at home for the holidays, but for the first time I've come home for the holidays, which is a bit weird since I basically only moved away for 3 weeks. I feel a bit lost without my own computer to blog from, though I did have the foresight to bring a portable hard drive with all my music on it (not the foresight, however, to write these posts in advance). Since I don't have my itunes here to guide me, I've randomly picked some festive music to brighten your holidays, or at least provide some conversation fodder for your x-mas parties.


Ah, the Chipmunk Song. While nothing has remotely encouraged me to check out the latest incarnation of Alvin & The Chipmunks, somewhere in my brain there is a slight fond spot for the original song. I don't really understand it because even as a kid, Alvin pissed me off with his obnoxious troublemaking ways, Simon was pretentious, and Theodore was slightly retarded. Each chipmunk drove me nuts in their own way and together they were insufferable. As a kid, I guess you watch any TV whether you even like the show or not. Anyway, for some reason or other I happen to like the Chipmunk Song and that solo line about wanting a hula hoop just gets me every time. The 2007 movie soundtrack features re-done versions of The Chipmunk Song and Witch Doctor (though they're not exactly covers) with Jason Lee filling in as the new Dave. Did you know Justin Long was the voice of Alvin? Why? I don't know.

Alvin & The Chipmunks - The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late) [DeeTown Rock Mix]
The soundtrack also features a "DeeTown Rock Mix", which sounds exactly as you might imagine it.

Powder - Christmas Don't Be Late (Chipmunk Song) [originally by The Chipmunks]
Ah, but Powder already did a rock cover for A Very Special Christmas 5. Do they still make those albums? The first two in the series have some of the best Christmas covers ever.

Mau - Chipmunks Christmas Mash-Up
A couple of years ago, someone named Mau made a mash-up of the Chipmunk Song and Royksopp’s Triumphant. The basis of the mash-up is a comedy bit by Patton Oswalt (who incidentally voiced the main character of an exponentially better CGI rodent film this past summer) in which he hilariously describes slowing down an LP of the Chipmunk Song... just listen, it's pretty out there.

Jonathan Coulton - Podsafe Christmas Song
While I haven't gone through all of Jonathan Coulton's Thing a Week songs (all available for free as an iTunes podcast), I think I should really buckle down and do that after recently listening to Tom Cruise Crazy and this one, a parody of the Chipmunk Song. They really nail it especially the hilarious between-verses banter. "I don't want to speak too soon... but, uh, we may have saved Christmas."


John Denver & The Muppets - Little Saint Nick [originally by The Beach Boys]
Anyone notice they re-did that Coke polar bears vs. penguins ad that used to have Little Saint Nick as the soundtrack to the penguin christmas hoedown? Now it's some generic "holiday" music that doesn't match the dancing penguins and when that little bear cub slides in they use that overly cliché record needle scratch sound... except the music doesn't even stop. Ah, the things that bug me that shouldn't.

The Beach Boys - (I Saw Santa) Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree
Thankfully this other Beach Boys song never became a standard. Along the same lines as I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, one boy tells his brother what he saw "going on" around the Christmas tree. It's a bizarre song, alternating between the boy talking over a repeated piano chord and the chorus, which has the weird line "And Mama was as close to Santa as you are to me". It's filled with presumably unintentional innuendo with mommy and Santa doing more than just smooching.


Brian Setzer Orchestra - The Nutcracker Suite
Vandals - Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies
A couple Tchaikovsky covers: swing and punk.

Vince Guaraldi Trio - Christmas Time Is Here [Markus Enochson Remix]
Whenever I hear this now I can only picture the cast of Arrested Development walking around all sad.

The Living End - Jingle Bell Rock (Feat. Kylie Minogue) [originally by Bobby Helms]
My favourite cover of this Christmas staple. I probably don't say this enough, but The Living End do some awesome covers and lead singer/guitarist Chris Cheney is one of the best (and underrated) guitarists in modern rock.

The OneUps - Super Mario's Sleigh Ride
I didn't post anything earlier this week because, um, I was off playing Super Mario Galaxy. Sorry. Anyway, this brilliant Christmas tune from last year [EDIT: 2002] by video game cover band The OneUps seamlessly integrates familiar Mario tunes with Leroy Anderson's Sleigh Ride. Seriously the best Christmas cover I've heard in years. Looking forward The OneUps next album...