Fong Songs 101 All-Time Covers: #82 to 78

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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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The 80s Set
82. Jaded Heart - Easy Lover [originally by Philip Bailey and Phil Collins]
I love how 80s metal never really went away in Germany. Jaded Heart really go to town on this Philip/Phil 80s classic and-- I can hardly believe I'm saying this-- they also do a really great cover of The Backstreet Boys' Larger Than Life.

81. Harvey Danger - Save It for Later [originally by The English Beat]
As one of my favourite all-time bands, I knew I had to work some Harvey Danger into this list. Up until the last minute, I was debating between this and their rousing organ-led cover of Bowie's Oh! You Pretty Things. It's a toss-up, but I ultimately chose this one since it was one of the first Harvey Danger "rarities" I heard when I really started getting into the band. They were more or less tricked into recording the cover for the movie 200 Cigarettes. Asked to cover a 1981-82 era song, the band suggested Devo, Bowie, XTC, and Duran Duran, but the label insisted on an English Beat cover. They found out later that the label was re-releasing the English Beat catalogue and was using their cover as a sort of product placement in the movie. So they never played this cover live... except I DID actually get the privilege of hearing this live, once at their 10th Anniversary Show Spectacular (where I first heard this story) and also at their Last Show Ever. They also do a wicked cover of This Busy Monster's Underground on their second album King James Version (my fave), though I'm guessing very few of you know the original tune.

80. D-Sailors - We Built This City (feat. Wick Slick) [originally by Starship]
From the German cover compilation Punk Chartbusters, Volume 4, D-Sailors give Starship the ol' punk cover treatment without really any ironic winking and nudging, which I admire since I admittedly dig the original (gasp!). On Volume 5 of the same series, D-Sailors do an equally impressive take on Midnight Oil's Beds Are Burning.

79. Brad Roberts - Bette Davis Eyes [originally by Jackie DeShannon; as made famous by Kim Carnes]
If you've ever heard the original honky tonk country version by Jackie DeShannon, you know no one is actually covering that version, but rather Kim Carnes' 1981 reincarnation (punny!) of the song. Crash Test Dummies frontman Brad Roberts covered this acoustically on his live solo album Crash Test Dude in all his baritone glory. His voice is absurd.

78. Lowry - Africa [originally by Toto]
I'm always reluctant to declare a cover better than its original since I often get caught up in the whole paradox of the cover not being able to exist without the original source, yet this cover accomplished something pretty rare in my books. I absolutely LOVE it despite the fact I do not really like Toto's Africa at all. This is from Volume 2 of the Guilt By Association compilation.

Tomorrow the Fong Songs 101 countdown continues with covers of MJ, Cat Stevens, and The Postal Service (though probably not the song you're thinking of). Also, my favourite 3 Disney covers!

80s Cover Weekend Redux (Re-post minus links + ominous tidings)

***ATTN: LINKS REMOVED!***
Landmark day here at Fong Songs... I received my first dreaded "cease & desist" letter from Blogger:

"Blogger has been notified, according to the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), that certain content in your blog infringes upon the copyrights of others. The URL(s) of the allegedly infringing post(s) may be found at the end of this message."

The e-mail almost reads like spam with a link to something called http://www.chillingeffects.org, until I checked my site and that saw that my latest post had indeed been purged. Mother of mercy, is this the end of Fong Songs? I sure hope not. The complaint was specifically in regards to this 80s Cover Weekend Redux post, though I'm not sure which is the offending song. Was Kevin Rowlands mad I poked fun at Dexys? I've re-posted without the mp3 links and now I'm going to lay low for a bit because this sort of thing freaks me out.

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I've got one last 80s-themed cover post for you with a slight twist. As cover enthusiasts would probably know, a handful of big one-hit wonders of the 80s were in fact covers themselves: Soft Cell's Tainted Love, Kim Carnes' Bette Davis Eyes, and Tiffany's I Think We're Alone Now, to name a few off the top of my head. While I focused previously on newer covers of 80s songs, today's post features covers that are by artists primarily known for their 80s musical output, either released in the 80s or otherwise.

Soft Cell - You Only Live Twice [originally performed by Nancy Sinatra]
"You only live twice or so it seems, one life for yourself and one for your dreams..." That's seems sadly appropriate and prescient lyrics to be sung by any one-hit wonder act. Is there life after one-hit wonderdom? After being listened to and enjoyed by millions worldwide, what do you do after you become a pop culture footnote? Go back to your day job? While known as a one-hit wonder in the US, Soft Cell actually had ten Top 40 hits in their native UK after the fact. Soft Cell's Marc Almond and David Ball parted ways in 1984, but they continued working on solo projects and collaborations before reuniting as Soft Cell in 2001. They're still active to this day, believe it or not. As previously alluded to, a cover trip through the James Bond theme collection is heading your way in a few weeks, but You Only Live Twice is already well represented so I don't mind dropping this one early.

Dexys Midnight Runners - Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile) [originally by Van Morrison]
Known most popularly for Come On Eileen, Dexys Midnight Runners actually reached #5 on the UK charts with this Van Morrison cover. Lead singer Kevin Rowland switches it up by swapping the original's ding-a-ling-a-lings for too-dle-lang-a-langs. Don't look now but sometime in the last couple years they've dropped the Midnight Runners and have reinvented themselves as just Dexys according to their official myspace site, which also contains this amazing fact about the band's history: "The problem was though that in many ways, they were ahead of their time, they were visionaries." Uh huh. Their myspace page also streams Dexys' cover of The Four Seasons' Rag Doll, unexpectedly venturing into Hey Jude territory with a running time surpassing 8 minutes! I repeat: an 8+ minute cover of Rag Doll. I think the world still isn't quite ready for Kevin Rowland and Dexys.

Twisted Sister - Leader of the Pack [originally by The Shangri-Las]
I love this oddly faithful cover flipped to the perspective of the leader of the pack himself and it's the girlfriend who meets a tragic end on a rain-slicked road. Best part? The tell me more, tell me more Grease-like cronies that sing back-up vocals.

Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Born to Run [originally by Bruce Springsteen]
Presumably like most people, I've only heard of Frankie Goes to Hollywood from their 80s hit Relax, which makes this Springsteen cover all the more surprising.

Tiffany - I Saw Him Standing There [originally by The Beatles]
Tiffany was 16 when she hit it big with her cover of I Think We're Alone Now from her self-titled debut. New Kids on the Block were her opening act on tour! This Beatles cover with a distinct Prince flavour is from that same debut album. I have got to stop reading wikipedia before writing up each of these entries because I waste so much time scrolling through pages of "Where are they now?" factoids about bands/artists that I assumed ceased to exist 20 years ago. Seriously, Tiffany released an album of cover songs just last year! Check out that winning album cover too.

Def Leppard - No Matter What [originally by Badfinger]
Like most aging rockers who've fallen out of the spotlight, an album of cover songs is inevitable and Def Leppard is no exception. The blandly titled Yeah! came out in 2006 and featured covers of artists such as Sweet, ELO, T. Rex, and Bowie. Here's a decent, if straight forward rock cover of Badfinger. Recently, for reasons unclear, the NHL ill-advisedly booked Def Leppard to help kick off the new hockey season by having the band perform during the Toronto Maple Leafs game against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings. Lead singer Joe Elliot proceeded to basically give hockey fans the middle finger when he hoisted the Stanley Cup, the holy grail of hockey, over his head then put it down upside-down on a table. Yikes. Funny more than anything, it simply underlined the glaring question as to WHY Def Leppard was hired to kick off the NHL season in the first place? I mean, even the launch party of Fallout 3 featured a 90 minute set from the Foo Fighters! Score one for the geeks!

Duran Duran - The Needle and the Damage Done [originally by Neil Young]
Duran Duran's inevitable cover album Thank You came out in 1995 with bizarre cover choices such as Public Enemy's 911 is a Joke and Grandmaster Flash's White Lines, which I probably shouldn't like but I do. This Neil Young cover was not on that album, but it appeared as a b-side to the single Perfect Day, a cover of Lou Reed.

Styx - I Can See for Miles [originally by The Who]
Styx's cover album Big Bang Theory came out in 2005, though without their original lead singer Dennis DeYoung who was replaced in 1999 by Canadian Lawrence Gowan (who had a successful solo career as under the stage name Gowan). I have to admit I quite like this cover and their take on The Lovin' Spoonful's Summer in the City from the same album.

Jill Johnson with Kim Carnes - Tumblin' Dice [originally by The Rolling Stones]
Swedish country singer Jill Johnson recorded this duet featuring the unmistakable raspy vocals of Kim Carnes for her 2007 album Music Row. Of course, Kim Carnes is best known for her cover of Bette Davis Eyes from 1981.

Huey Lewis - Oh! Darling [originally by The Beatles]
One of my favourite Beatles tracks. You just can't beat Paul's howls, so thankfully Huey doesn't even really try to replicate them.

Daryl Hall & KT Tunstall - Something to Talk About [originally by Bonnie Raitt]
Daryl Hall, the Hall of Hall & Oates, had bloggers buzzing earlier this year when he teamed up with Montréal electrofunk duo Chromeo for an episode of his web jam sessions Live from Daryl's House, available for free on his site. Last month featured Canadian rock group Finger Eleven and previous guests have included Nick Lowe, Gym Class Heroes' Travis McCoy, and Oates himself! This is a lively cover duet with KT Tunstall of Bonnie Raitt's 90s hit Something to Talk About, which was actually penned by Canadian singer-songwriter Shirley Eikhard.

80s Weekend Hangover

Grrrr, my internet's been cutting in/out all day... and the only cure is a monster batch of even more 80s covers! Here are some that didn't make the first cut, mostly because they don't carry the same personal resonance as some of those earlier picks. Some I just plain forgot to include and the 80s police got mad at me.


The Pigeon Detectives - The Power of Love [originally by Huey Lewis & The News]
Tropical Jazz Big Band XI - Hip to Be Square [originally by Huey Lewis & The News]
Huey Lewis is so synonymous with the 80s, in no small part due to The Power of Love's prominent role in Back to the Future (possibly the greatest 80s film?), it was extremely difficult to resist the temptation to load up on Huey Lewis & The News covers the first time around. The Pigeon Detectives do a fine take on The Power of Love, representing the year 1985 on the BBC compilation of covers, Radio 1 Established 1967. The instrumental Hip to be Square cover is a hoot too.

Lostprophets - Need You Tonight [originally by INXS]
INXS covers are surprisingly hard to come by. This one's kind of a wasted opportunity because I think the music takes some interesting twists, yet the vocals adhere way too closely to Michael Hutchence's inimitable delivery and thus pale in comparison.


Francis Soto Band - Sunglasses at Night [originally by Corey Hart]
Here's my CanCon for the post. We can't talk about 80s music in Canada without mentioning Corey Hart, now can we? Here's a German metal cover of his big hit, Sunglasses at Night. Weird trivia via wikipedia: Corey Hart turned down the role of Mrty McFly in Back to the Future! Luckily that role went to Edmontonian (yay!) Michael J. Fox. When I think Canadian 80s music, the real king is Bryan Adams, covers of whom are sadly lacking except for a couple I've posted before. I also wanted so bad to include a Glass Tiger cover, but I couldn't track down anything worthwhile.

Dondero High School - Love in an Elevator [originally by Aerosmith]
Here's one I left off since I don't really associate it with the 80s, not surprising since the album it's from Pump was released in September 1989. This hilariously great cover is from the annual Dondero High School Pop Concert (1971-2006) in Royal Oak, Michigan. Each year, the student choir and musicians would perform 20 or so covers of popular songs. Archives of concerts held between 1995 and 2005 are available for free download (hosted on the Internet Audio Archive). Lots of inspiring cover choices, prepare to clear out some hard drive space for these. Interesting factoids: the school was opened in 1927, became Royal Oak Middle School in 2007, and Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey is a former student.

Rilo Kiley - Simply Irresistible (live) [originally by Robert Palmer]
Robert Palmer covers are pretty scarce as well. If not for the lyrics, this slowed down indie cover by Rilo Kiley would be pretty much unrecognizable.

Spunge - Centerfold [originally by J. Geils Band]
One of the most sing-a-longable na na na na na sections in 80s music. I knew nothing about the J. Geils Band, so I was mildly surprised to learn 1981's Freeze Frame was the band's 12th album and they originally formed in 1967!


Mose Giganticus - Mr. Roboto [originally by Styx]
Self-described electronic/synthpop/punk/rock band Mose Giganticus perform this surprisingly faithful Styx cover except with more aggressive vocals. My first exposure to Mr. Roboto was actually through some lyrical quotage in the Barenaked Ladies' The King of Bedside Manor. I was mildly obsessed with this song when I "re-discovered" it in high school, presumably through this 1999 VW Golf commercial. Coincidentally, this ad came up last week in an AV Club article where I found out the man singing/dancing in the car is none other than Tony Hale AKA Buster Bluth on Arrested Development (AHA!). Up until last night, I ignorantly assumed that people were making ironic Styx references when they used "Kilroy Was Here" when it turns out it's a popular American expression dating back to WWII. Geez. Leave it to wikipedia to provide much needed context. Mr. Roboto inadvertently resonates with me because of Graeme Base's 1989 children's puzzle/mystery book The Eleventh Hour, in which someone eats all the food at Horace the Elephant's 11th birthday and all his guests are suspects. It's full of elaborately complex clues, lavishly detailed illustrations, and a sealed section at the back which reveals the big mystery. I spent hours poring over this book and still ended up half-guessing, then all out sneaking a peek at the sealed section, painstakingly reading it without actually breaking the seal, which is still intact today. If you know the song and you've read the book, you might know what I'm talking about.

B.A. Baracus Band - Growing Pains [originally written by John Bettis]
Here's another guilty pleasure from the B.A. Baracus Band. As Long As We've Got Each Other, the theme to Growing Pains, was performed in most seasons by B.J. Thomas, probably best known for singing Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head, and Jennifer Warnes. I remember my sister watching the show because it had Teen Beat cover boy Leonardo DiCaprio in an early role. Mind you, this was in during the show's last season in 1991...

Julian Velard - Here I Go Again [originally by Whitesnake]
From a session on BBC 2's Dermot O'Leary, New York artist Julian Velard flips Whitesnake on its head by performing this cover, unless it's my imagination, in the style of Barry White. Barry Whitesnake?


Speak Low - Thriller [originally by Michael Jackson]
An early nightmare image from my childhood derives from my uncle showing me a VHS recording of the Thriller music video at my grandparents' house while on a sleepover. Basically just the scene of MJ in the woods turning in a werewolf (er, cat) while his girlfriend screams in terror... the eyes, the yellow eyes! I don't remember the song or even the rest of the music video after that point, so maybe I didn't even watch the whole thing. In fact, for a long time I thought I had just seen some excerpt of a feature-length Thriller movie, which I vowed to never see. And now it's considered one of the greatest music videos of all-time. Petra Haden does an amazing a cappella cover of Thriller, but my favourite version is this wah-chicka-wah/Hammond organ/Shaft-like instrumental funk cover by Speak Low. It always grabs me right when the horns make their entrance and never lets go.

Robin McKelle - Abracadabra [originally by Steve Miller Band]
This is a fantastic big band jazz cover by relative newcomer Robin McKelle. When I was talking about the Mini-Pops the other day, I can't believe I forgot about Abracadabra, which introduced me to the Steve Miller Band long before I heard songs like Rock'n Me, The Joker, or Take the Money and Run. I'm flying back home for Thanksgiving (next Monday for Canadians) and I'm going to dig up that Mini-Pops cassette in the basement.

Reel Big Fish & Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer - Don't You Want Me [originally by Human League]
Can't believe at forgot this one. A popular singalong on roadtrips for my sister and I by virtue of being one of the few duets on any mixtape, ignoring the creepy connotations of kids singing this (not unlike the Mini-Pops). When I was about 8, the Yellow Pages had this automated music trivia quiz I used to call all the time where they would play a song clip and ask multiple choice questions about it, answering with the touchtone phone. On one of these quizzes the clip was Don't You Want Me and that's when I learned the artist was Human League after enlisting in some help from my mom.

The City on Film - Come on Eileen [originally by Dexys Midnight Runners]
An acoustic guitar and violin cover sung in loving tribute of one of the most enduring one-hit wonders of the 80s.

Tori Amos - I Ran [originally by Flock of Seagulls]
In my mind, Tori Amos is basically her own subsection of covers. This Flock of Seagulls cover is from her 2005 tour, in which she devoted one section of her concert to playing covers that fans could vote for in advance on her website. Six of these shows were recorded and released as The Original Bootlegs and featured covers such as Aerosmith's Dream On, Oasis' Don't Look Back in Anger, and George Michael's Father Figure.


The Wrong Trousers - Video Killed the Radio Star [originally by The Buggles]
The Wrong Trousers - Handle With Care [originally by the Traveling Wilburys]
Lastly, but certainly not leasty... The Wrong Trousers, who I've mentioned in a previous post because of their great cover of Such Great Heights. Since then, I bought their debut CD off CD Baby and loved it. I'd describe their sound as joyful, but not cloying. Their covers were a promising indicator of the quality of their originals, which are awesome. This was a request from Boyhowdy over at CLD who heard their Video Killed the Radio Star recently and was wowed. I completely overlooked this when compiling my earlier 80s post and glad he reminded me because it's definitely worthy of attention. He also alerted me to their Traveling Wilburys cover that I didn't know about. Thanks! The cover world can always use more Wilburys covers. The Wrong Trousers first gained attention with a youTube video of them as teenage buskers covering The Buggles. As a mandolin, harp, and upright bass trio, there's the immediate threat of being dismissed as a novelty, but their music is full of heart and major talent to be reckoned with. In fact, one of their members was accepted into UCLA this year and is currently studying mandolin with a major in Ethnommusicology! I think they've got a new EP or LP due soon and I'll snap it up as soon as I can. Technically, Video Killed the Radio Star was released in 1979, but it made 80s history after becoming the first music video to ever be played on MTV when the channel debuted in 1981, at the same time cementing its place in Trivial Pursuit for ever more.

80s Cover Weekend

Lately I've been resting on my laurels, so to speak. By laurels, I mean couch. By resting, I mean playing my new X-Box. I also feel that lately I've been posting too much Ben Folds this, Amanda Palmer that, and White Stripes blah. So it's back to basics with some regular Fong Songs cover content. Right now I'm in the middle of an 80's kick, so let's make it an All 80's Cover Weekend! Ah, the eighties... a whole decade of guilty pleasures. But why feel guilty about it? These are awesome songs.

The Dan Band - Gloria/Mickey [originally by Umberto Tozzi/Toni Basil]
When collecting music became a bit of an obsession, it was a challenge to dig up songs heard on childhood camping trips based on half-remembered lyrics embedded in my head. In retrospect, many of the songs came from the Footloose and Flashdance soundtracks, but it took me years to figure that out. One song that particularly bugged me for a long time was about "some girl named Gloria and a telephone". Turns out it was Laura Branigan's 1982 hit Gloria, which I just learned is a cover itself! The original is in Italian by Umberto Tozzi released in 1979. This cover is by the Dan Band who you may know from their appearance in Old School singing a profanity laden cover of Total Eclipse of the Heart. Their debut album The Dan Band LIVE! includes that and lots of similarly incongruous boy-sings-girl covers.

B.A. Baracus Band - Total Eclipse of the Heart [originally by Bonnie Tyler]
The B.A. Baracus Band is a cover band from Ontario that cover 80s TV themes and hit singles "using only a guitar, djembe, solid harmonies and kazoos". Active since 1997, I got one of their albums on CD Baby and if you check the media/sounds section of their official site, you may just find a full live album for download.

Shawn Mullins - Wake Me Up Before You Go Go [originally by Wham!]
A popular cassette with my sister and I back in the day was the Minipops, basically an 80s version of Kidz Bop: children's covers of sometimes inappropriate adult hit songs. But cover songs are an alien concept when you're little, and to your young inexperienced ears the original and the cover are basically interchangeable. When I think about it now I'm sure the Minipops were my introduction to Wham! In fact, this is the exact album we owned. No doubt, my first exposure to Duran Duran, Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, and Tears for Fears too!

Katy Perry - Head Over Heels [originally by Tears for Fears]
Katy "Kissed a Girl" Perry was on BBC 2's Dermot O'Leary show last weekend playing an acoustic version of her hit song and this Tears for Fears cover. Not too shabby. Today, Canadian rocker Sam Roberts is the scheduled guest and I can't wait to find out what cover he pulls out!

Danni Carlos - Sowing the Seeds of Love [originally by Tears for Fears]
A nice bossa cover from Brazilian artist Danni Carlos.

Jaded Heart - Easy Lover [originally by Phil Collins & Philip Bailey]
A Swedish German glam metal band. Sweet.

D-Sailors - Beds are Burning [originally by Midnight Oil]
D-Sailors - We Built This City (feat. Wick Slick) [originally by Starship]
We Built This City has been maligned as one of the worst songs in history for its hypocritical anti-corporate message. Not to mention for a song about building a city on rock and roll, it decidedly does not rock nor roll. Marconi plays the mamba? Add in the radio announcer bit and you've got a full scale disaster, right? All that aside, I love this song. Seriously. Unironically. Then again, I love MacArthur Park too. D-Sailors are a German punk band who contributed these two awesome covers to the Punk Chartbusters series. In fact, these are two of my favourite all-time punk covers. Fun factoid: We Built This City was co-written by Bernie Taupin, long-time songwriting partner of Elton John.

Inspection 12 - St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion) [originally performed by John Parr]
Another 80s classic, written by David Foster for Rick Hansen's legendary Man in Motion tour. It was also on the soundtrack of the film of the same name.

Glen Phillips - I Want a New Drug [originally by Huey Lewis & The News]
Atta Boy Skip - Ghostbusters [originally by Ray Parker, Jr.]
Huey Lewis successfully sued Ray Parker, Jr. for plagiarizing I Want a New Drug with Ghostbusters. Somewhat hilariously, a few years ago Parker counter-sued after Lewis breached his confidentiality agreement by discussing the lawsuit on a VH1 special. Oops!