TV Themes... this time with lyrics (Part 4).

Well after a brief Led Zeppelin interruption, we're back with part 4 of

Covers of TV Theme Songs Known Primarily as Instrumentals
(With Lyrics That You May or May Not Know)


Lastly we have the theme from M*A*S*H a.k.a. "Suicide is Painless" from the 1970 Robert Altman film and the long-running television series, which used a shortened instrumental version of the song. At some point in our lives we all have these small epiphanies: "What? M*A*S*H was based on a movie?" or "What? The M*A*S*H theme has lyrics?" And I am further surprised to learn just now that the film itself was based on a 1968 novel by Richard Hooker. The song was written by Johnny Mandel and Mike Altman, the director's son, who was only 14 years old at the time he wrote the lyrics (pretty remarkable when you listen to it). Apparently he earned more in royalties for the song than his dad did for directing the movie. There have been numerous covers over the years, with and without lyrics, a few of which I've included here.

Through early morning fog I see
Visions of the things to be
The pains that are withheld for me
I realize and I can see...

[CHORUS]:
That suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
and I can take or leave it if I please.

I try to find a way to make
All our little joys relate
Without that ever-present hate
but now I know that it's too late, and...

[CHORUS]

The game of life is hard to play
I'm gonna lose it anyway
The losing card I'll someday lay
so this is all I have to say.

[CHORUS]

The only way to win is cheat
And lay it down before I'm beat
and to another give my seat
for that's the only painless feat.

[CHORUS]

The sword of time will pierce our skins
It doesn't hurt when it begins
But as it works its way on in
The pain grows stronger...watch it grin, but...

[CHORUS]

A brave man once requested me
to answer questions that are key
is it to be or not to be
and I replied "oh why ask me?"

'Cause suicide is painless
it brings on many changes
and I can take or leave it if I please.
...and you can do the same thing if you please.
Manic Street Preachers - Suicide is Painless [originally by Johnny Mandel & Mike Altman]
Hearing this cover was the first time I realized the M*A*S*H theme had lyrics. They also do one of my all-time favourite covers of Can't Take My Eyes Off You.

Lady & Bird - Suicide is Painless [originally by Johnny Mandel & Mike Altman]
This beautiful acoustic cover is from the 2003 album Lady & Bird, a collaboration between singer-songwriter Keren Ann and Icelandic musician Barði Jóhannsson.

Jay-Jay Johanson - Suicide is Painless [originally by Johnny Mandel & Mike Altman]
I really know nothing about this Swedish musician, but this is a pretty good solo radio performance with a hint of lounge singer.

Matt Costa - Suicide is Painless [originally by Johnny Mandel & Mike Altman]
Here's another acoustic cover that's really good. I think I like these covers more than the original.

Royal Trux - Theme from M*A*S*H [originally by Johnny Mandel & Mike Altman]
This alt-rock version is from a 1993 edition of the Peel Sessions.

Tripod - Theme from MASH Guy
Australian comedy music act Tripod incorporated the theme from M*A*S*H into one of their songs (Lingering Dad) and as part of the process of getting permission to put it on their DVD, they had to send a copy to the original songwriter. And then they wrote a song about HIM. So is this song about Johnny Mandel or Mike Altman...? If you go to Tripod's official website, you may just find some free cover songs including an unlikely cover of Queen's Seaside Rendezvous and Bowie's Life on Mars?. And we all know how much I love Life on Mars covers...

See also:
Part 1: Theme from Star Trek
Part 2: Theme from House (Massive Attack's Teardrop)
Part 3: Theme from Peter Gunn

Let it Die

I'd like to just go on record and say that Fergie's cover of Live and Let Die is absolutely brutal. One of the worst things I've heard (and seen) cover-wise in a while. I'm not even going to link to it.

In related news, the Onion AV Club just posted a list of 23 Covers That Should Never Be Covered Again. I think I'd also be fine without hearing anymore covers of Creep or God Only Knows.

Zepp-A-Dee-Day

Led Zeppelin - Celebration Day [from Led Zeppelin III]
Well today is the day that I wish I was in London at the 02 Arena. Sigh.

Rasputina - Rock and Roll
I've posted this before, but it's one of my favourite Zeppelin covers ever. Rasputina, sort of a gothic cello rock band, put out a cover EP called The Lost & Found featuring this one as well as covers of Pink Floyd, Marilyn Manson, and The Velvet Underground. Excellent covers, seek that one out.

Corinne Bailey Rae - Since I've Been Loving You (live in New York)
I've been loving this cover since I first heard her perform it on some AOL Sessions last year. Now it's officially on her Live in New York & London CD/DVD combo.

Dread Zeppelin - I Can't Quit You Baby [originally by Willie Dixon]
Dread Zeppelin - Misty Mountain Hop
Dread Zeppelin - Hot Dog
What's a Zeppelin post without a Dread Zeppelin cover or three? Most Zeppelin covers fail because you just can't imitate Led Zeppelin. Going a completely different direction is basically the only way to go, even if it means reggae/ska with an Elvis impersonator. I've posted several Dread Zeppelin covers in past posts since they've got some legitimately great covers and regularly tackle the not so obvious tunes from the Zeppelin canon.

Jeff Buckley - Night Flight
While it's pretty hard to name one Zeppelin album as my favourite, but if I had to choose it'd probably be Physical Graffiti. Night Flight is one of the underrated gems from that album and one of my fav's. This live cover, which is barely recognizable, is from the album Live at Sin-é: Legacy Edition.

Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes - Ten Years Gone
Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes - In My Time of Dying [traditional]
Live at the Greek, a double CD album of Jimmy Page with the Black Crowes performing classic Zeppelin and some blues standards, is one my favourite live albums. I generally don't listen to too many live albums since either the recording quality is so-so, the crowd noise bothers me, or the performances are simply same old, same old. But here, the live recordings are as good as I've ever heard, if not great and the performances are dynamic. Chris Robinson is no Robert Plant, but he doesn't try to be. The shows were performed in 1999, nearly 20 years after the premature demise of Zeppelin, and Jimmy Page shows he can still rock (and rock hard). I saw Robert Plant live in 2005 thinking a Zeppelin reunion was impossible and he's still got it too. I have no doubt the reunion will be a success and now we just have to wait for the inevitable bootleg.

Imagine Peace

The Polyphonic Spree - Happy Xmas (War is Over) [originally by John Lennon]

Imaginepeace.com

TV Themes... this time with lyrics (Part 3).

Covers of TV Theme Songs Known Primarily as Instrumentals
(With Lyrics That You May or May Not Know)
Part 3


Unlike the previous two theme songs, the theme from Peter Gunn by Henry Mancini had no lyrics originally. It's instantly recognizable and arguably more well-known than the show from which it originates. I'm sure if you've never heard of Peter Gunn, you'd listen to it and say "Wait a minute, I DO know this song." Technically, the lyricized version is called Bye-Bye with words written by Jay Livingston & Ray Evans.

Every night your line is busy
All that buzzing makes me dizzy
Couldn’t count on all my fingers
All the dates you had with swingers

Bye, bye
Bye, baby
I’m gonna kiss you goodbye and go right through that doorway

So long
I’m leaving
This is the last time we’ll meet on the street going your way

Don’t look surprised
You know you buttered your bread
So now it’s fair you should stare at the back of my head

If you write a letter to me
My former friend don’t you end with an R.S.V.P.

I’m going bye, bye
I’m moving
Tomorrow I may be splittin’ to Britain or Norway

I’m saying bye, bye
Bye, baby

Now that I heard all that jazzing
Whereas I have had it
I’ve had it
I’m through now
With you now

So baby it’s au revoir
Adios
Ciao ciao
Goodbye!
Sarah Vaughan - Peter Gunn
Sarah Vaughan - Peter Gunn (Max Sedgley Remix)
This remix is from the album Verve Remixed Volume 3, part of a series of albums where classic Verve Records jazz tracks are (surprise!) remixed. Accompanying the album is Verve Unmixed, a CD of the original tracks. I was immediately intrigued when I saw that jazz vocalist Sarah Vaughan was covering Peter Gunn and that's when I first heard these "new" lyrics. The Max Sedgley remix is particularly catchy and you'll never hear the Peter Gunn theme the same ever again.

The Anita Kerr Singers - Bye Bye Theme from Peter Gunn

The Jody Grind - Peter Gunn
While assembling this post, I stumbled upon this cover on my own hard drive. Turns out I got it from Cover Freak a few months ago when he posted it and asked "Who knew this song had lyrics?". Now we know!

Tune in next time for part 4 where I'll feature... well, it's a surprise.

See also:
Part 1: Theme from Star Trek
Part 2: Theme from House (Massive Attack's Teardrop)

TV Themes... this time with lyrics (Part 2).

Covers of TV Theme Songs Known Primarily as Instrumentals
(With Lyrics That You May or May Not Know)
Part 2


Next up we have covers of Massive Attack's Teardrop, an instrumental version of which serves as the theme of House, now well into season 4. Since I'm ignorant about these sorts of things, I didn't know that theme was a full-length song (from 1998, incidentally) until I heard a fan-made soundtrack to House last year. In fact, I didn't even start watching House until we got the box sets at the library and I plowed through the first 2 seasons in a few weeks. Right now I'm about half-way through season 3 on DVD since, you know, watching shows when they air is oh so unsatisfying. Anyway, it's a beautiful song and as much as I love covers, frankly these ones are pretty unnecessary.

Love, love is a verb
Love is a doing word
Fearless on my breath
Gentle impulsion
Shakes me makes me lighter
Fearless on my breath

Teardrop on the fire
Fearless on my breath

Nine night of matter
Black flowers blossom
Fearless on my breath
Black flowers blossom
Fearless on my breath

Teardrop on the fire
Fearless on my breath

Water is my eye
Most faithful mirror
Fearless on my breath
Teardrop on the fire of a confession
Fearless on my breath
Most faithful mirror
Fearless on my breath

Teardrop on the fire
Fearless on my breath

Stumbling a little
Stumbling a little

Elbow - Teardrop [originally by Massive Attack]
[**link fixed] I don't really have anything to say about this cover other than I think naming your band after a body joint is silly.

José Gonzålez - Teardrop [originally by Massive Attack]
This one's not bad if you like the guy + acoustic guitar approach. While most lyrics sites cite the chorus as "fearless on my breath" there are a couple that say "feathers on my breath". It's quite possible José is singing "feathers" in his cover, but it's kinda hard to tell.

Newton Faulkner - Teardrop [originally by Massive Attack]
Teardrop must be the cover choice of the moment since these latter two covers have both cropped up in the past month or two. This one starts off promising, but this guy (sorry Newton) has that kind of generic rock voice that sounds sort of like a poor man's Eddie Vedder. I can't really articulate that distinct vocal quality that makes me cringe, but this is how you remind me of Nickelback, Creed, Theory of a Deadman, etc. Every line ends like "Fearless on my breahEhEeeeEEeeeAAAH". I may be totally off-base here and it's not really fair to be lumped in with those other guys since Newton Faulkner's other material doesn't really sound like them, but this Teardrop cover just doesn't work for me.

Tune in next time as we revisit a well-known Henry Mancini composition for a Blake Edwards show. And no, I'm pretty sure the Pink Panther theme has no lyrics.

See also:
Part 1: Theme from Star Trek

TV Themes... this time with lyrics.

Today's rather cumbersomely titled theme is:

Covers of TV Theme Songs Known Primarily as Instrumentals
(With Lyrics That You May or May Not Know)

Today I'm trying out a new file hosting site: box.net. While downloading folk covers from Cover Lay Down, I've noticed that the download speeds are generally phenomenal and interface less cluttered than most sites.


The impetus for this post pre-dates this blog to around 2001 when the first Tenacious D album came out and a friend introduced me to a live mp3 of the D entitled "Star Trek Lyrics". Jack Black tells the crowd "most you have not heard the lyrics to this... by Gene Roddenberry, the creator of the show" before launching into an acoustic, oddly sincere rendition of the Star Trek theme. I've never actually seen the original show and have maybe only seen a couple episodes of Deep Space Nine, but the original 60's Star Trek theme is just one of those things that permeates pop culture consciousness whether you actively seek it out or not. Considering the comedic nature of Tenacious D, not to mention the ridiculous lyrics, I just assumed they made them up. Cut to maybe 2 years ago, I heard the Project: Pimento cover of the theme. It starts off as expected, except in lounge music fashion, using a theremin to play the distinctive Star Trek melody. And then a female voice joins in singing the exact same lyrics. Clearly Project: Pimento was not covering Tenacious D. Further investigation revealed that in a particularly sneaky move, Gene Roddenberry wrote lyrics to the music written by Alexander Courage in order to lay claim to half the royalties of the song, despite the fact that the lyrics were never intended to be used. Tsk, tsk. And to think we launched his ashes into space.

Beyond the rim of the starlight,
My love is wandering in star flight.
I know he’ll find in star clustered reaches
Love, strange love a star woman teaches.

I know his journey ends never.
His Star Trek will go on forever.
But tell him while he wanders his starry sea,
Remember, Remember me.
Tenacious D - Star Trek Lyrics [originally by Alexander Courage & Gene Roddenberry]
I still can't believe these are the actual lyrics.

Project: Pimento - Star Trek [originally by Alexander Courage & Gene Roddenberry]
Project: Pimento is a San Francisco-based "theremin lounge band". They also do some pretty awesome Bond theme covers, which just so happen to be available on their official site as samples.

Nichelle Nichols - Star Trek [originally by Alexander Courage & Gene Roddenberry]
In the 1970's, Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura on Star Trek and is currently on Heroes as a character no doubt destined to play a larger role when the show continues post-strike, recorded a disco version of the theme with new lyrics of peace and love. The original lyrics were just about strange love taught by star women.

This post was getting a wee bit long so I've split it up into 4 parts. So tune in tomorrow (or maybe even in a few hours!) for part 2 where we stop by the Princeton-Plainsboro hospital for a check up...

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings in Vancouver

This Sunday I'll be going to a zinger of a show at the Commodore Ballroom here in Vancouver: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings. I've been looking forward to this since I saw a couple shortened sets at the Calgary Folk Fest, but I think they'll be much better suited to a nightclub-like locale... not that they weren't great earlier, but it'll much more intimate than a festival stage. If you haven't already, seek out their latest release 100 Days, 100 Nights. Definitely one of my favourite albums of the year. Here's a couple of their sessions from KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic, the latest being from just a couple days ago.

Live on Morning Become Eclectic May 12, 2005
1. DJ Intro
2. instrumental
3. How Do I Let a Good Man Down?
4. How Long Do I Have to Wait For You?
5. Your Thing is a Drag
6. interview
7. What If We All Stopped Paying Taxes?
8. This Land is Your Land [originally by Woody Guthrie]
9. My Man is a Mean Man
10. Outro
[Download link]

Live on Morning Become Eclectic December 3, 2007
1. DJ Intro
2. Casella Walk
3. Intro / I'm Not Going to Cry
4. Keep on Looking
5. Be Easy
6. interview
7. Let Them Knock
8. What Have You Done For Me Lately? [originally by Janet Jackson]
9. How Do I Let a Good Man Down?
10. 100 Days, 100 Nights
11. interview
12. Nobody's Baby
13. Outro
[Download link]

Cover Me

There's yet another cover blog on the block (we're practically a neighbourhood!) simply called Cover Me. Cover Me blogger Ray has actually had his cover blog up for over a month now, but what's new to me may be new to you as well. By the way, he's over at Covering the Mouse today with a guest Disney post. On Cover Me, Ray posts thematically-linked covers with commentary and we all know there's plenty of cover songs to go around. If a thousand monkeys on a thousand keyboards wrote a thousand cover blogs, would we run out of cover songs? Probably not. And in that teeny-tiny profile photo, is that Jack & Meg I see hovering over the boy clawing at his own face? That's 10, 000 bonus points, good sir. Welcome to the club!


Steve Tyrell with Dr. John - You've Got a Friend in Me [originally by Randy Newman for Disney's Toy Story]
As per unofficial Fong Songs welcome policy, new cover blogs are greeted by this modern classic from Toy Story. Important notice for any prospective cover bloggers: I've only got 7 more of these covers left. This is from jazz musician Steve Tyrell's album of Disney standards, unimaginatively named Steve Tyrell: The Disney Standards. Here, he's joined by Dr. John whose distinct voice and ivory ticklin' I'm a fan of.

Jamie Cullum - Seven Nation Army (live) [originally by The White Stripes]
This is my cover find of the week. I've been a big fan of Jamie Cullum since he burst on the scene scaring jazz and cover purists everywhere. And to find him covering another of my favourite bands is exciting indeed. I knew Jamie covered Seven Nation Army at his concerts many times including some terrible quality youtube videos. Sometimes it's part of a medley of other covers, but this was the first time I got my grubby hands on a quality live recording of the whole song. Using one of those sample and looping machines, Jamie builds up the distinct riff with his voice then proceeds to jingle jangle on the keys while singing one of the better cover versions of this song that I've heard.

This is the worst trip...

No covers today. I've been procrastinating on the next posting, but I just couldn't let this pass without comment...

Head on over to WMFU's Beware of the Blog for Brian Wilson's Lost Rap recording.

This is ridiculously hilarious! It's sooooo bad, but oddly compelling. And it sure is fun, fun, fun to play name that Beach Boys track.