Thursdays and Covers

[MP3] Smashing Pumpkins - Landslide

When the Dixie Chicks first released their version of this song, I had a momentary memory lapse. For a solid 18 hours (at least) I thought to myself, "Wow, they've really written a damn good song. Surprising.. It sounds so familiar." Then I had a double shot of enlightenment and embarrassment via Stevie Nicks. Sadly, the Dixie Chicks don't even take home the award for best cover losing by a landslide (zing!) to Corgan's version. Corgan's voice has always been this emotionally delicate ball of irregularity in my mind, doing Nicks' lyrics loads of justice.

[MP3] Bruce Hornsby & Ricky Skaggs - Superfreak

Bruce Hornsby is a freak of talent. Hands down, watching/listening to him perform live is like witnessing some rare natural occurrence that completely blows your mind. You wouldn't have thought the creative pianist took home a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album in 1989, but his recent collaboration with my fellow Kentuckian Ricky Skaggs might change your mind. A performance on Crossroads led to an album which led to a very interesting cover of "Superfreak". Bluegrass meets Motown? Strange meets awesome?

[MP3] Hootie & The Blowfish - Hey Hey What Can I Do

Only a band like Led Zeppelin could create a song that never saw an official LP release and subsequently have it go on to hit #16 on the charts. Only a band like Hootie & The Blowfish can cover the song and make it seem like they've been singing it for years. The fact that this song was (probably) written about a prostitute makes the lyrics lucidly entertaining. I still would like to think that Led Zeppelin is going to tour one of these days. Is that such an outlandish hope?

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