Despite the grueling recession, modern day hip-hop sill carries on it’s ostentatious love affair with all things bling, begging the question: Who or where are this generation’s Native Tongues; Our De La Souls, our Jungle Brothers, our Tribe Called Quests? While you’re polishing your black medallion and waiting for those next afro-conscious super heroes, why not lend an ear to LA local favorites Carlos Nino & Miguel Atwood-Ferguson with their jazzy downtempo instrumental cover of Tribe Called Quest‘s swan song hip-hop classic Find a Way.

Carlos Nino & Miguel Atwood-Ferguson – Find A Way

Enjoy
LS

PS Those in Thee Versions Galore Facebook Fanclub who don’t know what time it is, got the original waiting on the wall for y’all….

“Long hair is an unpardonable offense which should be punishable by death.”

“Bring me the head of Elton John”

(What nasty habits would you like to change?) “I’m far too generous.”

(Regarding a tribute album) ”It wouldn’t matter who’s on it because if anybody covers your songs, you’re incredibly grateful, as long as it’s not Britney Spears”.

Ah Morrissey quotes. Bartlett’s needs to have an entire tome dedicated to them.
Well maybe not all of them. While Bigmouth may have struck out with his most recent one, I’ll always have a soft spot for his more charming days with The Smiths. What better way to reminisce then with a barrel full of This Charming Man covers.
Leading with the most charmed of the lot is a brand new girlie voxed cover, hot off the presses from France’s Mensch. We also have more charming grrrlishness from V V Brown and Mummy The Peepshow. The Stars cover both bases with a laidback yet upbeat acoustic version as well as a twee little dance number. Also guaranteed to put a smile on your face is an acapella rendition from the Bostonians. Where there is a cult indie band, The String Quartet is sure to follow and plucking at their bow is another classical tribute from Litmus. And lastly standard versions all around from Death Cab for Cutie, Braid and David Glass.

Mensch – This Charming Man
V V Brown – This Charming Man
Mummy The Peepshow – This Charming Man
The String Quartet – This Charming Man
Litmus – This Charming Man
The Stars – This Charming Man (The Saturday Sessions)
The Stars – This Charming Man
Death Cab for Cutie – This Charming Man
Bostonians – This Charming Man
David Glass – This Charming Man
Braid – This Charming Man

Enjoy!
LS

Still under crazy deadlines this week but still have 2 seconds to put a great one out there today.
LA Vampires & Zola Jesus put a truly bizarre, dubby (but not ‘dub’) pyschedelic spin on Dawn Penn reggae classic No, No, No (You Don’t Love Me…).
Less spliff-y and more ‘Music To Look At Black Light Posters Of Devendra Banhart’s Dirty Beard By…’

LA Vampires & Zola Jesus – No No No

Enjoy!
LS

PS For those that missed it first time round, we got a great French version too…

On a short leash today but here’s LA punk classic (and Decline of Western Civilization highlight) Johny Hit and Run Paulene by X.
The Phantom Surfers and X’s Billy Zoom come together as the Ramonetures (Ramones + Ventures) for a fun little instrumental surf version while
Giant Sand (AKA Howe Gelb) & PJ Harvey liked it so nice they tackled it twice.

Ramonetures – Johny Hit And Run Paulene
Giant Sand & PJ Harvey – Johny Hit And Run Paulene
Howe Gelb & PJ Harvey – Johny Hit And Run Paulene (Live)

Enjoy!
LS

PS For those of you in Thee Versions Galore Facebook Fanclub who are only old enough to remember the Rock Band version, we got the original hanging on the wall for you…

I’ve always been fascinated by obscure subcultures and micro-genres; Jangle-Pop, Sopisto-Pop, Shoegaze, C86, Grebo, Suedeheads, The NY Punk-Prep connection, Ghettotech and the subject of today’s post, Buffalo.
Buffalo was the brainchild of 80s UK stylist Ray Petri. Primarily a fashion movement, it was ushered in by the matte-black design era and is one of the earliest examples of the now ubiquitous Promethean trend of bringing urban/street culture to ‘high’ fashion. Signature looks included; Ray’s own uniform – the MA-1 Flight Jacket (AKA Bomber) with baggy jeans and chunky black shoes, baggy italian suits with padded shoulders and bolero hats, the MA-1 again paired with biker shorts, zip-up mock turletneck, and combat boots, all of which resulting in a very top heavy look which was worn in equal parts by both men and women. All of this would eventually be exported to America, albeit in a predictably water downed fashion via a True Blue-era Madonna (who went as far as roping in for her videos Buffalo’s most iconic model, the juvenile Felix Howard) and in yet another sub-genre, the late 80s-early 90s hip-hop/r&b crossover movement New Jack Swing.
While the Buffalo look would be catalyzed in print on a monthly basis in UK style rags like I.D., Arena and the sorely missed (at least in this house) The Face, it would eventually be immortalized by Neneh Cherry in her 1986 hip hop classic Buffalo Stance. Fast forwarding to today, we have Portugese Electro/Kuduro/dancehall act Buraka Som Sistema immortalizing Neneh with their rendition of Buffalo.

Buraka Som Sistema – Buffalo Stance

Enjoy!
LS

PS I’d like to end this with a ‘somebody should really bring that style back’, but if you can believe it in true fashion fashion, we collectively winked and it’s already come and gone.

Shouting Lager! Lager! Lager!
Wow, has it really been almost 15 years since Trainspotting came out?
To which I’ve got yet another one of my ridiculous anecdotes. There are a few people/celebrities on the earth that I see repeatedly, no matter when or where I am on this globe. One of which is happens to be Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh. I’ve bumped into him in New York, London, Los Angeles but I first met him at, of all places, the Edinburgh Castle In San Francisco. The movie had just been released in the UK and I was interviewing him for some magazine. After talking with him for about an hour (and only understanding about 1/4 of what he was saying through the thick Scottish fog), he said ‘Hey d’ya want ta party like?’
Having read all his books I nervously glanced down at the crook in my arm ‘Uh……..’
Welsh clocking my expression laughed and said “Noo mate! Nae that shite! I gote sum smoke, ya ken?”
‘Oh! Pot! Yeah I’m down!’ I mean how could one just-say-no to doing drugs with the Irvine Welsh?
So we snuck out the back exit and lit up. After about the 2nd pass around, with the world’s largest spliff still in my mouth <<< FLASH! >>> a camera goes off.
Simultaneously we both turn to the photographer ‘WHAT THE FOOK!?!’
The poor photographer looked as scared as we did. ‘It’s for the (San Franisco) Chronicle!’ she said defensively. While it was easy for Irvine to brush her off with a ‘Get stoofed lassie’ I still remembered that my parents got the paper and that the last thing I wanted my poor dad to see while he was on the can reading the Sunday section was me in a cloud of marijuana with a stupid look on my face. Needless to say the next morning I took a very urgent, very early, road trip to steal the incriminating evidence off my parents porch.
And with that here is the theme of sorts to Trainspotting, Born Slippy Nuxx (AKA Born Slippy) by Underworld covered in a rather sultry downtempo fashion by Barefoot as well as a nice little indie version by Get Well Soon.

Barefoot – Born Slippy
Get Well Soon – Born Slippy Nuxx

Enjoy!
LS

Y’know, I’m going to go out on a long and dangerous limb here, but I gotta confess, I’ve always kind of preferred The Style Council a little bit more than
The Jam. I know, I know, it’s the kind of sacrilege that’s on par with admitting that you prefer Roger Moore over Sean Connery, but I just do. I think it may have to do with the fact that I was exposed to My Ever Changing Moods (at 3am in the morning via Night Tracks!) long before I would ever hear a Town Called Malice.
Sophisti-Pop FTW!
With that today we got a small grip of My Ever Changing Moods. As you can imagine they are all pretty much jazzy/downtempo pop renditions of the already jazzy-pop sounding original. Kicking off we got a handful of Japanese covers from acid jazz stalwart Monday Michiru, South Field Radio Station, Sonia, Eddy Yamamoto, a Shibuya-house Avocado Blue and streetwear guru (at least mine anyways) Hiroshi Fujiwara. Next is Italy with Bossasonic and Mary Izzo (also featuring Bossaonic). Off to the Phillipines with Sitti where, who knew, they apparently have a thriving Bossa Nova scene. And lastly back to the Northern hemisphere with Canada’s Jacksoul and the US/UK hybrid that is Superpulse.

Monday Michiru – My Ever Changing Moods
South Field Radio Station (feat. Jeni Fujita) – My Ever Changing Moods
Sonia – My Ever Changing Moods
Eddy Yamamoto – My Ever Changing Moods
Avocado Blue – My Ever Changing Moods
Hiroshi Fujiwara – My Ever Changing Moods (Live)
Bossasonic – My Ever Changing Moods
Mary Izzo (feat Bossasonic) – My Ever Changing Moods
Sitti – My Ever Changing Moods
Jacksoul – My Ever Changing Moods
Superpulse – My Ever Changing Moods

Enjoy!
LS

After last nights Scotch whiskey tasting event, followed by a shot of Rumpleminz, some Roscoe’s Chicken n’ Waffles then on to more debauchery at the infamous Jumbos,  I can honestly say this morning my head feels like ‘everbody’s talkin at me’ and that ‘I can’t hear a word they’re saying’.
Now that Nilsson‘s theme to Midnight Cowboy, Everybody’s Talkin’ (though originally penned by Fred Neil), is stuck in my head I’m gonna get it stuck in yours. And that’s a good thing btw.
Waxing on about ‘going where the sun keeps shining’ and ‘skipping over the ocean like a stone’, Talkin’ sounds tailormade for some good reggae covers. So today we got some great roots, rocksteady and dub from the likes of GrandMagneto, Leroy Sibbles, Errol Dunkley, John Holt as well as a dark likkle dancehall number from Sanchez.

GrandMagneto – Everybody’s Talkin’
Leroy Sibbles – Everybody’s Talkin’
Errol Dunkley – Everybody’s Talkin’
John Holt – Everybody’s Talkin’
Sanchez – Everybody’s Talkin’

Enjoy! (I’m going back to bed…)
LS

Short but true story: Some time ago I saw a brand spanking new Mazzy Star get almost completely boo’ed offstage when opening for the Cocteau Twins. Seems no one had heard of them, or Opal for that matter, and since the Cocteaus hadn’t been to the states in years, nobody wanted to see anything BUT them. Non-plussed, Mazzy’s Hope Sandoval still kept dreamily singing throughout, occasionally giving the tambourine a bit of a shake; the living embodiment of grace under pressure. A few short years later the Cocteaus were gone and it would be almost impossible to find a soundtrack or mixtape that didn’t have Mazzy Star on it.
So fast forwarding to today, we got New York’s Asobi Seksu carrying the torch for dream pop with their cover of Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions’ lazily sweet Suzanne.

Asobi Seksu – Suzanne

Enjoy!
LS

PS Those in Thee Versions Galore Facebook Fanclub who’ve missed out on the pure bliss that is Ms. Sandoval’s voice, got the original hanging on the wall for ya.

I’m back y’all. Apologies for going MIA on you guys/gals for the last few days, a last minute to decision to get the hell out of dodge and have some serious decompression time. It’s always good however  to return with a smile and little bounce in your step. I can’t think of a better soundtrack to that than lesser travelled David Bowie single Sound And Vision. BTW my room is blue, though more of a pale minty blue than a Bowie Electric-Blue (BTW what a great name for a paint swatch. Maybe that along with Ashes to Ashes Grey and Golden Years Yellow).
I’m going to kick things off with one of my favorite versions; a peppy little cover by Chicago’s The Sea & Cake, no reason just a big John McEntire/Tortoise/Thrill Jockey fanatic so they’ll always get top billing round these parts. Next up, Brassed Off fans will probably dig the sweetly voiced brass band sounds of The Big Mess Orchestra. Cries of “Azul! Azul!” fuel Devendra Banhart’s nueva banda Español, Megapuss. Loving the just the touch of mandolin (or is that a banjo?) in both the Foibles and Mechanical Bride versions. Moonlighting Stephn Malkmus band members Quasi go indie/shoegaze while The Peptides opt for a more mellow organ version. The abstract electronics of Ghostly Record’s Matthew Dear are always welcome here and speaking of electronics we also have a minimal beat driven little electro ditty via Press. And lastly some good standards all around from Scot-rockers Franz Ferdinand, Wildlife, Bad Soup and black fingernailed 80s synthpoppers Book Of Love.

The Sea and Cake – Sound And Vision
The Big Mess Orchestra – Sound And Vision
Megapuss – Sound And Vision
Foibles – Sound And Vision
Mechanical Bride – Sound And Vision
Quasi – Sound And Vision
The Peptides – Sound And Vision
Matthew Dear – Sound And Vision
Press – Sound And Vision
Franz Ferdinand – Sound And Vision
Wildlife – Sound And Vision
Bad Soup – Sound And Vision
Book of Love – Sound And Vision

Enjoy!
LS

While these two may look like the kind of swingers who crash your party and then start doing suggestive things with the cocktail weenies in front of all your guests, it’s actually the combined genius that was Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder. Suffice to say the impact of their vastly ahead of it’s time 1977(!) electro-disco classic, I Feel Love, on the world of electronic music cannot be overstated.
As you can imagine, this track being the genesis of modern dance music also means I had to sift through a virtual Kilimanjaro of crap trance, bad euorohouse, and one irritating goth cover to bring you these 10 handpicked, Versions Galore™ approved versions. The Plaintains start things off with a sublime pitched-down, leftfield beatless electronic version. Also coming out of leftfield is the lounge antics of Montefiori Cocktail who put a little bit of swing back into disco. Also good for a bit of a cocktail laugh is French easy listening master Paul Mauriat‘s over-the-top 70s orchestral version. Getting back to electronica I was pleasantly surprised to discover that their was an old school acid house cover via Fax Yourself (feat Carrie Ann) and that Kevin Duvall made a not half bad tech-house/electro version. I’ll always have a soft spot for Bronski Beat‘s synthpop version (with Marc Almond of Soft Cell fame on backing vocals), being my first exposure to I Feel Love. The late great proto new romantic/new waver, Klaus Nomi hits the high notes in his electro meets opera meets avant garde rendtition. 90s alt-shoegaze disappearing act Curve re-ememerge here with an electronic-rock cut and also on that same unorthodox indie rock tip are a rather enjoyably loud Cobra Verde. And lastly, no stranger to Moroder herself, is a live cut from Blondie (with Robert Fripp!).

Plantains – I Feel Love
Montefiori Cocktail – I Feel Love
Paul Mauriat – I Feel Love
Fax Yourself feat Carrie Ann – I Feel Love
Kevin Duvall – I Feel Love
Bronski Beat – I Feel Love
Klaus Nomi – I Feel Love (Live NYC 1979)
Curve – I Feel Love
Cobra Verde – I Feel Love
Blondie - I Feel Love (Live 1980)

Enjoy!
LS

PS Those in Thee Versions Galore Facebook Fanclub, got the original plus a nice little re-edit on the wall…

PPS My fellow cover blogger Fong Songs has decided to retire
Be sure to drop by and check out his going away post(s) Fong Songs 101 All-Time Covers.

Title says it all really.
Mediafire has gone MIA for everyone apparently. No cover fun today.
When it gets fixed, this post will be gone (hopefully that’ll be soon).
So for now peer past that door marked ‘outside’ and enjoy some fresh air.

!!! FIXED !!!
See y’all tomorrow with the usual cover goodness!

I’m not a particularly superstitious person. I don’t believe in bigfoot, ghosts, horoscopes, UFOs or fairy tales that involve talking snakes, burning bushes and messianic people rising from the dead like self-righteous zombies. I am, however, pretty fatalistic when it comes to Mercury-in-rertrograde. Cataclysmic shit rains down on me like clockwork; from bad breakups to car accidents to floods that take half your possessions (twice if you can believe it). So Mercury this time around thus far has brought me all kinds of presents including this morning when a fucking button popped off my cherished Eames Lounge. Yesterday it was my Blackberry dying. The day before that I stepped on, and destroyed, one of my external drives. And I could just keep going. Each time concluding with a worn down me shaking my head, sighing to myself “One thing leads to a%$@nother”.
Which leads us into today’s post, One Thing Leads To Another by semi-one hitters The Fixx. One is a quirky, jazzy drum and bass version from Joseph Patrick Moore and the other a tidy little unplugged rendition from hip-hop influenced indie rocker Ken Hyland.

Joseph Patrick Moore – One Thing Leads To Another
Ken Hyland – One Thing Leads To Another

Enjoy!
LS

That considerably emo looking lad above represents the one-man band that is Washed Out , who isn’t really that emo at all but rather part of the burgeoning Chillwave movement. For those that can’t stand stomaching yet another micro-genre, let’s just say that it loafs somewhat incandescently between ambient and shoegaze. Also sounding somewhat blissed and dream poppy is fellow one man chillwaver Teen Daze with his cover of Washed’s New Theory.

Teen Daze – New Theory

Enjoy!
LS

PS Those in Thee Versions Galore Facebook Fanclub who are dying to know who or what Washed Out are, we got the original hanging on the wall for ya.

Today we make, ahem, Contact with one of Serge Gainsbourg’s first love’s
Brigitte Bardot. Written by Serge for Bardot, Contact is taken off of BB’s 1968, wildly ahead of it’s time French pop classic, Show.
So ma préférée today hands down is Pizzicato Five with their cheeky version done in the style of Kraftwerk’s Home Computer. Also on an electro/disco tip is David Carretta as well as a little downtempo cut by defunct 90s indie/synth-poppers Godzuki. Next big indie things the Wooden Shjips take their Contact into headier territories. And lastly we got a dead ringer for the original by Simone Angel.

Pizzicato Five – Contact
David Carretta – Contact
Godzuki – Contact
Wooden Shjips – Contact
Simone Angel – Contact

Enjoy!
LS

PS Those in Thee Versions Galore Facebook Fanclub, got the original hanging on the wall for ya…