There was nothing in the world that I ever wanted more.

Still working out the details of the new blog in the midst of my job hunt, etc. Until then, I just couldn't wait to share this:

Like the sun, chasing all of the rain away.

I've been posting lots of YouTube videos lately, but it's become my insomnia-fueled, late-night pastime to randomly browse for covers by everyday people. This one was a pleasant surprise:



And remember adorable Anthony Hill, whose videos I posted about a year ago? Well, he's covered my favorite Syd Barrett song (I'm in a weird Pink Floyd et. al. phase lately), and he's charming as ever. Someone sign this guy already!

There will be feasting and dancing in Jerusalem (or Hinsdale) next year.

I just learned via a MySpace bulletin that Heathers, a Dublin folk-punk-pop duo releasing an album on Plan-it-X Records sometime soon, will be touring the States with other Plan-it-Xer folk-punk-pop favorites (whose covers have been featured here in the past) Ghost Mice. Sadly, they do not have a show planned in Chicago proper (as of yet, anyhow), so I won't be able to catch them, but I still thought some of you might be interested in learning about them because they're pretty damned good and you might want to check them out if they're playing near you. Here are two videos of them performing The Mountain Goats' "This Year" and Tegan and Sara's "Nineteen," respectively. The quality of the videos might not be that great, but the talent shines through.





Update: I have to add their live version of this Spice Girls cover too because it's my jam!

Finding "treasure" in the dark.

Too much coffee too late in the day PLUS too much beer even later in the day PLUS today's thrift-score glasses and mugs PLUS free association PLUS YouTube EQUALS this:




------------------------------------




------------------------------------




------------------------------------




------------------------------------




------------------------------------






------------------------------------

Yeah. I'd apologize, but I'm really not that sorry.
 

She could go for miles, if you know what I mean.

My Internet friend Lauren just posted about this video of old-school diva extraordinaire Dame Shirley Bassey singing Pink's "Get the Party Started," and I am in camp heaven. The drag queen inside me is already plotting her lip-synch routine...

Feet on ground, heart in hand.

As many others did, I fell in love with Jay Brannan and his music after seeing Shortbus. Here he covers Jann Arden's "Good Mother," and it's pretty beautiful.



Longer post with MP3s coming in the next day or so.
 

Better, better, better, BETTER!

If you've seen this elsewhere, my apologies, but frankly? It's far better than a lot of "Hey, Jude" covers.

Didn't even know I needed it.

If all goes according to plan, in a few hours there will appear here a love-themed post, despite the fact that I'm one of those bitter spinsters with a cat who whines about Hallmark holidays. (Clarification on ambiguous sentence structure: I whine, the cat doesn't.) Until said post surfaces, please enjoy this animated video (as featured on today's episode of Yo Gabba Gabba), which is set to a cover of Free Design's "I Found Love" as performed by the Trembling Blue Stars.
 

Kings, cocaine and Irish puppets.

Mírame!

Well, I'm not surprised NaNoCoMo has a glitch or two. Neither is anyone reading, I'm guessing. There's some glitch with my chosen FTP and I'm too busy/lazy to figure it out right now (or to download a different program). Hopefully, I'll post some actual tracks tomorrow. Until then, I hope you won't want to kill me for this post. (The last one is not the best, but it's my favorite.)




















It could go on forever, but even I have my limits!

It's the freakin' weekend baby, I'm about to have me some fun.

Well, someone slept in today in preparation for the Aqueduct show she won free tickets to, so "today's" MP3s will more than likely be posted "tomorrow" (aka whatever time I return from the show). Sorry, kids, but Liza doesn't turn down the free indie rock.

The only road they've ever known.

Rose Polenzani, Sharon Lewis, Dinty Child, Dave Champagne, Jess Fox, Kimon Kirk, Joel Ninesling, and Ry Cavanaugh

They could knock me off my feet until I'm flat on the floor.

A little over a year ago I posted a great country cover of Mariah Carey's "My All" by Chicago band Devin & The Straights and said that I couldn't wait to see them live. Well, I did wait quite a long time. I had just missed their set the night I saw Textbook Committee and Farewell Captain at the Beat Kitchen, so my next option was to head to Chicago's big gay street festival, Northalsted Market Days, in August to see them. Besides, their adorable former band member and longtime Copy, Right? reader and subsequent Internet friend Landon joined them on vocals and harmonica, so I felt particularly driven toward my goal. They did not disappoint. Charming, funny, gay, straight, talented and prone to performing covers? If that's not up my alley, I'm not sure what is. Luckily, I got some video. Hooray for modern technology and digital cameras with halfway decent video recording capabilities!

D&TS; covering "Jackson" (comp. Lieber/Wheeler):



D&TS; covering Cher's "Just Like Jesse James":

Extra thick, extra long, the way we were wasted.

I was MIA there for a while, huh? I guess my plan to accept all affordable social invitations in the face of perhaps being forced to leave Chicago due to lack of viable employment is in full effect. So, yeah, in the midst of Pride weekend, "celebrating" my birthday, trying to get/preparing to go to interviews and having friends cool enough to buy tons and tons of drinks, I almost forgot about the blog. Sorry, kids.

One of the cool things I did recently (as recently as last night, even), was attend the aforementioned cover-fest at the Beat Kitchen. And while the awesome GBV tributalicious Textbook Committee delivered as usual, I was also extremely pleasantly surprised by the musical prowess of a band I'd never seen before: Farewell Captain. Seriously, their all-cover set was so awesome that I remarked to my friend Jessica (who I have to thank profusely because I was initially waffling on whether to go out into the sweltering night with very little pocket money and she offered to be my sugar daddy and encouraged me to go) that if they were a real indie cover band that played every week, I would go see them every time. (Of course, even if they don't play covers, I will check out their non-cover sets should the opportunity arise.)

Among many other favorite moments, their rendition of Teenage Fanclub's "The Concept" was particularly phenomenal. Sadly, I missed the first half the song because we came late, but whatever. What I saw the rest of their set ruled as well. Such as this cover of "Web in Front" by the Archers of Loaf that features a few extra vocals from my new friend John Sellers, author of Perfect From Now On: How Indie Rock Saved My Life, which you should totally buy:



A good drunken time indeed!

I'll be busy this week as well with job interviews, a visiting friend, Sonic Youth at Pitchfork and karaoke, but I'll try to post a few tracks in the next day or two.
 

Play me a song to set me free.

Perturbazione "Portami Via di Qua, Sto Male (Get Me Away from Here, I'm Dying)" (Italian Belle and Sebastian cover)

Dionysos & Louise Attaque perform Blur's "Song 2":

 

I got nothing to say I ain't said before.

Lambchop "This Corrosion" (Sisters of Mercy cover)
It's a genre I never got too obsessed with, this dark alt-country-meets-chamber-pop stuff, and I'm not sure why since I actually quite like it. Well, I was once temporarily obsessed with 16 Horsepower, but that was about a decade ago. Anyhow, I'm revisiting it, and find that I love it when these type of outfits cover goth staples.


Speaking of 16HP, for your viewing & listening pleasure, allegedly they chose Joy Division's "Heart and Soul" as their final live song ever:

Feels like more than a kiss to me.

One of my favorite so so so so wrong songs ever as performed by the pretty pretty pretty pretty boys of Grizzly Bear. They've covered this a lot while touring and this video recording, although cut off just before the end, is pretty awesome.

Maybe that rehab suggestion wasn't so bad after all, huh Amy?

I know lots of people who won't shut up about Amy Winehouse being the best thing since sliced bread. But let's face it: Sliced bread isn't that fucking amazing either. Gear up for one of the biggest train-wreck covers of all time: