Jingle Jangle Jungle

Today we have a song that has been covered a few times. We'll take a look at the original and two of the covers. And we'll ask 'Who Sang It Best?' "Hurt" is a song written by Trent Reznor, first released on Nine Inch Nails' 1994 album The Downward Spiral . It received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Song in 1996. The song clearly includes references to self-harm and heroin addiction, although the overall meaning of the song is disputed. Some listeners contend that the song acts as a suicide note written by the album's protagonist, as a result of his depression, while others claim that it describes the difficult process of finding a reason to live in spite of depression and pain http://youtu.be/fb4qyuR7_cc In 2002, Johnny Cash covered the song for his album, American IV: The Man Comes Around . Its accompanying video, featuring images from Cash's life, was named the best video of the year by the Grammy Awards and CMA Aw

"All Out of Love" is a pop ballad by Air Supply, released in 1980. It was written by Graham Russell and Clive Davis. All Out Of Love I'm lying alone with my head on the phone Thinking of you till it hurts I know you hurt too but what else can we do Tormented and torn apart I wish I could carry your smile and my heart For times when my life feels so low It would make me believe what tomorrow could bring When today doesn't really know, doesn't really know I'm all out of love, I'm so lost without you I know you were right believing for so long I'm all out of love, what am I without you I can't be too late to say that I was so wrong I want you to come back and carry me home Away from this long lonely nights I'm reaching for you, are you feeling it too Does the feeling seem oh so right And what would you say if I called on you now And said that I can't hold on There's no easy way, it gets harder each day Please love me or I'll be g

Did you sing those words as you read them? "The Safety Dance" is a protest against bouncers stopping dancers "pogoing" to 1980s new wave music in clubs when disco was dying and new wave was up and coming. The song was written by Ivan Doroschuk after he had been kicked out of a club for pogoing. New wave dancing, especially "pogoing", was different from disco dancing, because it was done individually instead of with partners and involved holding the torso rigid and thrashing about. To uninformed bystanders this could look dangerous, especially if "pogoers" accidentally bounced into one another (the more deliberately violent evolution of "pogoing" is slam dancing). The bouncers did not like 'pogoing" so they would tell "pogoers" to stop or be kicked out of the club. Thus, the song is a protest and a call for freedom of expression. Other lyrics in the song include references to the way "pogoing" l

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about a cover of REM's song " Losing My Religion ". ( You can read that post HERE ) At that time, I promised I would write more about the band at a later date. That date has finally arrived.  R.E.M. were an alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia,in 1980. The band originally consisted of Michael Stipe (vocals), Peter Buck (guitar, mandolin), Mike Mills (bass, keyboards, vocals) and Bill Berry (drums, vocals). Berry retired from the band in October 1997 after having suffered a brain aneurysm in 1995. R.E.M. released its first single, ” Radio Free Europe “, in 1981 on the independent record label Hib-Tone. The single was followed by the Chronic Town EP in 1982, the band’s first release on I.R.S. Records. In 1983, the group released its critically acclaimed debut album, Murmur , and built its reputation over the next few years through subsequent releases, constant touring, and the support of college radio. Following years of un

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post that included a cover of Meghan Trainor's song " All About That Bass ". At that time, I promised I would write more about her at a later date.  Ladies and Gentlemen, that date has arrived. Meghan Trainor is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. Trainor began singing at the tender age of 6 and songwriting at age 11. She later became a member of a band called Island Fusion and a jazz band at high school. At the age of 15, Trainor produced and released a self-titled album. She then attended the Berklee College of Music and found success at a variety of songwriting contests across the United States. In 2011, she released two acoustic albums, I'll Sing with You and Only 17 . The latter earned her a song publishing deal with Big Yellow Dog Music, where she wrote for Rascal Flatts and Sabrina Carpenter, among others. In February 2014, Trainor was signed to Epic Records by L.A. Reid after performing her song "All

Pardon me... I need to Vent! I am beginning to think that there is something inherently wrong with our latest generation. Recently, Sir Paul McCartney collaborated on a song, "Only One" with Kanye West. Many of Kanye's fans took to Twitter to find out who the "unknown" artist is on the track and even credited Kanye with helping McCartney acquire fame. One twit tweeted: "Who is Paul McCartney? Why do people love him?" "Paul McCartney is obviously using Kanye for fame," she added. Another twit tweeted: "I don't know who Paul McCartney is, but Kanye is going to give this man a career w/ this new song!!" At first I thought the whole ' Who is Paul McCartney ' thing was a hoax. A stupid hoax, but still a hoax. And I worry about Sir Paul's senility. After all, he's the one that made the choice to pair up with that d-bag (and I'm not talking dimes here) Kanye (don't even get me started on my

I found the song for today's installment of Got You Covered, while surfing the internet.  I love it when I find little gems like this. Back in the 70's to early 80's there was a band from Sweden named ABBA. They cranked out a number of popular hits during their time.  I'll tell you more about them in a later post. One such hit was this song. It was released in 1975: http://youtu.be/cvChjHcABPA I always did like this song. I recall sitting in a music classroom in school and the teacher was trying to teach us this song. Here's an interesting side note about this song - "SOS" is the only Hot 100 single (or #1 single in Australia) in which both the title and the credited act are palindromes. Fast forward about 10 years. A little band from Quebec, Canada showed up on the music scene. These guys called themselves Men Without Hats. They, too,  were quite popular in their time. I'll talk more about them later as well. Today, I found a

Today's installment of "Got You Covered" takes us to FunkyTown "Uptown Funk" is a song recorded by English producer Mark Ronson, with guest vocals by American recording artist Bruno Mars, for Ronson's fourth studio album, Uptown Special . The song was written by Ronson, Jeff Bhasker, Mars and Philip Lawrence; with Ronson, Mars and Bhasker credited for producing it as well. The single has been commercially successful, spending several weeks at the top of the charts. The single holds the title of the all-time most streamed track in a single week in the United Kingdom, having been streamed a record 2.56 million times in a single week. The tune is rather catchy. Here, have a listen: http://youtu.be/OPf0YbXqDm0 The latest craze it seems to be that new, catchy songs are quickly covered and parodied. I've seen quite a few versions of the song myself. One of the better parodies is called "Suburban Funk" which features soccer moms liv

"Since U Been Gone" is a song recorded by American pop rock singer Kelly Clarkson from her second studio album, Breakaway . The song, which was written and produced by Max Martin and Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, was released on November 16, 2004 by RCA Records as the lead single from the album. It is an uptempo pop rock, and power pop song that infuses electronic sound with a mixture of soft and loud alternative-rock sound. Martin originally wrote "Since U Been Gone" with Pink in mind but she turned it down. It was then given to Hilary Duff but she rejected the song because she could not reach its higher notes. The song was finally given to Clarkson after Clive Davis convinced the writers to give it to her. Clarkson decided to add heavier guitars and harder drums to the song after noticing that the demo had an obvious pop sound. Lyrically, the song is written from a woman's point of view where she expresses her sense of relief --- albeit ambivalent at

"The problem is all inside your head", she said to me The answer is easy if you take it logically I'd like to help you in your struggle to be free There must be fifty ways to leave your lover She said, it's really not my habit to intrude Furthermore, I hope my meaning won't be lost or misconstrued But I'll repeat myself at the risk of being crude There must be fifty ways to leave your lover Fifty ways to leave your lover You just slip out the back, Jack Make a new plan, Stan You don't need to be coy, Roy Just get yourself free Hop on the bus, Gus You don't need to discuss much Just drop off the key, Lee And get yourself free Ooo, slip out the back, Jack Make a new plan, Stan You don't need to be coy, Roy You just listen to me Hop on the bus, Gus You don't need to discuss much Just drop off the key, Lee And get yourself free She said, it grieves me so to see you in such pain I wish there was something I could do to make you smile again I sa

 Pictures Of You I've been looking so long at these pictures of you That I almost believe that they're real I've been living so long with my pictures of you That I almost believe that the pictures are All I can feel Remembering You standing quiet in the rain As I ran to your heart to be near And we kissed as the sky fell in Holding you close How I always held close in your fear Remembering You running soft through the night You were bigger and brighter and wider than snow And screamed at the make-believe Screamed at the sky And you finally found all your courage To let it all go Remembering You fallen into my arms Crying for the death of your heart You were stone white So delicate Lost in the cold You were always so lost in the dark Remembering You how you used to be Slow drowned You were angels So much more than everything Hold for the last time then slip away quietly Open my eyes But I never see anything If only I'd thought

Today's Break Up Song was the most successful international single for the group, No Doubt . Don't Speak is written by Gwen Stefani and her brother Eric Stefani. The song is about their bandmate Tony Kanal, who ended a seven year relationship with Gwen. You and me, we used to be together Every day together, always I really feel that I'm losing my best friend I can't believe this could be the end It looks as though you're letting go And if it's real, well I don't want to know Don't speak I know just what you're saying So please stop explaining Don't tell me 'cause it hurts Don't speak I know what you're thinking I don't need your reasons Don't tell me 'cause it hurts Our memories, they can be inviting But some are altogether mighty frightening As we die, both you and I With my head in my hands, I sit and cry Don't speak I know just what you're saying So please stop explaining Don't tell me 'cause it

This past week we talked about falling in love and all those mushy emotions related to Valentine's Day. But I haven't forgot about those of you who may have not been so lucky in the love department. Without further ado, let me introduce you to this week's Theme : Break Up Songs Earworm of the Day: I Pray For You, by Jaron Lowenstein (credited under the name Jaron and the Long Road To Love) I haven't been to church since I don't remember when Things were goin' great 'til they fell apart again So I listened to the preacher as he told me what to do He said you can't go hatin' others who have done wrong to you Sometimes we get angry, but we must not condemn Let the good Lord do His job and you just pray for them I pray your brakes go out runnin' down a hill I pray a flowerpot falls from a window sill and knocks you in the head like I'd like to I pray your birthday comes and nobody calls I pray you're flyin' high when

This weekend's Cover Song is a nice seque between Valentines Day, and our theme for the coming week. Rolling in The Deep is a song written by Adele and Paul Epworth, and was released in November 2010. It is a dark bluesy gospel disco tune. The song was written in a single afternoon following Adele's breakup with her boyfriend. It was her reaction to being told that her life was going to be boring and lonely and rubbish. We'll talk more about Adele in a future post. Let's give Adele's version a listen: http://youtu.be/rYEDA3JcQqw Rolling in The Deep has been covered by quite a few different artists. Linkin Park , an alternative band that leans more toward nu-metal and rap metal is one such band that has covered the song. Here is their version: http://youtu.be/dHtwZ07N1ic Side Note: I did find another cover, but it's not for the faint of heart. Most definitely NSFW. But if you're curiosity is killing you - search YouTube for Lil W