"Faith" by Lake Street Dive

Remember when Elmo from Sesame Street was all the rage? When Tickle Me Elmo dolls were going up on EBay for three times my monthly salary? Then came a barrage of other must-haves: Chicken Dance Elmo, Rock and Roll Elmo, Walk and Talk Elmo, Hokey Pokey Elmo….

I liked Elmo just fine, but Telly was way cooler of a neurotic little Muppet, and he didn’t get a fraction of Elmo’s fanfare.

So it is with cover versions of George Michael’s “Faith.”

The Limp Bizkit nu-metal version was all over the damn place in 1997. I believe I heard it played in grocery stores.

I hadn’t heard of Lake Street Dive until Lynn suggested it as a featured cover, touting it as “a song to belt out while driving. Alone.”

I can’t disagree. It’s an under-the-radar jazzy, swingy, bluesy gem!

"Bullet with Butterfly Wings" by Taking Back Sunday

If the song "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" stole my laptop on the subway, I'd have a pretty tough time differentiating between The Smashing Pumpkins version and the Taking Back Sunday cover in the police lineup.

There are subtle distinctions, sure. But like those seen in round 23 of "Photo Hunt" visual games, where it's nearly impossible to tell that the watermelon slice has 48 seeds rather than 47.

I could be way off base, but I believe Taking Back Sunday got their name when lead singer Adam Lazzara was hanging out with Corey Feldman at the bottom of a wishing well in Astoria, Oregon. Someone had chucked in several hundred calendars with random days circled. "This was my day, my Sunday," cried Corey as he pointed to a date circled in red Sharpie. "And I'm taking it back. I'm taking them all back."

"Radio Ga Ga" by Electric Six

 Electric Six channel Queen. They're pretty dead on.

And, if you can't 100% get behind a video showing a pack of poodles rhythmically clapping while hanging out in a bar with the ghost of Freddie Mercury, I'm not sure that we can be friends.

"On the Road Again" by First Aid Kit

 

Swedish sisters Johanna and Klara Soderberg of First Aid Kit lend their tuneful harmonies to this reworking of Willie Nelson's road trip staple. And, Ehrmahgerd, is that an AUTOHARP? It is! It's an autoharp!

Speaking of getting on the road again, I was reading about Kosher tank cleaners the other day.

If an 18-wheeler was carrying commodities that were not Kosher certified, like live hagfish, the inside of the trailer must be sanitized prior to getting it on the road again, adhering to strict guidelines of temperature and dormancy, with the entire process being supervised and certified by a rabbi.

I'm adding "Meticulously watching tractor trailers getting cleaned" to my list of vocational aspirations.

"Sweet Home Alabama" by Leningrad Cowboys

If my Father-In-Law ever takes up professional wrestling (that ship has likely sailed, unfortunately. But, stranger things have happened), there's little doubt of what his intro music would be.

Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" has been his de facto anthem since I've known him, and likely years and years before.

Unfortunately, a plane crash outside of Gillsburg, Mississippi took the life of Ronnie Van Zant in his prime, so he never got to witness his song covered by Leningrad Cowboys, some Finnish dudes with faux pompadours, accompanied on tuba and accordion and freakin' balalaikas.

Not to mention an ensemble of Russians in full military garb, heartfully belting out a song about Dixie.

Happy Birthday, Tom!

"Raining Tacos" by Dolphin Smiling

 

Our son Kaden created a game for himself around his 11th birthday where he scores points by intentionally annoying family members.

He's really good at it. Like, if needling siblings were an Olympic sport, Kip would have so many medals around his neck that he'd be stooped over like Junebug Spade from "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka."

One night, soon after we bought an Amazon Alexa, Kaden shouted out, "Alexa, Play 'It's Raining Tacos!'"

His plan backfired, because I absolutely love the song. Parry Gripp's tune is approximately two minutes of delightful family-friendly absurdity, with a catchy chorus and a sturdy bouncy synth-pop foundation.

According to Kaden, this cover version by Denver band Dolphin Smiling is "trash" (I like it better than the original, but both are pretty fab), which is great to know, as I now have a means to intentionally annoy HIM. REVERSE CARD!!!

Happy Birthday, Buddy!

"Family Affair" by Streetwize

 

Mary J. Blige was the highlight of the Superbowl LVI halftime show for me.... with the possible exception of 50 Cent dangling from the rafters of his sterile cubicle looking like a crunked bat.

In 2008, NYC's Streetwize took on Mary J.'s "Family Affair," buliding a layer of electro jazz onto the track, but adding nary a bit of hateration or holleration in the process.