Somehow I stumbled onto the Moog Cookbook, and now have their first 2 cd's (are there more?). On the first they do their versions of fairly contemporary songs, including "Smells Like Teen Spirit".
On the second, they cover the "classics", including a wonderful "Hotel California". They also turn Boston's "More Than A Feeling" into a cha-cha. In all, wonderful twistings of tunes that deserve some wonderful twistings.
I've actually had the "classics" cd sitting on my computer station for quite a while now. One of my little games is to overdub two versions of the same tune, into a new mutant version. Meaning to overdub the Moog's and Dread Zeppelin's versions of "Whole Lotta Love", to see what happens.
Ah, Dread Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin (and sometime other stuff) turned into reggae, with Elvis as the lead singer. In a just world, it should have been all over the radio.
Also, another shameless plug to some other much beloved by Moose tunes, also found in the wfmu.org archives. To another message in another topic for the links.
While there are some bright moments, my impression is that this program is a great pox on U.S. public music radio. A friend and I refer to it as "Burb Cafe", as in "David Dye lives in a pretty small musical world". High quality elevator and office music for people not really into music. Makes me hate the term "singer/songwriter" more than ever.
David once had Taj Mahal on as a guest. Taj (bless his soul) told David that "World Cafe" was "apartheid radio".
In all, the WFMU blog is a massive source of oddities, both musical and non-musicical.
WFMU has been called the best radio station in the United States. I'm a believer. See also WFMU - Wikipedia
Now, for cover versions in general - I would strongly suspect the most covered tunes are some of the jazz standards. God only knows how many recorded versions there are of such things as Round Midnight and so many other tunes.
"Insane Asylum" is one of Willie Dixon's more obscure compositions. I believe he wrote it for Koko Taylor. Koko recorded it (with Willie also doing some vocals) on one of her Chess label recordings.
Diamanda has a studio version on her album "The Singer". Just her singing and playing piano (as is the video version).
See also the other DG YouTube video, if you care.
I view DG as being for those who find Yoko Ono too tame. A unique artist.
Moose
ps: Came very close to accidentally starting a new topic.
There is a bio and print interview at the above link, which includes:
quote:Galas was raised in San Diego by Greek Orthodox parents and received some hefty classical and jazz training early on; she later fell in with experimentalists like Henry Kaiser, and experiences working with Iannis Xenakis and Vinko Globokar (for whom she sang an opera that ruined her predecessor's voice) gave her some greater exposure to the ultimate possibilities of sound, and using her singular presence in the realm of extreme, visceral sonic potential. Through her career she's always concentrated on specific topical elements to interpret and refer to via her performances, notably the 1980's advent of AIDS (which took the life of her brother). Works like the Divine Punishment and other segments of her Masque of the Red Death trilogy addressed the subject on multiple levels in detail. She especially took the Roman Catholic Church to task for what she believed to be its abandonment of those suffering, and became very outspoken activist for the cause both on and off stage. ...
quote:A fiercely confrontational avant-garde performer noted for her wailing, four-octave vocal range, Diamanda Galas was born and raised in San Diego, California. The daughter of Greek Orthodox parents, her singing was roundly discouraged, although her prowess as a classical pianist was nurtured; ultimately, her strict upbringing resulted in a reckless, drug-fueled youth prior to her entrance into the University of California's music and visual arts program. ...
I do have 7 cd's of DG, including (2) 2cd sets. Not something for casual listening.
The last classic rock "tune" you'd ever expect to be covered
Metal Machine Music (excerpt), "composed" by Lou Reed. Link is to dj introducion, followed by the cover version excerpt, followed by an original version excerpt.
Professor, geology, Whatsamatta U Evolution - Changes in the environment, caused by the interactions of the components of the environment.
"Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle and will piss on your computer." - Bruce Graham
"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness." - John Kenneth Galbraith
"Nixon was a professional politician, and I despised everything he stood for ” but if he were running for president this year against the evil Bush-Cheney gang, I would happily vote for him." - Hunter S. Thompson
"I know a little about a lot of things, and a lot about a few things, but I'm highly ignorant about everything." - Moose
Pretty damn amazing. Note how well everything syncs, including the singing.
Moose
ABE - Found out he did a bunch of these things. To me, it seems the imagery/effects get pretty redundant pretty fast. https://www.youtube.com/@GarrenLazar
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