"Gotta Have You On My Wall": Interesting Cover Versions

The rules for this week's themed playlist is cover versions that totally reimagine the original. Pretty simple. Johnny Cash has been left out of the discussion, not as any sign of disrespect to the Man Himself, but rather because you probably know it already, and it's a discussion unto itself.

Apparently, especially in the late 90s or beyond, many so-called punk bands did sarcastic covers of various old classics and 80s cheese. Their voices rife with sarcasm, they plowed through "Cherish" by Madonna (a band called The Peppermint Creeps, if memory serves) or "I Fall to Pieces" by Patsy Cline (Screeching Weasel, how could you?).

And then there's that band Me First & The Gimme Gimmes who are based around that idea. My opinion: No comment. And none of that kind of thing are up for consideration anyway, because it's too stupid. Sarcasm, as they say, is the lowest form of cover versions.

Well, one exception: Off 1975's The Dictators Go Girl Crazy, we have The Dictators doing "I Got You, Babe," by Sonny & Cher. Perhaps this was the instigation of that particular movement. Well, I may hold that against Handsome Dick Manitoba and the gang, but this is a pretty decent version. And really, can you hold Scary Move XXIV against Airplane? It's not their fault the concept was taken and destroyed. Well, maybe just a little bit their fault.

Up next, we have an old Bruce Springsteen classic, "Unsatisfied Heart"...but wha?!?!?!? Are those synthesizers and faux-Euro accents I hear? Yes, they are. This is by one of my favorite bands, Vitesse, an old "bedroom" outfit that has never played a show, as far as I'm aware. I'm not sure if they're even still together, they haven't released anything in quite some time. If you're wondering what this song is from, apparently it's a Born in the USA outtake available on some Brucey compilation or reissue or whatever. Maybe I shouldn't being calling it a classic then, but screw you. Anyway, the Vitesse version appears on 2001's What Can Not Be, But Is... album.

This one is fairly well known: "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," as done by ol' Cat Power herself on The Covers Record released in 2000. Do you need to know who did the original? Ummm, GWAR, probably. This is the second most unrecognizable-based-on-the-original version you'll hear on this list. I actually really like what she's done with this one, and if iTunes (uggh) downloads are any indication, it remains one of her more popular tracks. She's still fly, by the way, even if she's (by reputation) nuts.

Do you like The Ramones? Do you think these punky covers of wimpy songs is a one way street? Well, the wimps are fighting back. Here's The Postmarks with "7-11", originally on the Ramones' Pleasant Dreams. They're doing a whole series of wispy indie-pop covers of many different sorts of songs, and this is one of my favorites.

Here's My Morning Jacket covering Elton John's "Rocket Man"!!!!! I have no real comments to make on this one. They took the campy 70s hit, and recorded it in a tin can in Tennesstucky, and ain't it just smooth as silk.

Lastly, the Whiskey Daredevils play a lovely countryfried version of "Skulls." I'm not going to tell you who it's by if you don't already know. But you should probably know, or at least have a good guess after listening. But in this version you can hear the lyrics a bit more clearly, which would make one feel ill, I guess, if the music wasn't so lovely.

Tracks 58-63 on yonder playlist.