CD Exchange: Disc#2

Rebecca's was the second disc I received. I had this 70% written, then I left the disc at work and the review fell by the wayside. Anyway, Rebecca's theme is "Good Love/Bad Love." Since we've all heard music before, this should need no further explanation, so away we go:

The Dan Band, "Shoop/Whatta Man/Never Gonna Get It" - So here's a bunch of guys covering Salt 'n' Pepa, with a touch of En Vogue. I'm not a huge fan of Salt 'n' Pepa, as they were derivative before being derivative was cool. So I thought this was a pretty funny kissoff.

Beach Boys, "God Only Knows" - Yeah, it's heresy, I know, but: I like Mandy Moore's version from Saved more than I like the Beach Boys version. The Beach Boys bother me. The harmonies soundy whiny to me instead of pretty, and I hate the bam-pa-pa-pa-pa crap. It's undeniably a great song, though, when even someone as questionable as Moore can turn out a good version.

Ben Folds, "B*tches Ain't Sh*t" - I'd heard this whiteboy version of the gangsta rap classic before and was a big fan, but Rebecca confused me by saying that "Ben Lea" appears on it. Whaa? The Redoubtable Ben Lea, QB legend out of NC and UM-Rolla? That'd be kickass wrapped in awesome, but I think she means Ben Lee, the performer who frequently tours with Folds (and according to the always-reliable Interwebs, the other singer is actually Folds' drummer, Lindsey).

Charlie Robison, "You're Not The Best" - Heh! This reminded me of a Weird Al song, "Good Enough For Now," but this was more to the point.

Rufus Wainwright, "Go or Go Ahead" - Rebecca says she doesn't know what Rufus is singing about. I don't either. Very good song, though. Rufus is probably batting .700 or so with me.

Elvis Costello and Burt Bachrach, "Toledo" - The Costello I know and like best is when he was Mr. Angry (up to and including Spike), so it's interesting to hear him on the other end, knowing he's not going to get forgiveness from the person he's wronged. Not sure what the whole Toledo thing has to do with anything. Damn public school education...

The Jayhawks, "All the Right Reasons" - I'm old enough to appreciate the Jayhawks now. When they first popped up I thought they were too folky and too country, compared to the stuff I favored from the Twin Cities scene. And then they lost further points by association with the supremely annoying Victoria Williams. Anyway, I like this.

k.d. lang, "Hallelujah"- Ehh...I've heard a few different versions of this (but never the original Leonard Cohen), and it's never done much for me. I like this version a lot better than the overblown Jeff Buckley cover, though, or the John Cale one.

Kelly Hogan & the Pine Valley Cosmonauts, "Papa Was A Rodeo" - I own this, and enjoy it. Listen for it in Lipstick and Dynamite, a documentary about the early days of female pro wrestling.

Dolly Parton, "Little Sparrow" - This is nice. Dolly Parton gets a bum rap, I think -- on one hand, the mainstream either thinks of her as a punchline, or only for 9 to 5 and "Islands in the Stream". Meanwhile, in country circles she doesn't seem to be taken as seriously as, say, Loretta Lynn or Tammy Wynette. I could be wrong about the last part.

Daniel Letterle, "Wild Horses" - This is my least favorite song on the collection. As covers go, I prefer The Sundays, even though it was used in a beer commercial and in an icky scene in Fear (y'know, "Feeah! Starring Maaahky Maahk!")

The Raveonettes, "The Christmas Song" - This didn't make too much of an impression on first listen, but it really grew on me thereafter. I particularly liked the tremolo guitar. While I haven't seen it, it's safe to say this song was probably the best thing about Christmas With The Kranks.

Kelly Willis, "Hole in My Heart" - This was pleasant enough. I've come to appreciate alt-country, but I think in this case there's not enough "alt" for me. Whatever that means.

Bitch and Animal, "Best Cock on the Block" - Ha! An "all the ladies want my lovin'" boast, but with a sapphic/polyurethane twist. As Rebecca says in her notes, "sisters are doing it for themselves." This is interesting, because I thought about putting Electric Six's "Vibrator" on my mix.

Unknown Hinson, "I Ain't Afraid of Your Husband" - Nice Jerry Springer anthem! Oddly enough, the fake cowboy drawl reminds me of the fake British accents employed by 80s R&B acts (cf. Midnight Star's "Freakazoid," Ready For The World's "Oh Sheila," and the entire output of Rockwell).

The Outlaws, "Girl from Ohio" - I'll be interested to see what Craig makes of this song, given his animosity for the Buckeye State. As for me, I thought it was okay.

Martha Wainwright, "Year of the Dragon" - I prefer Rufus to his sister, but she's not bad at all.

Mitch & Mickey, "When You're Next To Me" - I think one of the reasons A Mighty Wind missed the mark is that it was too sympathetic to its subjects. This is a sweet, competent song. Or maybe I'm not versed in 60's/70s pop/folk enough to get the joke.

Shakira & Alejandro Sanz, "La Tortura" - I don't know enough spanish to know whether the song fits the "bad love" designation Rebecca gives it. But listening to it was not la tortura.

Bonnie Raitt - "Feels Like Home To Me" - If there's a prototypical "wedding song" in the mix, this is it. That's not necessarily a bad thing. If I didn't have the track listing in front of me, though, I'd swear this was a Bette Midler song, only she never goes for the Big Finish.

Overall, I liked this disc a lot. A theme this big could lead to more problems than a narrow theme, and Rebecca picked a lot of artists who were either new to me, whom I'd heard about but never got around to checking out, or whom I'd written off long ago (Parton, Jayhawks). Of the snarky stuff, I like the Ben Folds song the best. Of the serious, I like the Jayhawks best.