Song of the Day #1,596: ‘Most of the Time’ – Bob Dylan

When this song came up in the random rotation, I was certain I’d featured it before. But apart from a cover version by a hot chick on a ukulele, I have not.

‘Most of the Time’ is Exhibit A (or maybe Exhibit B, with ‘Man in the Long Black Coat’ as Exhibit A) of the wonders Danial Lanois worked for Bob Dylan on the 1989 album Oh Mercy.

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Song of the Day #1,595: ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ – The Family

I’ll finish off the week with another cover I didn’t know was a cover.

I certainly knew Sinead O’Connor’s smash ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ was written by Prince (the number ‘2’ and the letter ‘U’ are kind of a giveaway). But I didn’t realize that it had been previously recorded by The Family, a band formed by His Purple Highness in 1985.

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Song of the Day #1,594: ‘Unchained Melody’ – Todd Duncan

In keeping with yesterday’s theme, today I’m writing about another song I never knew was a cover until discovering that fact through SongPop.

Like most people of my generation, my first real exposure to ‘Unchained Melody’ was through the pottery scene in Ghost. Demi Moore, at her hottest, straddled the phallic slab of clay while the late Patrick Swayze approaches from behind and straddles her… yes, that left quite an impression.

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Song of the Day #1,593: ‘Torn’ – Ednaswap

One of the SongPop categories I’ve recently unlocked is ‘Best Covers.’

The selections include many of the tracks you’d expect — Jimi Hendrix’s ‘All Along the Watchtower’ and Aretha Franklin’s ‘Respect,’ for example — but also some surprises.

For example, did you know that ‘Torn,’ the 1997 hit by Natalie Imbruglia, was a cover of a song by L.A. alt-rock band Ednaswap?

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Song of the Day #1,592: ‘We Are Young’ – fun.

I’m not prepared to write a proper review of the new fun. album, Some Nights, because I’ve listened to it only a couple of times all the way through.

But I can say that I already love it.

The oddly punctuated trio most resemble a modern-day incarnation of Queen, with no shortage of operatic bombast in their pop repertoire (popertoire?). This is the sort of ballsy, go-for-broke ambition you rarely see in the alt-rock world.

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