Soak It In While You Can, Winter is On

Congratulations to the lovely Ms. Amanda Pierce for correctly naming "Bring It on Home to Me" by Sam Cooke as the Thursday Song of the Day. I was actually listening to the Van Morrison cover of the tune when I decided to pick it as the Song of the Day, but as much as I love Morrison's version of the song, let's be honest, it begins and ends with Sam Cooke.

The version I linked to above is outstanding but has a very, very long intro, and this is coming from someone who likes Phish. Sam and the band get it kicked up around the 2:30 mark, so if you're operating on a fast version of the interwebs, you can just skip there and forget I ever told you all of this.

Speaking of great covers...who actually took a song from someone else, made it their own, and played it so well that you often forget who did the original?

Here's my list of Top 5 Covers (in no particular order):

1. "All Along the Watchtower" --Jimi Hendrix (original by Bob Dylan)
2. "Gin and Juice"--The Gourds (original by Calvin Broaddus, ahem, Snoop Dogg)
   
3. "Hallelujah"--Jeff Buckley (original by Leonard Cohen)
4. "Hurt"--Johnny Cash (original by Nine Inch Nails)
   
5. "Boys of Summer"--The Ataris (Don Henley)

I can already hear my father's pained cries about my selection in position #5, but my pick of the Ataris' take on Henley's tune is not an indictment of Henley, but a recognition that the Ataris took the song to the next level.

Imitation, as they say, is the most sincere form of flattery.

She's as Sweet as Tupelo Honey

Congratulations to Ms. Amanda Pierce for correctly naming "Tupelo Honey" by Van Morrison as the Thursday Song of the Day.

Four years later, the writers of “The West Wing” are watching in amazement as the election plays out. The parallels between the final two seasons of the series (it ended its run on NBC in May 2006) and the current political season are unmistakable. Fiction has, once again, foreshadowed reality.

Following the Script: Obama, McCain and 'The West Wing'--Brian Stelter in today's NY Times.