a blue million miles

On this blog’s previous iteration, I did several mixtapes of covers because I’ve got a yen for ‘em. Especially those covers that are done well, maybe the new version brings something new to the song, maybe it pronounces something that was a bit buried in the original, maybe it reinvents the tune entirely.

Tunde Adebimpe, from TV on the Radio, was one of the inspirations to make this mix, when his character (in Rachel Getting Married) sings Neil Young’s “Unknown Legend” a cappella to his bride-to-be, my heart sank a little deeper in my chest — even on the third watching. The Hold Steady, I think you should know why that’s one there. Ted Leo, you — for ill, I think — have made me appreciate Kelly Clarkson in a way that I can’t quite comprehend and it’s disconcerting how at home Nina Gordon is in the world of “Straight Out of Compton.”

Lyn Collins kills this Bill Withers song, though I think the version by Woven Hand on Blush Music might edge this out just a bit. Tally Hall take on the Killers’ song freshens it up considerably, reminding me how solid are the lyrics and music. The last four songs take my breath away, in different and astounding ways but, I mean, look at the source material.

Y’all, enjoy.

1. Tunde Adebimpe – Unknown Legend (Neil Young cover)
2. the Hold Steady – Atlantic City (Bruce Springsteen Cover)
3. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists – Since U Been Gone (Kelly Clarkson cover) with Maps (Yeah Yeah Yeahs cover)
4. Calexico – Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division cover)
5. Bright Eyes – Mushaboom Of Spleen (Feist cover) (Black Sessions, Paris, March 7, 2005)
6. the Black Keys – Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles (Captain Beefheart cover)
7. Wilco with Fleet Foxes – I Shall Be Released (Bob Dylan cover)
8. the New Pornographers – Don’t Destroy This Night (Rock*A*Teens cover)
9. Nina Gordon – Straight Out Of Compton (NWA cover)
10. M.Ward – Let My Love Open The Door (Pete Townshend cover)
11. Sufjan Stevens – Free Man In Paris (Joni Mitchell cover)
12. Glen Hansard & Colm Mac Con Iomaire – Everytime (Britney Spears cover)
13. Travis – Pulling Mussels (From The Shell) (Squeeze cover)
14. the Boy Least Likely to – Faith (George Michael cover)
15. Lyn Collins – Ain’t no sunshine (Bill Withers cover)
16. Tally Hall – Smile Like You Mean It (the Killers cover)
17. the Old Believers – Naive Melody (Talking Heads cover)
18. the Books featuring Jose Gonzalez – Cello Song (Nick Drake cover)
19. Steve Earle – Loretta (Townes Van Zandt cover)
20. Jim James & Calexico – Goin’ To Acapulco (Bob Dylan cover)
21. Ryan Adams – Wonderwall (Oasis cover)