(Let’s just pretend like this isn’t late, okay?)

I love the cover mix for August, I do, but I’m especially amazed by Gillian Welch doing a Radiohead song, Pady Casey with the Dublin Gospel Choir doing a Bill Withers cover that goes effortlessly into a Blackstreet track and, not to be outdone, the Gaslight Anthem kill a Kelly Clarkson tune. And just as important as the stuff on the mix are the things that were left off — for time, for space, for mood. For instance, I opted for Luna doing Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up” rather than Petra Haden’s cover of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” from the same Guilt by Association compilation and I couldn’t find room for Ben Lee’s cover of MGMT’s “Kids” because Elliot Smith’s version of John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy” was so much better. (I know that Bat for Lashes’ cover of “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon is everywhere right now because of their re-issue of Two Suns, but it’s such a great version.)

As always, I had some moments of excitement when I could work in someone returning the cover favor (like the aforementioned Gaslight Anthem doing “I Don’t Hook Up” followed by Miss Clarkson doing a Ray Lamontagne tune — which was taken from a Hurricane Katrina Benefit that broadcast on MTV in 2005). For other examples, see the Edwyn Collins/Clash sequence as well as the New Frontiers/Gillian Welch turn. One day, I’d like to do a whole mix in that way.

And speaking of enthusiastic, I’ve been trying to avoid the last track on this installment, I’ve been desperately trying to avoid it as I despise Coldplay. As much as any U2 albums after Zooropa. No, even more. Call it what you will — hate, antagonism, revulsion, whatever — and I wish Chris Martin and the rest of the band well, but they produce mediocre pap for music without any real joy and that breaks my heart. I think Chuck Klosterman said it best in his book of essays, Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs:

[Coldplay is] a British pop group whose success derives from their ability to write melodramatic alt-rock songs about fake love. It does not matter that Coldplay is the shittiest fucking band I’ve ever heard in my entire fucking life, or that they sound like a mediocre photocopy of Travis (who sounds like a mediocre photocopy of Radiohead), or that their greatest fucking artistic achievement is a video where the blandly attractive frontman walks on a beach on a cloudy afternoon. None of that matters. What matters is that Coldplay manufactures fake love as frenetically as the Ford fucking Motor Company manufactures Mustangs. . . “For you I bleed myself dry,” sang the blockhead vocalist, brilliantly informing us that stars in the sky are, in fact, yellow.

Regardless, I think that Jem’s version of “Yellow” is the best track off the three Sweetheart Valentine’s albums. And it’s a Coldplay cover. Enjoy.

The photo is provided by flowers & machinery (via Flickr).

1. Elvis Costello – Sleepless Nights (Gram Parsons cover)
2. Paddy Casey featuring Dublin Gospel Choir – Grandma’s Hand / No Diggity (Bill Withers / Blackstreet cover)
3. the Shins – Strange Powers (Magnetic Fields cover)
4. Elliott Smith – Jealous Guy (John Lennon cover)
5. Jamie T – Hoover Street (Rancid cover)
6. Bat for Lashes – Use Somebody (Kings of Leon cover)
7. Turin Brakes – Moonlight Mile (the Rolling Stones cover)
8. Death Cab for Cutie – Kicked In (Superchunk cover)
9. Swati – I’m On Fire (Bruce Springsteen cover)
10. Smashing Pumpkins – Landslide (Fleetwood Mac cover)
11. the Gaslight Anthem – I Do Not Hook Up (Kelly Clarkson cover)
12. Kelly Clarkson – Shelter (Ray Lamontagne cover)
13. Billie the Vision and the Dancers – I am a Chukoo (Belle & Sebastian cover)
14. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Sheena Is A Punk Rocker (Ramones cover)
15. the Clash – I Fought The Law (the Crickets cover)
16. Edwyn Collins – 1977 (the Clash cover)
17. Luna – Straight Up (Paula Abdul cover)
18. the New Frontiers – Look at Miss Ohio (Gillian Welch cover)
19. Gillian Welch – Black Star (Radiohead cover)
20. Neko Case – Christmas Card From A Hooker In in Minneapolis (Tom Waits cover)
21. Jem – Yellow (Coldplay cover)

This mixtape — yes, I still call ‘em tapes — will be hosted until I post a new one so get it while you can. All copyrights remain with respective writers, publishers, etc. If you like what you hear, support the artists and creatives however you can.

Bonus Track: Mon Amour – Don’t You (Forget About Me) (Simple Minds cover)
[See post to listen to audio]

July’s cover mix is a little late, I know. But you know what they say — better late than never, right? To make up for it, here’s a sad picture of Polly Jean. Aw, I know. Okay, a lot of good stuff this month. Let’s jump right in.

Glen Hansard kicks things off this mixtape the same way he starts the movie Once, with a Van Morrison cover (like you can wrong with a song by Van the Man) — he also did a great cover of “Astral Weeks” on Minnesota Public Radio a few years ago when he was promoting his last Frames album (link). Adam Franklin then does as subdued cover of my favorite Wolf Parade song, “Shine a Light,” complete with lush intertwining acoustic guitars. And from the series recorded on the Ray D’Arcy Show on Today FM in Dublin, Even Better Than the Real Thing, Picturehouse does a jaunty cover of Rachel Steven’s 2006 pop tune — I dig the trumpet especially. Then, Tom Petty gets translated to a drum machine beat and electronic bleeps under the watchful guise of the Mobius Band, livening up the song in the process. And Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan, recording under their Gutter Twins monicker, bring their gritty energy to Jose Gonzalez’s “Down the Line.”

I like the back-to-back of Damien Rice doing Radiohead with Benjamin Costello returning the favor. And though I don’t think Jesse Malin’s “You Can Make Him Like You” is better than the Hold Steady’s version — can anyone ever do the Hold Steady as well as the Hold Steady? (You don’t need to answer that, the answer’s a solid no.) — but I do like his take on this tune off Boys and Girls in America. And the last tune is, of course, in memory of the king of pop — a dancehall cover of “Billie Jean” that sounds as though it was uncovered in a dusty Jamaican record bin.

Lucero’s on here as an homage to a true story that happened to me during SXSW this year, a story that I’ve spent the last few months trying to convert to a joke or at least a funny anecdote without any semblance of success (you try conveying the humor about mixing up a southern rock band and a math rock band just because they both have Spanish names!). Anyway, who knew Jawbreaker would sound so good dressed up in their brand of southern rock? Not me.

Enjoy the mix.

1. Glen Hansard (Swell Season) – Into The Mystic (Van Morrison cover)
2. Adam Franklin – Shine a Light (Wolf Parade cover)
3. Picturehouse – Sweet Dreams My LA Ex (Rachel Stevens cover)
4. Mobius Band – You Don’t Know How It Feels (Tom Petty cover)
5. the Gutter Twins – Down The Line (Jose Gonzales cover)
6. Damien Rice – Creep (Radiohead cover)
7. Benjamin Costello – Volcano (Damien Rice cover)
8. Patty Griffin – Stolen Car (Bruce Springsteen cover)
9. Z-Trip – Fade Into You (Mazzy Star cover)
10. Beck – Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat (Bob Dylan cover)
11. Lucero – Kiss the Bottle (Jawbreaker cover)
12. the Acorn – Good Enough (Cyndi Lauper cover)
13. Nicole Atkins – Under The Milky Way (Church cover)
14. the Antlers – Apple Orchard (Beach House cover)
15. the Punch Brothers – Poor Places (Wilco cover)
16. Robbers on High Street – Cool It Now (New Edition cover)
17. Jesse Malin – You Can Make Them Like You (Hold Steady cover)
18. Nellie McKay – If I Needed Someone (Beatles cover)
19. Blind Man’s Colour – Taste (Animal Collective cover)
20. Mysteries of Life – That’s How Strong My Love Is (O. V. Wright cover)
21. Shinehead – Billie Jean (Michael Jackson cover)

The covers love continues. After soliciting some feedback from friends, I had a much wider selection than for last month’s edition — including William Shatner’s cover of Pulp’s “Common People,” Nina Simone’s cover of the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun,” Talib Kweli’s version of Nina Simone’s “For Women” and Macha’s cover of Cher’s “Believe.” Much love pervades my heart when I hear the Twilight Singers’ take of Lindsey Buckingham ’s “What Makes You Think You’re the One?” and Iron & Wine’s cover of New Order’s “Love Vigilantes.”

Conor Oberst doing Paul Simon’s “Kodachrome” takes me back to last year’s ACL, where I saw him and the Mystic Valley Band just kill it. And in honor of Jay Bennett’s untimely passing a few weeks ago, the Daniel Johnston cover by him and Jeff Tweedy graces this mixtape.

The photo is provided by the Bottomless Pool (via Flickr).

1. Damien Jurado – Pink Moon (Nick Drake cover)
2. This is Ivy League – You and Me and the Moon (Magnetic Fields cover)
3. Angus & Julia Stone – Tubthumping (Chumbawumba cover)
4. the Twilight Singers – What Makes You Think You’re the One? (Lindsey Buckingham cover)
5. Stars – This Charming Man (the Smiths cover)
6. Luna – Sweet Child o’ Mine (Guns ‘n’ Roses cover)
7. Guns ‘n’ Roses – Mama Kin (Aerosmith cover)
8. William Shatner – Common People (Pulp cover)
9. Beck – Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometimes (Korgis cover)
10. the Kills – Crazy (Patsy Cline cover)
11. Ra Ra Riot – Suspended in Gaffa (Kate Bush cover)
12. Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band – Kodachrome (Paul Simon cover)
13. Dent May – When U Were Mine (Prince cover)
14. Jeff Tweedy & Jay Bennett – True Love Will Find You in the End (Daniel Johnston cover)
15. Iron & Wine – Love Vigilantes (New Order cover)
16. Bat for Lashes – I’m On Fire (Bruce Spingsteen cover)
17. the National – Sleep All Summer (with St. Vincent) (Crooked Fingers cover)
18. Nina Simone – Here Comes the Sun (Beatles cover)
19. Talib Kweli – For Women (Nina Simone cover)
20. Macha – Believe (Cher cover)

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)