From Buddy to Sufjan: The Music For Kids Who Can’t Read Good Covers Project
February 8, 2006
Last year in August, I started this blog on a whim, and now we’ve reached 100 posts. To celebrate, I’ve been working on a covers project officially titled – “From Buddy to Sufjan: The Music For Kids Who Can’t Read Good Covers Project.”
As the title suggests, I’m going to be linking Buddy Holly, my favorite artist from the 50′s to Sufjan Stevens, my favorite artist of right now. And I’m doing it through cover songs. While doing so my goal was to include as many of my favorite artists as I could and also provide all the links in the chain (a task that proved to be not easy). I also made some pretty sweet album art for it. (check the picture above) So without further ado, here it is:
From Buddy to Sufjan: The Music For Kids Who Can’t Read Good Covers Project.
Thought I’d start out with a Buddy Holly song even though it’s not a cover. I have an interesting story about this song though, I visited the studio where Buddy Holly recorded this song and I got to play the actual instrument that plays during the bridge of the song (called a celesta, like my girlfriend). I worked out the song by ear. It was intensely cool.
MP3 The Beatles – That’ll Be The Day (Buddy Holly Cover)
You can’t have a Cover Chain without including the Beatles. Interestingly enough, Paul McCartney now owns the rights to all of Buddy Holly’s songs.
MP3 Martha and The Vandellas – Something (Beatles Cover)
MP3 The Kinks – Dancing In The Street (Martha & The Vandellas Cover)
This song was practically impossible for me to find. I had to sign on to some crazy MP3 site to even track it.
MP3 Herman’s Hermits – Dandy (Kinks Cover)
MP3 Morrissey – East West (Herman’s Hermits Cover)
The Chain takes a huge leap forward with this track. But don’t worry, I know where I’m going.
MP3 David Bowie – I Know It’s Gonna Happen Someday (Morrissey Cover)
MP3 The Flaming Lips – Life On Mars (David Bowie Cover)
Really weird version of the song. Can’t say I’m a big fan of the heavy vocal distortion. But when did I say that I had to like the song for it to be on the chain?
MP3 Beck – Do You Realize?? (Flaming Lips Cover)
This is a live cover I happened to stumble upon thanks to the blog, The Smudge of Ashen Fluff. This is definitely one of my favorites in the collection.
MP3 Johnny Cash – Rowboat (Beck Cover)
MP3 Bob Dylan – Ring Of Fire (Johnny Cash Cover)
From the bootlegged, Dylan/Cash Sessions, to be fair Johnny Cash sings in this song also but I’m still counting it.
MP3 The Rolling Stones – Like A Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan Cover)
Recorded during the Voodoo Lounge tour, this is a very good cover of Rolling Stone magazine’s #1 song of all time.
MP3 The Who – Under My Thumb (Rolling Stones Cover)
MP3 The Ramones – Substitute (The Who)
This is from the Ramones album, Acid Eaters, which also features covers of “Surf City” and “Can You Ever Feel The Rain”
MP3 U2 – Beat On The Brat (Ramones Cover)
This song was recorded by U2 for the NME Carling Awards and was later added to the album, A Tribute to The Ramones: We’re a Happy Family.
MP3 Sufjan Stevens – The One I Love (R.E.M. Cover)
We’ve made it all the way to the great, Sufjan Stevens. His most popular performance of this song was at last year’s Tsunami Benefit but this one is Live from Judson College in November of ’03.
Thank you all you readers out there. I’m looking forward to 100′s of more posts, so expect much more out of this place. Leave a comment if you like my chain!
Edit* I made a flow chart of the Covers Chain, to help you visualize it.
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February 8th, 2006 at 8:32 am
none of the links worked…got to an apple webpage that says the link can’t be found. just found your blog today from largehearted boy. looks nice….came for the Andrew Bird. rgds, will
February 8th, 2006 at 8:51 am
all the links should be up now.
February 8th, 2006 at 9:22 am
thats fun. i like how theyre all kinda linked up.
February 8th, 2006 at 10:28 am
damn nice. . . gotta appreciate what a little effort will yield. bravo.
February 8th, 2006 at 10:32 am
Great job! I liked the graph particularly.
By the way, the Who covering the rollling stones is not an mp3 but an m4a.
February 8th, 2006 at 10:59 am
I’ll fix that Who m4a as soon as I’m done with class. Intro to Mass Comm is up next. should be fun.
February 8th, 2006 at 11:48 am
this is a very cool post.
February 8th, 2006 at 12:48 pm
Well played, sir.
Very, very cool.
February 8th, 2006 at 1:29 pm
This is really cool. Color me impressed.
February 8th, 2006 at 1:30 pm
incredibly impressive, congrats on post 100, and I’ll definitely link this in my next post.
February 8th, 2006 at 3:31 pm
way ta go on your first 100. Keep fighting the good fight.
-Cameron Deyhle
February 8th, 2006 at 4:06 pm
very impressive post – most excelent!
February 8th, 2006 at 5:07 pm
That is one of the coolest MP3 blog posts I’ve ever seen. Props!
February 8th, 2006 at 7:06 pm
Oh, too much! Today’s my 100th post too, except yours post is much cooler…but why oh why did it have to be Sufjan?
February 9th, 2006 at 3:34 am
ooh thanks for the Sufjan and R.E.M. tunes
cheers,
supergurg
February 9th, 2006 at 8:24 am
Totally awesome. Thanks so much.
February 9th, 2006 at 2:55 pm
this is absolutely LOVELY, i love the logic. Intro to Mass Comm, huh? Another eminently employable Comm major? (like me)
February 9th, 2006 at 3:17 pm
Innovative, imaginative, incisive and in a class of its own. (Take Sunday off and lie down)
Thank you.
February 9th, 2006 at 5:45 pm
man, this is great. im loving it!
congrats on the 100th.
February 9th, 2006 at 8:51 pm
I love how the Rolling Stones on their Dylan cover don’t seem to realize that it’s a bitter, cynical song. You can’t really blame them–if you’re Keith Richards, the answer to “How does it feel…to be like a rolling stone?” can only be “pretty damn good!”
February 10th, 2006 at 8:29 am
GENIUS! Congrats on your 100 and many more to come. Do we have to wait until 200 for the next project? You should try and connect your first and last post. Rock on.
February 10th, 2006 at 8:35 am
I thought about doing a circle but you’d have to figure out two things. Who’s covered Sufjan? and Who has Buddy Holly covered? Since both of those answers are dead ends I think a circle is impossible.
February 10th, 2006 at 9:26 am
I’m usually a leecher, grabbing the links and leaving no comments, but this time WOW! ya gots me!
February 10th, 2006 at 10:02 pm
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
February 11th, 2006 at 1:44 pm
great job and congrats. i wrote about it and borrowed a few songs
February 13th, 2006 at 8:26 pm
Fun idea!!! I may cover it.
February 14th, 2006 at 1:34 pm
dude, Rogue Wave covers Buddy Holly’s “Everyday” on the Stubbs the Zombie SDTK
February 19th, 2006 at 2:17 pm
Amazing !
Congratulations !
February 24th, 2006 at 2:45 pm
FYI and not that it really matters, but the REM cover is actually half-REM and half-U2. They played under the name Automatic Baby…
Fun songs all around…
March 18th, 2006 at 9:35 pm
fyi: that’s not buddy on the cover, that’s gary busey as buddy in the movie “the buddy holly story”
March 19th, 2006 at 1:31 am
I investigated and it’s not a picture of Gary Busey but John Mueller playing Buddy Holly.
I seriously can not tell the difference between the two. This Mueller guy looks exactly like him. Thanks for pointing out my mistake though.
October 12th, 2006 at 3:55 am
BUDDY HOLLY.
I can now walk around ecstatic and satisfied for the next three days.
November 28th, 2008 at 11:58 am
re-post? i’m hungry for the tunes..
May 26th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Really cool idea… I like it. BUT… I can’t download it, at all. And I was fairy excited to lisen to some of those covers, actually, all of them. Particularly the Sufjan Stevens one.
March 12th, 2010 at 5:29 am
This article is nice! Keep up the excellent idea!