Neighborhood #3 ( Power Out)

I love me some Arcade Fire. This is my favorite song off of Funeral.

Hallelujah

CAn Leonard Cohen come off as a pretentious, arty freak poet? Lord, yes. But since when did that mean one wasn't a genius?
" Hallelujah" has become one of the most covered songs in history, leading to a great debate between music geeks like myself over who has the best. I have always been partial to John Cale's version on the Cohen tribute album I'm Your Man. That album also contains an awesome cover of " I Can't Forget" by the Pixies, but that's off topic. Many say Jeff Buckley's gorgeous version is best. Canadians as a rule favor the versions by k.d. lang and Rufus Wainwright. So, as a real first, here are four different version of the same song, and not one is the original artist ( frankly, Cohen himself doesn't have the voice to pull it off).









*** Since Jeff Buckley is no longer off this earth, it is next to impossible. But if you hit the Sony BMG channel at YouTube, they have an official ( un-embedable) video for his version. Worth the check. And I am completely aware of the political message of the video I did post. It was no accident.

Helpless

Neil is one of my all time favorite artists. No doubt he shall appear here again and again. From the rock movie masterpiece The Last Waltz.

The Weight

Four Canadian boys plus Levon Helm. How can you go wrong?

The footage is from Martin scorsese's magnificent film The Last Waltz. Levon was in particularly fine voice that night.

God Only Knows

Paul McCartney has said that this is the most perfect song ever written.

Try arguing. I dare you.

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Beach Boys!

Unchained Melody

Um, that voice. It's the pretty tenor of Mr. Bobby Hatfield, singing the most beautiful song ever. And it has nothing to do with Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze. Seriously. It doesn't. Why don't you believe me?

The Twelve Days Of Christmas Canadian Style

It's the McKenzie Brothers, Bob and Doug, espousing on the glory that is Canadiana. Only to a Christmas song. Beers for all.

Fake Plastic Trees

Radiohead may be frustrating to listen to now, but the band's first two albums are magnificent, and this song in particular shows a beautiful pop sensibility mixed with sweet sensitivity. They would never be this good again, and I know that OK Computer is a stronger album overall, but this classic from The Bends remains their best single.

There Is A Light That Never Goes Out

" To die by your side is such a heavenly way to die." You know Morrissey is the only person could write that lyric and not come off as a pretentious, suicidal ass. Well, maybe not so much the last bit. But the Smiths were my favorite British band of the eighties, and second to R.E.M. in my fave band of all time list. This remains one of their masterpieces.

The Universal

The whole Blur versus Oasis Brit-Pop fight of the nineties was ultimately won by the Gallagher Brothers, but I always loved Blur more. This song was one of many reasons why. It is by far their grandest and prettiest statement. I love the eyeliner on Damon, anyhow.

The Sweater

Meryn Cadell released this song when I was high school, and I remember hearing it as gospel. I still love it.

Gold Digger

Take an awesome Ray Charles sample, add recent Oscar winner ( for playing Charles, no less), and talk about how women use kids to squeeze men out of their hard earned cash. Somehow you would think women would have screamed bloody murder, but no, we all danced along instead. Kanye rules.

Not Ready To Make Nice

They were cute, blonde country girls who had made a successful career out of being cute, blonde country girls. Then Natalie Maines opened her mouth and said something about George Bush and how she was ashamed he was from Texas, and all hell broke loose. This song was the Dixie Chicks answer to their critics, and the three cute, blonde country girls ended up winning this particular war, with another number one album and a slew of Grammys. From the Grammy awards.

Nothing Compares 2 U

She may be batshit crazy, but that voice makes things pretty forgivable. This song was written by Prince, who has written several masterpieces, but even the master could not get the emotion out of this song that Sinead O'Connor could. Still one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded.

P.S. I realize that there is no video, since there is not a one on YouTube. When Prince whines, people listen. Come on, you all know the song. " It's been..." Finish it.

Sweet Child o' Mine

It's all about that guitar, man. Entirely. It's not about the lyrics, or axl. It's Slash and that riff, that solo, that GUITAR.

One

Ah, U2. The biggest band in the world. The do gooders. The charity. The songs.

"One" is often cited as one of the greatest songs of all time. It is often mistaken as a love song, but is actually about the crumbling of a relationship under the secrets we all keep from each other. The message- yeah, we all have secrets, but we are still responsible for each other, and we will " carry each other". Love is the message, just not the way you think.

One of my favorite songs of all time, and one of the most played in my house.

I Believe ( When I Fall In Love)

Another song I discovered while watching High Fidelity. Did I mention that it is one of my all time favorite movies ever? Awesome soundtrack, too. I love Stevie sooooo much, and I'm really sick of all those hack singers on reality shows ruining his classic songs. This is my favorite off of Talking Book.

Anything, Anything

After spending a good half hour on YouTube trying to find a good quality version by original artist Dramarama, I realized that none of them were worth putting up here, since the sound on all were awful. I was introduced to this song via Rockstar: Supernova contestant Storm Large, who sang it on the show, and even if it's been massively cut down because of time, she still rocks it. I urge everyone to go to I-Tunes and spend the change on it, because it's an awesome song.

Romeo And Juliet

One of the prettiest songs ever, and a sweet little love song. The first video is the original Dire Strait's version, the one below is a recent cover by The Killers that I like as much. So pretty.

Black Dog

Perfection. I mean, it Frickin' ZEPPELIN.

You're Gonna Miss Me

Roky Erikson was a drugged out, eccentric genius who was sadly AWOL from music as he dealt with his many issues. This song just serves as a reminder of how great the man really was.

My Little Red Book

Truth is, this is a Burt Bacharach song, and rumor has it he was MAD that his sweet little love song was turned into a psychadelic punk song. That being said, this is Arthur Lee ( RIP) and Love on the Bandstand. I prefer this version over any " classic" version. As heard in High Fidelity.

The Lovecats

Truth is, this is one example of where a cover is better than the original. The Cure's original is so out of place in the scheme of the band's discography it comes off as terrible. But this cover by Jamie Cullum and Katie Melua is totally jazzy and I love it.

At Seventeen

God, I remember hearing this song for the first time at seventeen and crying for days...

Still one of the most amazing songs about teenage angst ever.

World Leader Pretend

I go back and forth all the time over which R.E.M. song is my all time favorite. This is one I come back to every single time ( and " Maps And Legends"). From the 1988 album Green. It was never a single, and I wish it had been.

Hush

I admit it. I'm a sucker for a good " na na na na" chorus. I picked this one because it's the original, but the British '90s band Kula Shaker do an awesome version as well, which follows.

Love Grows ( Where My Rosemary Goes)

I first heard this song while watching Shallow Hal, and I spent weeks trying to get it out of my head. It's been three years now, and it's still there. Unlike songs I hate ( which will show up on the companion blog), I like this song. It's sweet, and so undeniably British.