Original Cover Writer Simon Neil tells me his new novel My Beautiful Racist has been released this month in ebook format.
Visit the homepage of his new book for information on how to download a copy for yourself, and check out COVER STORIES for ten of his original euphictions.
A number of my euphictions from COVER STORIES were recorded for the third and final volume of the MuseionCast podcast. You can now find these recordings for easy download at the Internet Archive.
The following stories are from the book (some alternate versions to the ones in print):
“UNTITLED TRACK 005 – GENRE UNKNOWN”
“UNTITLED TRACK 007 – GENRE UNKNOWN”
“UNTITLED TRACK 008 – GENRE UNKNOWN”
“UNTITLED TRACK 009 – GENRE UNKNOWN”
“UNTITLED TRACK 010 – GENRE UNKNOWN”
There’s also a whole show devoted to six original euphictions that were featured here in 2010 (“SIX EUPHICTIONS featuring the music of NEST”).
And last but not least is the final podcast of the regular series, “FIVE CHRISTMAS EUPHICTIONS,” written by half of the COVER STORIES writers especially for this website and the 2010 holiday.
(And, though they’re not euphictions, there is a groovy Hallowe’en episode also featuring stories by some of your favorite Cover Writers.)
Go for the euphiction, download the rest of the series and bonus material.
I’ve never been a religious person. I suppose the best way to describe my opinion on the greater mysteries of the Universe is that I believe everything is energy. Whether positive or negative, whether manipulated or left unfettered, everything is energy. Not unlike George Lucas’ concept of the Force I suppose, albeit slightly remiss of most of the mysticism. Because of that, deities never sat well with me.
However, I’ve always been fascinated with the Native American idea of totem spirits. The notion of a singular consciousness that represents a particular feeling or abstract concept always struck me as a really romantic way to view the world.
In my writing I’ve taken that concept even further by imaging what conversations with those totem spirits might sound like. In truth, totem spirits have been making their way into my work for many years now.
Let me preface this by saying this is purely fictional. At no point have I ever thought I was seeing spectral animals doling out words of wisdom. If that were the case they would have had to lock me up a long time ago. Years ago a woman I was dating read one of my stories out of context and thought one of my friends was trash-talking her behind her back. She couldn’t accept that it was a work of fiction although for some reason she didn’t seem to bristle at the fact that I thought he was a bear. But I digress.
Ursal the Bear, Bringer of Wisdom and Tallis the Wolf, Bringer of Courage both graced the pages of my Cover Stories. I had a rough draft that featured Istaqa the Coyote, Bringer of Patience but that story was cut in favor of another choice.
These totem spirit tales usually wind up springing from something I have difficulty rationalizing about. In both cases these stories related to women. Dating Advice dealt with a little freakout I had when a woman I had a couple of really great dates with appeared to be blowing me off. And Let Your Mouth Tell The Story was my way of grappling with the difficult task of kissing a woman for the first time.
As I stated in the story, I’ve always had a difficult time identifying exactly when the right time is to kiss a woman. Don’t get me wrong, I can hold my own with everything else both before and after, but zeroing in on that exact moment has always been like trying to hit a moving target to me.
Interestingly enough the events in real life unfolded almost exactly as they did in the story with the obvious exception of the conversation with the spectral wolf in the middle of the bar and his lurking under a streetlight at the end of the story. In and of itself I think the story was somewhat bland but the addition of Tallis and his accompanying mysticism and gentle support turned it into something unique and gave it a life of its own.
With the framework of the actual date, the story practically wrote itself. Even his advice seemed like something a totem spirit would say. It was sage advice in the truest sense of the words. I look forward to seeing what advice he has for me in the future and what kind of stories spring from it.
Things didn’t work out between me and our heroine. We dated for a few months but things just sort of fizzled and I haven’t spoken to her since then as I don’t make it a habit of remaining friends with my exes. I have no idea if she has read Cover Stories or not but if so, she should recognize herself instantly. And if she has, does she now bristle at the thought of a potential wolf lurking behind her the first time we kissed?
I will likely never know, but I imagine Tallis would say that it doesn’t matter. That story has already been told…
Given the nature of Cover Stories, I thought I might spend some time talking about some of my favorite musical covers. I typically enjoy covers; getting to see one artist’s interpretation of another artist’s work is something I find very interesting. I especially like seeing the covers span different musical genres than the originals.
So without further adieu…
Ray Lamontagne – Crazy (Gnarls Barkley Original) – I really love this tune by Gnarls Barkley and Lamontagne’s interpretation is just perfect if you’re a fan of his work. The mellow acoustic guitar combined with his raspy, smokey voice lends a completely different feel to this song.
Red – Ordinary World (Duran Duran Original) – I will admit right off the bat, I am not a fan of Red as their Christian rock proclivities do not jive well with my view of the universe. However this new take on Duran Duran’s Ordinary World is a hodgepodge of hard, alternative rock and post-grunge, which breathes new life into it.
Various Artists – Jamming: A Bluegrass Tribute to Bob Marley - This is a full album and not an individual song but needs to be experienced as a whole. I’ve only recently started listening to bluegrass with anything more than a passing interest, but I’ve been a huge Bob Marley fan for as long as I can remember. You wouldn’t think that reggae would lend itself well to the bluegrass sound but it does so surprisingly well. Waiting in Vain, one of my all-time favorite Marley songs, turns out to be an amazing tune in bluegrass format and the entire album is worth multiple listens.
Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins (feat. Ben Gibbard, Conor Oberst & M. Ward) – Handle with Care (Travelling Wilburys Original) – Yes that’s a lot of names, but they’re covering a band with a lot of names in it to begin with so it kind of fits. Handle with Care is an iconic classic rock song and I’m glad Lewis and crew didn’t change it up too much.
Donavon Frankenreiter – Theologians (Wilco Original) – Donavon Frankenreiter brings his traditional surf-rock feel to an already great song by Wilco. As usual, Donavon applies his signature style and gives it a significantly mellower feel than the original. It totally evokes images of oceans and beaches and sandy campfires at sunset which, if you really listen to the lyrics, is probably something much different than what Wilco originally intended.
Various Artists – 50 First Dates Motion Picture Soundtrack – Another full album. Whether you’ve seen the movie or not, this is just a flat-out fun album that contains lots of artists doing reggae covers of 80′s songs. My favorite track is the Ziggy Marley cover of Drive, originally recorded by the Cars. It’s a surprisingly good album especially given the fact that it’s a film soundtrack.
M. Ward – Let’s Dance (David Bowie Original) – Another extremely mellow cover of an otherwise upbeat song, M. Ward takes one of Bowie’s classic 80′s hits, removes all the adrenaline and applies his uniquely quiet voice to this tune which gives it an almost sad feeling.
Gary Jules w/Michael Andrews - Mad World (Tears for Fears Original) – Anyone who’s seen the film Donnie Darko should recall this song as the score to the ending montage. Perhaps it’s because of that association or perhaps it’s the acoustic piano and Jules’ unique voice, but this is just a raw and hauntingly beautiful song and I feel this version has much more of an impact on the listener than the original.
Whiskeytown – Dreams (Fleetwood Mac Original) – Whiskeytown did a really good job of retaining the soul and feel of the original song while still making it their own. It simultaneously comes across as both an old classic rock song and a recent composition.
Smashing Pumpkins – Landslide (Fleetwood Mac Original) – Another Fleetwood Mac cover, there is not much to differentiate this song from the original other than Billy Corrigan’s voice which is more than enough. However, like the previously mentioned Travelling Wilburys song, it came across as more of a tribute than a remake. For a time this was one of my favorite songs… until the Dixie Chicks took a dump all over it by covering it as well. And I realize I have no right to be a music snob because I admittedly like some pretty horrible stuff, but I draw the line at that kind of garbage.
Bonus!!!
Northern Kings – I originally had 10 covers lined up for this article, but I HAD to add a bonus. For those not familiar with the Northern Kings they are a symphonic-metal supergroup from Finland that almost exclusively covers 80′s and early 90s songs. They were formed by already-famous finnish musicians, most notably Marco Heitala from Nightwish. These guys come across as pretty ridiculous but that is a part of their charm and I absolutely love their stuff (which is duly interesting because I’m not the biggest fan of metal).
Their first song was a cover of Tina Turner’s “We Don’t Need Another Hero.” In and of itself this is a pretty cool cover. However, once you see the music video which consists of the band members in top-hats and tuxedoes singing and over-emoting in an old candlelit library which has been placed at the top of a snowy remote mountain, it adds to the effect.. Now throw in the fact that the lyrics which deal specifically with the Thunderdome really don’t make any sense (unless they’re taken in the context of the accompanying 80′s post-apocalyptic Mel Gibson film for which the song was written). Put it all together and it’s a formula for something insanely ridiculous but it’s almost as if they understand that and embrace it. The end result is just something so out there that it reels you in..
But don’t take my word for it. See for yourself:
Do a youtube search for Northern Kings to see what I mean and you’ll come up with their covers of almost everything from Bon Jovi to Lionel Ritchie, to Seal to Ah-Ha to Journey and many more.
So there are some of my favorite covers. Now I want to hear from you! Don’t be shy, leave a comment with some of yours and let’s spurn some earnest discussion!
-A.C. Noia-
*** Crossposted to themediajunkie.wordpress.com ***
It was summer, circa 1970-something. Everyone in the ‘hood was washing their Javelins, Pintos and woody station wagons with dishwashing soap and a constant gurgling hose that no one ever dreamed of shutting off.
It was standard practice to stack the largest radio you could carry into the amphitheater that was your garage. Music poured into the streets. Classic rock. Disco. Jazz. Alternative. A cacophony of sound melded with the green leaves that rustled in the hot wind.
Best of all? That music was free. Free for the world to hear and to experience. It brought people together when your neighbor blasted AC/DC, The Trammps, or Barry White. I didn’t even know half of the bands that echoed across the blacktop but I could recognize a song by the few distorted beats that poured out from the open windows of a passing Mustang.
The Eighties rushed in and with that, music set to video took off. MTV actually had music in their lineup, 24/7. Glam and glitz were the game. Flash came before dance. Music now was visually adorned with skinny ties, and pastel colors as mullet laden notes fluttered across our televisions. Still, we gathered in groups to watch the premiere of Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Peter Gabriel launched So to millions of viewers and who can ever forget Headbangers Ball?
Then the medium of music changed again and, quite possibly, not for he better. Fast forward to 2001. The new epoch was marked by a small invention with an internal drive that stored both video and audio – the iPod. Personal storage for the personal you. Every song you loved was there for 99 cents. Better yet? The package came with gaudy-white ear buds that screamed ‘privacy’. Now you could walk the mall, super market, library, attend a funeral or even bake a cake all to a plethora of hand picked music from your favorite bands. Eye contact was now a privilege not a right. You could hide behind Dizzy Up the Girl or head bob to Dookie, but no one need know your dirty secret love even if it was Backstreet Boys.
It’s a shame really. Music, once the free gift of the airways, is now relegated to the suit it must wear. Gone are the days of how you were defined by the music that resounded from your bedroom. Now you are categorized not only by device type, but also by its exclusivity. Ear buds are used as shields. You don’t need to interact. You could be head bobbing to Metallica or a podiatrists’ podcast. The real crime is that your music can’t be heard. Music often links us together in commonality. Now we’re link solely by the color of our headphones. Human interaction is discouraged.
For that, I feel iSad.
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