Music Mashups = Cover Fever

OK, a little complicated but bear with me because this will be so worth your time if you’re into bizarre cover songs. If not, flip on ever to iTunes and buy some shit or something.

Kotog has awakened me to the oftentimes sketchy but always worth a look blog Copy, Right?, which is wielded by a woman who apparently scours the underbelly of the web for strange covers of mostly strange songs. (And in a frightening note, she says that complete strangers send her these things, too.) I won’t link to the downloads – one reason being there are too many and another is that her notes on the songs are as good as the music.

Yum!Yum!ORANGE “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” (Bobby McFerrin cover)
I honestly never thought I’d post a cover if this, one of my most-hated songs EVER, but dammit if those Japanese ska bands don’t charm my socks right off everytime.

Little Shepherd “Beate Ausem Block (Jenny from the Block)” (J.Lo cover)
Wow. This is like a terrible car crash from which I inexplicably can’t turn away.

Without these tidbits, I could not in good consciense provide a trusting reader with a Bobby McFerrin download. Free or even if they paid you to download it.

Visit Copy, Right?. Hurry. The songs sometimes have short shelf lives and you’re not going to find this kind of aural stimulation just anywhere. Don’t tell your mom I sent you.

jazzyochrizm

Mark Sabbatini of All About Jazz has offered up some links to sites where you can download – freely for the most part – some holiday music so rancid even its creators have disavowed most copyright or connection to it. Which makes the songs into instant cult classics. Natch.

Bongobells offers about 50 mostly out-of-circulation albums …

Many of the albums are discontinued, colossal commercial failures and other projects doomed to obscurity before digital capturing allowed them to be elevated to cult-like status. Generally the album’s title and lead performer(s) are about all the information available without exhaustive research, but the sites provide enough description for listeners to know what they’re getting before committing bandwidth to them. All of the songs are in unprotected MP3 format, but many are also likely in a legal “grey” area at best. But since eBay seems to be about the only way to get the actual CDs, you probably aren’t starving anybody out of their Christmas dinner money.

Unfortunately, the Bongobells have nag screens between downloads and other unpretty wait times, but if you browse and find a lot that you want, you can get a one-month membership for the price of a J-Lo CD and download them .zip quick.

Enjoy.