Weekend Listomania: Special The Song Remains the Same (or Something) Audio/Video Edition

Well, it's Friday, and you know what that means. Yes, my Oriental cash on the barrelhead consultant Fah Lo Suee and I are off to...frankly, I got nothing. This whole bankster crap is just depressing the hell out of me; I mean, wouldn't it be really great if we had a liberal President dealing with all of it?

But, of course, we don't. And that being the case, and because things will almost certainly be a little sleepy around here until our return, here's a fun little project to help us all wile away the idle hours.

Post Elvis Pop/Rock Song That You'd Hope Would Have Been Covered A Lot, But For Whatever Reason Hasn't or Has But Only Rarely!!!

No arbitrary rules whatsoever, you're welcome very much.

And my totally top of my head Top Six is/are:

6. XTC -- Senses Working Overtime




I have a theory as to why XTC isn't the biggest band on the planet, and it basically comes down to the fact that Andy Partridge's slightly adenoidal vocal stylings are, shall we say, an acquired taste. In any case, this song should by all rights be a standard, but as far as I know the only serious cover version of it is the above one by the perhaps overly perky Mandy Moore. Say what you will about the little Jeebus tart -- she can, in fact, sing, and to my ears anyway it sounds like she actually gets what the song is about.

5. Spirit -- Nature's Way



And speaking of gorgeous blah blah blah. Does it strike anybody else as odd that along with the dearth of covers, it's never (to my knowledge) been used for a commercial? Or a PSA by an environmental group?

4. Marah -- It's Only Money, Tyrone




Bruce Springsteen fronting The Replacements in an outtake from Exile on Main Street, and it doesn't get any cooler. Seriously -- if I had a loud guitar-driven band at the moment I would be using a cover of this to open our sets. So why hasn't anybody else gotten the message?

3. The Beatles -- Hey Bulldog



The Fabs' most overlooked, kickass riff-rocker, and you'd think it would be more ubiquitous. Fanny's 1971 cover version is the only one I can think of without Googling, and alas, like everything these admittedly pioneering gals did, it strikes me as sort of a dancing bear thing, i.e., it's not that it's done particularly well, but that it's done at all.

2. Thin Lizzy -- Old Flame




This one just slays me; 60s-derived r&b romanticism at its most poignant, and the guitars just make me float away. Why this wasn't the followup hit to "The Boys Are Back in Town" is a mystery that may never be solved, as is why somebody hasn't covered the thing.

And the Numero Uno They're (Not) Playing Our Song Song of all time clearly is....

1. The Rolling Stones -- You Got the Silver




A serious candidate for the Stones' most exquisite ballad ever, regardless of whether it's Mick or Keith singing it (the above is an absolutely devastating outtake alternate mix featuring Mick, for those of you keeping score). Pop Quiz: How come the song itself isn't as over-exposed as, say, "Wild Horses"?

Alrighty then -- what would your choices be?