They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...

I was driving home from work on a rainy day this week when I heard Seether's version of the George Michael pop song "Careless Whisper." Never been much of a fan of George Michael's work, but I now like Seether's version of the song.

Here's a few other unexpected cover songs that I've been listening to lately from my CD collection:

"Helden" by Apocalyptica featuring Till Lindeman and Richard Kruspe of Rammstein. This is a version of the David Bowie song "Heroes" sung in German by Lindeman - kinda cool to hear these lyrics with cello, guitar & drums in the background.

"Wicked Game" by Stone Sour. Found this song toward the end of the extended version of their CD Come Whatever May. Corey Taylor's other band does a faithful live acoustic version of the Chris Isaak hit.

"Baker Street" by the Foo Fighters. I first heard this song on a European import CD, but it's also on the 10th anniversary reissue of their album The Colour and the Shape. Interesting to hear the saxophone parts on the Jerry Rafferty original played by guitar instead. Only downside is that Dave Grohl's vocals could be a bit louder.

"Shout" by Disturbed. Never expected David Draiman & co. to cover Tears for Fears on their debut album. It works, although I think their cover of the Genesis song "Land of Confusion" is probably more popular.

"Simple Man" by Shinedown. This acoustic cover of the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic is on the extended version of their debut album, and became a hit single. The Deftones also do a good version of this song.

"Hurt" by Sevendust. This acoustic live track from Southside Doublewide Acoustic Live is actually a cover of Johnny Cash's version of the Nine Inch Nails single - a cover of a cover song! Great performance, well worth checking out (I saw the band on the same acoustic tour about a week before the recorded performance in Georgia, so I'm kinda biased here).

"I Walk The Line" by Live. Faithful lyrics, with melodies that are uniquely Live's. Found this song on their greatest hits CD and a great live version on last year's Live from the Paradiso CD.

These are some unexpectedly good cover songs that I came up with this week - any others you think should be added to the list?

Cold Spring Friends of the Library

I'm a member of the Cold Spring Friends of the Library, and my main role in the group is to promote and help at upcoming events. If you're in the ROCORI area, you'll probably find the ROCORI Times in your mailbox today. My article on page 16 has more info on 2 events we have coming up: a "Best Brownie" contest on Tuesday, March 24th at the Cold Spring Library, and a visit by MN author William Kent Krueger at Peace Lutheran Church in Cold Spring on April 30th. Proceeds from all of our events benefit the Cold Spring Library Expansion Project. Thanks and hope to see you at these events!

Spring is finally here!

Calendar-wise, spring in Minnesota is finally here, although it started to feel like it on Monday with highs in the sixties. I don't know why, but it really felt like a long, cold winter this year- probably because of all the below-zero days we had. I know we're probably spoiled, but I can't remember a year where we've had this many below-zero and below-freezing days in winter. Hoping for a nice warm spring & summer in the days & months ahead!

My first blog

Hi there - welcome to my blog! You'll probably find my insight on music, movies, TV, works of fiction, current events, and other stuff. Thanks for visiting my blog, and feel free to send me any constructive criticism - it'll really help this be a better blog.