Cover of the Month - Hey Jude

I am obsessed with the data that Last.FM provides me. I am using it to broaden my musical experiences (more on that at another time) and it helps me to come up with ideas for my blog.

Reviewing my recently played list I remember listening to "Hey Jude" in the car and really jammin' to it. Of all the Beatles songs, Jude isn't in my top 20, but on the occasions that it catches you right it is real treat.

I know Jude has been covered by plenty of bands, so I sent out on a search to find them ALL, or at least musicians that remotely sound familiar.

So here they are:

• Hey Jude was covered by Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Soul Stew Revival at the Wanee Festival on April 12, 2008 LISTEN TO THIS!!!!
• Hey Jude - From the Across the Universe soundtrack, performed by Joe Anderson
• Hey Jude - From Wilson Pickett's Album Hey Jude with Duane Allman. Duane's weaving through the horns at the end of this track left me wishing for another 2 minutes.
• Hey Jude - What list would be complete without Tom Jones' version
• Hey Jude covered by String Cheese Incident in Utah on February 13, 2000. This is strictly instrumental, and therein lies its beauty.
• Hey Jude was covered by O.A.R. (...of a Revolution) to encore their April 6, 2005 show
• Hey Jude made an appearance in Jamaica when The Brain Damaged Eggmen (Members of the Disco Biscuits & Umphrey's Mcgee) covered it on December 16, 2007 in Jamaica. Unfortunately this cover is completely forgettable and uninspired. This show also has other Beatles covers as well as Pink Floyd stuff.
• Hey Jude is part of Strangefolk's set list from August 10, 1996
• After not playing Hey Jude for 20 years The Grateful Dead brought it back on March 22, 1990. Typically they played the final chorus of Jude which flowed beautifully from, most times, a Dear Mr. Fantasy. In this show they play Hey Jude->Dear Mr. Fantasy->Hey Jude Refrain.
• Here is a link to Hey Jude covered by Lovedog. I found this surfing the net looking for Jude covers and thought I would share.

I am trying to track down Elvis Presley's version of Hey Jude and all I can find right now is this You Tube clip:

iGoogle Theme Submitted

I've been using iGoogle as my home page for about a year ago. When I first began I checked out the Themes and wasn't too impressed. I checked again recently and found some interesting themes, but none related to music or jam bands, so I made my own.

If you use iGoogle make sure your logged in and then visit my first theme.

I submitted it this morning (5/19/08) so I await word from the GOOGLE GODS if it meets their standards.

Let me know what you think.

Here is a screenshot:

Black Crowes - April 7, 1995 in Tampa

I have seen quite a few live performances in my life, and the question that seems to surface when discussing live music is "What's your favorite show?"

For me, my favorite show is one that I attended to and still listen to regularly - The Black Crowes live in Tampa on April 7, 1995 when they opened for the Grateful Dead. Read the Reviews from Crowesbase.com.



The mp3 files, with a very low bit rate as to discourage trading, are available here

I'm always looking for a great show - please recommend one.

Phil Lesh on Lil' Bush

Just thought I would share this lil' bit o' Phil on Lil' Bush.

The Lil’ Bush crew gets a little hippy with the Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh as the voice of Drugzall’s CEO.

moe. - Sticks & Stones LIVE

I recently purchased moe.'s new ablum - Sticks & Stones. After a couple of listens I was not too impressed - overall 3.5/5. Check out Rolling Stone's Review or All Music's Review.

After reading the AllMusic review on TocoSongs I thought to myself, "moe. is a LIVE band. I wonder what these songs sound like LIVE? "

Here is the Sticks & Stones album spliced together from LIVE performances:
Cathedral - March 2, 2008
Sticks & Stones - March 2, 2008
Darkness - April 4, 2008
Conviction Song - April 5, 2008
Z02 - April 3, 2008
Deep This Time - March 6, 2008
All Roads Lead to Home - March 2, 2008
September - March 2, 2008
Queen of Everything - March 29, 2008
Raise a Glass - April 3, 2008

LastFM or Pandora?

I was turned onto Pandora about six months ago by a co-worker who was so excited about creating a Dave only station. I began using Pandora and thought it was great - it surely beat the pants off any radio station I could find. As time went by I stumbled onto Pandora's Jar which led me to LastFM.

After this discovery I found myself in a quandary - which one do I listen to? I read posts about this at Steve Krause's blog, David Porter's Blog and at TechCrunch. The insights offered allowed me to have a better understanding of the services; however, I still I didn't know which one was right for me.

I decided that the best way to do this was to let both services play 12 tracks for me based on similar data. Using the LastFM data from my profile I created a Pandora station that used my top 10 bands and top 10 songs as I foundation. I also decided to throw in my iTunes Party Shuffle to help see my tastes and the accuracy of the other services.

Last FM	Pandora	iTunes Shuffle
Goin' Down South - North Mississippi Allstars	Carl Perkins' Cadillac - Drive-By Truckers	Barstools & Dreamers - Widespread Panic
Passenger - Grateful Dead	4th of July - Robert Earl Keen	McBain - moe.
Powdered Water Too - Eyedea & Abilities	I'd Call to Say I Love You - The Hangdogs	Midnight Hour - Phil & Friends w/Trey
Via Chicago - Wilco	Get Drunk - Drag the River	Onslaught - Blues Traveler
Euphoria - Leftover Salmon	Tangerine - Big Head Todd & The Monsters	One Mirror Too Many - Black Crowes
Comin' Back - The Crystal Method	Heavy - Black Crowes	Trance Mission - Izzy Stradlin
Weekapaug Groove - Phish	Diamonds on the Inside - Ben Harper	The Ocean - Led Zepplin
Sleep On - Alison Krauss	Soak the Skin - Blind Melon	Three or Four - The New Pornographers
Hey 19 - Steely Dan	Tangled Up in Blue - Bob Dylan	Down South - Tom Petty
Kill Ya Momz - Sage Francis	Get a Leg Up - John Mellencamp	Come Together - Rat Dog
Outta Shape - Gov't Mule	It'll Come Around - Back Door Slam	Doggy Dogg World - Snoop Dogg
Weight of the World - Widespread Panic	Hang on Loosely - .38 Special	Gemorrah - Jerry Garica
4 Songs I knew 9 Bands I had heard of before 3 NEW Bands 1 track I might listen to again (Crystal Method) 1 I will NEVER listen to again (Sage)	8 Songs I knew 8 Bands I had heard of 4 NEW Bands 1 I might listen to again (Back Door Slam) 1 I HATE (.38 Special)	11 songs I knew 1 I am not fond of (Trance Mission) nothing new

After reviewing this, my decision is that if you want more of what you currently listening to then LastFM is your place; if you want NEW MUSIC with a foundation in your current musical tastes Pandora is the ticket. If you don't want any real surprises, stay with your iTunes.

Let me know what you think of this analysis? Have you found similar results in exploring the services?

Surfjan Stevens - A Free Man in Paris

Today's track came to me in a most unusual method. I was folding laundry and decided to turn on one of the music channels from Verizon. I found a channel that seemed interesting enough and set to folding socks and hanging shirts when a chorus of horns called to me from the television.

Well, to my surprise was the name of a man, band, woman.... who knew who or what a Surfjan Stevens is - sounds a bit like a bad Beach Boys song but who am I since I refer to myself as Jammin' Junkie...

The song "A Free Man in Paris" was playing through my TV and just caught me. This was wonderful - new music, new musician - I was excited!

Take a listen to "A Free Man in Paris" by Surfjan Stevens, who is a apparently one person with a unique name, from the album A Tribute to Joanie Mitchell.

Have you ever been turned onto a song in an odd way? Just curious where else I can find jems.