Week 52 - All You Need is Love (The Beatles, 1967)

Week 52 - the Beatles

We made it! For our last song, well…the song says it all. Thank you for all your support - every comment, every “like” inspired us to keep going. We couldn’t have done this without all your support. Thank you. 

I’d especially like thank James for his loving and patient support, I know it was a lot to take on! The same goes for Evan - thank you! And most of all, Rebekah. You constantly challenge and inspire me to do better. Thank you lady, I love you so much!

As for the future, I don’t know…but I’m going to do my best to cover all the songs that all of you have suggested. Eventually ;)

And please come see us celebrate at Rockwood Music Hall stage 3 on Thursday, April 27th!

Yay! We. Did. It.

Week 51 - Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) (Beyoncé, 2008)

Week 51 - Beyoncé  & The Dixie Cup

Last week, when I got stuck choosing songs, I asked for help on the FB and got some amazing suggestions.  This week’s idea came from some of those suggestions.  I confess - I know almost next to nothing about Beyoncé and her musical career.  It seems so crazy considering she is one of the best selling artists of all time!   It shows to see how much one can live in one’s own musical bubble…  Of course her music is so far away from anything I do, so I decided to bring in a little of my element, hence the 60’s girl pop group The Dixie Cups.   It was a lot of fun!  Hope you enjoy.  

I’d like to thank Megan and Cody for suggesting Beyoncé, and Sophie for suggestions the Dixie Cups!  You ladies are wonderful!  Thank you!

Week 50 - You're So Vain (Carly Simon, 1972)

Week 50 - Carly Simon

This song followed me all week while I was in England.  It’s such a brilliant song.  I love good breakup songs.  The song’s history is intriguing as Carly Simon always alluded to the subjects of the song but did not entirely reveal them.  The only personality confirmed is Warren Beaty.  Warren Beaty proved he’s worthy of the song by claiming the entire thing for himself and even thanked Carly Simon, ha!  But Carly says it’s about 3 men and the other two remain something of a mystery.  Angie Bowie claims that she’s “the wife of a close friend” and that Mick Jagger was supposedly “obsessed with her.”  Interestingly, Jagger contributed very distinctive backing vocals to the recording.  Meanwhile, we had such a great time singing it - nothing to do with my own experiences, of course :PEnjoy!

Week 42 - Just Because I'm a Woman (Dolly Parton, 1968)

Week 42 - Dolly Parton

Can’t believe there’s only 10 more weeks to go!  Bekah and I were brainstorming for the last 10 songs and the artists that we definitely wanted to cover and Dolly Parton was one of them.  What’s not to love about Dolly?!  She’s inspirational in so many ways - her creativity, her humanity and her style.  This song that she wrote back in the 60’s was a response to her husband’s questioning (and subsequent reaction) to if she'd ever been with a man before him.  Of course it was a rather a daring statement to make back in the day.  These days with the imminent threat to women’s rights (jail time for abortion, seriously????) I think it’s very important to pay respect and give gratitude to women who paved the way for all of us.  Every courageous voice counts.  Thank you, Dolly! 

Week 40 - Faith (George Michael, 1987)

Week 40 - George Michael

I couldn’t believe when I learned about George Michael’s passing on Christmas Day.  The horrible year that claimed so many talented souls, I honestly thought only one week left we were home safe.  I was wrong.  It apparently needed to take a few more away from us before it closed its door forever.  I haven’t really listened to George Michael for a long long time, listening to his songs, I felt really nostalgic.  He was such a craftsman when it comes to songwriting.  We were really happy to be able to do this tribute for him.  Hope you enjoy!

Week 39 - "Heroes" (David Bowie, 1977)

He would have been 70 tomorrow.  It’s hard to believe that he’s been gone for almost a year.  In the madness that followed through out that year and the strange political climate that continues to this year, I realized I really needed to sing this song.  This song, originally recorded in the 70’s in Berlin depicts lovers separated by the Berlin Wall.  His performance of the song in West Berlina decade later is considered a catalyst to the eventual fall of the Berlin Wall.   

Happy almost birthday, Starman.  We miss you dearly.

Week 35 - Cemetery Polka (Tom Waits, 1985)

Week 35 - Tom Waits (1985)

One of the many things I love about Tom Waits is his ability to make music with just about anything.  Unusual instruments, unusual subject matters, unusual ideas, unusual situations - all of these things makes his world so exciting and interesting.  Like this week’s song, Cemetery Polka from the album Rain Dog. It's a song about aging relatives who are mostly insane, dying or both. Absurdity with a twisted sense of humor ran through this song and it includes some of my favorite rhymes like “egg” and “wooden leg” and “hotel” and “hell.”  

I read that Tom Waits walked around NYC recording street sounds and other ambient noises on a cassette recorder in order to catch the sound of the city for recording Rain Dog.  Rain Dog is one of my favorite albums and it makes me happy that it was written in my old neighborhood West Village, though I’m sure it was quite a different neighborhood back then.  

I’ve been wanting to to do all toy instrumentation and this seemed like a perfect opportunity.  We had a great time working on this song.  I hope you enjoy!

“If I want a sound, I usually feel better if I've chased it and killed it, skinned it and cooked it.”  - Tom Waits

And a happy belated birthday, Mr. Waits!

Week 34 of 52 Weeks - Hold On (Tom Waits, 1999)

Week 34 - Tom Waits

Week 1 of Tom Waits December!  Things changed for me drastically as an artist the day I discovered Tom Waits.  I love his originality - in his music, in his lyrics, in his style and in his imagination. And I love and love his sense of humor.  Frustratingly I’ve only seen him performance once and that was for his Mule Variation tour.  Still to this day, it’s one of my favorite shows of all times.  This song has been stuck in my head lately and was thinking about covering it, but there are just too many songs I want to cover.  Since it’s his birthday next week (12/7) I decided to dedicate this whole month exploring his world.  Hope you enjoy!

This one goes out to miss Erika - not only because we went to see Tom Waits together but also she has the best sense of humor and the most infectious laugh.

Week 15 of 52 Weeks - Rockaway Beach (the Ramones, 1977)

Week 15 - the Ramones.

The Ramones will always have a special place in my heart.  They were the first punk rock band that I really fell in love with, they were the soundtrack to my summer days when I first got to NYC, and Jarvie was dressed as one of the Ramones for his first Halloween.  I even got to meet Joey Ramone a few times!!! Recently I went to the Ramones exhibit at the Queens Museum and it made me think of covering this song.  Singing this song was so much fun, much like listening to the Ramones!  If you are in the NYC area, go check out the exhibit- it’s up till the end of this month.