Crazy As A Loon -- John Prine

Again in honor of the weaponized autistics who are trying to take on the Hedge Funds, I present a John Prine "classic" from 2005.

It's hard to pick just one song off of Fair and Square. Eventually I'll be able to talk about Long Monday publically. Glory of True Love is glorious, and Some Humans Ain't Human is just too true.

Today, we'll talk about Crazy As A Loon. When I hear this song, I think about the character Hap Shaugnessy on Red Green, a person who knows a lot and has done everything, especially things that just can't be. We all know a Hap somewhere in our lives, and the author of Crazy As A Loon seems to be just like that. There's no way one man could have done these things, but you wish you knew him anyway.

New Soul -- Yael Naim and David Donatien

I've had minor reoccurring insomnia most of my life. When I was in college, it led to a night owl lifestyle. When the kids were born and I went to full-time work, that lessened, but IBM often had me up at random times in the night. When I switched to UK, my nights got more stable, so I would occasionally wake up randomly at night or in the early morning.

By the time New Soul came out, MTV and VH1 had abandoned playing actual music except during the very early morning hours. One day, I was up, and heard this song. It never hit the radio, and I had a hard time finding the album (I finally found it during my bargain hunting years later).

I love the innocence, the "stranger in a strange land" that the song portraits. Yael has a beautiful voice. The video is also inventive.

Just Breathe -- Willie Nelson, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real

This is a breaking find because I didn't know how well Lukas Nelson could sing. I'm going to spend the weekend listening to his stuff.

Again, another cover. Unlike Johnny Cash, Willie isn't guaranteed to take a song by singing it. I like Willie's take on Gravedigger (even if it's not better than Dave Matthews), but Come On Up To the House (off Heroes) shouldn't have happened. This song is another excellent cover. I had never heard Pearl Jam's version of this song until just now.

As I've said before, a cover must improve on the original or take it somewhere new. Here, it's the presence of Lukas, and the love the two have for each other. Also, this song (and several others) show an awareness of Willie's own mortality (he was having lung problems that were helped by stem-cell therapy in 2015).

Skylar Grey - Stand By Me

Yet another breaking of my rule about covers, but I don't care. This lady is good, and so is this song. I'm marking it as a breaking find, because I just found the song and the video today. It's an excellent deconstructed yet complex version of the song. The video is also a beautiful statement about helping people in hurricane territory.

The Comedians - Roy Orbison

Elvis Costello rewrote his song The Comedians for Roy Orbison's comeback (and last) album, Mystery Girl. It deserved to be a hit, but it got overshadowed by You Got It (which was worthy itself) and the Traveling Wilburys' songs. The video below is from the Roy Orbison and Friends concert "A Night in Black and White". This really shows off the power of this song.

Roll Me Up -- Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg, Kris Kristofferson, and Jamey Johnson

I could call this a breaking find, because I just heard about it, but Willie put this album out in 2012. I've tried a couple of times to describe how awesome this song is. There is only one way: Jamey Johnson, Kris Kristofferson, and Snoop Dogg are singing with Willie about smoking, and it's not tobacco. And it works.

You really just have to listen to it. I haven't laughed this hard for months.

Revolution - Alice Cooper ft. Johnny Depp

With the politics abounding this week, I had to break out the Beatles standard, but I had to go find a cover.

Someone wanted a Color Revolution in the USA this election, and they've tried their best to get it. However, like John said, "We all want to change your head". Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind.

On to the song. I am a heretic; I don't like listening to the Beatles. I like a lot of their music when someone else does it, breaking my general "no cover" rule. When I wanted to put this one up, I searched YouTube and up popped both Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp. I just couldn't resist. It's pretty good.

A Change Would Do You Good -- Sheryl Crow

This is definitely not a Better In the Video song. I love this song by Sheryl Crow, and I know a lot of people who would benefit from a change. However, the official video is bad, so you're getting the plain version.

Breaking Find -- Dust In The Wind -- Caroline Jones

I am not fond of covers in general. They had a bigger place in music history when the original might have been in a different genre, or was no longer in print or easy to find. In the modern era, you really need to bring something different to a song to make it worth skipping the original and listening to your version.

I think Caroline Jones has managed to do it. I love Kansas' Dust In The Wind, but Ms. Jones has managed to provide a fresh, simple (almost acoustic) interpretation of the song.

(I know it's not very new, but I found it last weekend.)