It’s been pretty well-established that I’m lukewarm on “funny” cover versions of songs, and four years at a major Midwestern university have caused me to shudder involuntarily whenever the words “a capella” are uttered. So why am I so into Petra Haden’s version of “Don’t Stop Believin’”–which itself is part of an all-”guilty pleasures” covers album that’s actually not 100% terrible? Maybe it’s because any time I hear “Don’t,” I get reminded of my second-favorite Flash animation of all time, or maybe it’s because I’ve been entranced with Haden’s weirdly spooky covers before–her MySpace has her lovely take on “God Only Knows.” Or maybe it’s just because I have no memories of an army of Petras (wearing matching crew-neck sweatshirts, natch) interrupting my bleary-eyed cereal-and-Pepsi dinner. Either way, her ability to mimic Journey’s keyboards is pretty fantastic, and I only wish she’d gone as all-out on the song’s chorus as Steve Perry does:
Petra Haden [MySpace]
Guilt By Association [MySpace]
I’m going to assume your first favorite is the Kikomann.
Nope.
Why have I never see that? Fucking epic.
More surprisingly, how have I never seen the Family Guy parody (“More Featured Videos” in the column next to it). I thought I’d seen every episode 5 times.
Wugh! I was trying to remember Petra Hayden’s name last night, and all I could say was. “Girl from That Dog! With the fiddle! Girl from That Dog!”
Her covers, like Mountain Goats ones, don’t fall into the lame category. Remember?
Yeah, I would say Haden’s covers (especially of “Thriller” and the whole The Who Sell Out album) kind of transcend the stigma of a cappella/”funny” covers. Her onomatopoeia skills are breathtaking.
A major Midwestern university that provides a capella nausea? I’m just guessing here, but could it rhyme with Shmorthwestern?
I have “The Who Sell Out” and it’s impressive but her version of “God Only Knows” is the real gem.
tingilinde: ipod music isn’t music “Good sound is nice, but not essential. Recorded sound is still a long way off from the original soundfield and hifi quality only seems to matter to well healed middle aged males with terrible hearing.” yikes.
Check out the video for Petra’s version of the song: [www.youtube.com]
Hope you like it, we had a lot of fun making it.