Ah, guilty pleasures. We all have them. Mine, you ask? Well, it is a bit of a secret, but I'll tell you, because you are my trusted virtual friends who would never ostracize me and who will certainly never e-mail me and tell me yours in return (hint, hint). Most nights I tend to cook up a quick Thai fusion dish for dinner then settle down with a good read (a Candace Bushnell or maybe a Helen Fielding), slip into the tub, pour in some lavender bubble bath, light a sandalwood candle, crank the Yanni to at least 6 and just soak, baby, soak!
Pffft! I "write" for Tiny Mix Tapes! Firstly, I can't read. Secondly, I wouldn't recognize Yanni if I ran him over repeatedly with my car. And thirdly, the only fragrances I smell after a long day cruising the highway ditches and downtown garbage bins for bottles and cans are Molson and dirty ashtray. Just a small spritz under your arms and behind your ears and you've got an irresistible mélange that screams "sophisticated and savvy!" Girls, before you say the words "Hmmm, I have got to get me some of that stanky sexy beast!" I have to tell you that I am fully committed to TMT. I'm sorry, but she is my mistress and I will never stray.
Guilty pleasures, musically speaking, are what we should be talking about here. In the UK, the whole thing is much more of a phenomenon, with the music industry's leading lights moonlighting as guest DJs at clubs and hosting radio shows, showcasing their slightly embarrassing but secretly loved songs of yesteryear. It is only natural that someone would ask artists to reinterpret a guilty pleasure of their own and collect them for a compilation. The coaxed-out confessions of some of our fave artists have been recorded and will be available for all the world to hear and snicker at on August 7 when Guilt by Association is released on Engine Room Recordings.
Normally, Devendra Banhart is up for anything, so it is not surprising that he appears on this compilation, covering the Gallagher brothers' "Don't Look Back in Anger." Luna takes on cheerleader-turned-medicated "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul's finest moment, "Straight Up" (other will say "Cold Hearted" is THE Abdul song to cover, but I'm agreeing with Dean Wareham and co. on this one), Jim O'Rourke releasing his inner Spice Girl (Old Spice?) with "Viva Forever," and thankfully both Fall Out Boy and System Of A Down are represented with covers here, because without the attention, they just might disappear forever, and that would be a damn shame! Banhart's Oasis cover, Petra Haden's a cappella version of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing," and Will Oldham's interpretation of Mariah Carey's "Can't Take That Away" are available for your listening pleasure at this MySpace link and on the Engine Room Recordings website, which is handy for burgeoning videographers because you could win a chance to create a video for one of those songs. Click here for details and deadlines.
Of course one person's guilty pleasure is another person's reason for living. So ironic or not, don't be pretending that Eddie Money's "Two Tickets to Paradise" is just another hilarious song you decided to cover for a laugh, Geoff Farina! Money is not funny! Money is money! And speaking of money, or words that are similar to money, no one wanted to attempt Mony Mony? Now that is funny.
1. Petra Haden - "Don't Stop Believing" (Journey)
2. Devendra Banhart - Don't Look Back in Anger" (Oasis)
3. Mark Mulcahy - "From This Moment On" (Shania Twain)
4. Luna - "Straight Up" (Paula Abdul)
5. The Concretes - "Back For Good"
6. Jim O'Rourke - "Viva Forever" (Spice Girls)
7. Goat - "Sugar We're Going Down" (Fall Out Boy)
8. Will Oldham - Can't Take That Away" (Mariah Carey)
9. Woody Jackson Orchestra featuring Money Mark - "Love's Theme" (Love Unlimited Orchestra)
10. Porter Block - "Breaking Free" (High School Musical)
11. The Mooney Suzuki - "Just Like Jesse James (Cher)
12. Geoff Farina - "Two Tickets to Paradise" (Eddie Money)
13. Casey Shea - "Chop Suey" (System of a Down)
14. Superchunk - "Say My Name" (Destiny's Child)
15. Mike Watt - "Burning For You" (Blue Oyster Cult)
