The Weekly iPod Shuffle: 3/31/07

1. "Roll Over Beethoven," The Beatles
I've actually never been that fond of the covers the Beatles did in their early years, and this track in no exception. George's vocals are a little thin, and the entire thing sound a little too proper for rock and roll, a little too stiff, a little too...well, British.

2. "Clash With Reality," Pantera
Imagine what a song called "Clash With Reality" by a band like Pantera would sound like. That's what it sounds like.

3. "Wings for Marie (Pt. 1)," Tool
Part one of the centerpiece of Tool's most recent album, 10,000 Days, "Wings for Marie" is actually the weaker half, but only because it's all setup and no payoff. Together, they represent what is probably Tool's greatest accomplishment to date. (The Marie of the title is Maynard's mother, Judith Marie, about whom he also wrote A Perfect Circle's breakthrough hit "Judith." She was left crippled by a stroke, but refused to let her deep Christian faith go. Prior to her death a few years ago, she was incapacitated for twenty-seven years, or roughly 10,000 days. You didn't want to know any of that, but I had no choice but to tell you -- on my character sheet, next to "Nature," it says "Pedagogue." I just regained a point of Willpower.)

4. "Revolution," R.E.M.
And the theme of obscure R.E.M. tracks continues from last week with his obscure throwaway from the soundtrack to Batman and Robin, one of the most ungodly films ever created. I have nothing else to say about the song, except to inform you that it's not a Beatles cover.

5. "Twist and Shout," The Beatles
This, however, is another cover by the Beatles. This one fares a little better than "Beethoven," though, largely in part by John Lennon's infamously hoarse vocals. After hearing it so many times through the years, though, I'm pretty sick of it.

6. "Signs of Life," Pink Floyd
A tame instrumental that opens the Floyd album with both my favorite cover and title, A Momentary Lapse of Reason. This was the first album recorded after their songwriter, Roger Waters, quit, and it shows very little signs of life at all -- the record is, for the most part, dull as dishwater. But hey, cool cover, huh?

7. "Secret World (live)," Peter Gabriel
One of Gabriel more poignant love songs. I prefer this live version to the studio, in part because it's longer, and in part because, paradoxically, it sounds better. Who knows.

8. "One Chance," Modest Mouse
I love Modest Mouse. This song takes what should have been a straightforward pop song and mauls it with shouted overdubs and off-kilter harmonies. As does pretty much every track they've ever recorded.

9. "Policy of Truth," Depeche Mode
Hey, remember when they made a comeback a while ago? No? Me neither.

10. "Come On Eileen," Dexy's Midnight Runners
It's great. Fuck you. Actually, you know, if you're willing to ignore the 80's stigma attached to this track, you'll find a quirky, completely original pop song that doesn't sound like anything else at all. How did they end up as just one-hit wonders?