TVD's Parting Shots

The Friday ‘Parting Shots’ feature, our last dance for the week usually, has been a forum for you, the attuned TVD reader to guest DJ your playlist of choice over at our place. That held true for well over a year but fell by the wayside for some reason that I simply don’t recall.

So, it’s with some fanfare that we announce that the forum for you guys is back in play and ushering in the era of the Parting Shots—Mach Two—is none other than one of my favorite bloggers, Lemmonex.

Ms. Lemmonex is the author of the very excellent Culinary Couture which “consists largely of recipes, but also includes culinary-related musings and thoughts on DC restaurants from time to time” as she writes. But that description only scratches the surface. Her writing is personal, candid, courageous, and very often out and out hilarious and is a bit of a rarity in the blogosphere: a true gem.

Now, normally I assume that when she’s discussing ‘covers’ it’s usually something on the stove-top, but today at TVD it’ll mean something else entirely:

"There is just something about a cover song, hearing an old favorite as if it is the first time. It is like running in to an old love; they are familiar, yet somehow experiencing them through a new filter sets your head spinning.

This is by no means a comprehensive list and I left out some favorites. The Door's version of "Alabama Song/Whiskey Bar" and Faith No More's "Easy" nearly made the cut, but Bowie bests them both with his complete re-envisioning of a punk tune. And "Jealous Guy"? Perfection in every form. This list has a bit of everything; the sickeningly saccharine song reveals itself as sweet lover's lament, an ode to masturbation suddenly becomes even dirtier at the hands of a rock God, and a pitiful croon transforms itself into a desperate plea.

I am sure I left some of your favorites out, but for me me? These are perfect reunions with old loves."

Mark Ronson - Stop Me (originally The Smiths) (Mp3)
Johnny Cash - Hurt (originally Nine Inch Nails) (Mp3)
The Bird and the Bee - How Deep Is Your Love (originally the Bee Gees) (Mp3)
Scissor Sisters - Take Me Out (originally Franz Ferdinand) (Mp3)
Jem - Maybe I'm Amazed (originally Wings) (Mp3)
David Bowie - China Girl (originally Iggy Pop) (Mp3)
Foo Fighters - Darling Nikki (originally Prince) (Mp3)
The Sundays - Wild Horses (originally The Rolling Stones) (Mp3)
Rage Against the Machine - How I Could Just Kill a Man (originally Cypress Hill) (Mp3)
Elliot Smith - Jealous Guy (originally John Lennon) (Mp3)