These five bloggers are co-sponsoring a blog event on the first and fifteenth of each month, and I am once again hitching a ride on their parade because I seem to have no original ideas of my own!
Robin (Your Daily Dose)
My entry is (go figure) once again a Todd Rundgren song, this time his single, "Can We Still Be Friends," which went all the way up to 29 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song was featured in the movie "Dumb And Dumber," as well as "Vanilla Sky" and the TV show "Nip And Tuck."
It has been covered by Mandy Moore, Vonda Shepherd and Rod Stewart, but Robert Palmer's version, released in 1979, brought the song back to the charts, peaking at number 52.
First, the Todd Rundgren version from the Hermit Of Mink Hollow album:
And next, Robert Palmer's version from the Secrets album
Mandy Moore's version...
...and Vonda Shepherd's...
...and finally, Rod Stewart's
Uh, Larry, the rest of us are doing a show down between two versions. You've got a friggin' variety show going on here. That was like 20 minutes of video.
ReplyDeleteGuess all these versions just go to show that this is a good song that can be covered by many. Honestly I didn't listen to the full versions of any of these, but from my sampling I'm somewhat partial to the Robert Palmer version. But I've always liked Robert Palmer partly because of those videos he did with all those women that looked alike.
Not so hot for Rod Stewart's disco version. The girls do alright versions that do really blow me away.
Todd wins--it's his song, he did it first and best.
Lee
Tossing It Out
Yeah, Lee-besides never being much of a joiner, I've never been one to follow the rules (or even read them)!
DeleteLC
Does Todd Rundgren know you're stalking him??? hahahaha.
ReplyDeleteLC, too many choices here. I admit that after the first two I just listened to how they started. I expected to like Rod Stewart's version and (surprisingly) did not. I didn't have high expectations for Mandy Moore and I didn't much care for it. I normally like Vonda Shephard's music (huge Ally McBeal fan), but I didn't care for her interpretation of this song. Go figure.
So, the only contender for Todd (in my mind) was Robert Palmer. I listened to Todd's version one more time and decided that he was the clear winner.
Do me a favor... next BOTB surprise me with a non-Todd song. xoxoxoxo
Bad news, Robin-my whole idea was to crash BOTB until I run out of Todd covers!
DeleteAnd I may make it until the new year...
I almost forgot, Robin-on the Japanese edition of his new CD, State, Todd does an electronica medley of signature songs including CWSBF as a bonus track.
DeletePlease don't ask if I am psycho enough to have paid the ridiculous cost of a Japanese import CD to get a bonus track on an album that is among my least favorite TR releases-it's too painful and humiliating to have to answer that.
Anyway, Rod's version is better than that bonus track.
Larry
Mandy Moore's version speaks to me. And it says "BLEEEEERGH."
ReplyDelete(That was the vomiting noise, for your higher brow readers)
I'm voting for Todd. Again. I promise I'm not sucking up. I just like it the best. Robert Palmer's was second, and Mandy Moore's... I'm just going to pretend doesn't exist.
Wow-I didn't think Mandy's was THAT bad!
DeleteTodd, with Palmer a close second.
ReplyDeletePalmer seems to be a favorite for the number two spot.
DeleteYour title for this post sounded way more interesting than another BOTB, oh well, we can still be friends.
ReplyDeleteI really like Rod Stewart, BUT his version of this song is just a little too disco for me. Both of those women are...not very good. Robert Palmer's version is probably the most familiar to me, but Todd's is still the best. So, it's another vote for your boy Todd.
Well since I'm sort of crashing your party I wanted to make it a little amusing and stick to a theme...I have enough Todd covers to wind out the year...
DeleteIf enough people are tired of Todd covers, I can always switch to the Bonzo Dog Band!
I'm voting for the Rod Stewart version... ONLY because after hearing that same song five straight times, I just wanted it to STOP!!!!! And after Stewart's version, it did.
ReplyDelete~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
So I guess you're not going to Todd's NYE show in Orlando...
DeleteBono Dog Band? Are those the guys that bark out Jingle Bells?
ReplyDeleteThe Bonzo Dog Band were more serious than that!
DeleteThey were a late sixties' band (started as a jazz band) who I think had a hit, but are probably best known as having recorded the song that the indie band Death Cab For Cutie stole their name from.
One of the members was behind the late seventies Beatles parody band The Rutles.