The Year That Was. Plus: YouTube Cover Versions – No Extra Cost!

Sometimes January 1 is just the day after December 31, and you stroll into it with no more thought or feeling than if it were a rainy, boring Tuesday in mid-June. Sometimes January 1 is a bold step into a new year with fresh goals and lantern-jawed resolve.

And sometimes January 1 is a symbolic escape from the previous 12 months.

This January 1 sorta feels like if falls into the latter category. Man oh man, what a year we had. Man oh man, oh man, oh man…..

I will just say this to our old friend 2023: You were a real kick in the crotch, a real test of nerves and patience. You were like the guy who acts all nice and friendly until he sneaks a few nips of the whiskey bottle, then comes bursting out of the corner like a rabid wolverine in search of fresh prey.

I won’t rehash the 2023 challenges here. I’ve written about them in previous blogs, so no need to repeat all that.

Okay, well, there’s this: We moved from London after 5.5 years there and back to the US of A. We bought a house from across the ocean, all digitally. We had to arrange moving services – not once, but twice. One from our townhouse in London to New Jersey; the other from our home in North Carolina to New Jersey. We had to sell our home in NC to pay for the home in NJ, even as we were still settling the tabs on all the other stuff.

We ran into more logistical nightmares than you can count on five hands. We took a deep dive into a bottomless abyss of contractors, accountants, government bureaucrats, customer service reps, car dealerships, and assorted other ghouls who ate our brains and souls like the world’s angriest amoeba.

And we did this while navigating the complicated emotions of leaving a wondrous life in Europe, when our young girls grew into young ladies. But that’s a different tale for a different day.

Well, it’s damn near 2024, and most of that is behind us. We only have a few more loose ends to tie up and we’ll be free and clear of most of it. We fought the good fight and emerged damaged but victorious. Weep not for us, my friends. We have prevailed. We have survived!

You think I’d crumble?
You think I’d lay down and die?

Oh no, not I, I will survive
Oh, as long as I know how to love, I know I’ll stay alive
I’ve got all my life to live
And I’ve got all my love to give and I’ll survive
I will survive, hey, hey

So, goodbye 2023. Au revoir. Adios, arrivederci, tot ziens, Sayanora, baby.

On to 2024. May all your days be free and clear…..

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I’m not sure I remember life before YouTube, even though it wasn’t that long ago. There was a time when I never hopped on YouTube or even heard of it, and I’m sure it was just fine. I have no idea how I even found my way to YouTube in the first place, or what I watched when I got there.

The first YouTube video was uploaded on April 24, 2005. It was called “Meet Me at the Zoo.” Today, YouTube has more than 2 billion users every month, according to the Comparitech website. I have no idea how accurate that figure is and no desire to fact-check it. But hell, it sounds about right. Let that number sink in – 2 billion users. That’s about one-quarter of the entire world population.

In any case, at some point YouTube made its first appearance in my life, and today it occupies a very large space in my brain. I don’t think I’m the kind of person who passes the time frivolously, but I can spend hours digging into YouTube’s many delights, all the old TV clips, comedy skits, Bob Ross episodes, movie scenes, DIY videos, news clips – and music videos. Lots and lots and lots of music videos.

YouTube is a vast treasure trove of entertainment, a gift upon the world that ranks right up there with the phonograph and yo-yo.

One of my favorite exercises on YouTube is searching for cover versions of songs I like. I could spend hours doing this (and have, late at night, when I should know better). The best part is when someone totally unexpected does a cover version, like the bluegrass/country version of Snoop Dogg’s “Gin and Juice” performed by Hayseed Dixie.

Anyway….

As noted in a previous blog, I am devoting my remaining blogs of 2023 to the gift of music, in the holiday spirit, and to counteract the bad news that keeps hitting us like a sledgehammer every seven minutes. This one is on YouTube cover versions of some of my favorite songs.

Whenever possible, I lean toward unknown musicians, but there are exceptions. The songs are linked to YouTube videos and include the cover artists, along with the composers and how the songs became famous.

Hickory Wind, The Tuttles and AJ Lee. Written by Gram Parsons and made famous by the Byrds.

The Boxer, Alison Krause and Shawn Colvin: Written by Paul Simon, made famous by Simon & Garfunkel.

Fly Me to the Moon, Jonny Hepbir Quartet: Written by Bart Howard and made famous by Nat King Cole and then Frank Sinatra.

Despacito, JeA with Juwon Park: Written and made (massively) famous by Luis Fonsi.

Plastic Jesus, Justine Lucas and Jordan Finlay: Written by Ed Rush and George Cromarty as a comic novelty song in 1957 and made famous by Paul Newman in the movie “Cool Hand Luke.”

Israelites, Desmond Dekker, Dave Swift and Jools Holland: Written and made famous by Desmond Dekker. Okay, not technically a cover since Dekker appears here, but a whole different flavor with the huge band behind him.

Folsom Prison Blues/Pinball Wizard, Puddles the Clown: This is a mashup by a fabulously weird YouTube star that uses the tune of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” to sing the lyrics to The Who’s “Pinball Wizard.” Somewhere there’s a version with him reversing the equation but for some reason I can’t find it. Brilliant stuff.

Can’t You See, Jelly Roll feat. Brother Sal: Written by Toy Caldwell, made famous by The Marshall Tucker Band.

Buckets of Rain, Toni Lindgren: Written by Bob Dylan. One of the great tracks on the great “Blood on the Tracks.”

Jambalaya, Fiorola: Written and made famous by The Great Hank Williams (Senior), with notable covers by Creedence Clearwater Revival and Freddie Fender.

Ode to Joy, Musicians in Sabadell, Spain: Composed and made famous by Ludwig van Beethoven. This was a flash mob performance that never fails to make me tear up with….joy.

Creep, Postmodern Jukebox feat. Haley Reinhart: Written by Thom Yorke, made famous by Radiohead. Postmodern Jukebox is a collection of young musicians who have made it big on YouTube by doing jazzy versions of pop, rock and R&B standards.

Note: My way-cool friend Judith V.Z. tipped me to Puddles the Clown and Postmodern Jukebox, otherwise I never would have found them. I did the photo collage after borrowing images off Google.