I Like the Cover Better - Hi-Standard - Can't Help Falling In Love

The original of this song is pretty sappy, but also just flat-out good.



The cover?

Well, it just makes me happier. I love the thick accent but clear enunciation of Ken Yokoyama.





Just as a sidebar, I had a sweetheart when I was younger that I was totally enamoured with. It didn't end up going anywhere useful, except that she really hated Elvis. I didn't think much of him. But just to be annoying to her - boys'll do that to girls they like - I started to turn up Elvis whenever he'd come on the radio instead of switching him off. In the process, I started to really appreciate his voice and presentation.

Favorite Punk Guitar Riffs

Someone I follow on Instagram asked for favorite punk guitar riffs. I had opinions. This isn't exhaustive, but it's what came to mind at the moment I saw it:


The Ramones - Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment
The Damned - New Rose
Rancid - Avenues and Alleyways
Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen in Love
Television - See No Evil
Misfits - Last Caress
Dead Boys - Sonic Reducer
The Saints - Stranded
Sex Pistols - Anarchy in the UK
The Undertones - Gotta Getta



With some more thought I'd have included:

The Dead Kennedys - Holiday in Cambodia
The Clash - Should I Stay or Should I Go
The Blue Hearts - Owaranai Uta

and of course, the song this blog is named for:

The Dictators - Who Will Save Rock and Roll?

Tom Waits - Going Out West

You might remember this song from Tom Waits as the song that plays as Brad Pitt and Ed Norton head downstairs at Lou's for a meeting of fight club.

Best comment on this video? "This song is the physical form of whiskey" - I can't argue much with that.

Hawkwind - Kings of Speed (Live)

A nice live version of Kings of Speed by Hawkwind:

Rainbow - Since You've Been Gone

Just a classic by Deep Purple and Rainbow member Ritchie Blackmore:


Ritchie Blackmore has some serious chops. Here he is with a guitar-led version of the 5th movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's 9th Symphonay, the Ode to Joy.

I like the cover better - Police on my Back

The first time I heard this song was the cover by The Clash:

Police on my Back


The original is by the band The Equals. It's amazing. One member of The Equals you need to know of - if you somehow don't know - is Eddy Grant. "Electric Avenue" is one of the best rock songs of all time.


But that's besides the point here.

The original? Great song.

The cover? Superior to my ears.

I always wanted to use this as a walkout song for a fight. What I ended up using back in the day was Killing Zone by Rancid.

Slayer - Raining Blood

One day I was training at Freak Strength and my fellow trainee Fern asked our trainer Mike - "I want to set a pullup PR. What's a good song to play?"

"Raining Blood by Slayer." - Mike

He's not wrong.

I never got into Slayer, but holy hell, this song rocks.