Editor’s Note: In addition to other news about global pandemics, renowned correspondent Marlow felt it necessary to provide non-pharmaceutical means of compensation. Tomorrow is Veteran’s Day- so we are staying loyal to our brand.

– Vic

B(r)and Loyalty

With one or more vaccines showing huge promise this morning, it’s time to return once again to the plague.

In this piece I look at how this virus made me acutely aware of my unspoken subconscious b(r)and loyalties.

No, not for things like Detroit’s shiny, powerful, metal machines, European high end dress and casual shirts, designer jeans, flossing picks, Q-tips, and the like. This is more about standards that have stood the test of time — Heinz ketchup, Cascade dish detergent, Ziploc bags, LED bulbs, Tide detergent, Coke-a-Cola, Kelley Blue Book, Zing Zang Bloody Mary Mix, Skippy and Peter Pan chunky peanut butter, Fever Tree and Schweppes tonic water, Hefty Trash bags, Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce, Hershey’s chocolates, Charmin TP (all that John Wayne skin scraping stuff can take a flying leap), Bounty paper towels, imported Italian dried pasta, Land of Lakes butter, San Marzano Certified Peeled Tomatoes, and Hellman’s Mayo.

Along with bulging recipes files, these items made plague life easier, predictable and comforting.

The plague also led W and me to listen to lots of cable TV channel and podcast music stations. So not to be just contrary (well, just a little), here’s a partial list of covered songs that were hits like the originals, but which also differed heavily from the original. In some, the new version was amazingly better than the original version which was excellent.

Van Halen covers of Kinks songs (Yes, I am giving those spandexed and permed pretty boys credit for the work of a true songwriter. It sticks in my craw to say this 35 years later.)

Just about all of Led Zepplin’s covers of old blues tunes.

Songs covered multiple times:

I Love Rock N Roll
Walk This Way
You Really Got Me
Dancing In The Street
Black Magic Woman
Knocking on Heaven’s Door
Mr. Tambourine Man (yes, even James Shatner’s sonic abomination — so bad that it was so good)
Crossroads
Cocaine

I am not a big fan of the Rolling Stones’ old blues covers, but their cover of Marianne Faithful’s recording “As Tears Go By” is still killing it. Yes, Jagger and Richards did cowrite it and recorded it later.

I forgot to include in the above multiple list Donovan’s “Hurdy Gurdy Man” covers by the Butthole Surfers and Eartha Kitt.

“Back in the High Life Again” by Warren Zevon

“Summertime Blues” – a mid-60s cover favorite of mine.

The many covers of Beatles songs deserve their own essay. Here’s a few:
David Porter “Help”
Ernest Ranglin “You Won’t See Me”
Herbie Mann “Norwegian Wood”
Sergio Mendez & Brazil ’66 “With A Little Help From My Friends”
Steve Marcus “Tomorrow Never Knows”
Junior Parker “Taxman”
Marvin Gaye’s “Yesterday”
Joe Cocker’s “With a Little Help From My Friends”

Just about all of Jimi Hendrix’s covers — see “All Along the Watchtower,” “Hey Joe”

Talking Heads’ “Take Me to the River”

Johnny Cash’s cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt”

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