The version I like is by Stars – the Canadian band, not the British one – and is a cover of an old The Smiths song (not sure where to put that apostrophe). Their version might be sacrilege to some, but I love it and have it on a loop.
The song’s also been covered by Death Cab For Cutie, but their version sounds too close to The Smi…the uh…original, for comfort (ok…that apostrophe’s really starting to bug me)! Litmus recorded a sorta fun instrumental version also, but the violins sorta freak me out. There is something really stunning about the song itself though. Don’t know who wrote it, but am gonna check out more of The Smith…uh…more records by The Smiths (awk-wOrd).
I’m going through a weird phaze, musically. Nothing satisfies, except the odd occasional find. This is one of those finds. Didn’t like the rest of the Stars…the…(damn it)…album by the Stars…the uh…the album that featured this song, which is…oh…for Pete-sake…didn’t like the rest of the Stars’ Nightsong, just liked this one cut.
BTW: I use eMusic for as many links as I can. Their collection may not be as extensive as Apple’s (iTunes Music Store), but they are getting bigger.
The reason I bother? They sell unrestricted, unlocked and REDOWNLOADABLE MP3s that I can use on my cellphone or send to friends – which I don’t and won’t, but it’s good to not be treated like a criminal by my own computer, checking my ID with some distant server to see if I can play what I’ve already paid for.
Over the holidays, when South East Asia was having its problems with its connections, we had just bought a new computer for my parents’ place and I couldn’t get my music to play on it. Apple’s servers were not accessible from Malaysia and nothing was working. So along with a non-functional iChat, my iTunes Library went down. I couldn’t even play songs off my iPod, through iTunes.
Now I check eMusic before I even consider buying anything from iTMS. It’s also dirt cheap when compared to the brick-and-mortar retailers, particularly here in London. Plus, I love their editorials, they’ve introduced me to some things I never thought I’d try (turns out I kinda dig Vivaldi) and things I never thought I’d find (a Bill Evans and Stan Getz session that’s been long out of print).