The usefulness of an opinion is itself matter of opinion.

SO the other day I promised a close up of the mountain. Here you go, with bonus cloud!

In the the spirit of "running short of time and ideas", I've introduced a new theme for Sundays, the WORLD FAMOUS Sunday Top Five!

This week I start with ~~off the top of my head~~ a meticulously researched list of my Top Five Cover Songs:

The Gourds bluegrass interpretation of Snoop Doggy Dogg's Gin and Juice manages to turn a turgid mess into a stoke of genius.

A generous helping of banjo sees Marah's version of Streets of Philadelphia liven up Bruce Springsteen's laid back original.

Although Marvin Gaye improved on Gladys Knight (and the Pips) I Heard It Through the Grapevine, I think that Creedence Clearwater Revival have to take a bow for taking it in a whole different direction.

Love her or hate her, you have to admit that Sinead O'Connor manages to make a pretty decent single out of an ordinary Prince album track with Nothing Compares 2 U.

The last spot I'm giving to Saint Etienne, for crafting a dreamy version of Only Love Can Break Your Heart, rescuing it from warbling cat in heat, Neil Young.

Just failing to crack the five, I recommend Cat Power's take on (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, Linda Ronstadt's You're No Good, The Flying Burrito Brothers almost immediate improvement on Wild Horses, the much maligned Carpenter's expansion on the already spacey Klaatu's Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft; with a final nod to Mary Lou Lord's feminine angel on Springsteen's Born to Run.

Now, I am sure you're all dying to tell me what I've missed. As the owner of a ridiculously expanding iTunes playlist, I'm happy to add more. Fire away in the comments and I'll tell you why your wrong!
Born To Run, Mary Lou Lord, Bruce Springsteen

Comments

Roddy said…

I like this one. It is almost ethereal. Great camera, great zoom.

14 June 2009 at 12:37

yamini said…

Great Photograph. Thanks Kris, we need such viewing here in Delhi to help us face a blistering summer.

15 June 2009 at 14:51

Kris McCracken said…

Roddy, it certainly does the job.

24 June 2009 at 12:06

Kris McCracken said…

Yamini, I could use some summer about now!

24 June 2009 at 12:08

Hold me now, oh hold me now, until this hour has gone around. And I'm gone on the rising tide, to face Van Dieman's Land

Theme Thursday again, and this one is rather easy. I am Tasmanian, you see, and aside from being all around general geniuses - as I have amply described previously - we are also very familiar with the concept of WATER. Tasmania is the ONLY island state of an ISLAND continent. That means, we're surrounded by WATER. That should help explain why I take so many photographs of water . Tasmania was for a long time the place where the British (an island race terrified of water) sent their poor people most vile and horrid criminals. The sort of folk who would face the stark choice of a death sentence , or transportation to the other end of the world. Their catalogue of crimes is horrifying : stealing bread assault stealing gentlemen's handkerchiefs drunken assault being poor affray ladies being overly friendly with gentlemen for money hitting people having a drink and a laugh public drunkenness being Irish Fenian terrorist activities being Catholic religious subversion. ...

Something unpleasant is coming when men are anxious to tell the truth.

This is the moon. Have I mentioned how much I adore the zoom on my camera? It's Theme Thursday you see, and after last week's limp effort, I have been thinking about how I might redeem myself. Then I clicked on the topic and discover that it was BUTTON. We've been hearing a lot about the moon in the past couple of weeks. Apparently some fellas went up there and played golf and what-not forty-odd years ago. The desire to get to the moon, however, was not simply about enhancing opportunities for Meg and Mog titles and skirting local planning by-laws in the construction of new and innovative golf courses. No, all of your Sputniks , "One small steps" and freeze dried ice cream was about one thing , and one thing only : MAD Now, I don't mean mad in terms of "bloke breaks record for number of scorpions he can get up his bum", no I mean MAD as in Mutual assured destruction . When I was a young man you see, there was a lot of talk about the type of m...

Ah, Joe, you never knew the whole of it...

I still have the robot on the job. Here you can see the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery . And here is a poem: Soliloquy for One Dead Bruce Dawe Ah, no, Joe, you never knew the whole of it, the whistling which is only the wind in the chimney's smoking belly, the footsteps on the muddy path that are always somebody else's. I think of your limbs down there, softly becoming mineral, the life of grasses, and the old love of you thrusts the tears up into my eyes, with the family aware and looking everywhere else. Sometimes when summer is over the land, when the heat quickens the deaf timbers, and birds are thick in the plumbs again, my heart sickens, Joe, calling for the water of your voice and the gone agony of your nearness. I try hard to forget, saying: If God wills, it must be so, because of His goodness, because- but the grasshopper memory leaps in the long thicket, knowing no ease. Ah, Joe, you never knew the whole of it... I like Bruce Dawe. He just my be my favourite Austral...

This will hurt me...

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