Sita Sings the Blues

 I want to thank Helmet (The Friendly Atheist) for the link to a really great movie by Nina Paley "Sita Sings The Blues".  I love the imagery, the intermix of modern day and ancient Hindu, the comedy and of course most of all the music. I love the sweet and comic use of 1920's songs by Annette Hanshaw (playlist).  Here is the movie:





Per the video description:

"Sita Sings the Blues" is based on the Hindu epic "The Ramayana". Sita is a goddess separated from her beloved Lord and husband Rama. Nina Paley is an animator whose husband moves to India, then dumps her by email. Three hilarious shadow puppets narrate both ancient tragedy and modern comedy in this beautifully animated interpretation of the Ramayana. Set to the 1920's jazz vocals of torch singer Annette Hanshaw, Sita Sings the Blues earns its tagline as "the Greatest Break-Up Story Ever Told." It is written, directed, produced and animated by American artist Nina Paley.

Covers of the Week - What Becomes of the Brokenhearted (Jimmy Ruffin)

What Becomes of the Brokenhearted is a classic Motown R&B in this 1966 hit for Jimmy Ruffin (playlist) and there are some ereally great covers of the years.

Joan Osborne (playlist) does a really great soulful version.

Here is better version of it but I could not embed it

Cover of the Week - Love is a Battlefield (Pat Benatar)

Love is a Battlefield by Pat Benatar (playlist) is one of my favorite songs of all-times. Although several of Pat's songs would fit in that title. Power and passion pulsated from her rock and roll and flows into her covers.

For something differenct, I'll start off with a version by Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo but not the original but a very nice slightly different acoustic version

Covers of the Week - Scarborough Fair (English traditional)

Scarborough Fair is a traditional English ballad. Most people now it by way of Simon & Garfunkel. Not really a lot of variation but very beautiful.


Mike Masse and Sterling Cottam

Covers of the Week - The Lazy Song (Bruno Mars)

Took a weak off, and so I'm back with a new cover. This week it's Bruno Mars' (playlist) The Lazy Song which came out in February of 2011. Like most new songs, most of the covers tend to be done by fans and in Brono's original style but there are a lot of them and there are some really good performances. This song also has a lot of very funny parodies and I've added some but be aware some are a little adult so if your a easily offended don't watch.

Chester See has a great version on the softer side

Covers of the Week - Mash-up Special

This week is some thing different (and of course anything different is good).  For those that don't know a mash-up is where multiple songs are are combined into one. Here is a link to my regular mashups playlist which I call Non-Linear Melodies. Tonight I've collected some of my favorite acoustic mash-ups and mash-up covers from my Organic Mashups Playlist on youTube.

Mashing up Umbrella and Singing in the Rain has been done multiple time by Jamie Cullum and Glee. My favorite version is by Sonnet its a little more tender and just a better covers.

Covers of the Week - Poker Face (Lady Gaga)

"There's a fine line between a generic person from the 80s and Janice from the Muppet Show, and Lady Gaga dares to ride that line" (Molly Lewis). 

What can you say about Lady Gaga (playlist)? She is becoming the quintessential pop icon for today's generation. Poker Face is one of my favorite Lady Gaga songs and has the diverse set of covers to make it fun.

Molly Lewis (youTube) has fun with Lady Gaga

Covers of the Week - Crazy (Gnarls Barkley)

Last in our Crazy May trio is Gnarls Barkley's (playlist) Crazy which came out in 2006 and is a fun one. With loads of great covers that make you head bob, foot tap, butt squirm and your whole body rock out to a great party song.

Starting off with Nelly Furtado(playlist) absolutely awesome version

Covers of the Week - Crazy (Seal)

Released in 1990, Crazy by Seal (playlist) is an awesome song.  Being the middle sister of our Crazy trio, it may not get the recognition of the other Crazys and indeed Alanis Morissette  is the only big name to cover it but it has some great covers with a diversity of styles.

Alanis Morissette (playlist) great version

Covers of the Week - Crazy (Patsy Cline)

The Crazy Trilogy -  First one up from 1962 is the truly classic and tender Crazy written by Willie Nelson (playlist) and made famous by Patsy Cline (Playlist). One of the few country songs that I really love and it goes way back to my childhood.  Maybe its the deeply melancholy lyrics that I seem to have a fascination for.

Norah Jones (playlist)

Covers of the Week - Smells like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)

This week I've chosen a modern classic that I have enjoyed the diversity of performances for years.  Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana (playlist) is one of those songs that define a generation. This song some of the bet diversity of performance and any other in my collection of covers.

Tori Amos (playlist) version is a classic unto itself as she throughly "torisizes" it.

Covers of the Week - I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (Hank Williams Sr.)

I am not a big fan of country and western music. I don't dislike but I typically don't include it among normal listening. But there are exceptions especially when it comes to classic country blues like the next classic. I've always loved Hank Williams Sr. (playlist) since I was a wee little boy and "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" is probably my favorite.

Cowboy Junkies (playlist) bring their own melancholy style

Covers of the Week - Candy (Paulo Nutini)

The problem with trying to find covers for relatively new songs is that they don't have time to be adapted to a variety of styles and genre. The covers you find tend to be a lot of acoustic and karaoke versions by fans trying to recreate a favorite song. There is nothing wrong with mimicking a great performance and many of them are very good, but from a listening to multiple covers point of view they get repetitive and admittedly I love a diversity of styles. But  when you find a song with a lot of covers like todays cover, you quickly realize that this song is something special and the diversity of covers will come.  I discovered Paulo Nutini's Candy while doing a generic search for "covers" on youTube and quickly fell in love with it. There are over a 100 covers and many of them are very good.  The ones here are the ones I like the best and I hope you like them.

Stephanie deBruijn's was the first cover I found and love listening to it

A Story of California Dreamin'

Have it read to you on youTube
I want to thank uvurob for his California Dreaming -- Acapella/Acoustic Mashup video which is a nice arrangement of various (mostly acoustic) covers of the Mamas and the Papas' California Dreaming spliced into one song. Sometimes its funny what will reveal some inner truth about yourself and explain some of our quirkyness.

Well California Dreaming by the Mamas and Papas is one of my all time favorite songs. I have fond memories of walking to Jr. high school and high school in San Leandro, CA on many a cold, overcast, gloomy day and California Dreaming was my inner theme music. I felt one with the song as if it capture some quintessential part of me.

Covers of the Week - California Dreaming (Mamas & Papas)

This is one of my all time favorite songs.  I remember walking to high school and jr. high school in San Leandro, CA on many a cold, overcast, gloomy day with it going thru my head, feeling one with song as if it capture some quintessential part of me.  I think I have more covers (~15) of California Dreamin' than any other song in my collection and I would have more but this is the only song where I eliminated covers changed certain lyrics (normally modified lyrics are a plus) (See A Story of California Dreamin').


Here are some excellent covers starting off with Dana Owens' (Queen Latifah) absolutely awesome version:

Covers of the Week - Wuthering Heights (Kate Bush)

So lets start it out with a classic Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush. This song has many great covers although alot of people only try to mimic Kate which is of course nearly impossible.  Here are 7 who try to put their own bend on a classic.

Just plain Awesome:

Welcome to the Simple Atheist Blog

I'm Ray Higgins, and I go by Big Atheist on youTube. This is my attempt to rant on my thoughts and interest in a semi periodic way and see if I can build some dialog.   As my Blog Description says, this blog will be a collection of "Music, Movies, Memes, and Mayhem from another Gnu Atheist". Mind you the Movies part is really just my own animation which I do very infrequently and the Mayhem piece ...well someday I'll get around to it. I suspect this blog mostly will center around Music and Memes. The Music will mostly focus around my quest for great covers, mash-ups, or odd new music I find on youTube and elsewhere, and maybe some thoughts on why we like the music we like. The main intent for this blog is to talk about the Memes!!! which include my atheism, the atheist/skeptical community, society at large, science, the meaning of life, the future, and speculate a little on how I think it works. And all this from the point of view of just anther militant Gnu Atheist. I'm hoping I will spur some interesting conversations and maybe occasionally give you a new perspective on our reality.