In an effort to post all the crap I’ve accumulated over the past few weeks tonight’s post is completely random. Anyone who can find a connection between these three artists gets a cookie.

Mmmmm…cookies.

Love And Rockets
R.I.P. 20C (D.eath M.etal T.echno Mix)
R.I.P. 20C (R.I.P.ella)
When I hear the name “Love And Rockets” I think of the chill folk sound of Earth, Sun, Moon. To be honest, my knowledge of their 90s output was practically nil when I picked up the 12″ single that had these crazy remixes of this crazy song, which is nothing more than singer Daniel Ash droning off a list of acronyms behind a pulsing beat. I mean, I like it, but damn it’s not what I expected. Anyone care to comment on the quality of Love And Rockets later material? Anything worth picking up?

Ayla
Liebe (ATB Remix)
Liebe (Minimalism Remix)
Liebe (Cyrus & The Joker)
Aside from what I read on Last.fm five minutes ago, I know nothing about Ayla. I bought this 12″ single because of the ATB remix. And since I’m being honest I’ll confess that I know little about him aside from some remixes he’s done and his debut single “9PM (‘Till I Come),” which I fucking love. I also love this track, although in my opinion it sounds shockingly similar to the previously mentioned ATB track, maybe that’s why ATB remixed it?

Sheryl Crow
Steve McQueen (The Minge Binge Great Escape Mix)
Steve McQueen (The Minge Binge Great Escape Dub)
Steve McQueen (Jorio’s Lectoluv Vocal)
Steve McQueen (Jorio’s Lectroluv Dub)
Okay, I feel as if I should preface my discussion of this song with the following: I HATE Sheryl Crow. For real. I cannot stand her. I hate her stupid whiny voice, I hate her boring inane lyrics and I abso-fucking-lutely hate her hideous cover of “Sweet Child O’ Mine.” I only like two songs of hers, and this is one of them.

I really like this song. I have no idea why. Maybe it’s just because I like Steve McQueen? I don’t consider it a guilty pleasure though. I hate that term. To paraphrase Chuck Klosterman, a song cannot be a guilty pleasure because it’s not actually causing you any harm. Cocaine, now that’s a guilty pleasure.

To me, a song like this is an “angry pleasure.” It pisses me off that I like it so much. Other examples for me include The All-American Rejects’ song “Dirty Little Secret” (which is kind of ironic if you think about it) and Bon Jovi’s “Living On A Prayer.” I really hate that I like those songs.

The horribly-named “Minge Binge Great Escape” version is pretty much just the original sped up. The “Lectoluv” versions are much better, and transform the song into something barely recognizable as a Sheryl Crow tune (which is really for the best).

And for the record, the other song of her’s I like is “Safe And Sound.” That song is so beautiful that it almost makes me want to forgive Crow for “A Change Would Do You Good.”

Almost.