The nightime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy, head, fever so you can jam out medicine

So I have been sick for the past week. Thankfully, it wasn't the throwing up sick, or the symptom that happens at the other end (you know what I mean). It was more of a Nyquil tagline sickness. Not fun times. Although I did have to go to the doctor, I called to make an appointment and they were all booked up so I had to go to a walk in clnic that they were partners with and I got to get checked put by a super hot female doctor. As Borat would say "Very nice!" So today I am going to post songs that are in some way related to sickness. Note: It's super hard to find songs related to being sick, so most of these won't be theme specific, but they will be good.

Nerds + Rap = Sick
Rappy McRapperson - Sick As Doggerooskies (Feat. MC Ecniv)


The Thermals - We Were Sick

Check out their website It's pretty badass(click on the band name below) This is one of those unknown and underrated bands.
The Protomen - The Good Doctor

The Cold War Kids - Hospital Beds

The National - Cold Girl Fever

Nurses - Fever Dreams

"I get by with a little help from my friends..."

Today's post is brought to you by the the letter J, as in Jake. Since I have been lame with my posting habits lately I an pleased to present a guest RopBop post!! I also want to send a big thank you to him for taking the time to do this. He's got a lot more going on than I do. Much appreciated, man! With that said let's check out his jams!

First off is a flashback from the vault. Being only a casual follower of music, I’ve generally depended on more knowledgeable friends for new tunes. This song by The National was part of RopBop’s inaugural post. (Check the archives on the right.) Only recently have I discovered the Kent District Library, and without getting too much into the benefits of taxpayer-funded public services, I’ll only say that the library is the best place in the world. In addition to all of the children's books and Star Wars graphic novels one could ever want to check out, it’s also allowed me to listen to all of the music I’ve always wanted to, but have been too cheap/broke to purchase--in this case, The National’s “Alligator”. Good stuff!

The National- Mr. November

If any of you out there have small children, you’ll know how rare it is to find kids’ music that parents can enjoy, too. Yeah, some of you may like Raffi, but I hope you keep that to yourselves. “If You Ever See An Owl..." however, is a staple of my ipod rotation. I discovered these guys while listening to Pandora a couple years ago by recognizing the singer’s voice from The Get Up Kids’ version of “Close To Me”--a cover song RopBop-worthy in it’s own right--which was made known to me courtesy of Brad.
The Terrible Twos - Old Man Miller (not from album)

Back when we were living on Paddock Ave., Brad and I also had a musical goldmine next door named Dice. There among the treasures unearthed was that of Dinosaur Jr. Screaming guitar solos rule, and the last three minutes of this song understatedly wail.
Dinosaur Jr - Pick Me Up

This is my cousins’ band (as in both singers, Max and Rory) and their inclusion here is more than just a nepotic plug. I really, really like this album. It’s got a double entendre title, a few subtle Wilco, Pearl Jam, and Ishmael references, and a strong social conscience that makes me re-evaluate my existence every time I listen to it. Keep it up, BDR, and check it out, readers.

Big Dudee Roo - Michigan


I hope you all enjoyed my post, and I hope Brad will invite me back, because I got more songs! Thanks, Brad! And Happy Easter, everyone.

Cover this!

As I was lurking around on the internet, enjoying my bowl of frosted mini wheats, when I came across a post called 10 Cover Songs Better Than The Originals. I read thorough the article and the comments, and was shocked and appalled at what I read. There were only two songs I agreed with (Gary Jules version of Mad World, Beatles version of Twist And Shout) This got me thinking about covers and what covers I think are better than the original. Well that's what our post will be all about today. Of course everyone has their own opinions, so make a comment and give me your favorite cover.

Let me start out by saying I love Neil Young and his version of this song. I'm a huge fan and accept that some may disagree with me on my choice of this cover being better than the original. Why is it that I think this cover is superior to the original? I am a fan of anything with piano, and this song sounds great, if not better on the piano. It gives the song a much more melancholy feel than an acoustic guitar. I consider both acoustic guitar and piano intimate instruments and I am glad the artist decided to keep that feel for the cover. On top of that you add the bluesy cries, and raspy vocals of Betty Lavette and it adds 10 times more feeling than what Neils voice did. Again, don't get me wrong, I love Neils voice, but I think on Betty just adds that missing "feeling" to the songs great lyrics.
Bettye Lavette - Heart Of Gold (Neil Young Cover)
*Edit: I couldn't find the live cover I had originally, so here is the regular cover

I am going to be honest and admit that I have never been a fan of Nico's voice. There are a few songs she did with the Velvet Underground that I can tolerate but most of them I can't stand. The only song I really enjoy by her is These Days, and that wasn't with the VU. Her voice fits perfect on that song. I think it's because she has an awkward manly voice that really doesn't have much range. All the songs she sings on sound very similar no matter how good the backing music is. She just ruins it for me. I'll Be Your Mirror proves my point. Seriously go listen to the original and then listen to this one and tell me different. I like the backing music on it but her voice...*shudders*. This cover however, is beautiful. It's slowed down with only acoustic guitar and an added string section that I believe truly brings out the beauty in the song. It's neat how the instrumentation pulls out the lyrics more than the original.
Clem Snide - I'll Be Your Mirror (Velvet Underground Cover)

I just recently discovered the Buzzcocks, and I wish I had heard about them years ago. I did know of their name back in High School because a kid used to wear the bright colored yellow shirt with pink lettering that said Buzzcocks on it. However I never looked them up. It was before the internet days. The sole reason I checked them out was because of this amazing cover by Sportsday Megaphone. This cover is from a great mix called Buffetlibre Rewind 2. Buffetlibre has been talked about on RopBop before due to his great remix of the Patrick Wolf song "Who Will?". Let me assure you that all the remixes done by BL are killer. This cover is great because it takes the 1978 punk rock original and transforms into a blippy electro jam made for the 20th century. If you went back in time and played this song for the buzzcocks you could tell them this is what music sounds like in the future, of course they would probably hate it.
Sportsday Megaphone - Ever Fallen In Love (BL rewind 2)(Buzzcocks Cover)

There are a lot of great covers The Man In Black did before he passed on, but I think his version of Rusty Cage is one of the best. I originally was going to choose Cash covering I Won't Back Down, but after comparing the two, Tom Petty won. Cash has a certain knack of making most of his covers sound tough and gristly, this cover is no exception. Soundgarden made the original great for moshing and head banging with it's, true Seattle alternative vibe. Cash makes this song into a badass in the prison yard with his commanding voice and stripped down sound.
Johnny Cash - Rusty Cage (Soundgarden Cover)

I don't know how many people would be familiar with the band Polaris, but if I mentioned The Adventures Of Pete And Pete theme song you might be familiar with them. They were the creators of the opening song "Hey Sandy" and were featured as the band in the episode Hard Day's Pete. What is so unique is that the bands only album release was called Music from The Adventures of Pete & Pete which is where this song came from. It's definitely 90's alternative college radio music. Nothing really spectacular, but still unappreciated. Thankfully The National gives the band some love by doing an amazing cover of Ashamed Of The Story I Told. I wouldn't give it a second thought to say that this song was meant to be sung by The National. I couldn't think of a better band to cover it.
The National - Ashamed Of The Story I Told (Polaris Cover)

Oh yeah!

Welcome to the first post of Rop Bop. I haven't decided if I am going to make this a total music blog or not. I will put a few tracks up with every post regardless. I do have to tell you first and foremost that the tracks posted on here are for listening purposes only. If you do decided to download a track you are liable, not I. The tracks will only be up for a short time. If any tracks are infringing on any copyrights let me know and I will take them down immediately. If you would like to contact me you can do so by e-mailing me at Ropbopblog@yahoo.com. I do take suggestions if you know of a good band, however it is up to me weather they go no my blog or not. Most likely I'll give a link or something. One last suggestion is that if you like the band for the love of all that is holy go buy the album. Support the music and buy local.

I am on vacation right now, actually about 3 days into it. So far I have managed to sleep a lot, spend a lot, and not get too much done. However I am making sure I do at least one productive thing a day. Yesterday I went shopping for groceries, this morning I got up and mopped the floors in our house. My other plan for the day is to get my laundry done. I really hate going to the laundry mat. I usually bring my Nintendo DS and play Tetris, but lately I haven't because kids love video games and there are always kids at the laundromat. They like to gather around me to watch. I really don't like people looking over my shoulder (Got that from my mom) and I really don't like feeling kool-aid breath all up on me. Ugh. Don't get me wrong here I like kids, me nephew rocks, and I understand there is nothing else cool going on, so naturally if someone is playing video games or watching TV they want in too. So now I just bring my magazine. Boring adult stuff. Take that kids!

Master P Feat. Tru - I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watching Me

My Awesome Mixtape - Me And The Washing Machine

CSS - Music Is My Hot Sex

The National - Mr. November