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Foreign language covers


So here’s the challenge: listen to the program streaming live at radioactivatx.org on Thursday or Saturday at 3:00 Central time, same hour as Mexico, or find it in the archive on the station’s website after it has been published several days later (I’m led to believe this presents a challenge in and of itself). The challenge consists of your identifying the songs based on the musical intro. Most of the songs are oldies so I suppose that leaves out a major portion of the potential listening audience, but for those Boomers amongst you or your educated progeny, see how well you score. Some, like the Italian version of “Paint It Black” call for instant recognition. Others like “Norwegian Wood” from an Indian artist, drift off into local traditions and is not recognizable until the singer reaches the chorus. It’s all in good fun, though, with some quality tunes and some abominations. I particularly enjoy hearing “White Rabbit” sung in Arabic; Masaaki Hirao’s (Japanese teen hearthrob) take on “Lucille”; Algerian Rachid Taha so very appropriately calling to “Rock the Casbah”; and what the Balkan horns of Goran Bregovic do with Lee Dorsey’s “Ya Ya”. An ‘E’ for effort goes out to Iranian Googoosh for her attempt at Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” – a valiant effort but just a little unhinged in my opinion. Must be something cultural. It was a pleasant surprise to discover The Young Rascals doing “Groovin’” in Italian. A rare recording and likely one of a very few covers of their own song by a band in a different language. Another outlier would be “Pancho Lopez”, not really a rock and roll pop hit at all, but I had to include it. For anyone who grew up watching the Davy Crockett Show on black-and-white three-channel television this song is golden. Regrettably, the show comes to an end with the bottom of the barrel. I’m too nice, usually, to criticize or make fun, but this version of “My Generation” sounds as if it were recorded in someone’s bedroom closet. The lead singer fails to understand the call for stuttering throughout, and the group drifts off seemingly unable to find a logical way to tie it all up at the end. Says something about my generation, no? 

Al compás del mundo run listo

#174, 4-3-25 – Foreign language covers of pop hits


01 Caterina Caselli - Paint it Black (Italy)

02 Fanfare Ciocarlia - I Put a Spell on You (Romania)

03 Googoosh - Respect (Iran)

04 Kazuya Kosaka & The Wagon Masters - Jailhouse Rock (Japan)

05 Masaaki Hirao - Lucille (Japan)

06 Sophie - Reviens Vite Et Oublie (Be My Baby) (France)

07 Bjelleklang - Mercedes Benz (Norway)

08 Rita Chao - Proud Mary (China)

09 Daffi von Cramer - Loco-motion (Germany)

10 The Young Rascals - Groovin' (USA-Italy)

11 Duangdao Mondara Chailai - The Black Superman (Thailand)

12 Los Hermanos Reyes - Pancho López (Davy Crockett) (Guatemala)

13 Goran Bregovic - Ringe ringe raja (Ya Ya) (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

14 Belaboris - Venus (Finland)

15 Manna Dey - Dil Se Kya Sahi (Norwegian Wood) (India)

16 Marco Matute - Ojos Cafe (Brown Eyed Girl) (Honduras)

17 Mayssa Karaa - White Rabbit (Lebanon)

18 Rachid Taha - Rock the Casbah (Algeria)

19 Virtanen - Mun sukupolvi (My Generation) (Finland)

White Rabbits Rule Lebanon





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