There are lots of great covers...it's not a slam.

Indeed, your incoming collection (which I think I can get in the mail today) has Bobby Womack's supercool cover of "California Dreaming."

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Though Aaron had a solo hit with a cover of "Everybody Plays the Fool."

(ETA: Which was originally a hit for the Main Ingredient, who admittedly aren't considered in the same league as the others mentioned.)

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Can't picture that, Hec, but probably because I've heard the original twenty-seven million times. I'm sure it's a good thing(or maybe thang, so as to sound more soul and less Martha Stewart.) Now wanna see the "Foxy Brown Living" show...I'd tape that shit, too. Soul covers that have surprised me lately: "Never Can Say Goodbye" Isaac Hayes "Just the Way You Are" Barry White Very different reads on songs I didn't know I cared about. And, of course Fred's right...The Main Ingredient, right? Although I confess a preference for the Neville one.

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Reading through this NOLA blog, I noticed this:

Family and friends of musician Alex Chilton (lead singer for 1970s powerpop band Big Star and 1960s rock group the Box Tops) have not been able to locate him since late Monday when he was last heard from alive at his house in New Orleans after the initial storm before the phones in the area went down. His sister in Memphis and friends are very worried because people are now dying in New Orleans from exposure and he has still not been able to get to a place to contact his family and friends. It is believed he may possibly be waiting to be evacuated in the French Quarter, which was within walking distance of his home. Please contact spadeandsparrow@aol.com with any information about his condition.

Believe it or not, this is probably the least disturbing post on the page.

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If he's in the Quarter he's probably okay. That's where the cops have set up their headquarters at the Royal Hotel, and the Brennen family restaraunteurs are still cooking out of their deep freezers.

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I heard a guy on the radio who had managed to make it to Lafayette. The deejay mentioned Fats Domino. The guy said that most land lines and cellphones in NOLA aren't working so contact in or out was very difficult. Don't assume that no news is bad news was his point. If Alex Chilton hasn't been able to make it to the Superdome or some other refugee center it could be that he just hasn't found a way to get a message out. At least I hope that's the case.

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Just got this press release:

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Everyone knows that a huge part of New Orleans' culture is its music. But how can this be preserved so that it will be ready when the city rebuilds? A group of Houston musicians led by prominent pianist Paul English, vocalists Gigi Hill and Tianna Hall, Johan Keus and others have formed a group called "NOAH" (New Orleans and Houston) whose mission is to reach out and support the displaced New Orleans musicians by providing them with housing, venues in which to perform, instrument replacement, etc. The project is named: SHONOF (pronounced "sho'nuff": Safe Harbor for Our New Orleans Friends).

Primary goals are:

• To contact New Orleans musicians, wherever they are, and let them
know there is a support group in Houston ready to help them, provide housing, get gigs, etc.
1. To line up apartments, rooms, etc. for these people to live in until they can get on their feet.
2. To organize an instrument clearing house whereby the musicians can get access to needed instruments in order to perform and make a living.
3. To urge local venues -- clubs, restaurants, hotels, etc. -- to expand their use of live musicians.
4. To organize and hold benefit concerts featuring the New Orleans musicians, supplemented by the best of Houston musicians, to raise money to help the musicians and the project.
5. To share their current gigs with the New Orleans musicians, either by adding a player or two to their performing group or by relinquishing an entire gig.

While several government agencies and aid groups are focused on the thousands of people at the Astrodome and elsewhere, this important segment is largely ignored. It is NOAH's aim to not only help from a humanitarian standpoint, but to preserve an important part of the New Orleans culture and music scene.

The concept, barely two days old, has started catching on like wildfire. MSNBC has already contacted them, but more publicity is needed. A few musicians from New Orleans have landed in Houston but hundreds more have likely scattered and may welcome a chance to come together in a more cohesive environment. Besides, it makes for a very interesting story in the midst of this monumental tragedy.

Gigi Hill may be contacted on (713) 503-3518, gigi@noahleans.org. Their new website is www.noahleans.org

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I subscribe to some archival listservs, and I know there was talk about some musuems being flooded, including one with a significant Jazz and Blues artifacts collection. People were going to try get permission and go in and salvage what they can.

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New topic: Bands whose sound is so ubiquitous that even if you'd never heard the song before you know who performed it.

And my first offering: Sleater-Kinney.

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REM

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