Welcome to My Weekly Mixtape, a podcast that
takes the classic mixtape approach to building
a modern playlist. I'm your host, Brian Colburn.
Joining me tonight is, well, no one. Because
as most podcasters have learned over the years,
schedules are always changing. And unfortunately,
I had a last minute schedule change for a guest
tonight, leaving me with some alone time with
just me and my microphone. And unlike Beck, I
don't have the two turntables handy. So with
that, I decided to try something different for
the My Weekly Mixtape listeners. But this being
a one -man operation that I run here, scheduling
and booking someone at the drop of a dime sometimes
is impossible. So here we are. It's just you
and me, friends. So instead of creating a mixtape
tonight, I'm going to use this episode to talk
about an... maybe, hopefully, introduce you to
some cover songs that you might not already be
familiar with. A while ago, during my Playlist
Wars days, then -playlister, now -mixtaper Philip
Bergman and I were discussing an idea for a bonus
episode where the topic is one song, but multiple
versions of that song. And because of that suggestion,
I had an epiphany to run with that style of an
episode tonight by myself. So the first thing
I want to do is thank Philip for the suggestion
and apologize in advance if what I'm about to
do is a total bastardization of what you had
in mind originally. But that said, consider this
like an audio blog, if you will, because. I prefer
talking off the cuff about this kind of stuff
versus writing about it, where I get kind of
wrapped up in punctuation and spelling. And as
you could see, as I've been called out many a
time, sometimes on the Discord and on social,
I'll just fat finger type something and not catch
it until, I don't know, several people have called
me out on it. But that being said, 25 years in
radio, media and all, audio is my go -to. So
it's easier for me to just turn the mic on and
get going. What's going to be interesting about
this format is, depending on whatever song I
choose, there could be as little as a few covers
to maybe even hundreds of covers. Or in the case
of The Beatles' Yesterday, thousands of recorded
renditions of that song. But with that said,
I'm going to try to stray away from the songs
that are well -known for having tons and tons
of renditions. And I'm going to try to focus
on songs where you certainly know the original.
But you might not be familiar with the covers.
And if you are familiar with the covers, maybe
you haven't heard them in a while. And I can
dust off the old cobwebs in the brain, unlocking
those random, man, I forgot I even had that memory
kind of songs. So that's what I'm going for here.
And yes, in a lot of these instances, if I do
this episode more often moving forward, the original
song will probably be the go -to slash definitive
version. So I understand if you're a big fan
of the original, this might just be me listing,
I don't know, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 atrocities to
your love of the original. But the way I see
this, if I love a song and another artist covers
that song. Usually, I want to feel that that
artist at least has a genuine like, maybe love
for that song to want to put their artistic stamp
on it. So from that standpoint, I'm a big fan
of cover songs because I love hearing what another
artist wants to bring to a song that they love.
And being I love the song as well, there's that
camaraderie between me, the listener, and the
artist who's doing the rendition. Now, going
back as far as tune styles and playlist wars,
I always tried to work in my love of cover songs.
And then over on my weekly mixtape, I've done
several cover song specific episodes, like episode
seven, which was hard rock cover songs. Episode
26, which was punk rock cover songs. Episode
33, which was wait, that's a cover song, as well
as others that I've mixed in throughout the discussions.
But this is a little bit of a different animal.
In this episode, I'm just taking one song and
I'm going to try to bring up several different
cover song examples of that song that'll give
you an appreciation from the way other artists
see the original. This was actually something
we did way back on TuneStyles towards the beginning.
Jay and I did not have an episode topic for the
night. So we literally were just talking about
things we could do. and Africa started playing
by Toto. And I said, you know, between the Weezer
cover, and then he immediately chimed in with
another cover, and then I chimed in with Quiet
Drive's cover, it became an episode of TuneStyle.
So I'm kind of using that format for tonight.
One original song, endless cover song possibilities.
And if you visit the episode page at myweeklymixtape
.com, I'm going to post YouTube videos for each
of these songs, because in a lot of these instances,
the songs aren't available on streaming. Some
of them are from deluxe editions of an album,
live performances, or simply the regular label
nonsense keeping the songs off of streaming,
which I'm not even going to get into. So tonight's
cover du jour won't come as a huge surprise to
anyone because I'm going to start with my favorite
artist slash band of all time, that being Tom
Petty and the Heartbreakers. And I'm going to
go with the incredible second single. Yeah, it
was the second single. And surprise, surprise,
album opening track from 1980s Damn the Torpedoes,
Refugee. Now, just a little bit about the song.
It reached number 15 on the U .S. Billboard Hot
100. It was one of the first songs Mike Campbell,
the song's co -writer as well as heartbreaker,
ever wrote, which was a really kind of killer
way to start a songwriting career. Anyway, this
song is and has always been a Tom Petty staple
ever since Damn the Torpedoes was released. It
ranked number 10 on Billboard's 20 greatest Tom
Petty songs and number two on Rolling Stone's
50 greatest Petty songs. That's a little bit
closer to where I would place it in my overall
Tom Petty rankings, even though Rolling Stone
and I don't always see eye to eye. Now, before
we get into those cover versions, if you like
what you're hearing on my weekly mixtape, you
can help me out by either telling a friend about
the show. Leaving the show a five -star review
wherever you're tuning in or becoming a Patreon
mixtaper at patreon .com forward slash myweeklymixtape.
There you can enjoy ad -free episodes of the
show, become a future guest, and so much more.
And an idea I have for this... kind of bonus
series is to, in the future, have the Patreon
mixtapers send in songs that then I will attempt
to unearth some fun and unique cover versions
for. But alas, for today, as nobody knows I'm
even recording this right now, I am choosing
this song. Once again, if you'd like to join
the Patreon mixtaper family, however, we'd love
to have you there. Patreon .com forward slash
My Weekly Mixtape. Okay, so let's start diving
into these cover versions of Tom Petty and the
Heartbreakers Refugee. And remember, visit the
episode page at myweeklymixtape .com because
there I've got all of the different versions
embedded so you can give them a listen one by
one. And in a nod to my old Playlist Wars days,
vote for your favorite cover version from the
episode. Now, I hope you're sitting down for
this one because the first song that I'm going
with came out in 1980, shortly after... Damn
the Torpedoes was released. And no, this version
being released in 1980 is not the reason you're
going to be jumping out of your chair and screaming
in traffic. But this is actually the version
that introduced me to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
And this was an album my parents got me. It was
Alvin and the Chipmunks, Chipmunk Punk. Now,
hopefully I don't need to give it a minute for
everybody to calm down. And please don't hit
stop on the episode. I'll continue to explain.
When I was growing up, My parents on Friday night
always did Friday night music night where we
would not turn the TV on. My dad would just open
up the cabinet. We'd start pulling out records
and putting on music. And as I got old enough
to want to hear my own songs, my parents pretty
much didn't want to torture themselves with,
let's say, the Baby Shark of 1980 over and over
and over again. So they found a unique way to
get in songs they liked. That spoke to my children's
music at the time, so to speak. That being Alvin
and Chipmunks. They had Chipmunk Punk, Chipmunk
Rock, songs from the television series. So I
had a bunch of Chipmunk albums. But Chipmunk
Punk was always my favorite. And it contained
kind of a who's who of what I listened to growing
up. It had The Cars, Let's Go, Blondie's Call
Me, Billy Joel's You May Be Right, Queen's Crazy
Little Thing Called Love, The Nacks, My Sharona,
and Tom Petty's Refugee. refugee was one that
i always kept playing on those friday night music
nights and at one point my father said okay it
seems you like this one let me try something
boom he puts on damn the torpedoes and proceeds
to blow my mind because at the time you know
three four five years old i thought that was
an alvin and chipmunk song so there was my introduction
To Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. And from
that point on. I still enjoy listening. To the
Alvin and the Chipmunks version. Because it reminds
me. I can see myself back in my pajamas. On a
Friday night. Sitting on my parents living room
floor. Listening to it. So that one is always
going to hold a special place to me. But it's
what kick started my love. For Tom Petty and
the Heartbreakers. And as well as the other bands
on the album. Queen, Billy Joel, The Cars, Blondie,
etc. Very smart move on Ross Bagnasarian's part
to do the whole chipmunk version of popular songs
because it really did kind of become the quote
unquote kids bop for the 1980s. So anyway, first
one, Alvin and the Chipmunks. Now, we got to
fast forward 20 years for the next cover of Refugee.
And this one is one that. One of my close friends
down in North Carolina introduced me to because
at the time I was in college hosting a college
radio show. And I was always looking for country
music because my first college radio show was
a country music radio show. That was simply because
when I wanted to get on the air, they basically
said they had all the genres filled. So as I
was perusing through the schedule, I called out
the fact that there wasn't a country show. And
they said, no, we haven't had a country show
in years. If you want it, then we can get you
on the air. So 7 a .m. on a Monday morning through
the last three years of college, I would hop
on the air and do two hours of country music.
And with that, I would reach out to my friends
in North Carolina and say, hey, you guys, if
you guys know any up and coming country songs
that are popular down in North Carolina here
in New Jersey, they might not be popular yet.
And I can use all the help I can get. One of
my friends, Chris Snyder, down in North Carolina,
thank you very much, man, because you know I'm
a huge fan of this one, sent me 2000's Pickin'
on Petty, a bluegrass tribute to Tom Petty. And
the musicians featured on this version are David
West, Tom Corbett, Tom Ball, Thomas Martin, and
Chris Hillman. Lots of different Toms featured
on a cover of a Tom Petty song, but I digress.
This is an interesting version of the song. This
is not like your Hasty Dixie. bluegrass cover
there are no vocals so to some this could be
a little jarring but to me this really explores
the music for the song not so much the vocals
you're not singing along with this version you're
getting immersed in the actual music because
tom petty and the heartbreakers at the end of
the day wrote fantastically catchy songs that
you could sing along with but underneath that
layer There is fantastic music, and I feel like
this team really brought it out in bluegrass
form. Now, granted, you might not be a bluegrass
fan. This might not be up your alley. I completely
understand that, and I respect that. But this
version is definitely worth checking out if you
like hearing different versions of the song,
because there's a lot going on musically that
you can hear. That normally you're too busy singing
along with to notice those nuances. So I highly
recommend that one. Next up, I am going to go
to 2005. And we're going to do the first cross
-gender cover of the song. This being Melissa
Etheridge for her 2005 greatest hits album, The
Road Less Traveled. The first time I heard this
version, it stopped me in my tracks because she
kind of slowed it down a little bit and she made
it very much a Melissa Etheridge song. It was
emotive. It was powerful. It was strong. It was
confident. The original has an upbeat kind of
rocking swagger to it. This version was very
deliberate. You could feel the angst in it. And
she brought out a different emotion from the
original song, kept the heft of the song and
was able to slow it down and still make it rock.
And I'm going to hit on that point again shortly,
but she did such an amazing version of this song.
I can listen to Tom Petty's version back to back
with Melissa Etheridge's version and feel like
for the most part, I'm listening to. two different
songs because her rendition just hits a lot differently.
Now, fast forwarding six years later, we're going
to get a little bit of a punk edge to this. Now,
this is where I decided to get away from streaming
because I realized this is where it was just
going to become impossible. Because for one,
Alvin and the Chipmunks isn't available on streaming.
Not that anyone is looking that version up, but
it is available on YouTube. And sometimes the
Pickin' On Petty or the Pickin' On series as
a whole is hit or miss on streaming. So right
there, I would have been 0 for 2. Then Melissa
Etheridge would have been the first one. Regardless,
all there on YouTube. And when I can put the
actual music video, like in the form of Melissa
Etheridge's version, I will do that. It's an
interesting video. Definitely worth checking
out. But 2011. iTunes sessions. Kids, this was
back when people were buying songs individually.
Streaming was not a thing. I don't know, $10,
$20 each, even if they're cracked in half with
a scratch in them. But anyway, 2011 had... things
called iTunes sessions. And this is where bands
would go in and they would record several renditions
of their hit songs, maybe a couple of covers,
and do it in the iTunes studios. And they would
put them out as little digital EPs. And New Jersey's
own The Gaslight Anthem did that for 2011's iTunes
sessions. Now, I looked this up on Apple Music,
and believe it or not, this song isn't even available
on Apple Music, which is the streaming progression
of itunes so i don't know why they're leaving
it kind of out of that domain because the itunes
sessions as a whole was pretty damn cool i remember
off the top of my head grace potter and the nocturnals
did a version of itunes sessions that features
a cover of madonna's like a prayer which then
again was also done by h2o so that could be a
future cover songs episode i'll put a pin in
that but anyway Gaslight Anthem, iTunes Sessions.
This version sounds like the Gaslight Anthem
is channeling Neil Young and Crazy Horse. Like
Melissa Etheridge's version, it's a little slower,
but it's heavy. This one focuses on the guitars.
The guitars are big and loud in the mix. And
Brian Fallon's voice, while not... Anywhere near
a dead ringer for Tom Petty. He is definitely
more aligned to the Bruce Springsteen gravelly
kind of voice. When he brings the energy and
the way they interpreted the song by kind of
slowing it down, really cranking up the overdrive
on the guitars, his voice actually immediately
becomes perfect for the song and their version.
So you're channeling the energy and heft of the
original. But you're putting a unique stamp on
it that doesn't kind of give it that musical
photocopy that sometimes I call it a paint -by
-numbers cover, where when you're done listening
to it, you kind of say to yourself, huh, I should
have just listened to the original. You do not
get that so far with any of the ones that I've
mentioned tonight. And you're certainly not going
to get it with the next one, which came out two
years later. It's probably going to be the one
where most people hit the stop button on this
episode. But hear me out. Hear me out. Any of
you who are parents out there know that sometimes
it's hard to get your little ones to sleep, especially
in those early years up to the toddler years.
And sometimes you use music in the room to help
them fall asleep at night. And there was some
very, very forward thinking. Smart groups out
there that realize this was an untapped market.
Groups like Rockabye Baby. They realized people
were out there listening to lullabies that they
might not actually enjoy over and over and over
and over again. So over time, groups like this
put out series of albums based on all different
artists, everything from Metallica to ACDC to
Nine Inch Nails, as well as obviously Tom Petty
and it's Twinkle Twinkle Little Rockstar. And
in 2013, they put out an album, Lullaby Versions
of Tom Petty. Now, granted, this isn't going
to be the version that you're going to go put
on and play when you have friends over. This
to me sounds like the version that it's three
o 'clock in the morning. your baby's not falling
asleep the music helps and you're sitting there
and you don't want to listen to the same 30 second
lullaby loop playing over and over again which
a lot of those toys had so you put a cd on like
this and at least while you're rocking back and
forth getting your child to fall asleep you can
kind of hum the melodies of the songs and it's
an interesting listen believe it or not this
is the kind of song that if i ever went for a
massage and they have that kind of spa music
playing in the background, I'd almost rather
have this because it kind of gives you that really
relaxing, tranquil atmosphere. But it's also
hitting those dopamine receptors because you
realize song after song that you actually know
the song that's playing, even though there's
no lyrics being sang once again. Certainly not
one if you don't have kids. Obviously, check
it out. You might like it. And keep it in mind
if you are going to be having kids one day. Because
if you're not a fan of all of Tom Petty's catalogs,
they have albums out with so many different artists.
Definitely worth checking out. Now, kind of moving
forward a couple more years from that, we're
going to jump seven years ahead. And this next
one is kind of a cheat. Because it's... Technically
a cover version, but it's also not. I mentioned
at the top of the show, Mike Campbell is one
of the co -writers of the songs. Well, in 2020
on Sirius XM, Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs
did a live performance of Refugee. Now, Mike
co -wrote the song, and it's ridiculously insane
how tonally similar. mike campbell is to tom
petty sometimes when i hear mike campbell singing
there's almost this moment of oh my god is that
and i stop myself because they have a similar
sound almost in a way to where rick okasik from
the cars and benjamin or from the cars had voices
that were almost similar enough that maybe there
are points in the car's discography where you
listen to a song and you think it's one but it's
really the other i think this could have happened
here and This version of refugee that they did
is a slower acoustic campfire kind of style version
of the song. And what I love about it is they
do it in three fourths time. So it gives the
song a completely different feel coupled with
the fact that it was performed after Tom passed.
It adds a bittersweet and maybe somber tone to
it, but the song is already heavy as it is from
the original. This version just packs more of
an emotional weight versus the musical weight
of the original. And I think therein kind of
lies the beauty of what is a well -written song.
You can manipulate it and change it in many different
ways and many different styles. But at the end
of the day, a well -written song will translate
to whatever another musician's style is and still.
resonate with people because of the fact that
it's just a fantastic song and i think the last
one i'm going to go with tonight is one that
is the newest of all of the cover songs and one
that i heard this past weekend which is kind
of what inspired me to maybe go down this road
if i ever decided to do a bonus episode like
this which i also hope you guys are enjoying
obviously it's just me talking this time so it's
a little bit of a different animal for the My
Weekly Mixtape listeners, but I'm going to go
off of 2024's Petty Country, a country music
celebration of Tom Petty, and we're going to
go with two female powerhouses, Winona and Lainey
Wilson. Lainey is just coming off her 2024 Academy
of Country Music Awards Entertainer of the Year
win. When I first heard her, and I'm going to
be honest here, I was a little late to the Lainey
Wilson party. I discovered Laney Wilson with
Watermelon Moonshine from 2022's Bell Bottom
Country. And as soon as I heard that, I immediately
went out and bought the album and then went backwards
to pick up Saying What I'm Thinking and 2016's
Tougher. I knew upon first hearing Bell Bottom
Country that we were going to deal with somebody
who was going to be a big name in country music.
And I'm glad that that came to fruition because
she has such a unique voice. It almost has. kind
of a linear connection to maybe a Dolly Parton,
but with a little bit more heft, and she could
really belt. But there's something that is almost
timeless about her voice that I love as well,
very similar to Winona. So when I heard that
these two were pairing up, one, I thought it
was an interesting combination, but I was worried
when I first hit play, was it going to be a let's
try to outshine each other? But instead, it's
the total opposite. This version, timing -wise,
Feels as close to the original as any of the
covers I've talked about tonight, minus Alvin
and the Chipmunks, because that was played to
kind of sound like the original, only with Alvin
and the Chipmunks singing, of course. This version
brings in country aspects like the banjo and
violin, but it doesn't take it as far as the
Picanon series where it leans heavily into the
instruments. These are more mixed in to give
it that rock slash country almost combo feel.
Another thing that struck me about this song
is the fact that there isn't a group of backing
vocalists singing the don't have to live like
a refugee kind of answer in the chorus. It's
just Winona and Laney kind of ping -ponging back
that vocal line, which really adds a dynamic
layer to the duo portion of the song. It really
emphasizes that part of it, whereas all the other
versions, Sans the Instrumental, have... The
background vocal singing, which I should probably
go back and say that the Alvin and the Chipmunks
version, man, Simon and Theodore nailed those
backing harmonies. I mean, people, it's always
about Alvin, Alvin, Alvin, but damn it. Don't
forget the Chipmunks part of Alvin and the Chipmunks.
Simon and Theodore matter. But back to Winona
and Lainey, around the three minute mark, both
of them start doing their vocal acrobatics back
and forth. And it's kind of this harmonious call
and response, but they're not actually harmonizing
each other. Their voices just pair so well together.
You could feel the original's passion coming
out. But make no mistake, this can end. probably
will be a hit country radio song in 2024. Because
like I said earlier, at the end of the day, it's
a song that's written well. Refugee is a musical
chameleon that when another artist puts their
stamp on it, the masterpiece of the original
always shines through. Yes. even with Alvin and
the chipmunks. Now I've given you seven different
cover versions of refugee to check out over on
the episode page at my weekly mixtape .com. And
there you can view each version in its YouTube
embedded form. You've got Alvin and the chipmunks,
the picking on series, Melissa Etheridge, the
gaslight anthem, twinkle, twinkle, little rock
star. the dirty knobs and Winona and Laney Wilson.
I also threw a poll up on the page because just
like in the old playlist wars days, I'd love
to know which version that I talked about tonight
is your favorite after listening to all of them.
So make sure to vote for your favorite cover.
You can also message me at my weekly mixtape
at gmail .com and tell me which cover version
was your favorite. And I'd love to know why too,
if you picked one. And then also I'll add to
that. If you like any of these more. than Tom
Petty and the Heartbreakers version. Please let
me know. I would love to know if there's an instance
like that. So with that said, I hope you enjoyed
this under -the -covers dive into Tom Petty and
the Heartbreakers refugee. Remember, you can
find My Weekly Mixtape on almost all the social
media haunts at My Weekly Mixtape. You can also
head to MyWeeklyMixtape .com to check out the
full catalog. of My Weekly Mixtape episodes.
And if you like what you're hearing on the show,
you can help me out by either telling a friend,
leaving the show a five -star review wherever
you're tuning in, or becoming a Patreon mixtaper
at patreon .com forward slash My Weekly Mixtape.
There you can enjoy ad -free episodes of the
show, become a future guest, chime in on future
show topics, and so much more. That's all for
this special edition of My Weekly Mixtape. Thanks
again for listening and until next time. Enjoy
the tunes.