The Greatest 420 Mix You Will Ever Hear Today, Part the First

i heard somebody is having a big 420 party tomorrow. No, not for Hitler's birthday, you damn Nazi. April 20 is the Stoner High Holiday, every one's favorite call number for their favorite not exactly legal depending where you live plant. Or so i hear. It's not like i'm a two time attendee of the High Times Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam (13th and 15th annual do what now?) or anything. Hugs, not drugs, kids. Unless the hugs are administered by creepy strangers and/or the drugs are really good shit. i'm not saying, i'm just saying. What was i saying again?

Oh yes, Part the First of LET's Two Part Greatest 420 Mix You Will Ever Hear Today. A few laughs and a few tracks to keep it stoney, son. You spit fiyah, and i'll slurp smoke.

mp3: Champagne & Reefer (Muddy Waters from Muddy "Mississippi" Waters Live)

mp3: Medicinal Marijuana (Police Chief Wiggum, Sergeant Lou, Officer Eddie and Mr. Mitchell from The Canine Mutiny, Episode 20, Season 8)

mp3: When I Get Low, I Get High (Chick Webb & His Orchestra With Ella Fitzgerald from Viper Mad Blues: 25 Songs Of Dope And Depravity)

mp3: Suck Dick for Coke (Dave Chapelle, Bob Saget and the "I Seen It!" Guy from Half-Baked)

mp3: Smokin' Cheeba Cheeba (George Benson & the Harlem Underground Band from Erotic Moods)

mp3: Do You Smoke Weed? (Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl from Knocked Up)

mp3: Smoker's Anthem (Aesop from Legendary Music Vol. 2)

mp3: Smoke (ft. Blu) (J Dilla from Jay Stay Paid)

mp3: Something Stank ft. George Clinton (Sativa from Jersey Girl)

mp3: I NEED WEED (YG from 4 Fingaz Mixtape)

mp3: Breakfast Blunts (Ras G And The Afrikan Space Program from LA Series 3)

It's Covered--It's Only A Paper Moon

I swear to Dolemite, there was something else I was planning on writing about today, but for the life of me, I can't remember what it was. Probably had something to do with ninja bears, so I'm truly sorry for your collective loss, but sometimes, things happen.

As such, it's time for another fan fave, It's Covered. Today, we're going to tackle "It's Only a Paper Moon."

Way back in 1933, the team of Harold Arlen (writer) and E. Y. Harburg and Billy Rose (lyrics) penned the little ditty. Originally, it was intended for a soon-to-fail Broadway show by the name of The Great Magoo. While I'm not personally familiar with that one, I'm guessing it was the lack of a little blind dude that made the show sink. The tune didn't become famous, however, until it began to be covered by a series of popular artists, including Buddy Rich, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. Even today, love for the song seemingly hasn't diminished, as it's a regular for Fiona Apple. Speaking of which, we not only have a version for you with Fiona and her sister, Maude Maggart, but a second with Fiona, her longtime musical companion Jon Brion and John C. Reilly. Yes, THAT John Freaking C. Reilly! Gawd, I love indie musicians.

I'd be remiss if I didn't point out it also was a titular episode of Deep Space Nine, too. Much love to my geek peeps, yo.

Plus, the Muppets took a shot at it, too. Or, at least, tried to.

Class dismissed.

mp3: It's Only a Paper Moon (Miles Davis)

mp3: It's Only a Paper Moon (Buddy Rich)

mp3: It's Only a Paper Moon (Ella Fitzgerald)

mp3: It's Only a Paper Moon (Frank Sinatra)

mp3: It's Only a Paper Moon (Nat King Cole)

mp3: It's Only a Paper Moon (Maude Maggart and Fiona Apple)

mp3: It's Only a Paper Moon (Jon Brion, Fiona Apple and John C. Reilly)

It's Covered: Whatever Lola Wants

I'm not positive what originally drew me to "Whatever Lola Wants," but I'm guessing I probably heard it in a cartoon back when I was knee high to a grasshopper. Let's be honest, that's where all our original musical tastes come from, right? Particularly if you were fortunate enough to have a steady diet of Warner Bros. classics growing up, but now I'm starting to digress.

"Whatever Lola Wants" was written by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross for the Broadway musical, "Damn Yankees," in 1958 (the movie version followed shortly thereafter). Though Gwen Verdon did the original, it's since been covered by some of the biggest names in jazz. And a transvestite. But more on that in a bit.

The song's titular character refers to Eliza Rosanna Gilbert. Born in Ireland in 1821, she would later take the stage name Lola Montez, the Spanish Dancer (owing to her darker complexion; speaking as one of Irish descent myself, this probably means she could absorb a five minute tan before burning, unlike the rest of us). She would later have affairs with Franz Liszt and King Ludwig I of Bavaria, that latter of which resulted in her being made Countess of Landsfeld. Scandal and intrigue followed her around the world, clearly making her cool before cool was even invented. Plus, she was known as a courtesan, and, honestly, do you know any courtesans? I'm guessing no, but you sure as hell wish you did.

In addition to the song, she was a main character in Royal Flash from the kick ass Flashman Papers book series. If you like your history fast, loose and largely fictionalized from the point of view of a cowardly, philandering rapscallion, this is the series for you. Flash somehow finds himself in the line of all the important events of the mid-1800s through the early 1902. Think Forrest Gump without the retardation and a lot more sex and alcohol.

Ella Fitzgerald's version is exactly what you'd expect. Classy, with just a touch of something naughty behind those glorious pipes. For the most part, the backing band realizes just who has the mic and let's her do her thing, though there are some pretty powerful frills at the end of verses to punctuate things with that little something extra.

Sara Vaughn's take is a tad more sultry, with an even more subdued backing band. However, we do get the added effect of a barely heard male chorus in the background.

The jazz great Carmen McRae does a version, too. While her pipes aren't quite in the range of the two previous, that doesn't make her any less impressive. And where Sara had the faint male backers, McRae opts for some dudes grunting "Ungh!" between verses, so it can't be said her music here wasn't without a couple of fresh ideas.

Next up is a far more Latin-y take by Abbe Lane from her Be Mine Tonight with Tito Puente & his orchestra. Tito salsa-ed up this puppy. Not only is there his unmistakable percussion, but there's even a touch of electric guitar.

In a similar vein, Della Reese puts her own stamp on things on her Swing, Slow & Cha Cha Cha. And shame on all of us for allowing "cha cha cha" for falling out of the popular lexicon. While she's indelibly imprinted in mind alongside Redd Foxx, some of us need to remember she had one hell of a set of pipes.

I'm adding this take by Joe Spinachi & the Brookolino Orchestra featuring Miriam Aida simply because I want to add something by a band based in Sweden (even though I don't think any of them are Swedes). Don't ask me why, but I I've got a thing for Scandinavians.

And finally, I'm adding this last version by Molly Johnson, mainly because she changes up things quite a bit, utilizing piano in place of horns and a damn hypnotizing percussive beat. Plus, she's Canuck, and Lord knows I love my brothers and sisters from the Great White North.

Oh yeah, you're probably wondering about that whole tranny thing I mentioned earlier. For the actual last version, enjoy the dulcet pipes of Chiwetel Ejiofor. From the soundtrack for "Kinky Boots," the lead character also happens to be a transvestite that goes by the name of Lola. While I haven't seen the movie, since I learned its about a family shoe business that's failing so badly that it opts to try out the always valuable she-male market for sales, I'm pretty sure it will be in my NetFlix queue before too long.

mp3: Whatever Lola Wants (Ella Fitzgerald)

mp3: Whatever Lola Wants (Sarah Vaughn)

mp3: Whatever Lola Wants (Carmen McRae)

mp3: Whatever Lola Wants (Abbe Lane with Tito Puente & His Orchestra)

mp3: Whatever Lola Wants (Della Reese)

mp3: Whatever Lola Wants (Joe Spinachi & the Brookolino Orchestra featuring Miriam Aida)

mp3: Whatever Lola Wants (Molly Johnson)

mp3: Whatever Lola Wants (Chiwetel Ejiofor)

It's Covered--Puttin' On the Ritz

It being Monday morning and all, I thought it would be appropriate to ease ourselves into the work week with a little cover song action. Considering some of you might be wishing it was anything but Monday morning, I've decided to give us all a little bit of a jazzy swing to get the blood flowing.

Depending on what age bracket you find yourself in, "Puttin' on the Ritz" will strike a different resonance with you. The song was written by Irving Berlin in 1929, originally for the musical film of the same name. Since then, it's been covered by everyone from Clark Gable to an all-metal take by Leningrad Cowboys.

For me, there were two defining versions of the track. First was Taco's synth-pop version from the early 80s. They were a one hit wonder band, sure, but there was something breezy about their version. And, of course, there was the Young Frankenstein version. When Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks were going strong, they put out some of the funniest movies of all times, and this scene ranks among their finest.

To get back to the Monday morning vibe, however, I've also included a couple of nice and mellow versions by the Velvet Fog and the First Lady of Song.

Enjoy.

mp3: Puttin' on the Ritz (Mel Torme)

mp3: Puttin' on the Ritz (Ella Fitzgerald)

mp3: Puttin' on the Ritz (Taco)