Cover of the week

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The White Stripes, 'Jolene'
Original Artist: Dolly Parton



Sorry, Dolly fans. Parton certainly turns in a lovely version of her own song, which appeared on the 1974 disc of the same name, but we're partial to the White Stripes' cover, which first turned up as the B-side to their 2000 single of 'Hello Operator,' off the album 'De Stijl,' and was later released as a single in its own right in live form on 'Under Blackpool Lights.' Both covers find the Stripes doing a pretty straight-up version of the original, albeit with a slightly harder and punkier approach. Really, you can't go wrong with any of them.

Eric Clapton Reveals Full Guest List for New Album

Not since the days of Derek & the Dominos has Eric Clapton been an active member of any band, but the sheer amount of musicians that he has collaborated with has rendered him as far from ‘solo’ as a solo artist can get. This trend continues with Old Sock, Clapton’s new cover-heavy album which will hit shelves in March.

The British icon, per usual, didn’t cut any corners on recruiting some help.

According to the Clapton official website, J.J. Cale, the talented mind behind some of Clapton’s hits including “After Midnight”, and “Cocaine” gets a crack at his own material, taking over the vocals for “Angel”. Clapton also enlists soul queen Chaka Khan as a backup vocalist for “Gotta Get Over”, one of two new original songs. Former Blind Faith bandmate and renaissance musician man Steve Winwood will throw down on the track “Still Got the Blues” on organ, and renowned session drummer Jim Keltner will continue to do what he does best and keep the beat of “Our Love is Here to Stay”. And let’s not forget, that the illustrious Sir Paul McCartney will lend his talents at vocals and bass to “All of Me”.

Other artists appearing on the LP include George Gershwin, Peter Tosh, Leadbelly, Hank Snow and Taj Mahal.

10 songs out of the album are covers of blues, rock, and reggae songs spanning over several decades beginning in the 1930s; the two remaining tracks, "Gotta Get Over" and "Every Little Thing", are brand new songs from Slowhand himself.

For more on this story, head to EricClapton.com and check out the entire tracklisting for Old Sock below!

Old Sock Tracklisting:

1 Further On Down The Road
2 Angel
3 The Folks Who Live On The Hill
4 Gotta Get Over
5 Till Your Well Runs Dry
6 All Of Me
7 Born To Lose
8 Still Got The Blues
9 Goodnight Irene
10 Your One and Only Man
11 Every Little Thing
12 Our Love Is Here To Stay

Ringo Starr to Appear on New ‘Powerpuff Girls’ Special

Few things seemed more incongruous on children’s television in 1989 than Ringo Starr‘s time on PBS’ show, ‘Shining Time Station’ (apart, of course, from when George Carlin took over for Ringo a year later). Starr is about to make the year spent as ‘Mr. Conductor’ look perfectly normal later this year when he lends his talents to a Cartoon Network special of ‘The Powerpuff Girls.’

Hypable is reporting that Starr will not play himself (as he did on ‘The Simpsons‘), but rather Fibonacci Sequins, who is the “most famous flamboyant mathematician” in all of Townsville, the fictional town where the animated show takes place. Starr will also sing a song, ‘I Wish I Was A Powerpuff Girl.’

For those of you who didn’t have young daughters or nieces in the early 21st century, ‘The Powerpuff Girls’ ran on the Cartoon Network from 1998 until 2005. It featured three girls – Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup – who are repeatedly called on to defend Townsville from a rotating cast villains, most notably the evil monkey Mojo Jojo. The show also spawned a hit 2002 movie.

The show received praise for its stylized animation, message of female empowerment and pop culture references that adults could enjoy. One episode, called ‘Meet the Beat-Alls,’ dealt with four of the show’s villains forming a band, and featured references to approximately 65 Beatles songs.