(no subject)

I'm a sucker for covers and genre-shifted songs. There's a special place in my heart for groups like Richard Cheese and Hayseed Dixie, who aren't afraid to re-interpret a song. Even if it's just done for fun, when it's well done, the results are worth it. Sometimes it's just an amusing listen, and sometimes (Johnny Cash cover of "Hurt", I'm looking at you) you get to appreciate a song in a brand new way.

So imagine my surprise when I'm on my way home from work yesterday when I hear a familiar song as an interlude on NPR. I listen intently, and I realize, "Holy shit, it's Iron Maiden's 'The Trooper,' but done as a piano piece!" This morning, it got me searching on NPR's site, which sent me over to Amazon to discover "The Piano Tribute to Iron Maiden," which directed me to a further world of covers. Bluegrass tributes to Ozzy Osbourne. Rush, Metallica, and Marilyn Manson as performed by string quartets. Black Sabbath translated into Latin and sung with medieval-style accompaniment. Suffice to say, I had to pull myself away from the computer to get to work on time.

So now I'm hunting down these tracks in MP3 form, and they're putting me in a very happy place. :)