whoa, 21 and invincible
whoa, can’t wait to screw this up
21 and Invincible – Something Corporate

I’ve been listening to Andrew McMahon’s bands for many years; I continue to return to his music throughout the stages of my life. I don’t actually remember when I started listening to Something Corporate, but they instantly became one of my favourite bands.  Though they are playing a show together this year, the band has been suspended since 2004.  I’ve continued to follow Andrew McMahon, with his transition to Jack’s Mannequin, who I hope to go see in February.  Even though their newest album, The Resolution, is by far my favourite of his work, I’ve recently found myself returning to Something Corporate’s second album North. With my twenty-first birthday quickly approaching the song “21 and Invincible” seems quite appropriate – in 2009 I was feeling on top of the world, and I’m just hoping I can keep things going, as I don’t want to screw up and end up back tracking again.  This song reminds me that even when you’re feeling pretty invincible things can change, and while you could sit around waiting to screw up, you could just keep moving forward and stay in charge of your life.  Maybe not the message that Andrew McMahon was writing, but that’s my interpretation of the song.

I admit that back in the day when Britney Spears released her first cd …Baby One More Time, I was a fan. To my credit I was only 10 years old at the time. Since then, we’ve seen much questionable behavior from Ms. Spears, but it is undeniable that her new song “Womanizer” is catchy as hell. As my taste has evolved I don’t particularly like her song (that is unless I’m drunk and dancing at the bar). So I bring you my obsession of the week, much better covers of this song.

Exhibit A: The All-American Rejects

Exhibit B: Lily Allen

• This is by far my favourite cover, mainly because I have been obsessed with Allen’s Alright Still, for a long time and it is holding me over until It’s Not Me It’s You drops on February 10.

Exhibit C: Knatterjak

• This Tumblr blog features some pretty cool covers, and I encourage you to take a listen to more on the site.

Exhibit D: Cosmic Elf

• Okay so this version kind of creeps me out, but flashing pics of Obama to go with the “superstar where you from?” lyrics is kind of cool.

Know of any other really good Womanizer covers? Let me know!

One of my current musical obsessions is Yael Naim. Her song, New Soul, was used in the Macbook Air commercials, and handpicked by Steve Jobs himself. For those that have me on twitter you might have found my link to her cover of Britney Spears’ Toxic. This is a song I did not like the original of, but have found myself hooked on her cover. An amazing thing about Yael Naim is that she was the first Israeli singer to ever have a Top 10 song in the United States. I recommend you check out her album, it’s pretty fantastic.