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* "if kerosene works, why not gasoline?"

A brief little drive-by today, brought up by some research-related surfing on a couple of music sites that eventually detoured down a different avenue.... but can someone please explain to me why, here it is 2007 now, and NOBODY has covered the Bottle Rockets' "Kerosene"???

Sometimes I judge a song by how quickly it seems to go by in my head. (Sort of a "time flies when you're having fun" corollary.) If it's a lousy song, just a few seconds in, I can't wait till it's over, and it seems like an eternity before the end mercifully arrives. If it's a half-decent song, I don't mind listening to it, perhaps enjoy it, but I don't really notice time passing any differently than normal. If it's a good song, I'm generally surprised when it ends, as if it doesn't seem like it's really been on for three or four or five minutes (however long it is). And with a really great song, I simply can't believe it's already finished when it ends, because it feels like the thing must have just started mere moments ago.

And I'm not sure any song I've ever heard has ever passed as quickly in my head as the Bottle Rockets' "Kerosene". That's how good it is.

In an ideal world I'd love to see a split-single with the Bottle Rockets covering Miranda Lambert's recent single "Kerosene" (her own tune, though she confessed borrowing from Steve Earle), and Lambert covering the Bottle Rockets' "Kerosene". My sense is that both artists would probably handle each other's song quite well.

We'll see how far that idea ever gets.

In the meantime -- somebody, SOMEBODY record this song on your next album. Big band, little band, country band, rock band, hillbilly punk band, "pickin' on" bluegrass cover band...somebody just get smart and give this song the respect, and legs, it deserves.

adios,
peter

Posted by peter on December 7, 2007 9:12 AM | Permalink