Record Store Day came and went, and somehow I missed picking this up at my local stores (shout out to Angelo’s and Black and Read in Arvada). But if you missed it like I did, you can now pick it up in digital format from iTunes.

Buy them here!

From the Cover Lovers‘ website:

Twenty five years ago, The Smiths, arguably the greatest British band of the 1980s, released their masterpiece, The Queen Is Dead.

Twenty five years on, this monumental album is the subject of The Queen Is 25, the very first Cover Lovers exclusive tribute compilation, comprising mostly of young, Greek independent artists and bands. Not unlike 80s Britain, Greece goes through the worst economic, political and institutional crisis of the last 60 years. Greece is burning. The Queen Is Dead is, once again, the perfect soundtrack.

The first track, Baby Guru’s cover of the title track from The Queen Is Dead, is now available. Be sure to check The Cover Lovers’ site every day for a new track!

Here is a video that was produced that gives the back story to “Back to the Start”.

No? You can listen to it right here!

Thanks to listener Dinah for the suggestion!

Jack White, Damien Rice, Patti Smith and Depeche Mode will be among the artists covering U2 this November to mark the album’s 20 year anniversary. It’s presumed that the disc will be included in the 10-disc “Super Deluxe Edition” set to be released on November 1. Yes, I said 10-disc.

Got $150 burning a hole in your pocket? You can pre-order the set now on Amazon.com.

Thanks to listener crAsh for the submission!

Continuing my love affair for all thing Popdose, they’ve just come out with their list of the 100 Greatest Cover Songs of All Time.

I can’t really argue with anything on this list – it’s all great stuff, and – unlike some lists – spans a very wide range of genres and time periods.

Check out the list here

Sophie is doing “30 Covers in 30 Days“.  We can’t fit all 30 on here, but here are a few that are pretty sweet!  After you’ve checked these out, make sure you hit her site, and listen to the rest.  Also check out her new album “The Rhythm You Started”.

Props to listener Jonathan W. for the find.

One Fine Day – The Chiffons

Dream a Little Dream – The Mamas and the Papas

Pure Imagination – Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

This is a cover of “Black Dog” by too many people to count.  Keep a quick count to see how may different people cover the song in this video and give us your guess in the comments.

Thanks to listener Christopher for the submission!

Thanks to listener Dermott for the submission!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG7wbAfcKUI

Still looking for a Coverville fix, though? I’ve got something for you! The Coverville Radio Show, which airs on WFIT-FM in Melbourne, FL, is also available as a podcast! And last night’s show was almost all new-to-Coverville music (with a Clarence Clemons tribute at the end). You can find it on the site for The Shuffle, the program that features a Coverville hour every so often!

Click here to visit TheShuffle.org, where you can check out the entire July 20th Shuffle program, including the Coverville hour!

It’s a really good read about all kinds of genres of music, told in a music-geek-friendly, nostalgic way. Love it. You should check it out!

Thanks, Tobytobey!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0zx7DEDBr8

Rather than spend hundreds of dollars on a brand new standing desk, I decided to keep my existing desk and modify it. I did this for two reasons. First, to save money. Second, because I’m really happy with the surface of my existing desk. If’s a very thick, laminated pressboard desk. Wicked heavy, but very solid. I also liked the “L” shape that I currently had, and paying for a single standing desk seemed like it would be odd to have the different levels of the desk.

Here’s a picture of my desk as it was before. The red mic is where Tina sits for Musically Challenged.

Our first thought was to simply replace the legs of the desk with new, taller solid pine legs. But on closer inspection of the existing legs, we realized that the existing painted steel legs were “C” shaped, and we decided we could actually cut the legs across with a saws-all, and insert a fitted piece of pine between the two parts.

For the height of the desk, we went with a recommendation from this site. The bottom line is that you want the top of the desk to be at about elbow-height, to reduce the amount of strain on your wrists. I went a little higher, since I use a pull-out keyboard, but still want the surface of the desk to be comfortable for writing and drawing.

As you’re taking everything apart, it really helps to put labels on your cables to help remember where they’re supposed to be plugged in. Especially with my setup, I have audio cables going in every direction for microphones, audio processors, splitters, etc. And trying to remember how everything goes together would have been a nightmare. Fortunately, I had a sheet of labels that I bought many years ago from Cable-Safe that did the trick. The sheet (which came with a whole package of cable organizing tools and a back-of-desk bracket) has color-coded labels that wrap around the cable, as well as same-colored dots that you stick next to the ports where you plug them in, and a “master list” where you can write next to each label.

The label sheet form Cable-Safe

First step was to disassemble the desk. Daisy helped.

This next shot will give you a better idea about the “C” channel in the existing legs.

Here’s a piece that’s been cut already, with the “C” channel where we’ll insert our board.

Once all four legs have been cut and filed down, we were able to insert the boards, which had also been cut to fit. We found some solid pine, and painted it white to go with the grey and white colors of my desk. You’ll notice that we’ve also cut a notch into the sides of the board to help keep it more secure in the channel.

I’d recommend using solid pine over pressboard shelving, which would have been a little cheaper. If the desk gets hit from the side, pressboard might increase the possibility of it breaking in half, whereas pine is going to be much sturdier.

The boards to insert.

After inserting the boards into the legs, we used a couple of self-threading wood screws to hold them in place, and to provide a little bit of extra support.

As I assembled everything back together, I realized that a couple of my cables now wouldn’t reach the new extended distance. NObviously nothing that wasn’t rectified by a quick trip to MicroCenter, but something to keep in mind if you take on a project like this one.

The finished product.

After using the desk for a few days, I definitely feel a tightness in my lower back. No pain, but a firmness that I expect will disappear after a few days. Standing also deepens my voice slightly, as it keeps you from hunching an compressing your diaphragm. We’ll see how it sounds on the next episode of Coverville.

I also have a nice wheeled barstool-height chair that I can use in an emergency, but so far, I haven’t even wanted to sit. There is something about standing that makes me focus more on what I’m working on. I know it’s only been a couple days, but so far, I’m enjoying it.

Happy Friday!

No, this will not help you get all the golden eggs, sorry.