File this one under “Guilty Pleasures” if you must, but after checking it out over at good ol’ mtvU’s Music Blog — I’m quite liking the new MCR track “Desolation Row” (yes, pals, that really does stand for My Chemical Romance).

OK, well, first off it’s a cover of a Bob Dylan song (Rolling Stone’s #185 best song of all time, for whatever that’s worth) so how bad can the archetype really be?

Second, while clocking in at just 3 minutes — down about 8 from the original’s beautifully rambling 11 or so — MCR manages to pack into the rip-roaring-fist-pumping-mosh-riling-punk-homage that comprises its hypercondensed version what sound to be at least 20 knowing winks and nods to all manner of influences as varied as Meatloaf, Poison, Social Distortion and more. Not the least of which being a fun little tease of the “God Save The Queen” riff and a sweet Brian May-ish solo for good measure.

It all seems to reveal a level of knowing musicianship I had no idea this band possessed and adds up to a fun listen and great watch. And yes, in about 2 weeks, dear readers, I might be kicking myself for admitting to enjoying a My Chemical Romance track. Til then, Desolation Row is the place to be.

Oh and PS, I’m pleased herein to report the unexpected resurrection of a once left-for-dead feature on this blog: the Tass Cover Song du Jour.

I’ve been working 12+ hour days the past couple weeks and am, admittedly, fried. It’s possible this relentless schedule and its resultant lack of sleep may have clouded my judgment lately. Or, at least the illustrious Professor RT Hunter was might’ly displeased with yours truly for that previous Cover Song premiere post - “No more Pet Shop Boys” Period.

Where was my mind…?

So I’m just going to go ahead and run Tass Cover Song du Jour past a focus group, OK. You know, bullet out some top-level talking points, shoot out a few emails with action items and asks (maybe whip up a PowerPoint, mkay) and see where we net out going forward, alright? Great. Good talk. And now, I’m going to drink some coffee and watch this…

FS/TT

I love cover songs. Even kinda like the sort of lame ones like Gwen Stefani & Co’s alright-but-unnecessary rendition of Talk Talk’s totally awesome “It’s My Life” — if only just to discover the different ways artists mutually appreciate the same composition (our Jazz and Classical contributors on here can commence their haughty scoffing whenever it’s convenient.)

And so, the inaugural Tass Cover Song du Jour comes (perhaps a bit obviously) from none other than synth-dance-pop masters Pet Shop Boys. Released as a single in advance of 1987’s excellent Actually the track wasn’t even on the album (the liner notes contained the phrase, “not from the album, actually.”) While originally recorded by Brenda Lee and then more famously Elvis, it was the brilliant 1982 Willie Nelson take I was more familiar with in my youth up until hearing PSB’s ecstatically melancholy rendition. Never was quite sure what the f with the narrative but do know that 20 years later, this track still delivers the same sugary high every spin. And of course, there’s always that 2 second shot of a ventriloquist’s dummy…