I can *totally* go for that...

...Hall & Oates song. Remember it? That groovy ode to relationship ultimatums, that bassy-funky-makes-me-want-to-rumpy-pumpy-let's-meet-on-the-bed-and-jumpy-1981-soul-poppy-goodness more commonly known as I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)? Of course you remember it. I mean, you really should remember it, 'cause it's da fuckin' bomb, but if you don't (or if you just want to bop to it, 'cause, as noted previously, it's da fuckin' bomb), here 'tis:

This is one of those early 80s tunes (along with Blondie's Rapture, which I've blogged about before) which turned me on to my first feelings of sexuality. That damned bass line, people!!! That sexily crooned challenge of, "Where does it stop, where do you dare me to draw the line?" That gauntlet thrown oh-so-foxily to the floor: "I can't go for that, no. No can do."

Ahem.

Right, so I kinda like this song (you may have noticed). And, as I'm not too much of a purist, I tend to enjoy cover versions of my fave tunes (er...if I think they're well-done). In 2010, this nifty duo called The Bird and the Bee covered it; I have to say, y'all, I heart this chick's voice working so smokily over the lyrics. Check it:

Where I tend to be more of a hard-ass is when it comes to song sampling, when one group snips a riff from some other popular tune to lay under different vocals or over different chord progressions. I mean, yeah, I can see where it can be creatively done, but sometimes I think it's just a bit lazy. That said, when I first heard Simply Red's sampling of I Can't Go for That for his song Sunrise, I was all, "Hells, YEAH!" Which is to say, I totally went for that. (Though not for the song's video, which is a lame bit of soft porn that totally doesn't fit the spirit of the goddamned song.) (Not that there's anything wrong with soft porn; I mean, you wanna see some porn, I'll send you some links that'll blow your mi—uh...but I digress...) But anyway, yeah: the plaintive longing he expresses through his lyrics...gah, it gets me right here ::thumps fist over heart:: Here's a live version of Sunrise which, I think, better captures the charm and heart of the tune.

How about y'all: what are some tunes that first rocked your casbah? What are some covers you've loved? What are some you've hated? What's a tune that if you ever heard it covered, would make you completely lose your cool? (For me, that was when Celine Dion covered a song first made famous by Cyndi Lauper: I Drove All Night. GAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!)