Willie Nelson "Crazy"

For a bit of a change of (blogging) pace, I thought it would be fun to play a game this week. A game I'm calling . . .

The Incredible Imaginary Freaky Friday Cover Tune Switcheroo!

It'll require a little bit of imagination on your part. But you don't mind, right? Letting your brain drift away from work or home or whatever you should be doing, for just a second?

Because these aren't real covers. So to "hear" the songs, you'll just have to imagine them.

I was inspired in part by Peter Gabriel's last project. He did covers of some of his favorite artists. But then he also had those artists cut their version of one of his songs.

For The Incredible Imaginary Freaky Friday Cover Tune Switcheroo! I'm asking you to imagine that two artists who have songs with the exact same title, decided to switch tunes and do the other person's different song of the same title.

Get it? Not really? The explanation is more complicated than the execution. So let's just play the game.

Today's song:

"Crazy" by Willie Nelson and "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley.

This is a pretty easy starting point, in that Willie Nelson has tackled all kinds of cover tunes in his day, and he does it in a very recognizable style.

So it's not too hard to hear in your head, Willie, singing in his somewhat-cracked but still beautiful drawl, "I remember when, I remember when I lost my mind, there was something to pleasant about that place."

Maybe a little harder, but no less fun, to imagine, is Cee Lo Green of Gnarls Barkley, taking on Willie's song that is most closely associated with Patsy Cline.

Can you hear his clear, pointed tenor, with maybe a stripped-down beat underneath, singing, "Crazy, crazy for feeling so lonely. I'm crazy for trying and crazy for crying and I'm crazy for loving you."

What do you think? Could you hear it?

All this week, I'll be playing this game. Some of the match ups sound really promising, others will be total train-wrecks.

Should be fun!


See Willie Nelson on Youtube.


See Gnarls Barkley on Youtube.