The topic of cover songs fascinates me, and I have many, many playlists of cover songs of a wide variety of themes.
My playlists of bluegrass covers get way more likes than anything else I have on Spotify.
I’m not entirely sure where these people are coming from and how they find me, but I say, hey, bring it on.
Seriously? Rollerboogie, you genius, you! You’ve done it again!”
When an artist finds success with a cover of an older song that was a hit, often times: younger listeners may not even be aware that it’s a cover.
While the older folks fold their arms, grimace, and say, “the original was so much better” or “this was totally unnecessary” or “how could anyone not know this was a cover?”
I was a massive Captain and Tennille fan as a kid in the mid-70s. I loved their hit “Shop Around,” completely unaware that it was originally recorded by The Miracles over 25 years prior.
And was equally unaware that it got higher on the charts for Smoky and the gang (#2 compared to #4 for the cover).
These days, the original lives on, while the cover has all but faded away.
But then there are the times when most of the public (I’m talking about “the public” as I know it here in the U.S.), regardless of age, is unaware that a hit song is a cover.
Or… knows it’s a cover… but hasn’t heard the original. Maybe the source material is rather obscure, or came from another country.
Or the cover became so iconic, it just obliterated everything in its path.
Or the original had some limited success in a specific format but didn’t cross over to the masses.
Or people in general just don’t care.
We generally don’t run cheap, gratuitous shout-outs on a bartered basis.
But, I mean, let’s say you should you need:
A Professional Septic Tank Cleanout, Because Someone In The Office Who Shall Remain Nameless Insists on Improper Disposal Of Coffee Grounds…
well, just call the awesome crew at “We Care HVAC.”
That’s “We Care”- For All of Your Plumbing and Heating Needs!
{Cough.}
Here are some originals (defined as first release of the song) that have been largely overshadowed by a successful cover, or even a cover of a cover…
…but are more than worthy of being heard themselves.
At the end of the article, I will include a link to a playlist I have created that includes more examples.
Tainted Love
Gloria Jones (1964)
Soft Cell (1981)
This is the song that inspired me to write this article. “Tainted Love” became a big hit for the English synth-pop duo Soft Cell in 1981 and I was down for it. My friend Matt told me at the time that it was a cover and that the original recording didn’t sound anything like it, but I never heard it for myself until the advent of streaming, when I sought out the Gloria Jones’ original. It was the B-side of a quickly forgotten single that never charted.
The guys in Soft Cell would have been familiar with the song, due to the early 70s Northern Soul club phenomenon in the U.K.
People sought out obscure R&B records from the U.S. that had an upbeat tempo, suitable for the rather athletic style of dancing that was popular in that scene.
After I became completely hooked on the original, with its husky swagger and punchy, Motown-esque delivery, I was doubly blown away by Jones’ significantly grittier 1976 redux.
By the end of the song, she’s doing the tortured shrieking thing, and I’m getting chills. I highly endorse both of her versions.
Red Red Wine
Neil Diamond (1967)
UB40 (1983)
Around 8 years ago, I was celebrating a certain milestone birthday. I decided that the theme of my party would be the color red, just because I like it. The food and drinks were all red. Everyone was told to wear red. (My mom wore purple; my sister made her change.) There was red candy everywhere and a trivia game where all the answers had something to do with red.
And of course, there were songs playing that had “red” in the title, many of which were suggested by friends and family after I had asked for input on Facebook. While researching songs, I discovered that “Red Red Wine” was originally written and recorded by Neil Diamond.
The utter sadness in his voice and the tempo of the song stopped me in my tracks. It was of course nothing like the version I knew from UB40, which I genuinely liked.
I was to learn a few years later that it was a cover of a cover by Jamaican artist Tony Tribe.
While the reggae beat gives the song a catchy pick-me-up, there is something to be said for the stark, tragic beauty of Neil’s original. It now haunts me.
Hound Dog
Big Mama Thornton (1953)
Elvis Presley (1956)
I remember reading an article years ago about Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, the legendary songwriting team who wrote many early R&B and rock and roll hits.
One of them talked about how they had originally written “Hound Dog” for Big Mama Thornton. They were going for something that would match her snarling, howling blues style and her persona as a brassy, tough-as-nails woman that you didn’t want to cross.
Big Mama did well with the song – it was #1 on the R&B charts for 7 weeks.
But it would be eclipsed by Elvis’ cover, which topped the pop chart for 11 weeks and sold over 10 million copies.
It was his most commercially successful single.
I like Presley’s version of “Hound Dog,” but that’s pretty much akin to saying I like 7-Up. It’s so ubiquitous that it has become just basic after all these years, though it’s not completely to blame.
Big Mama’s original, on the other hand, captures what the song was intended to be at its heart and hits you right in the face. From the moment she wails the titular line, you know somebody is in deep trouble.
Bette Davis Eyes
Jackie DeShannon (1975)
Kim Carnes (1981)
When author Tom Breihan informed us in his The Number Ones write-up that Kim Carnes’ 1981 #1 hit was a cover, this was news to me. And I imagine to many other readers.
Singer-songwriter Jackie DeShannon had two giant hits in the 60s with “What the World Needs Now” and “Put a Little Love in Your Heart.” But by 1975, she had all but disappeared from the charts and this was not even released as a single. We can all be forgiven for not having heard it or even knowing of its existence.
Written by DeShannon and Donna Weiss, in its original form, “Bette Davis Eyes” was a jazzy honky-tonk ditty, similar to the feel of Jim Croce’s “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown”.
It’s quite fun and worth hearing, even just for the shock value of how incredibly different it sounds from the famous cover.
And what the world needs now is: more Jackie DeShannon. So give it a spin.
Jesus is Just Alright
The Art Reynolds Singers (1966)
The Doobie Brothers (1972)
Art Reynolds recorded his composition “Jesus is Just Alright” with members of his Gospel choir.
Gene Parsons, the drummer for The Byrds happened to be in the studio and heard it.
He eventually convinced his own band to record a cover of the song in 1969.
A few years later, the Doobie Brothers’ 1972 recording became the most widely known. Many church folk were critical of it, saying that Jesus shouldn’t be reduced to someone that was “just alright” – in other words, “just okay, I guess”.
What they failed to understand was that the song was written by a devout Gospel musician who was trying to incorporate the vernacular of the day to express his love for Jesus, despite what others may think of him.
Unfortunately, Art Reynolds’ original version is not on Spotify, but I’ve included it in the link above. Have a listen – it’s great.
Istanbul (Not Constantinople)
The Four Lads (1953)
They Might Be Giants (1990)
In the early 90s, I worked as a temp in the environmental claims file room for an insurance company for about a year, alongside a high school student named Andy.
We were allowed to play our own music in the file room.
One day, Andy brought in a cassette tape someone had made for him of an album that he said was called They Might Be Giants by a band named Flood.
Of course, he had it reversed, but neither of us were worse for the wear. There were so many great songs on that album; one that stood out was “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)”. It fit in so well with the band’s quirky songwriting that it was quite a long time before I learned that it was a cover.
A Canadian vocal group named The Four Lads recorded the original, which was written on the 500th anniversary of the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans.
It’s a clever, well-crafted song and the lads’ jaunty, snappy delivery seals the deal on a quaint snapshot of what post-Big Band era/pre-rock and roll pop music sounded like in the early 50s.
It went Top Ten in the U.S. While the cover didn’t chart, They Might Be Giants’ cult status, along with close to 40 years between the two releases could mean that enough people know the cover more so than the original to warrant its inclusion on this list.
Oh heck. I just wanted to talk about it.
Pass The Kouchie / Pass The Dutchie
The Mighty Diamonds (1981)
Musical Youth (1982)
If there is any doubt as to what this song is about, the sound of someone inhaling a certain substance right at the start should make it rather clear.
“Pass the Kouchie” was based on a 1969 reggae instrumental by Sound Dimensions called “Full Up.”
Upon its release in Jamaica, the government immediately banned it from airplay for its endorsement of illegal cannabis. It didn’t stop the song from becoming popular, both in its homeland and abroad.
It was reportedly well-known globally in Caribbean communities, but it’s not certain that it reached very far beyond that.
I heard it just once on a Chicago radio station upon its release, and never forgot it. (People from Chicago would likely assume that radio station was WXRT, and they’d be right.)
A year later, a revised version of the song was released in the UK, sung by a bunch of kids, with the drug references removed and the song transformed into an ode to the Dutch oven. “Pass the Dutchie” by Musical Youth went #1 in the U.K., and #10 in the U.S.
I don’t smoke pot, but the original is kind of irresistible, and gives off all sorts of chill vibes. There is a reason why it found its audience, despite the efforts to suppress it.
Superman
The Clique (1969)
REM (1986)
I would have never guessed that the well-known R.E.M. version of this song from 1986 was a cover.
Let alone a cover of a late 60s B-side by a band out of Texas, whose success on the charts was brief and limited. The original won’t threaten to dethrone R.E.M. anytime soon. But it’s a nice slice of sunshine pop.
Love Is the Answer
Utopia (1977)
England Dan and John Ford Coley (1979)
Todd Rundgren’s composition was first released by his band Utopia, but it failed to chart.
Two years later, a cover of the song by England Dan and John Ford Coley went to number10 on the Billboard Hot 100, and peaked at #1 on the AC chart.
The Utopia version has an earnest power to it, particularly on the bridge where Todd really lets loose on the Gospel call and response.
It’s pretty darn moving. And it has slowly gained a fandom of its own over the years
Oye Cómo Va
Tito Puente y su Orquesta (1962)
Santana (1971)
My younger sister Elise made a mixtape of Tito Puente’s music for me back in the early 90s.
And I became a fan for life. The fact that I wasn’t previously very familiar with his music is no indicator of his stature in the Latin jazz scene. Anyone with “El Rey” included in their nickname needs no further verification.
That said, Santana’s cover of “Oye Cómo Va” reached a much wider audience, and Tito had the royalty checks to prove it.
As a child, I heard the Santana version frequently. My brother Greg and my father both owned the Abraxas album – a fact that horrified Greg.
Having the same record as your dad? Not good.
Years later, I learned that the song was a cover of a Tito Puente song when I found an old 45 of the song which said “T. Puente” underneath the title.
If you haven’t heard the original, I highly encourage you to listen to it.
If it does nothing but serve as a gateway drug to the rest of Tito’s catalog and/or gets you dancing the cha-cha, no matter how badly… then my work here is done.
And finally, as promised: here is a playlist with even more.
All of which I think are worth a listen. Knowing this savvy crowd, you may already know all or most of these originals.
But I invite you to check it out and see if there are any that surprise you, or that you knew about but hadn’t heard.
Enjoy!
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Great stuff, Rollerboogie! And I have to say, I’ve actually learned a few of these were covers because of you! (Superman? Oye Como Va?)
A few thoughts:
Thanks, thegue! Yes, I remember the comment section being all over the map when Tom covered “Red Red Wine” and that there was definitely some vitriol toward it and UB40 in general, particularly about the lead singer’s voice. Neil Diamond- as far as I’m concerned, he’s one of the greatest songwriters of the 60s, and I can get behind a lot of his stuff from that era. The 70s and beyond, not as much.
Regarding the time in between an original and a cover, it’s interesting when there isn’t much of a gap in time between the original release of a song and a cover, and especially when it’s two disparate versions or artists, like Bruce and Natalie. One of my favorite originals on the playlist that I hadn’t previously heard before I researched this article is “Hey Joe” by an obscure garage rock band called The Leaves out of the San Fernando Valley. It was a song that was known in the folk scene in that area, and whose authorship has been contested. The Leaves happened to be the first ones to release a recording of it, a year before the famous Hendrix tour de force. The two versions sound nothing alike (maybe Hendrix never even heard The Leaves version) and I now love them both.
R.E.M.’s “Superman” is a great cover.
“Strange” is not!
The original is essential.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv0fFtP6iIQ
> I was a massive Captain and Tennille fan as a kid in the mid-70s
Well, I suppose we all did things as a child that we regret
Absolutely no regrets, but point taken. It’s 70s cheese and it’s not for everyone, particularly if one didn’t grow up with them. I don’t still listen to them, but I will always have a fondness in my heart for them. When I was in 4th grade, my friends and I would go to each others’ houses and perform a lip-sync concert of Captain and Tennille songs for our parents/siblings. I even had a wooden fake double decker keyboard that was supposed to be like the Captain’s rig and would pretend to play it. It’s funny because I actually played the piano.
I obviously have no Captain and Tennille regret. And nothing against The Miracles, but I really love C&T’s version of “Shop Around”.
Putting aside my cheap shots at Daryl Dragon and his ex-wife… I’ve gone back and forth on which version of “Torn” is better. Natalie Imbruglia’s cover is more polished, but the grunginess of Ednaswap’s original* fits the song better.
* Yes, I know Lis Sørenson’s “Brændt” was technically first. To be clear, I’m talking about the version of “Torn” on Ednaswap’s self-titled album (1995). The one on streaming, from Wacko Magneto (1997) changed things up too much.
You know your “Torn” lore! I was always struck at how different Natalie’s version was from Ednaswap until I heard the Sørensenversion for the first time last year and realized Natalie’s was based on that. I would agree that the Ednaswap version definitely brings out the mood and message of the song and has its merits, but I have an over-the-top love for the Imbruglia cover that just wipes everything else out. Not even watching a parade of women try and fail to sing it at karaoke has ruined it for me.
Speaking of Daryl & Toni, they had an original that was greatly overshadowed by a cover…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxGQRV1m7Cg
Oh wow, yes! I vaguely remember this. If I recall, they were in the Beach Boys with the song’s composer Bruce Johnston, or at least were in the touring band. That would make sense that they got first crack at it.
Istanbul (Not Constantinople) is the one that stunned me when I found out TMBG didn’t write it. Like you say, it fits so well into their sound. It’s not that long ago i found out it’s a cover. Might even have been from the comments section over at Tom’s place.
As I was reading through the one that first came to mind was Bessie Banks / Moody Blues; Go Now so I was pleased to spot that in your playlist.
Yes, “Go Now” was one that I felt needed to be included for sure. The Moodies’ version came out so soon after Bessie Banks released the original and skyrocketed as it did, that it left her version in the dust, which is a shame because Bessie Banks totally delivers. I will more likely listen to Bessie’s in the future, and I’m a Moody Blues die-hard in every fiber of my body.
Hey Bro! Great article once again! Thoroughly enjoyed it! Interesting trivia. Denny Laine who also was in Paul McCartney & Wings sang the lead vocals on “Go Now”
You probably know the Johnny Cash cover, but the original is pretty good
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HobrEE20wR0
Yes, it is!
Another baller cover (my favorite, actually) of that song:
https://youtu.be/MBs4xL2-CYc
Oh! And: I hate the Social Distortion cover. Hate, hate, hate.
I seem to recall that it’s not great.
Oh. I didn’t see this post. I wasn’t purposely being contrarian.
Different strokes, my friend. All good.
I have not heard this. Interesting.
Wow, that’s my first time hearing Anita Carter’s version of “Ring of Fire.” That high note she hits and then holds for what seems an unnaturally long time… It’s so abrupt and suddenly drenched in echo. The song fades out on that note!
I wouldn’t say that Carter’s version is ‘better’ than Cash’s, but I don’t think Johnny Cash ever hit a note like that.
I see you have “The Man Who Sold the World” on your playlist, and I fully agree. Pretty much every Nirvana cover is great, but so different from the original that it’s necessary to go back to the original and hear the unique brilliance that had moved Kurt to do his own version. Vaselines, Meat Puppets, Leadbelly, Devo, etc.
I’m always a little sad that Gary Jules’ cover of “Mad World” is more famous than the original by Tears for Fears. The acoustic version is great, but it doesn’t capture the full pathos of the original, or the brilliance of marrying such pathos to a surging pop beat.
I was hoping you would weigh in on the Bowie, Phylum. I always loved the Nirvana cover and knew that it was a Bowie original, but it was awhile before I actually heard the Bowie version. It’s brilliant and those vocal lines at the end, the ones Kurt plays on lead guitar, are just haunting and gorgeous. .Now I need to go back and listen to those originals of other Nirvana covers that you mentioned.
Lots of good songs, and a good education as well, in this excellent article, rollerboogie! I see you skipped the some of the obvious ones (e.g. Nothing Compares 2 U, Because the Night, Johnny Cash’s Hurt) to focus on songs where cover status is likely a surprise. I was only previously aware of 4 of these songs being covers.
In the Song of the Decade bracket, somebody nominated Sugababes’ Freak Like Me, a song I didn’t know existed. I listened to it and realized it’s a cover of a superior (IMO) song by Adina Howard from the 90’s. And now Adina Howard’s original has been stuck in my head so long now she’s certain my make my end-of-year mixtape.
My cover-of-a-cover recommendation…
You all should know Red Sovine, the “Old Syrup Sopper” of trucker music, famous for sentimental story-songs like “Teddy Bear.” He released the track “Phantom 309” in 1967. Tom Waits released an outstanding and stylistically divergent cover called “Big Joe and Phantom 309” on his Nighthawks at the Diner album in 1975. The in 1995, the Archers of Loaf made a cover called “[Big Joe and] Phantom 309” which ties back sonically to both the original and the cover, while remaining it’s own interpretation. It’s stark and eerie. Check it out below:
https://youtu.be/6kxMRvcO9JQ
Thank you, Pauly!
I wasn’t familiar with Freak Like Me either. Lots of holes in my ’00s pop knowledge. Skipping the Sugababes cover and going straight to the Adina Howard. That’s a sharp track, and I’m digging that totally 90s instrumental track.
I worked at a gas station briefly in the late 80s and my supervisor introduced me to the music of Red Sovine. I took to it for sure though I haven’t listened to anything by him recently. That Archers of Loaf cover you posted reminds me of a Waits piece called “What’s He Buiilding?”, though the tone of the voice is very different. A friend of mine wrote a sort of companion piece called “What’s He Disassembling In There?” and had me do the spoken word vocal for the recording. I did my best, but there’s only one Tom Waits, for sure.
I LOVE “What’s He Building?” — this is peak Waits in my book! Creepy, jagged and incisive.
https://youtu.be/qAkZT_4vL_Y
Speaking of Tom Waits, most people think of “Downtown Train” as a Rod Stewart song, but the original is a lot better.
Mos’ def! Not even a competition.
I’m halfway through Round Midnight. Tom Waits sounds like he’s trying to imitate Dexter Gordon’s speaking voice.
Excellent write-up, RB! I love stuff like this. Meanwhile on the punk side of town….
I love Louis Armstrong’s original version of “What A Wonderful World,” but it wasn’t a hit in the States until it was on the “Good Morning, Vietnam” soundtrack twenty years later.
Props to the late great Joey Ramone for his punked up version. It was the only single from his solo album “Don’t Worry About Me” released after his death in 2001.
https://youtu.be/8IoO5nkxT_4?t=39
Louis Armstrong is practically canonized in my family’s lore, but the minute I heard Joey’s cover when it came out, it just captured all of the joy of the song and had even deeper meaning, with it being released posthumously.
One more that most people don’t realize is a cover is the instrumental “Popcorn”, a top 5 hit for an act named Hot Butter in 1972. The original from 1969…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp9ki2jPWdg
Yes! And that album, “Music To Moog By,” also had some cool covers, like “Nowhere Man” and “Scarborough Fair.”
Good call on this one!
Great subject @rollerboogie, I don’t know all of the songs and I’ll give a listen.
Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I think that Eric Carmen’s “All By Myself” needs love, because I think less is more and the song was good for its simplicity, and it has been buried by the Celine’s cover.
Not unpopular with me, Edith. I *hate* what Celine did to that song. Just sledgehammered it.
Thanks, Edith! I guess I didn’t consider All By Myself to be buried because I heard it so much growing up, and it was a massive hit for him that I would assume even Celine couldn’t make everyone forget. My favorite version of the song is in this mash-up of Traces of Love/All By Myself, featuring Carol and Greg Brady (Florence Henderson and Barry Williams) from the immortal variety show, “The Brady Bunch Hour”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSeWcZICF7E
The Manchurian Candidate: The Musical.
My Mount Rushmore of “That was a cover?” songs:
Great article, as always.
Thanks, blu!!!
Two out of those four are on the playlist. The original for #1 is gorgeous.
My Mount Rushmore…
1 “Rock Around The Clock”
2 “Someday We’ll Be Together”
3 “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys”
4 “Ray Of Light”
I’ve heard Casey Kasem’s special countdown of the biggest hits of the 1980s and when it came to Bette Davis Eyes, he shocked me when he laughed after they played Jackie DeShannon’s original! For a deejay that famously stayed neutral throughout most of the songs he presented on American Top 40, it was stunning and unnecessary. Jackie’s version is just fine for what it is, as you rightly point out here.
That’s disheartening. Laughing at Jackie DeShannon should not have been acceptable at any time for any reason. And that is out of character for him. I could see why it came as a shock.
It’s funny: In that little Hot 100 snippet mt picked to go with the “Shop Around” anecdote (BTW, I still love the C&T version, even though the original is superior), we have:
* Misty Blue, a song that was a country hit in several versions before Dorothy Moore had the pop and R&B success with it.
* Sara Smile, remade as a country song in the 21st century with Daryl Hall contributing backing vocals.
* I’ll Be Good to You, successfully covered by the original’s producer, Quincy Jones, with Chaka Khan and Ray Charles.
* Love Is Alive, which hit the Top 40 again in the ’90s as a electropop/dance hit.
And, of course, More, More, More, which was covered on a mid-90s pro-choice CD but more widely known as the instrumental bit without which Steal My Sunshine would be much dimmer.
My favorite covers, which means, I like them better than the original.
rollerboogie, I thought “Istanbul(Not Constantinople)” was a They Might Be Giants original, too. Jay Leno was substituting for Johnny Carson, but still, TMBG were a musical guest outlier for The Tonight Show. I can’t remember anybody else who fell under the category of my music on the show. Doc Severinsen obviously knew it was an old song. That explains how They Might Be Giants ended up performing “Birdhouse in Your Soul”.
That is surprising that they were on The Tonight Show. I had a similar feeling when Amy Grant appeared on the show in the mid 80s.
If you’re a super-Amy Grant fan, check out the music video for The Apache Relay’s “Katie Queen of Tennessee”. That’s her barn.
One more: Normally you think of Stevie Wonder writing his own songs but sometimes he didn’t. This song was originally recorded by Chris Clark, a white woman…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ykm3JZpiS08
This is really good. I don’t think I have heard the original before. Another big Stevie hit that he didn’t write and wasn’t the original artist is “For Once in My Life”
I actually knew the Andy Williams version of this song first.
Don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m usually bummed when I learn after some years a song I really liked was in fact a cover song. It seems to remove most of the appeal for me. Which is totally illogical, because I don’t have the same reaction if I know right from the get go a song is a cover.
I say usually bummed, but not always. Like, when I was a teen and learned Aretha’s Respect was in fact a cover, that blew my damn mind and made me realize just how difficult it truly is to take someone else’s song and not only make it your own, but OWN it.
Yes, and it’s no small feat when that someone else is flippin’ Otis Redding.
Just one of many reasons why she’s the Queen.
I was kind of bummed with “I Love Rock & Roll” because I thought part of what was so kickass about Joan Jett was her songwriting, and then it turns out she didn’t write most of her big hits.
It’s difficult for a cover that you’ve learned to love to become your second favorite once you hear the original. But it happens. I think it’s harder for a cover to become your favorite after you’ve loved the original.
My biggest surprise here: “Hush” is a cover originally by Billy Joe Royal! And it’s pretty good, too.
True! If I develop a love for the original after having lived with and loved the cover first, most of the time it just means I now love both.
Couldn’t resist a good cover song article.
We could spend all day in the cover song rabbit hole but the one this story
brought to mind was the halcyon days of the late’70’s.
Cele Bee and The Buzzy Bunch released a recording of “Superman” in 1977
and it just missed the BB Top 40, coming in at #41 but it did hit #3 on the Disco Chart.
In 1978, Hall of Fame Jazz flautist, Herbie Mann, released his version from
the album of the same name and it hit #26 on the BB Top 40 list.
Just a word of wisdom, if you play them with a younger crowd around, Celi’s is rated R while Herbie’s is PG 13.
Have not heard either of these. Not sure which one I like better. The Celi Bee original is textbook raw, nasty hard core down and dirty disco. The Mann cover is faster and more slickly produced, and as you said, more lyrically santized, with a really nice groove. Hard call, but I’ll go with the grimier Celi version, but yeah, I probably won’t be blasting this around the house.