Saturday, January 8, 2011

Singles Going Single #157 - The Weaklings "Motorvatin'" 7" (1996, Junk)

Not only am I big aficionado of covers and remakes, but I'm also huge on album art parodies, and wouldn't you know it, Portland punks The Weaklings deliver both on this sweet little 45.  If the racy sleeve (yes, it's exactly what you think it is) strikes you as familiar, you're probably acquainted with Hanoi Rocks, or more precisely the back cover of their Oriental Beat album, of which this single is an absolutely perfect mock of!  I abandoned hard rock and metal right before I set off for college, but Hanoi Rocks '80s catalog still holds up remarkably well, and as coincidence would have it, The Weaklings put their spin on my song of choice from Oriental Beat, "Motorvatin." Rejecting much of it's melodicisim, but fortunately not the anthemic swagger, they pull it off...though just barely.  The flipside features renderings of two Clash chestnuts, "Janie Jones" and "Clampdown," which are a more suitable fit for the Weaklings, but far from a substitute for the originals. 

A. Motorvatin'
B. Janie Jones/Clampdown

Hear

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