New Noise :: Engine Room :: Guilt by Association

Last night at karaoke, I was on stage with ten or so people screaming/singing Journey's 'Don't Stop Believing,' closing out the bar for the night. It's a ritual that doesn't happen every Wednesday, so it's always a special night when it does. There is no doubt that everyone on the stage last night loves that song, but would any of them admit it if there wasn't a good deal of alcohol involved? A couple might deny it. A few might admit it. But a vast majority would say it was a guilty pleasure.

Engine Room Recordings has taken the guilty pleasure concept and exposed the musical mis-taste some of indie rock's greats with their Guilt by Association compilation, due out August 7. It's a pretty simple concept. The artists pick a guilty pleasure song and cover it. This makes for quite the tracklisting, including Mike Watt on BOC's 'I'm Burning For You,' Luna on Paula Abdul's 'Straight Up,' and The Concretes on Take That's 'Back For Good' (!). And, bringing this post full circle, Petra Haden's take on Journey's 'Don't Stop Believing.' Haden, of course, is no stranger to covers, and she handles this one perfectly.

Head over to the GbA myspace page to hear it plus Will Oldham singing Mariah Carey and Devendra Banhart on Oasis. (Keep your ears for the guilty pleasure mash-up that Haden pulls at the end of the song.)