I enjoy a good cover song, and I've always thought of them as a way to get a new perspective on an old song. For our "Classic Albums Remade" playlist series we recreate a classic album using only cover versions of each song that appeared on the original. It works best when you use an album that is loaded with one great song after another. So far we've remade Led Zeppelin IV and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. For our third remake we've selected what is arguably one of the greatest and most important albums of the 1980s -- U2's The Joshua Tree. Some of the cover songs here are true to the original and others not so much, but what I came away with more than anything is an understanding of how well-crafted The Joshua Tree is. 

Classic Albums Remade: U2 - The Joshua Tree

1. Where The Streets Have No Name - Pet Shop Boys

2. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - Marva Wright

3. With Or Without You - Jennifer Hope

4. Bullet The Blue Sky - Richard Cheese

5. Running To Stand

235 years ago today the Declaration of Independence was adopted. It marked the creation of a new country called the United States of America, one that was independent from the Kingdom of Great Britain. We're still going. I would like to wish you all a fantastic 4th of July. Hopefully you'll get to enjoy family, friends, some great food and fireworks. Here at the Y! Music Playlist blog we've published "Fourth of July Songs", "Patriotic Songs For The 4th of July" and a list called "Independents Day Songs", which includes songs by indie bands that refer to July 4th in someway. Maybe these  can help you with your own holiday soundtrack. For this playlist I'm adding to the repertoire with 10 songs that all share the title "America".

10 Songs Called "America"

1. America - Simon & Garfunkel

2. America - Neil Diamond

3. America - Marcy Playground

4. America - John Fahey

5. America - Trini Lopez

6. America - Yes

7. America - Nas

8. America - Lee Greenwood

9. America - Rita Moreno

10. America

Black has always been the color of the rebel. In the wild west, it was the cowboy in black that everyone feared, black cats are considered bad luck, black is the color of darkness, and indeed, death itself.  Black is downright dangerous! Can you picture the grim reaper in a yellow hood and cape? Or Darth Vader in a magenta helmet? I didn't think so. Rock and roll has latched onto the color black for its many dark overtones. For this playlist I've selected 40 songs by 40 bands who all use the word "black" in their name. I will leave it up to you to decide what statement each is trying to make, but I know one thing for sure -- there are more bands that use the word "black" to describe themselves than any other color. So I thought it deserved its own playlist.

This list just scratches the surface, so please let me know which "black" rock bands I've missed. And remember, I'm looking for rock bands -- country, folk, hip-hop, jazz, bluegrass and all other non-rock genres deserve their own

If you came of age in the 1980s, as I did, you've probably come to the same conclusion -- we're old. We thought we were cool listening to A Flock of Seagulls and Falco while putting on our parachute pants and neon mesh half-shirts. Well, time has a tendency to expose every generation's cultural idiocy, and we were no exception. Back then when we talked about "oldies" music, it meant stuff like Lawrence Welk and Guy Lombardo. Today, artists like this are labelled under "ancient", while music of the 60s and 70s is what we now consider "oldies music". I just wonder if my kids will think artists like the Rolling Stones and Marvin Gaye are as outdated as we thought Lawrence Welk was? I hope not, and if that's not scary enough I've started to hear some 80s music being played on oldies radio.

Can U2 really be considered oldies? 

As you ponder how to age gracefully, enjoy this playlist. It includes 10 tracks  that are currently listed as the most streamed "oldies" on the Rhapsody music