1/25/2006 - When You Were Mine (Live)

Song: When You Were Mine
Artist: Ani DiFranco & Maceo Parker
Why this song is the current jam: Ha-HA GOTCHA! I went there folks, to the Ani DiFranco, but no apologies. First off, she and Tori are good artists, despite the ubiquitous nature of their music among lots of sometimes-annoying younger folks. But even beyond that, this song, it is PRINCE cover folks, and that kicks it up more than a notch. And then there is Maceo playing as well which doesnt hurt. Although I would take the original anyday in a choose-one-for-life-on-a-desert-island-with-a-record-player contest, I still really like Ani's take on this song. It is really gentle and tender, sort of culling out the painful emotion that lays one layer under the pop surface of the Prince version. (which, by the way, is why I love the original so much, it is such an honest representation of a kind of tormented and very adolescent pain) It is a live recording, so the quality is a bit crappy, and you have to work really hard at times to ignore this TOTAL FUCKING WHOOPING IDIOT who obviously did not know that someone was bootleggin the show nearby, and I have to say that Ani does sound annoyingly smug on her intro to the song, but yknow, it is probably really hard to balance confidence and humility onstage in front of a zillion people who think your shit doesnt stink. Anyways, overall, I really like this version of the song, and however you may think of Ani DiFranco, you can't fault her taste in music.

Dirty Mind
When You Were Mine
Do It All Night
Gotta Broken Heart Again
Uptown
Head
Sister
Party Up