Yesterday I had to drive somewhere and turned on my first choice for Toronto radio, the U of T station CIUT and they were playing Little Darlin’ but not The Diamonds version. This was better, weirder, less sugary all the reasons for turning on college radio. It was followed by That’s All Right Mama but again not the famous Elvis Presley cut. Then a crazy 12 string guitar, crazy because it sounded tuned down and the artist was doing House of the Rising Sun but much differently, it might have been major instead of minor, completely different aesthetic. It’s probably Leadbelly, he’s known for the 12 string but I never heard this before. Now, started to wonder is the person playing these songs choosing the original versions of famous songs? Is that their game and each sounds like a Black artist, could that be the point? Is that not the same thing anyway? Then it was Louie Louie, another better version of a famous song, next it’s definitely Muddy Waters but I don’t know this one until I hear “you need cooling, you need schooling” and realized this is how Led Zeppelin got mansions and retirement savings plans. Didn’t want to get out of the car, I turned it up. Suddenly a reggae song started. I was disappointed, thought it marked the departure of the DJ but when the vocals came in it was Tide Is High, again a much older version I never heard. Tried calling the station to congratulate the brilliant person behind this but nobody answers, it’s Covid, DJs supply the shows remotely. Just then Hound Dog by Big Mama Thornton followed by Devil In A Blue Dress which is not a song I ever found memorable but this version was slower and left me feeling more amused about the lyric. Eventually the DJ came on the air and identified the show – The Moondog Ballroom and something about Black history month and I said to myself right, of course, touché.