I wonder how many people in the world have intensely car-associated memories of listening to the "Graceland" album -- I know it was one of the few tapes we listened to repeatedly in my family's station wagon, and I have a friend whose family listened exclusively to "Graceland" in the car during the two years his parents were in the Peace Corps in Yemen. He still remembers every single lyric and every transition, and I myself have a relationship with the album that I can't at all separate from memories of childhood car trips. Someone should do a study.

Oh, and this version's pretty great.

I saw Casiotone just two days ago and, per someone's request, he played this song (and its b-side), introducing it as "a song [he had] no business playing." It was great, and I've been meaning to track down a digital copy. Luckily, I checked saidthegramophone.

Timed very well, Dan, thanks.

Wow. Good tunes, thanks for sharing.

liz, graceland was THE cassette to play when in the minivan for almost a decade.

Ohh I most definitely do, Liz, and suspect that we're not alone. It was the first album I can remember really loving, and I used to make my dad play the tape in his car over and over and over and over. Almost twenty years later, I can rip the meanest karaoke version of "You Can Call Me Al" that you will ever see.

goodness, these car comments are so eerie to me, I guess I never even thought about it, but it's SO TRUE. Car pools, station wagons, and specifically in my memory VOLVO station wagons with those hard head rests.

ps. I prefer the grizzly bear cover.

casiotone is amazing! Good choice! Great blog.

I have very similar memories associated with Graceland. I'm glad you were able to bring them back to the surface of my mind.

My underprivileged(at least musically) childhood haunts me again. I never heard Graceland nor all the hoopla(well deserved) about it until I was introduced to it by an ex who like the rest of you listened to it as a young lass. If i remember right she wore it out the tape three times.

Thanks for this though. This is a great song and it makes me remember my ex both for the song and the covering artist.

Ahhh, yes the Graceland album was a big road trip favorite for my family as well. Another biggy for my dad that I suspect wasn't quite as popular was Bob Seger's Nine Tonight Live album. I can still feel the rush of air over my hand out the window when I hear songs off either of those albums. The Casiotone version is fun. Obviously lacking in the intense energy and polyrhythms of the original, but yet it does have a certain honesty that I like.