"Oh, it was gorgeosity and yummy yum yum."

I've been listening to loads of Rome over the past few days (which is fantastic and will likely be getting some coverage here soon), and I've been driven nearly bonkers trying to figure out whose voice Rome main man Jerome Reuter reminds me of. While making some late night tea, it finally struck me: Gavin Friday. The same earthen, leathery tone that some might mistake for world-weariness, but more likely simply comes from a lifetime of fine scotch appreciation. Fossil-goth Virgin Prunes fans should definitely seek out any of his three solo records if they haven't already done so.

Speaking of Gavin, I could've sworn I posted his recent oddball cover of "Singin' In The Rain" on IEI, but some quick scanning suggests otherwise. So: Gavin was contracted by Lemon, a fancy-pants design and culture mag, to record a cover of the standard in conjunction with a special issue dedicated to the work of Stanley Kubrick (on the million to one chance that there's anyone reading an industrial blog who hasn't seen "A Clockwork Orange", the song's used in a particularly harrowing scene in that film). Lemon released the song on, of all things, a flexidisc in the Kubrick issue. If I wasn't already plunking down $9 for the cover with Leelee Sobieski holding an axe, the sheer weirdness of a Gavin Friday flexi sold me on the mag. A copy once hosted on Lemon's site has since disappeared, but Your Humble Narrator retained and offers it now.

Gavin turns in a quirky version that places his voice front and center amidst softly cooed oohs and aahs, which somehow manages to quell menacing images of Alex DeLarge amidst the cooling spring drizzle. Pop a couple vellocets and enjoy.

Gavin Friday, "Singin' In The Rain"