As I’m sure I’ve previously mentioned (though if not, certainly indicated by the weekly appearance of this feature), I’ve got massive love for cover songs. It’s a specific musical interest that stretches back many, many years, amassing a collection of artists recordings of others’ tunes, which I enjoyed sharing with friends long before the birth of the blogosphere.

Selecting only cover songs makes for a perfect mixtape, as such a thematic renders artist and genre nearly irrelevant. Tone and tenor can swing widely from track to track, if one so chooses, though I would still spend a great deal of time changing and rearranging tunes for maximum listening pleasure. 

When I first sat down to compile a few such mixtapes for friends (back in the days when the cassette was king), I took the title for my homemade series from a 1987 single by The Smiths: “Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before.”  

Twenty years would pass before a cover of the seminal Manchester band’s song appeared. For his second album, 2007’s Version, producer Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen) compiled his own modern mixtape, calling on his musician friends (like Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen). The all-covers affair featured songs first made famous by Coldplay, Britney Spears, Kaiser Chiefs, Radiohead, and others.

The set’s first single was “Stop Me,” a mashup which brilliantly knitted The Smiths’ “Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One before” with The Supremes’ “You Keep Me Hanging On.” Aussie singer-songwriter Daniel Merriweather handled vocal duties, and though some Smiths purists cried foul at what they considered total sacrilege, both Morrissey and Johnny Marr gave Ronson & Co.’s cover their blessing. I can understand why. Hear here:

Purchase Mark Ronson feat. Daniel Merriweather – “Stop Me” via iTunes, Amazon MP3 (where Version is just $5, today only).