Every year, I try to get the independent musician and basement performer communities together for a “competition” called Coverville Idol. It’s a chance to have some fun, hastily hammer together a cover of a song, and send it to me to air on Coverville. In the past, we’ve had some celebrity judges from other podcasts, and allowed the Coverville Community to vote.

This time around, I decided to tackle a more personal path for the theme of Idol: Music from the band Squeeze. For 20 years, the band Squeeze was a pioneer in introducing British pop music and new wave to American audiences. Standing at the core of their ever-changing lineup were Chris Difford and Glenn Tillbrook, a songwriting pair that was often compared to Lennon & McCartney in terms of storytelling ability and grasp of the melody. Through 13 studio albums, and countless b-sides and side projects, the band produced a staggering amount of music, familiar to anyone within earshot of an FM radio in the late 70’s, 80’s, and early 90’s:

Goodbye Girl
Cool For Cats (which was recently included in the video game Rock Band 2)
Up The Junction
Tempted
Black Coffee In Bed
Hourglass
Everything In The World
Loving You Tonight
Some Fantastic Place

I picked Squeeze for two reasons. Number one, selfishly, they’re my favorite band. I’ve been following their music since 1980, when my uncle made a cassette copy of Cool For Cats, which I overplayed on my Walkman and stretched to unplayability. I’ve been a fan through their many lineups, their breakups, and their solo work. The second reason is that even with all those hits under their belt, there’s never been a tribute cover album made with their music. And it’s a glimmer of hope that if I can get some great reinterpretations of Squeeze’s music via Coverville Idol, I could produce a Squeeze Tribute Album.

I’ll be making some announcements over the next few episodes about guest judges (as The Bitterest Pill’s Dan Klass is a huge Squeeze fan, I’ll definitely try and tap him for this project), and prizes, including that rare vinyl copy of Squeeze’s first EP: “Packet Of Three”.

If you’re familiar with the band, you probably have a favorite in mind. If not, visit iTunes, and listen to some song samples and see what catches your fancy – or meets your performing style. Most of all, have fun! I can’t wait to hear what comes through.

The entry deadline is December 1st, 2008 – so you’ve got a little over a month!