Photo by Macappsaddict / by BY-NC-SA 2.0

I used to make mixed tapes for friends, actual tapes, which is one of those signs that I’ve been on the planet longer than a steadily growing percentage of the population. I make mixed CDs now and don’t even own a tape player, which means I won’t be listening to the recordings of my 6th grade band concert any time soon.

Sometimes I get high-concept ideas for CD mixes, like a mix of songs that track the progress of my life. Or a CD where all the tracks are covers of the same song. My latest concept is “Same Name, Different Song” which consists of songs that have the same name but aren’t covers, just totally different songs. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:

Forever Young – Rod Stewart

Forever Young – Alphaville (Though I personally prefer the Youth Group cover)

Breathe – Erasure

Breathe – Sixpence None the Richer

Breathe – Jane French (The theme from “Passions” oh how I miss you)

Breathe – Maria McKee

Photograph – Weezer

Photograph – REM feat. Natalie [...]

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The book cover for Chocolate & Vicodin: My Quest for Relief from the Headache that Wouldn’t Go Away appeared on Amazon.com yesterday, so I guess that’s a sign that it’s time to unveil it on the blog:

Please, resist the urge to lick your screen. I hear computers are dirtier than public restrooms because people rarely clean their monitors. I would hate for you to catch an infection because my book cover looked so delectable. Mmmmm, cupcake. Chocolate cupcake. With pills!

I first saw the cover concept for Chocolate & Vicodin at the end of March 2010, long before the final text of the book was completed, which is sort of odd and slightly scary since it’s like taking your wedding photos before you’ve met your groom. However, the cover is needed for placement in the sales catalog the publisher puts together each season to pitch their books to booksellers. Thus, it’s usually created before the book is complete to give booksellers enough lead time to place their orders.

I immediately loved the cover because, really, what formerly [...]

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