Micah P. Hinson on The Beatles, Elvis and Leonard Cohen

This week, Micah P Hinson released his covers album ‘All Dressed Up And Smelling Of Strangers Volume 1 and 2’ via Full Time Hobby. Featuring his takes on classic songs such as The Beatles' 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps', Leonard Cohen's 'Suzanne' and Frank Sinatra's 'My Way', it's a stunning collection. Here, Micah himself explains exclusively to Gigwise why he picked each song the record:

Slow And Steady (originally by Pedro The Lion) - I was raised in a religious family, but when a dear friend of mine died in a strange car accident, I wasn't able to find a God anywhere who could help support my faulted spirit. Listening to David Bazan’s songs was probably the only thing that kept me connected to the idea of spirituality and the existence of a higher power.
 
This Old Guitar (originally by John Denver) - John Denver played an enormous part in my childhood. I remember being really young and getting my father to show me how the guitar picking patterns went.
 
Kiss Me Mother, Kiss Your Darling (originally by Letta C. Lord (lyricist) and George F. Root (composer)) - “This is the oldest American folk song I know. The words are sad and fascinating.”
 
Not Forever Now (originally by Centro-Matic) - My life changed forever when I heard Texas band Centro-Matic. It was something brand new. Something honest. True. Real. Rough. This song always stuck out to me because it was about complete and total failure and escape. It gives a person perspective, because in my day I have seen myself many a time sitting on the end of a hotel bed wondering what exactly the point was.
 
The Times They Are A Changin’ (originally by Bob Dylan) - It reminds me that nothing really has changed. I don't trust my government. I trust no government.
 
Suzanne (originally by Leonard Cohen) - I heard Mr. Leonard Cohen for the fist time when I was 19 years old. I had just been kicked out of university for some differences of opinion and I was slowly, but surely, pulling my life apart inch by inch. The sound of Mr. Cohen’s voice and message gave me some sense of hope in the desolate world I had built around myself. He spoke truths and I listened.
 
We Almost Had A Baby (originally by Emmy The Great) - Without getting into the grit of the bastard, I find the topic and words of this song to be very close to my heart. Emmy The Great's version is through the eyes of a woman. I thought, "Why not a man's eyes?

My Way (originally by Frank Sinatra) - It isn't a secret that my life has been a different one than most. All my bad mistakes and strange decisions, all the good, all the bad, all these things that makes me me. In the midst I would've traded my life for a dime, but now I can see the purpose of it all.

Sleepwalk (originally by Santo and Johnny) - It was one of the first songs that sounded like romance to me.
 
Runnin' Scared (originally by Roy Orbison) - Mr. Orbison's voice and songs are other-worldly. He was tapped into something different, something strange, something that not many people on this planet have possessed. His music hits me like a brick in the chest.
 
Stop The World (originally by Patsy Cline)  - Seems to me that a good population of people would have felt this way before.
 
Are You Lonesome Tonight? (originally by Elvis Presley) - I was born in a small hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, the reigning ground of the king.

In The Pines (originally by Leadbelly) - My father was born in a small town right outside Huntsville, Texas. Inside the city limits of Huntsville lies the state jail where Texas sends people to die by gas. This prison is where Leadbelly served time for killing a man, and was then released by then governor of Texas and given a full pardon because of a song he wrote.”

You Didn't Have To Be So Nice (originally by The Lovin' Spoonful) - “When my father was much younger, he was attending school here in Texas and would head down to Houston to see gigs. Of the amazing bands he saw, a few, to my young ears, stuck out: The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, Roy Orbison and The Lovin' Spoonful. I recall hearing this song when I was young and it had the same affect that ‘Sleepwalk’ did on me, but now the bastard had words. to my ears, the song sounded like pureness, innocence..
 
Listen To Me (originally by Buddy Holly) - It’s strange to think that at one point Mr. Holly's songs were seen as a close call to punk rock, while now they sound quite sweet, sincere, and kind in most regards. Again, this is just a connection I find with being from Texas. This land has birthed some of the most rigidly brilliant musicians.
 
While My Guitar Gently Weeps (originally by The Beatles) - I was asked by Mojo magazine to pick a song off the white album to cover for a CD they were doing. I turned the wrong one in by accident and it wasn’t used. Good thing, because it fits perfectly here.

Micah is currently on tour in Europe, please check his Myspace Page for full details