Ever since I can remember, I've been a huge fan of The Beatles. In fact, I remember catching a lot of heat for wearing a "Let it Be" T-shirt to middle school over and over again. I loved them so much, I was willing to put my social reputation on the line and go against the grain of Nirvana era folks. 

While I truly believe that the original versions of The Beatles classics can’t be beat, there have been some covers over the years that do the original’s justice.

You may certainly not agree with my picks (I was wrong once), but here is a list of five cover songs that absolutely rocked my socks off.

Bret, Jemaine and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra rock out the St. Louis crowd at the Fox Theater April 30, 2009. Photo courtesy of the Official Flight of the Conchords MySpace page. 

Last night, I had the pleasure of going to the sold out show at the fabulous Fox Theater to see HBO's folk comedy wonders from New Zealand, Flight of the Conchords.

Having been a fan since the first season of the show, I was amped for the concert and couldn't wait to see if their personalities were as naive and dry as portrayed on their show. Turns out, Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement were some of the wittiest performers I've witnessed in my day.

I don't know what it is lately, but I'm on a search for hidden treasure. The Goodwill proved to have a few good finds, and recently I took a stab at South County's Antique Mall to see what they had to offer.

Aside from the heaps of aged useless items that I can't even believe the antique mall would buy with the honest intention of resale (taxidermy pieces), there is nostalgia to be had while surfing the second-hand filled booths and cases.

Items that your great grandparents, grandparents and parents likely grew up with fill the building, as well as a few picks from the 80's and 90's (I actually saw the 1997 movie Liar Liar in a showcase for $5.00. Seems too soon, doesn't it?) 

I was driving down highway 55 today and aside from the usual odds, ends, freaks and geeks I usually see on the road (nose picking included), I saw a car completely hand painted with creepy clowns. It wasn't a promotional car either - I think this guy just really liked clowns and wanted to set himself apart from others on the road. 

Excuse me for asking, but what would compel someone to depreciate the value of their car by painting clowns on it? Do they also realize by doing so they've basically put a target on their backs for law enforcement? They'll see you a mile away! 

As soon as I got home from my drive, I searched the web to see if this clown car guy had any local postings of his car up. Sadly, I couldn't find anything, but I had a great time checking out all sorts of different "art cars" around the world. 

Here are some really neat art cars that I compiled from my web searches: 

This car was spotted in Minnesota. Turtle Power! Photo by William Wesen.

They say another man’s trash is another man’s treasure.  When it comes to the Goodwill, I always believed the reputation that it was just a place for other people’s trash (I’ve been known to donate a few useless items during spring cleaning), so I never gave it much of a chance when it came to my need for retail therapy.

Well the times, they are a-changin', so I set out to see if the local Goodwill could fulfill my shopping bug on the cheap and if anything, provide a little entertainment by scanning the hodgepodge.

Boy, was there good, bad, and just plain u-g-l-y!

Armed with my camera phone, I snapped away items that I couldn’t believe I found.