HearSay's been thinking about how difficult hitting the big time is for local artists. But there's an answer -- cover songs!

Here are some gigantic pop numbers that your columnist's favorite local artists should cover. The choices are obvious but we bet you're gonna like 'em.

Let's start with former Brasco frontman Kevin Aldridge. With his I-don't-give-a-shit demeanor, hair-metal lineage, and ability to send his voice through the rafters, he's the perfect match for "Magic Power," Triumph's beautiful up-tempo and upbeat paean to music's transcendental attributes. ("I'm young now / I'm wild now / I long to be free / I got the magic power of the music in me.") A perfect complement to the yokel's hard-rocking side, "Magic Power" delivers the hope that the ever-despondent Aldridge knows is buried deep inside him. Warm and fuzzy, indeed.

Here's another: Collin Herring doing Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City." It's a match made in South Jersey. The song -- consisting of merely the Boss, his acoustic guitar, and his harp -- perfectly encapsulates Herring's desperation. "Now I been looking for a job, but it's hard to find / Down here it's just winners and losers and don't get caught on the wrong side of that line, well / I'm tired of coming out on that losing end / So, honey, last night I met this guy, and I'm gonna do a little favor for him."

Here are some others. Tim Locke on Bruce Hornsby's "Mandolin Rain." ("Boat steaming in / Oh, watch the sidewheels spin, and I think about her when / I hear that whistle blow / I can't change my mind / Oh, 'cause I knew all the time that she'd go / But that's a choice I made long ago.") Locke's the only one with pipes solid enough to pull this off. Now Spoonfed Tribe, they could deliver a kick-ass, soul-shaking rendition of John Lennon's "Instant Karma." "Imaginary Friend" by the Lemonheads would make wonderful sense coming from John Price. Same with "Mornin'" by Al Jarreau and "September" by Earth, Wind, and Fire out of Nathan Brown's R&B.

HearSay can hear those platinum records wheelin' 'round the corner already!

It's (finally) official: Chanteuse Lauren Fine will release her long-awaited Todd and Toby Pipes-produced debut full-length in July, with a show and party on Friday the 23rd at the Wreck Room with The Chemistry Set, who's also planning to have a new c.d. out in time for the gig. ... Texas music still baffles everyone, including yours truly. Is it only music made by Texas artists? Why then don't songs come with birth certificates? Or could it be only music about this great state? Then where is the line drawn between a prairie in Marfa and one in, say, Albuquerque? Anyhoo, 90.1-FM/KERA will do its best to help define some boundaries -- 'cause, ya know, so much is at stake. Starting July 3, the weekly series, "Texas Music Minutes," will air Saturdays at 8:06 p.m. and will run for approximately two minutes. Programming director Abby Goldstein and jump-blues master James Hinkle will alternate as hosts. If anyone can help, it's probably those two.