Song of the Day: Five Iron Frenzy, “Sweet Talkin’ Woman”

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Jun 232010
 

Song of the Day posts one cool cover every morning. Catch up on past installments here.

Electric Light Orchestra gets no love. Sure, in some ways they embodied everyone wrong with popular music at the end of the ‘70s, but come on, “Mr. Blue Sky” is so catchy! Catchy enough that Randy Newman wrote an only-slightly-mocking tribute to the band (who, fun fact, hold the record for the most U.S. Top 40 hits without ever hitting #1).

Five Iron Frenzy loves ELO though. The ska “Sweet Talkin’ Woman” cover on their Quantity Is Job 1 EP displays nothing but feel-good affection. The horns and peppy backing vocals show why for eight years this Denver octet was one of the most unabashedly fun (and funny) ska bands. They’ve also covered “It’s Not Unusual” and “Mama Mia,” so don’t say that Christian musicians never have a sense of humor.
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Janelle Monáe Lets It Rip on Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile”

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Jun 222010
 

If you’re going to cover a song that’s been performed by Stevie Wonder, Josh Groban, Diana Ross, and Judy Garland, you better be pretty confident of your vocal prowess. Janelle Monáe has the pipes to back up the swagger and her run through Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile,” from his classic Modern Times, redefines soaring.

Universal acclaim greeted Monáe’s new album The ArchAndroid when it dropped last month. It melds genres seamlessly, transitioning from funk to electro to pop without you even noticing. It’s one of the best albums of the year so far and her fiery performance on David Letterman proves she’s a talent who’ll stick around.
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Review: Broken Hearts and Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine

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Jun 222010
 

The amazing thing about this album is that it didn’t come sooner. An indie-Americana tribute to country/folk songwriter John Prine seems so inevitable. He may never have become a household name, but anyone who ever recorded a song with steel guitar or mandolin knows Prine. With bands like My Morning Jacket and the Avett Brothers spearheading an alt-country revival, Prine’s slyly sarcastic songs about love and life are due a second showing.

The artists who appear on Broken Hearts and Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine comprise a who’s-who of young folk/Americana bands, but these obvious admirers choose some very non-obvious tracks. The usual-suspect songs are largely missing in action. No “Paradise,” no “Sam Stone,” no “Illegal Smile.” The only no-duh selection is “Angel from Montgomery,” one of four songs from Prine’s self-titled debut. The rest span the gamut, dusting off tunes from the ‘80s and ‘90s alongside the canonical ‘70s material.
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Song of the Day: Catherine A.D., “The Wolves (Act I and II)”

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Jun 222010
 

Song of the Day posts one cool cover every morning. Catch up on past installments here.

Bon Iver seems impossible to cover. His recordings rely so heavily on those multi-tracked harmonies that you’d expect the songs to crumble without them. They don’t. Peter Gabriel proved that to the masses a few months ago with his version of “Flume” (Bon Iver responded with “Come Talk to Me”). Covers of the nine songs on his acclaimed debut For Emma, Forever Ago have bubbled up continuously since its 2007 release. I could practically do a Full Albums feature on it already. If I did, today’s cover would most certainly be on it.

Last week I was extolling the virtues of Bandcamp in helping me discover Jump Back Jake. Well chalk up another Bandcamp victory, because without the site I never would have heard Catherine A.D. Her version of Bon Iver’s “The Wolves (Act I and II)” is stunning, a delicate weep-inducer. She keeps some of those multi-tracked vocals, then strips it back to just piano. This band-and-forth tension keeps you riveted for the entirety. It’s off her In the Bleak Midwinter EP, which includes equally fantastic covers of Friendly Fires, Fleetwood Mac, and the Magnetic Fields.
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Under the Radar: Samm Bennett

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Jun 212010
 

Under the Radar shines a light on lesser-known cover artists. If you’re not listening to these folks, you should.

I’d never heard of Samm Bennett until he posted a link on Cover Me’s Facebook page (moral: submit your stuff). The sights and sounds that greeted me at his YouTube page knocked me out. The song was Elvis’ early hit “All Shook Up,” twisted to a form both familiar and unsettling. Over a sludge-guitar riff, Bennett gestures and jerks like a homeless guy at the subway station. If Tim Burton made an Elvis biopic with the guy who directed I’m Not There, it might look like this.

A little exploring led to two more gems, both equally well conceived, recorded, and produced. His version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” does the impossible: it reinvents the most clichéd cover ever. Bennett does so by tossing out the original melody entirely, singing a tune you’re only half sure he planned in advance. Finally, there’s “I’m Waiting for the Man.” This cover stays slightly more faithful, to the extent that a Velvet Underground song played with a two-string cigar box guitar and jawharp can.

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Levi’s Pioneer Sessions: Jason Mraz, Bomba Estereo, The Shins, Colbie Caillat

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Jun 212010
 

We last checked in with the Levi’s Pioneer Sessions a few weeks ago, but it’s kept on rolling along since. We’ve heard She & Him go ‘30s, the Swell Season go disco, Nas go rap royalty, and the Dirty Projectors go Dylan. Well it’s about time to update that list. Four new artists, four new covers. Video and audio for each below.

Jason Mraz offers the most recent submission. He brings a full gospel choir to “Spirit in the Sky,” chosen apparently for its ability to make a friend dance. As good a reason as any I suppose. Before then Columbian electro-pop band brought some south-of-the-border rhythms in a bilingual cover of “Pump Up the Jam,” which fans of a certain will remember from Space Jam. The Shins go all moody-pop on Squeeze’s “Goodbye Girl” while Colbie Caillat belts out Blondie’s “Maria.”
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