PRESENTING… The Big 0-3: Three Years of Cover Me

 Posted by at 4:00 pm  6 Responses »
Oct 292010
 

You’ve probably seen our birthday tributes to the likes of Tom Petty, Snoop Dogg, and Madonna. Well, today, they say it’s our birthday. We’re gonna have a good time. In fact, we’ve already begun celebrating. This morning we enjoyed a Schoolhouse Rock Song of the Day. We offered up a new vinyl giveaway. We even re-posted our very first post (covers of songs off John Wesley Harding). But this is the big one.

We contacted a bunch of artists we’ve worked with in the past – terrifically talented folk who have all played a role in Cover Me’s history. We asked them to record birthday-themed cover songs for a special three-year celebration album. Find the fruits of their labor below. Eleven brand-new covers of birthday songs both famous (“It’s My Party”) and obscure (“Birthday Boy”), all recorded just for the occasion. You can download high-quality MP3s individually below or the full set (plus a bonus track!) way down at the bottom. Each artist shared their thoughts on the song they chose, so be sure to read those. Continue reading »

Repost: John Wesley Harding Covered

 Posted by at 1:00 pm  2 Responses »
Oct 292010
 

The following post first went up on October 29, 2007. To celebrate our third birthday, we are re-posting it for the first time with new MP3 links. These songs will only be live for 48 hours, so snag them now!

First off, welcome to Cover Me, my own foray into the world of cover blogs. I’ll be posting a new set of covers every week, usually on a theme, with other stuff probably cropping up. They will stay available to download for a month, at which point they will vanish like the wind. So keep this blog bookmarked, and also check out the other great blogs in the Links on the right. If you like what you see or have a suggestion, drop a comment or shoot me a line.

For the first segment, in honor of the soundtrack to the movie I’m Not There, which came out yesterday, we’re gonna hit you up with some Dylan covers. Specifically, every song from his return-to-roots ’67 album John Wesley Harding. The original shocked everyone with its acoustic instruments, Biblical imagery, straightforward story-songs, and lack of choruses. These short, spare songs have lent themselves to loads of covers over the years, many quite different from the originals. Continue reading »

Giveaway: Win a Purple 7″ of Mini Mansions Singing Blondie’s “Heart of Glass”

 Posted by at 11:00 am  48 Responses »
Oct 292010
 

At Cover Me, we like to give stuff away. Read on to learn how that stuff can be yours.

When Queens of the Stone Age took a break in 2009, bass player Michael Shuman wasted no time finding a new musical endeavor. Shuman called up a few Los Angeles buddies and psychedelic pop trio Mini Mansions was born.

Mini Mansions released a nine-song EP in 2009 and are now gearing up for the release of their self-titled debut on November 2. The vinyl version of the album’s lead single “Monk” features a B-side cover of Blondie‘s 1979 new-wave smash “Heart of Glass.” Shuman told us about why he chose the tune: Continue reading »

Song of the Day: Blind Melon, “Three Is a Magic Number” (Schoolhouse Rock)

 Posted by at 9:30 am  1 Response »
Oct 292010
 

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

Happy birthday Cover Me! Today marks three years since we began and we’ve got a full day of celebrations planned. We’ve got stuff to give away, Full Album posts to offer, and a very special surprise to top things off this afternoon. We’ll start things off with today’s special number: Three!

This one’s off the terrific Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks tribute album. It features such off-the-wall picks as Daniel Johnston covering “Unpack Your Adjectives,” Ween telling us about “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World,” and Biz Markie rocking “The Energy Blues.” Continue reading »

Five Good Covers: “Take On Me” (A-ha)

 Posted by at 3:00 pm  9 Responses »
Oct 282010
 

Five Good Covers presents five cross-genre reinterpretations of an oft-covered song.

Back in the ’80s, there seemed to be a formula for becoming a one-hit-wonder. Write an insanely catchy pop-song, deliver a visually interesting music video and get that video thrown into heavy rotation on MTV. The Norwegian trio A-ha nailed that formula with smash hit “Take On Me.”

The synthpop swing of the tune first made waves overseas before topping the U.S. Billboard charts in 1985. While it’s definitely a perfectly fitting song for the era, the majority of its popularity was due to the cutting-edge music video. The video combined pencil-sketch animation with live-action to create a comic book coming to life. It still stands as one of the iconic videos of early MTV. Check out this recent Family Guy, where they spoof the video by having Chris Griffin get trapped in A-ha’s world. Continue reading »

Submission Roundup: October

 Posted by at 1:00 pm  2 Responses »
Oct 282010
 

You all submit so many great covers it’s hard to keep up. When we fall behind, we gather the best and brightest in a Submission Roundup.

It’s that time once again. The proverbial mailbox is bursting with great submissions worthy of a feature, but there’re just too many! So, with less fanfare than they deserve, we round up all the submissions we didn’t get a chance to post this month. Thanks to all the artists for sharing their gifts. Enjoy. Tell us your favorite in the comments!

Do you have something to submit? Send it along here! Continue reading »

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