Dec 232010
 

Over the past few weeks, artists have been unleashing a blizzard of Christmas covers. From live tapings to unexpected albums, these holiday presents came in all shapes and sizes. We kept up as best we could (see ‘em all here), but so many came in we couldn’t possibly post them all. So instead, we collected our favorite Christmas covers from this year in a special mixtape.

This 60-minute tape, which you can download or stream below, mixes the classics with the obscure. It includes refreshingly original covers of famous hymns and unexpected runs through buried nuggets. It finds indie up-and-comers mingling with longtime favorites. Continue reading »

Dec 232010
 

They Say It’s Your Birthday celebrates an artist’s special day with other people singing his or her songs. Let others do the work for a while. Happy birthday!

Some time ago, a rugged, righteous man made his presence known to the world. He had a great respect for certain past traditions, but also some funny ideas about how to move forward. And let’s not forget his wicked beard. He’s influenced western culture more than anyone would’ve first imagined, and people now worship him as an icon and maybe even a savior. His name is revered far and wide: Eddie Vedder.

Yes, the celebrated grunge/alt. rock trailblazer and Pearl Jam founder, born Edward Louis Severson III, turns 46 today, and we thought we’d celebrate with some pretty great covers that span his entire body of work. Continue reading »

Dec 222010
 

Live Collection brings together every live cover we can find from an artist. And we find a lot.

Hailing from the barren Canadian wilderness – make that the suburbs of Toronto – the Cowboy Junkies have come a long way in the 25 years since they formed. Clichéd though it may be, they recorded their first album, 1986’s Whites Off Earth Now!, in an actual garage. The band, consisting of the three Timmins and a friend on bass, have always featured cover tunes as an essential part of their repertoire, from the blues tracks on Whites, to their breakthrough version of The Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane”, to their upcoming collection of Vic Chesnutt covers.

For the latest edition of the Live Collection, we sifted through the Live Music Archive to bring you a set that spans the Junkies’ entire career (right up to a Chesnutt cover from October). Dedicated fans may not gasp at the song selection; the band does not throw in novelty “Like A Virgin” or “Run To The Hills” covers. Instead, they honor more obvious influences such as Townes Van Zandt, Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young. However, the casual listener who only knows the band through their one platinum album (1988’s The Trinity Session) may not expect the darkness of “State Trooper” or the foreboding of Robert Johnson’s “32-20 Blues”. Continue reading »

Dec 222010
 

With little fanfare, Robyn Hitchcock released a set of unheard covers to stream on his website yesterday. The former Soft Boy sticks with obvious influences like George Harrison and Bob Dylan on the untitled set, but the song selections themselves often surprise. For Harrison, he chose “Be Here Now” from Living in the Material World. For Dylan, “Copper Kettle,” off Self Portrait, the album that garnered perhaps the most famous record review in rock history (Greil Marcus: “What is this shit?”). Continue reading »

Dec 222010
 

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

“Karma Police” serves as the centerpiece of Radiohead’s 1997 classic, OK Computer. The beginning tracks of OK Computer find Radiohead at their most experimental to that point. From the shape-shifting “Paranoid Android” to the slow burn of “Exit Music (For A Film),” these otherworldly melodies embody the theme of disillusionment that runs through the album.

The opening notes of “Karma Police,” however, hit with a directness and simplicity that immediately leaps out. Thom Yorke’s voice weaves effortlessly through the chord changes, hardly rising above a whisper when he sings, “This is what you’ll get / when you mess with us.” It’s a remarkable moment when the song’s quiet intensity finally bursts in the second half, Yorke’s disdain turning into something that sounds an awful lot like optimism and warmth. Continue reading »

Dec 222010
 

You’ve heard the melodies a million times. Every mall in America has been piping these schlocky standards for weeks now. The sounds on today’s cover would fit right in at Macy’s or Target. The moment the horn intro hits on “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” you reach for your “Next” button. But wait, what’s this? Head like a hole? Black as my soul? These don’t sound like the lyrics you learned in elementary school! Continue reading »