Aug 242012
 

Every digital-age music aficionado is familiar with the “pay what you can” concept that many indie bands are utilizing to get their music out there (and hopefully get paid to do so.) The Good Natured decided to try a different approach when offering their rendition of Fine Young Cannibals‘ 1989 chart-topper “She Drives Me Crazy” – for just a tweet, you get a free download of the tune. If you haven’t fallen in love with U.K. based The Good Natured, be prepared to do so once you listen to this cover. Continue reading »

Aug 232012
 

For many, the phrase “UK’s finest” in terms of music may call to mind iconic acts such as The Beatles or The Rolling Stones. Lead singer of The Killers, Brandon Flowers, had a different band in mind as he introduced a cover of Oasis‘s “Don’t Look Back in Anger” during their set at V Festival. Continue reading »

Aug 232012
 

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Deep Purple’s hard rock classic Machine Head. In recognition of Deep Purple’s influence some of rock music’s biggest names have contributed a version of their favorite track from the album for a tribute. The result is Re-Machined: A Tribute To Deep Purple’s Machine Head.  There are two very differing versions of the album’s most famous track “Smoke On The Water”, one from guitar legend Carlos Santana with vocals by Jacoby Shaddix and one from alternative rockers The Flaming Lips. Continue reading »

Aug 232012
 

Fleetwood Mac is not easy to pigeonhole. Part of this is due to their talent and timelessness; more significantly, the band’s leader and line-up has changed 3 times over, taking the band from its incarnation with Peter Green at the helm as one of the fiercest English-blues bands on the scene, to a more adolescent stage with Bob Welch steering and producing hippie-of-the-times songs, to its final incarnation in which the ferocious duo of Buckingham and Nicks turned Fleetwod Mac into what it has now been hallmarked as. Point is, the band is more than Nicks and Buckingham, and the hope is that any Fleetwood Mac tribute album would duly recognize the band’s colorful history with remarkable covers that are juxtaposed in a way that reflect the unique unfurling of the band’s growth and self-discovery. Continue reading »

Aug 212012
 

Over the past three decades, Bill Fay was, as he refers to it now, “deleted.” His albums went out-of-print; his music was forgotten by the very few who knew it in the first place, and his legacy seemed destined for the 25-cent bargain bin.

It’s a good narrative, and it’s mostly true. One group, though, never forgot Fay. Like-minded musicians twenty years his junior carried the torch throughout his absence with covers and shout-outs. Jeff Tweedy and Wilco led the pack, covering “Be Not so Fearful” in concert regularly over the years, even once dragging the reclusive Fay himself onstage. Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus titled a song “Bill Fay” (though he later changed it to “Share the Red”). Continue reading »

Aug 212012
 

The Desaparecidos are currently on tour with the remaining dates focusing on the west coast where they will eventually playing FYF Fest. If you aren’t familiar with the band, this is yet another project of Conor Oberst’s, who is most notably known for Bright Eyes. However, consider this band an antithesis of that– it’s far less confessional and more focused on creating energy reminiscent of post-hardcore sounds. The band began their tour in Minneapolis, where someone managed to tape a decent video of the band covering “Spanish Bombs” by The Clash for their first encore song. Continue reading »