Mar 172017
 

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

mac

It may be hard to believe, but in Fleetwood Mac’s hugely successful career, they’ve only had one song go all the way to number one on America’s Top 100. That would be “Dreams,” the second single from 1977’s Rumours, and it saw Stevie Nicks running through the gamut of emotions after her breakup with Lindsey Buckingham, a subject she doesn’t even try to disguise. “Who am I to keep you down?” she asks at the start, before reminding him of the consequences of leaving her – he’ll be alone, trapped with his memories of her. But he’ll come through it all in the end, when (not if) the rain washes him clean. The backing is spare, with Mick Fleetwood and John McVie not just providing the rhythm but the musical focus, while Buckingham adds atmosphere with very occasional guitar flourishes. It all makes for beautiful uneasiness, and the song’s success was much deserved.
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Mar 132017
 
pure bathing culture

One of our favorite bands at last year’s Northside fest, Pure Bathing Culture are currently opening for a little band called Death Cab For Cutie. The kindred Pacific Northwest spirits are perfectly matched- Sarah Versprille’s voice is as distinctive and captivating as Ben Gibbard’s and Pure Bathing Culture as a whole possesses the same catchy, synth heavy, darkly optimistic stylings of their counterpart. It’s these qualities that provide for an effective cover in Elton John’s “Sacrifice.” Continue reading »

Mar 102017
 

Cover Classics takes a closer look at all-cover albums of the past, their genesis, and their legacy.

Scratch_My_Back

Until 2010’s Scratch My Back appeared, Peter Gabriel had been an artist more covered than covering – arguably a pity, given the cracked wistfulness of his croaky beauty. But I guess if you can write material of the quality and diversity that he has, why bother with someone else’s material? The problem was, Gabriel hadn’t been writing that kind of material – this was his first album in eight years.

So was Scratch My Back just, as covers projects can so often be, a stopgap sales pitch to keep his brand alive during a creative lull? Who knows? I think not and hope not, feeling this a deliberate if somewhat failed experiment on two levels. Flawed, maybe, rather than failed.
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Mar 082017
 
Man About a Horse

Radiohead songs work surprisingly well as bluegrass. Chris Thile’s Punch Brothers alone have covered “Kid A,” “Paranoid Android,” “Packt Like Sardines in a Crushed Tin Box,” “2+2=5,” and, with Sarah Jorosz, “The Tourist.” Then there’s one of those The Bluegrass Tribute To… albums saluting the band. And the latest killer Radio-grass cover comes from Philadelphia quintet Man About a Horse, tackling the very timely OK Computer track “Electioneering.” It’s the first single from their debut album out in May, and we’ve got the exclusive premiere below. Continue reading »

Mar 062017
 
postmodern jukebox caroline buran

Caroline Baran is an amazingly talented 15 year old singer who made her debut on old-timey covers series Postmodern Jukebox in 2016 singing Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time”. She was discovered during a Postmodern Jukebox competition, and boy what a discovery. Like a young Alicia Keys, Baran possesses an understanding of music that is far beyond her years. Coupled with a voice that is both technically and musically superb, Baran is a rare young talent, as evidenced in this gorgeous rendition of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters”. Continue reading »

Mar 032017
 

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!

robyn

There are people out there whose time in college was accompanied by a Robyn Hitchcock soundtrack. Back in the ’80s, when alternative/indie music was known as “college rock,” Hitchcock and his off-off-kilter music figured prominently. Those people who loved “Balloon Man” and “My Wife and My Dead Wife” would in all likelihood react very badly to the idea that the surrealist scamp who wrote those songs turns 64 years old today. If it’s any consolation, his songs, both solo and in collaboration with the Soft Boys and the Egyptians, remain as timeless and vital as ever.
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