Rachel McFarland

Rachel has lived in various places around the US including Boston, New York, and the Midwest, but now calls sunny Santa Monica, CA home. When she's not posting beach pictures on Instagram to her east coast friends during their winter snowstorms, she enjoys listening to music, going to shows, attempting to play piano and guitar (but really just making her neighbors wish they weren't her neighbors), and writing for music blogs. You can find her blog at www.imnotsleeping.net and on twitter at @imnotsleeping

Oct 082013
 

What do a pop icon and a Scottish synthpop band have in common? As it turns out, a lot.

CHVRCHES recently turned their attention to Whitney Houston’s girls-night-out anthem “It’s Not Right, But It’s OK” creating a cover that would be as at home in a club as the original version was. It’s impossible to match Ms. Houston’s vocals, so Lauren Mayberry keeps her vocals fairly even keeled, allowing the heavy synth and industrial background to push the cover. It all results in the revelation that today’s retro synth sounds have an old pal in some past club tunes. What’s next, YACHT covers C&C Music Factory? Continue reading »

Sep 252013
 

The A.V. Club’s Undercover series has spawned some interesting covers this year, most notably the Night Beds’ cover of Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own.” When Chicago band Disappears stopped by The A.V. Club recently, they initially hoped to create a unique cover of their own by trying to make “New Year’s Day” by U2 sound “more like a Disappears song.” After realizing this wasn’t quite working, they decided to take another approach. Continue reading »

Sep 092013
 

When Yuck entered the scene in 2011 with their self-titled debut album, Sonic Youth comparisons abounded thanks to the heavy guitar distortion abundant in their well crafted, catchy tunes. The band has recently gone through some turmoil due to the departure of frontman Daniel Blumberg, but that hasn’t stopped the rest of the band from forging forward. Continue reading »

Aug 302013
 

In terms of giant, anthemic songs that have come out in the last year, few are as in-your-face as Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive.” It’s a giant song with intensely dark undertones that get somewhat lost in the shuffle of the hugeness of the song itself – the electronic sounds, power vocals and action-movie beats. Continue reading »

Aug 272013
 

Tackling a beloved band like Radiohead for a cover is a big enough challenge. Add in that the cover is from an influential and esteemed album like OK Computer and it becomes downright treacherous. Sometimes, attempting to cover an old favorite in a new way is an especially daunting task. But sometimes, these unexpected covers are the best kind. Continue reading »