British ukulele player Sophie Madeleine knows the reach of a YouTube cover. Released two years ago, her bedroom cover of Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” has garnered over 200,000 views and earned her props from musicians like Ingrid Michaelson. So to promote her upcoming album The Rhythm You Started, she is leading up to the July 25th release date with a cover a day. Continue reading »
It’s Darwin Deez week on Cover Me! A few days ago, we heard him cover the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Scar Tissue.” Now he’s back, but the group’s moved from Australia to Lincolnshire, England for the BBC’s Live Lounge college tour at Lincoln University. Deez also played a solo two song set that included a “secret cover.”
The DJs asked why Deez chose Katy Perry‘s “Teenage Dream” as the cover (whoops, secret’s out). He told them he admired the songwriters, Dr. Luke and Max Martin—hit-writers for *NSYNC, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, Pink and others. Interestingly, it wasn’t their songs he admired, but their methods. Dr. Luke and Max Martin write songs in groups of four or five, whereas Deez writes his material without collaborators. One of the DJs commented that Deez wrote songs with heart while Dr. Luke and Max Martin wrote songs with computers. It was a nice compliment. Or a subtle dig. Hard to tell. Continue reading »
Darwin Deez, the man and the band, started making waves in the UK in late 2009 and embarked on a world tour this year. During an interview on Australia’s Triple J radio, Deez described his music as “alternative, homemade indie pop.” He then launched into a bit praising the perks of his first tour, many of which are a little too spicy for a family publication like Cover Me (so listen here).
The group originally planned to cover “Stronger” by Kanye West, but scrapped it (a bummer, since it’s always interesting to see how artists interpret Mr. West’s songs). Deez offered no reason for the change, choosing “Scar Tissue” as the replacement simply because he’s “in a Red Hot Chili Peppers phase.” The band’s cover was faithful to the original other than a lyrical change to reference the Anthony Kiedis-Dave Navarro kiss in the Peppers’ “Warped” video. Continue reading »