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

Andy Warhol’s vision of the perfect rock band, The Velvet Underground wrote the book on cool. With Nico, their aloof European vocalist, and the dark lyrics of Lou Reed, they were fixtures in Warhol’s Factory scene. When Warhol suggested that Reed should write a song about fellow Factory scenestress Edie Sedgwick, youthquaker, socialite, and all-around trouble with a capital T, Reed asked what kind of song. Warhol said, “Oh, don’t you think she’s a femme fatale, Lou?” Of such conversations are deathless works of art made. Continue reading »

As we pointed out last week, the season of Christmas covers is heavily upon us. So far, the standout entries come from modern-day girl groups (sorry, Susan Boyle). Girl in a Coma, The Puppini Sisters, and Sea of Bees have all delivered beautiful Christmas covers, sounding like indie updates on Andrews Sisters harmonies. Check ‘em out below.

Joan Jett-signees Girl in a Coma bring some Texas punk swagger to Elvis’ “Blue Christmas,” sounding not particularly distraught about their man leaving. It comes off the Blackheart Christmas compilation. The Puppini Sisters’ version of Wham!’s “Last Christmas” swings along more traditionally, with grand pop production that would sound dated in less capable hands. If you like that trio sound, check out Christmas with the Puppini Sisters. Sea of Bees is actually only one girl – Julie Ann Bee – but she layers her vocals plenty thick on “Feliz Navidad.” Proceeds from the single (which you can buy on iTunes) go to The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention group for LGBTQ youth. Continue reading »

Just a couple weeks ago we introduced you to the cover stylings of Girl in a Coma. This Texas trio may fly under the radar for now, but they’ve got some big-time buddies by their side. Joan Jett signed the girls and Morrissey snagged them to open a tour. Now they have a new famous friend: director Robert Rodriguez. The Mariachi-violence movie man directed the girls’ latest video, for a cover of David Bowie’s “As the World Falls Down.”

Unfortunately, the Labyrinth cut doesn’t get the Sin City/Planet Terror/Machete treatment. It’s more jerky concert footage. The shots jump around like they’re renting each camera by the minute. Still, it’s a good cover, and hopefully the Rodriguez tie-in will give these gals another boost. Continue reading »

Song of the Day posts one cool cover every morning. Catch up on past installments here.

Put Girl in a Coma’s Adventures in Coverland series on your must-buy covers shortlist (you do have such a list, right?). See, the whole thing is a game to promote the band’s final show in San Antonio. You buy all three volumes on vinyl or iTunes and fit together the covers to make a game board. I’m unclear on the rest exactly, but it’s a neat concept!

The last song of the series goes back to rock and roll pioneer Ritchie Valens, who had a string of hits in the ‘50s before dying in the same plane crash that took Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper (“the day the music died”). “Come On, Let’s Go” was one of his first singles, and one of the best. Continue reading »

© 2012 Cover Me. All rights reserved. Creative Commons License About | Contact | Staff | Subscribe | Write For Us Suffusion WordPress theme by Sayontan Sinha