Jun 162016
 
heaven's jail

When Motörhead’s Lemmy Kilmister died, hard-rocking cover tributes poured in from the likes of Dave Grohl, Alice Cooper, and Slash. The covers tended to be a lot like Lemmy himself: loud, brash, unapologetic. Now, Brooklyn quartet Heaven’s Jail have paid tribute with a very different sort of cover. Spacey and haunting, their version of “Capricorn” ditches the huge riffs and slows things down – way down. Continue reading »

Apr 112016
 

In Memoriam pays tribute to those who have left this world, and the songs they left us to remember them by.

MerleHaggard

Merle Haggard died on April 6th, his 79th birthday. On another April 6th, eleven years earlier, he celebrated his birthday in Chicago, opening the spring run of Bob Dylan’s “Never Ending Tour.”

I don’t know what he did for most of that 66th birthday, but I do know how five minutes or so was spent. He was standing outside his tour bus, listening to a handful of Dylan obsessives sing “Happy Birthday” to him. I was one of them. Continue reading »

Sep 042015
 
motorhead

It’s hard to think of a band that epitomizes longevity like the Rolling Stones. Mick, Keith and the rest of the band have been rocking out and touring the world (including a tour they did this year) for over 50 years. That’s just insane, and not many bands can compete with that. Continue reading »

Jun 022015
 

ahistoryOriginally a one-off offshoot of 80s/90s indie stalwarts the Wedding Present, the Ukrainians bizarrely continue to exist, plowing their singular farrow, long after their parent band have become a distant nostalgic tear in the eye. With a mission statement of mingling western rock with eastern folk, and never straying far from that, the band has a history of liberally including the odd quirky cover in their repertoire, notably of the Smiths and the Sex Pistols. Now, the five grizzled individuals in the current lineup have decided to devote an entire album to cover versions. This was a project capable of falling flat or becoming parody; however, I am delighted to inform that, both on record and (especially) live, such is their fervor and dedication to their craft that A History of Rock Music in Ukrainian is a delight.
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Mar 272015
 

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

Lemmy has admitted to being more of a slot machine man than a poker one, but the Motorhead bassist knew which topic would make a better lyric (“when it comes to that sort of thing… you can’t really sing about spinning fruit”). “Ace of Spades,” his paean to gambling that sure sounds like it’s about more than your typical deck of cards, is his band’s signature work and the proto-speed metal song. Anyone can perform it and sound dynamic – even a bunch of plastic dolls.
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May 022014
 

French band Red Beans & Pepper Sauce serve up a treat here with a funky version of Motörhead’s iconic ‘Ace Of Spades’. And as usual with songs that are so ingrained in people’s minds, it’s always great to hear someone put a whole different spin on a song that you’ve probably heard a million times. Continue reading »