Last we heard from Matt Nathanson, he was covering the Mountain Goats. A good tune, but hardly a stretch for the Massachusetts songwriter. Taking on Prince’s “Little Red Corvette,” though, shows a much bigger leap…and delivers a much bigger payoff. Armed with only two acoustic guitars, he and bandmate Aaron Tap strum along for a delicate strip-down of the funk classic. Continue reading »

Jul 082011

Live Collection brings together every live cover version we can find from a prolific artist.

Warren Zevon had paid his dues for years before his self-titled 1976 release would finally get him a fair amount of critical attention and a modest amount of airplay. In his first pass through L.A. he was a session musician and jingle writer, penned a few songs for the Turtles and released a forgettable solo debut in 1970. Then he spent a couple years on the road with the Everly Brothers, both together with Phil and Don and then with each of them solo, like a child of a divorce custody battle, as the brothers were beginning their estrangement. A self-imposed exile in Spain would follow and when Zevon returned to L.A. in late 1975, his pal Jackson Browne was there to help him get a record deal. Zevon had some things in common with his laid-back Asylum label contemporaries, but what separated his music from Browne, Linda Ronstadt and the Eagles was his ability to write caustic and satirical songs about unconventional people often in awkward situations. Continue reading »

In a display of the power of the Internet, a homeless Denver musician has earned hundreds of thousands of views for his new cover of Prince and The Revolution’s “Purple Rain.” Dred Scott, assisted by musician, producer, and cover artist Tyler Ward, recorded the cover for a seven-song acoustic EP Live From 16th Street Mall. Ward tells the story: Continue reading »

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!

It’s time to make it rain and get our purple on, for today Prince turns 53. After spending a few years preoccupied with the creation of some albums that only he could enjoy, the father of funk recently renewed his interest in all us less funky, esoteric people by going on a cross-continental tour. Once again he is accessible to all those who adore him…so long as they adore him on his own terms. Meaning no YouTube fan videos, no file sharing, no blog posts, and for God’s sakes no cover songs! Continue reading »

Sure, you’re too cool for Rihanna, or so you say. You think no one is watching when you belt out “Only Girl (In the World)” alone in your car, no one will stumble across the video of your drunken acoustic version of “Love the Way You Lie (Part 2).” Fine, we’ll play along and pretend that Prince caught your eye in the taglist. Continue reading »

This Week on Bandcamp rounds up our favorite covers to hit the site in the past seven days.

Welcome to the latest Bandcamp roundup! After last week’s Wiz Khalifa double-header, we’re back to the usual five songs/five artists format. Two ‘80s cuts by Prince and Cyndi Lauper pair with two more recent tracks by Deerhunter and Queens of the Stone Age. And then there’s a cover of the Twilight guy, which…well, you’ll see. Continue reading »

Apr 252011

YouTube is filled with amateur cover “artists.” Most stink. On the ‘Tube extracts the exceptions.

YouTube musician Brett Domino is a superstar. Yes, that guy up there with the glasses. Oh, you didn’t know? Well, let him be the first to tell you. “We do get a lot of attention now that we are hugely famous,” he tells Cover Me. “We’ve had poems written about us, pictures drawn of us, marriage proposals. I signed a lady’s bosom once after a gig in Bangor.” Brett’s collaborator, Steven Peavis, gets his fair share of groupies too. “Quite a lot of people seem to comment on the YouTube videos confessing that they have a crush on Steven,” says Domino. “I think it must be his strong nose.” Continue reading »

In Prince’s recent Lopez Tonight appearance, he once again attacked one of his favorite targets: cover songs. “I don’t mind fans singing the songs, my problem is when the industry covers the music,” Prince told George Lopez. “You see, covering the music means your version doesn’t exist anymore. There’s this thing called the compulsory license law which allows artists to take your music at will. That doesn’t exist in any other art form – there’s only one version of Law & Order, but there are several versions of ‘Kiss’ and ‘Purple Rain.’” Continue reading »

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