Nov 012023
 

In the Spotlight showcases a cross-section of an artist’s cover work. View past installments, then post suggestions for future picks in the comments!

’70s AM radio soundtracked nearly every childhood car journey I ever took. It was in the backseat confines of my Mom’s white Chevy Nova with the sunflower painted on the side (those ’70s were swingin’) that I first became acquainted with The Spinners’ 1975 hit “They Just Can’t Stop It (The Games People Play)”. It was love at first listen. The song ended up marking an important personal milestone for me; it was the first 7-inch I ever bought with my own pocket money (one dollar, and seven cents to be precise). It was purchased at a local record haunt/head shop called “The Etc Shop” (now that’s what I call ’70s) from its cool lady proprietress, Naomi. I played the 45 over and over in my blue shag-carpeted bedroom, mimicking every one of the song’s vast array of vocal inflections. From Bobby Smith’s smooth lead to the spare but crucial contributions of bass singer Pervis Jackson (whose voice was as deep as the earth’s core), I sang along and “got down” as hard as a 9-year-old white suburban soul-loving gal possibly could. Continue reading »

Feb 022017
 
amanda shires cover

Amanda Shires is best known as a violinist (also for being Jason Isbell’s wife and sometimes bandmate), but on her tender new cover of Leonard Cohen’s “I’m Your Man” she ditches her signature instrument for the ukulele. At least it has the same number of strings!

She proves equally adept at the new instrument, plucking it quietly to accompany her delicate singing. She gets bonus points too for not forcing a switch to “I’m Your Woman,” the sort of dumb lyric change too many singers do when covering a song by someone of the opposite gender. Continue reading »

Sep 082010
 

Many people only know Electric Six for their enduring dance-punk gem “Danger! High Voltage!” A Jack White cameo never hurts and that glowing-crotch video certainly was memorable. They’ve since released six albums though and have a seventh on the docket: Zodiac, dropping September 28th.

In addition to fantastically-titled originals like “Jam It in the Hole” and “I Am a Song!,” the band reimagined the Spinners’ 1976 soul hit “The Rubberband Man.” The Detroit band fuses their hometown’s two legendary sounds, Motown horns and dirty grunge joining forces on one you won’t be able to get out of your head.

“I’ve always loved the song and I’ve felt for a long time that our band could pull it off,” singer Dick Valentine said in a press release. “The first time I remember being cognizant of it was the mud wrestling scene from [the Bill Murray film] Stripes. I don’t think anyone in our band is a rabid fan of Motown, per se, but I’ve always felt The Spinners kind of stood out in that they had much poppier songs than a lot of other acts in that genre.” Continue reading »