You searched for alex winston - Cover Me

Dec 072011
 

Covering the Black Keys is no easy task. Their 2010 album Brothers was massively well-received by fans and critics all over the world, and Rolling Stone put their single “Everlasting Light” at number 11 on their best singles of 2010 list. To even venture into the realm of the Keys grunge rock sound you’ve got to be pretty comfortable in your cover song skin. Comfortable might be an understatement when describing cover song veteran Alex Winston, though, whose Basement Covers EP featured covers of Mumford & Sons and The Rolling Stones. She just released her cover of the Keys song “Everlasting Light” in honor of both the release of the Keys’ newest CD El Camino, and to celebrate the recent announcement that her first album will be dropping in March of 2012. Continue reading »

Nov 122010
 

Download This scours the web’s dark corners for cool cover freebies. View past installments.

According to her record company bio, Detroit-native Alex Winston trained classically in opera, though listeners may be hard pressed to find any hint of this on her new EP. If you are expecting Susan Boyle Does Indie, look elsewhere. The multi-talented Winston recorded the EP by herself in her basement, playing all of the instruments. Her voice dominates: child-like, fragile, almost sounding like one of those kids from Village of the Damned, and yet oddly compelling. Continue reading »

The Best Cover Songs of 2010: #40-31

 


[Read our introduction here.]

40. My Poor Friend Me (Bad Religion cover)
Frank Turner

Back in October, SPIN.com released Germs of Perfection: A Tribute to Bad Religion. This uneven album included a number of acoustic covers so sweet they made your teeth hurt. Frank Turner offers the glorious exception, keeping it quiet without coming off weak. Self-pity never sounded so empowering.

39. It’ll Be Better (Francis and the Lights cover)
Alex Winston

Like a more subdued Chromeo, Francis and the Lights brings white-boy R&B right into the 21st century. Having spent the year opening for Drake and La Roux, Francis Farewell Starlite (great name) just released his debut full-length It’ll Be Better. A great record in its own right, it soars even higher under Alex Winston’s gentle kinderpop hand.

38. Kiss Off (Violent Femmes cover)
Say Hi

Say Hi’s “Kiss Off” – one of the stranger selections on the Sing Me to Sleep: Indie Lullabies collection – trades the original’s walking bass line for a dirge-like riff. Absurdly-distorted guitar keeps threatening to take over before being forced under, like someone trying to swallow back vomit.

37. Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos) (Woody Guthrie cover)
Outernational ft. Tom Morello

Both Outernational’s politics and sound combine Woody Guthrie with Rage Against the Machine, so this cover was inevitable. Recorded during the outcry over Arizona’s harsh anti-immigration laws, “Deportee” revives a 1948 ballad with picket-line hollering and plenty of accordion. Never one to miss a good political protest, Rage’s Tom Morello lends a helping hand.

36. Monday Morning (Melanie Fiona cover)
The Baseballs

The Baseballs turn current pop songs into 1950s rockabilly rave-ups. Most songs work about as you’d expect: hilarious the first listen, amusing the second, unpleasant thereafter. Not here. The song works so naturally I had to listen to Melanie Fiona’s original to ascertain how it was ever not rockabilly. After hearing this, the original sounds like the forced genre-crossing novelty.

35. I’ll Keep It with Mine (Bob Dylan cover)
Denison Witmer

Subterranean Homesick Blues: A Tribute to Bob Dylan’s ‘Bringing It All Back Home’ featured bold remakes like a gypsy-party “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” and a steel-drum-hip-hop “Maggie’s Farm.” Ironically though, the most affecting track proved to be one of the most conventional. Denison Witmer used only an acoustic guitar, the most clichéd Dylan cover trope, to astounding effect on original album outtake “I’ll Keep It with Mine.”

34. Bad Romance (Lady Gaga cover)
Lissie

Lissie owned the cover world in 2010, delivering knock-out performances of “Stairway to Heaven,” “Pursuit of Happiness,” and “Nothing Else Matters.” Her strongest entry offered a perfect synergy between performance and timing. Just at “Bad Romance”’s cultural apex, Lissie’s storming rock performance melded churning guitars and beautifully-rolled “R”s.

33. All the Best (John Prine cover)
My Morning Jacket

After “One Big Holiday” and their four-hour Bonnaroo sets, My Morning Jacket earned a reputation as one of the most galvanizing rock and roll bands around today. In their earlier days, though, they played more steel guitar then electric. Here, they return to the country roots they never completely left. The lesser-known Prine song was made for feel-good mix CDs.

32. Moby Dick (Led Zeppelin cover)
Knock-Knock

Zeppelin’s storming instrumental finally gets lyrics, courtesy of one Herman Melville. Ahab’s deranged ranting perfectly accompanies that thunderous riff. On the musical side, Jon Bonham’s famous drum solo gets company from accordion, kazoo, and plenty of other briefly-featured ironic instruments. I’m pretty sure I hear the kitchen sink in there too.

31. Whip My Hair (Willow Smith cover)
Jimmy Fallon (as Neil Young) and Bruce Springsteen

To really get this cover, you have to watch the video once. After you do though, you can forever after enjoy the song for both inspiring the uproarious collaboration and being a pretty darn impressive reinterpretation in its own right.


 
Dec 182014
 

Follow all our Best of 2014 coverage (along with previous year-end lists) here.

A few months ago, I read an interesting interview with an artist named Nouela. You probably haven’t heard of her, but you may have heard her music. She’s become a specialist in a weird but growing niche: covers recorded for movie and television trailers. Whether doing a piano “Sound of Silence” to promote a new HBO show or a brooding “Black Hole Sun” to promote Liam Neeson punching people, she’s found a quickly-growing way of getting her covers out there.

It struck me as part of a growing trend we’ve seen. More and more great covers seem to come from unexpected places. Sure, you’ve got still your standby sources, your b-sides, tribute albums, and radio shows. But new avenues for covers have increasingly crept in. This year saw a Sam Smith cover that is only available to hear under Grey’s Anatomy dialog (thankfully he’s recorded a few live versions too) and a whole covers album recorded to plug a Canadian TV show. Brands have fully embraced covers too, most recently My Morning Jacket’s “This Land Is Your Land” recorded for North Face ads, or Charli XCX and Bleachers trading covers for Kia.

We don’t care where they originated when we make our year-end lists, though, and we would up with some of everything. In our top five alone, we’ve got a live radio session, a deluxe-edition bonus track, and a cover hiding in plain sight on one of the most acclaimed country records of the year. You have to keep an eye on more places than ever to spot the best covers these days. Wherever they come from, we’re glad to have ’em.

Click on over to page two to begin our countdown, and thanks for reading.

– Ray Padgett, Editor in Chief
(Illustration by Sarah Parkinson)

Aug 202010
 

If you’ve ever attended a music festival, you need to know Consequence of Sound. If you ever plan on attending a music festival, you need to know Consequence of Sound. If you have no interest in music festivals whatsoever, you need to wise up…and then you need to know Consequence of Sound. In addition to the site’s regular music news and features, their Festival Outlook has established itself as the premiere source for festival info. From lineup info (which they always seem to know before anyone else) to reviews, their coverage spans ‘em all, from the big boys (Bonnaroo, Coachella) to the underdogs (Ghoulsfest?).

Suffice to say: These guys know their festivals. So as fest season winds down, we checked in with some CoS writers (of whom – full disclosure – I am one) to hear the best festival covers they’ve ever witnessed. Here’s what they offered. Each has a review and a video so you can vicariously experience the insanity.

After you finish here, hop over to CoS’ Friday Mixtape! The covers were chosen by yours truly. Continue reading »