Dan Cwirka

Dan splits his time between various African countries and Brooklyn. He works with musicians through the non-profit Humanitarian Notes in Africa. Then he works with musicians through the non-profit Lifebeat in New York. He was once complimented on his sense of rhythm by a Ghanaian musician. This has given him an undeserved sense of superiority and confidence in his dancing. He likes bourbon, apples, and the Canterbury Tales.

Five Good Covers: You Really Got Me (The Kinks)

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Nov 292013
 

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

Where would you start the lineage of hard rock and heavy metal? Many music fans pinpoint August of 1964, when “You Really Got Me” was released into the wild; two score and nine years later, it’s only gotten wilder. Thanks to the Kinks, heavy music would never be the same.

But it should be noted that “You Really Got Me” isn’t just a blueprint for hard rock – it’s also one terrific song. Have power chords ever been used so well, before or since? Have primal urges ever been more basically, urgently, and perfectly expressed? Van Halen’s version, which is probably the best known cover, doesn’t bring much new to the table aside from some pyrotechnics, which is a shame because there’s a lot more potential in the song. But other folks have been able to show just how durable a song it is…
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In Memoriam: Michael Hutchence (INXS)

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Nov 222013
 

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

Michael Hutchence was born to be a frontman. With hair and shirtlessness that would make Jim Morrison proud, and a singing style that could be both passionate and cool in equal measures, Hutchence helped the songs of INXS stand out; they’re clearly from the ‘80s, but timeless in a way that most hits of the decade can’t claim.
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