Irving Pham

Born and raised in Los Angeles and now residing in San Francisco, Irving’s first recollection of cover songs came as a mopey teenager when he listened to The Get Up Kids album Eudora, and believed it to be all original material. He would later go on to discover the much better original versions of these songs. During his free time he likes to ride bikes, create meticulously themed playlists on Spotify (and share them with friends who turn a deaf ear to his efforts) and post one cover song a day (for all of 2013) to his other blog.

Mac DeMarco, Very Chill, Covers Weezer’s “The Sweater Song”

 Posted by at 4:00 pm  No Responses »
Apr 252013
 

In the latest episode of AV Club’s Undercover series, Mac DeMarco and his crew bring their brand of weirdo rock to the studios to perform a cover of Weezer’s classic Blue Album track. Mac explains, “I remember looking at the list and I said ‘Oh there’s a Weezer song’ – very chill – probably easier than covering like another song. So uh, you know, we were able to learn it in the car on the drive here, which is only two and a half hours hours, which is not that much time to learn a song.” Continue reading »

In the Spotlight: Evan Dando

 Posted by at 3:00 pm  4 Responses »
Apr 232013
 

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!

Evan Dando gets a lot of flack for being the poster boy of college-friendly rock in the early- to mid-’90s. He was the subject of focus to Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill/Le Tigre/wife of Ad Rock from the Beastie Boys), who wrote a particularly intense zine piece about him, and he was also the target of Steve Albini and Nirvana, who pranked him pretty good. However, his choice of covers as a solo artist and as lead Lemonhead reveal that behind his good looks, he also has a deep appreciation of crafty songwriting, as well as a good-natured and self-deprecating sense of humor. Continue reading »

In Memoriam: D. Boon

 Posted by at 5:00 pm  2 Responses »
Apr 012013
 

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

D. Boon was the energetic front man and guitarist for the highly influential Southern California punk band The Minutemen. If you watch videos of any of the Minutemen’s live shows, you’ll immediately notice the amount of energy that D. Boon exhibits as he bounces around the stage while belting out his politically infused lyrics. His funk- and blues-inspired guitar playing really opened up boundaries in an era of punk rock that was focused on two- and three-chord progressions. Unfortunately, he passed away at the too-young age of 27 in a tragic automobile accident, and the Minutemen called it quits immediately afterward. Continue reading »