Mara Beckman

Comfortably situated in Los Angeles since 2010 when she graduated from college, Mara Beckman is a freelance music writer, short story writer, and all-around classy lady. In addition to writing for Cover Me, Mara runs a tumblr, which details one album she buys each Tuesday. Outside of music, and her very committed love for the Jesus & Mary Chain, Mara really likes Science Friday, and recommends you check it out sometime when you have one free hour. Follow her Tumblr.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Express Love for Magnetic Fields’ “Jeremy”

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Sep 142012
 

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart released a cover of The Magnetic Fields’ “Jeremy”, part of a 7” with a companion cover, “My Life is Wrong” by East River Pipe. Peggy Wang, vocalist and keyboard player for the New York indie band, released a lengthy, personal and articulate post on the band’s tumblr, affording fans a personal explanation for the cover. Wang writes, “The Magnetic Fields might have been the last band I ever unconditionally loved without ever stopping to try to understand why – just the kind of love story I hoped to one day live through.” Continue reading »

Back Track: X Adds Extremes to Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Breathless”

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Sep 052012
 

Back Track reexamines an old cover that deserves a new spotlight.

In 1983 X released More Fun in the New World, which became the fourth consecutive album to garner critical praise, and no doubt helped solidify their status as L.A. punk legends. More Fun was crisper than their previous albums, but no less raw and passionate. John Doe and Exene Cervenka still wrote their lyrics as if they were simply writing poems, and while there were more elements of pop to this album, the band’s punk and rockabilly roots held a presence. Continue reading »

Bright Eyes’ Project The Desaparecidos Play the Clash’s “Spanish Bombs”

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Aug 212012
 

The Desaparecidos are currently on tour with the remaining dates focusing on the west coast where they will eventually playing FYF Fest. If you aren’t familiar with the band, this is yet another project of Conor Oberst’s, who is most notably known for Bright Eyes. However, consider this band an antithesis of that– it’s far less confessional and more focused on creating energy reminiscent of post-hardcore sounds. The band began their tour in Minneapolis, where someone managed to tape a decent video of the band covering “Spanish Bombs” by The Clash for their first encore song. Continue reading »

The Darkness Transforms Radiohead’s “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” into a Heavy Metal Jam

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Jul 302012
 

Upon learning about The Darkness covering Radiohead’s “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” from The Bends, one thing immediately came to mind: two genres that have no business being anywhere near each other. Let’s look at the parts. On one side there’s Radiohead, appealing to the abstract doom-and-gloom in us all as we battle our objections to capitalism and think about dying. Completely contrary to that is The Darkness. (You do remember them, right? They believe in a thing called love. And they’re releasing a comeback album.) They’re primarily about having fun, most likely never once thinking about globalization. And, usually, never the twain shall meet. Continue reading »

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