After their breakout album, Odd Blood, we’ve all come to associate Yeasayer with lots of synths and other electronics. Songs like “O.N.E.” and “Ambling Alp” proved their love of ’80s and early ’90s sounds. So in some sense, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that they’d take on Seal‘s song “Crazy.” On Australia’s Triple J radio, they stripped down the song to nothing but vocals, acoustic guitar, tambourine, and a couple of drums. Continue reading »
Johnny Cash‘s song “The Folk Singer” has received a few covers in its years, most notably by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (who renamed it simply “The Singer”). It makes sense that it has received its share of love. It’s a simple song, but one that works in many guises. Plus, the strumming guitar coupled with a lazy baritone is always a winning combination. Continue reading »
Out of all the potential inspirations a musician could find in this world, La Blogotheque’s Take Away Shows and Bon Iver are certainly two of the best. It shows here. After viewing Bon Iver’s performance on an episode of the show, three singing brothers went to Salt Lake City’s Union Station to perform his beautiful “For Emma” a cappella. In homage, they recorded it in a similar style to La Blogotheque’s always-terrific clips. Continue reading »
You probably didn’t think you were in desperate need of a soaring indie cover of America’s “Ventura Highway,” but you were. Now, courtesy of Samuel Ramos of Fort deClare, you have one. The song began life as a nice little acoustic folk song. Ramos amps it up though, making it perfect for a drive through the countryside – although he’d much prefer you used headphones.
The cover starts off simply enough, repeating the main guitar hook on a reverb-laden electric guitar with some nice acoustic strumming helping to build up the song’s steam before it fades out for the verse. Once the chorus hits, the song explodes into grand post-rock theatrics. Huge, crunchy guitar lays the foundation while the vocals and various other effects float on top. Continue reading »
Banjo or Freakout is the one-man band of Alessio Natalizia, but don’t let the moniker fool you. There is very little, if any, banjo in his music. Rather, it consists of layered sounds from electric guitars and synthesizers, often leaning towards dream pop. However, on XMas 2010, his free collection of Christmas songs, he explores the “freakout” part of his name a little more fully. Continue reading »
ceo – aka Eric Berglund, one half of Sweden’s the Tough Alliance – has pop music nailed. His songs with the Tough Alliance brought Caribbean rhythms to electro-pop, and on his debut solo album released earlier this year, he generally maintained a similar sound. In an interview with Pitchfork, he revealed his love of pop translated into a solid understanding of what a pop song needs. While he claims he doesn’t keep up with new music, at some point some Beyoncé must have found its way into his hands. On the b-side of his recently released 7″ single for his track “Illuminata,” he takes on her soaring anthem, “Halo.” Continue reading »