Cover Me Presents: Peculiar Gentlemen’s "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)"

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Dec 032009
 

Cover Commissions is a monthly series in which a featured artist produces a special cover for this blog. The song to be covered is usually chosen by blog readers via a poll or suggestions form. Any artists interested in participating in a future installment, please email me at the address on the right.


Last night Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)” was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2010 Grammys. And we all know it’s going to win. After all, let’s not forget that Kanye West is a fan.

Back in September though, long before “Imma let you finish” became an obnoxious internet meme, Brooklyn cabaret-rock sextet Peculiar Gentlemen entered the Cover Me world as September’s Cover Commissions artist. The potential cover songs ranged from Ray Charles to Phoenix, but the leotard-clad I Am…Sasha Fierce singer took the top prize. [Missed the vote? November’s Commissions with Brady Harris is still going on, so vote on the right! Plus, December’s Commissions coming next week.]

The guys and gals of Peculiar Gentlemen promptly crammed into their three-wheeled jalopy and lurched on down to the tacky tourist saloon where they make their magic. At least, that’s the scene I picture listening to this. Gentlemen singer Sara Auster can tell us what really went down.

Beyonce loves Peculiar Gentlemen! We used to cover Crazy in Love many years ago at our live shows, much to her delight. When Single Ladies came out, we thought it was a great party song, and would be another good track to interpret. When we cover songs we usually approach them one of two ways. Staying as true to the original as possible, or completely re-contextualizing it. Our original intention was to keep it true to form. We wanted to keep the dance floor vibe, but still sound like a live band, and not a processed piece of music. However, as the recording process progressed, our musical ideas started to move in new directions. After working this song out in the studio, we’re really looking forward to playing it on stage and seeing how the crowd reacts (and we’ll be able to spot the all the hot single ladies)!

But who needs hot single ladies when you’ve got organ swirls, poppy Motown backing vocals and a singer who goes by “Sweet” Willy Jive? Enjoy.

Peculiar Gentlemen – Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) (Beyoncé)

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This mp3 may be freely shared with the artist’s blessing. Post it on your blog, send it to your friends, tweet it to the world. When you share this however, please include a link to this site. Cover Commissions is a monthly occurrence, and the more attention this project draws the more exciting we can make future installments.

Cover Commissions: Brady Harris

 Posted by at 1:36 am  No Responses »
Dec 012009
 

Cover Commissions is a monthly series in which a featured artist produces a special cover for this blog. The song to be covered is usually chosen by blog readers via a poll or suggestions form. Any artists interested in participating in a future installment, please email me at the address on the right.


We’ve fallen a bit behind on our Cover Commissions her at Cover Me, but we’re not about to let November slip away without a new artist! In fact, Commissions is about to kick into high gear this week, beginning with a Cover Me song debut later this week (song hint: it’s not about married men…). Then, getting us back on track, another poll’s coming your way next week for December’s Cover Commissions.

But first…

Brady Harris first came to our attention with his acoustic-blues cover of Snoop Doggy Dogg’s “Who Am I? (What’s My Name?),” which you can still download here. That led us to his 2007 album Cover Charge, where he takes on everyone from the Vines to Madonna. We’ve got a couple selections from that record below, but to whet your appetite you should first watch this video of him putting together the Clash’s “Jimmy Jazz” with Babyshambles’ “Fuck Forever.”

Brady’s been around much longer than that though, releasing his first album in 1993 (No Place Like Gone, with his band-at-the-time the Solid Goldstein). An emerging solo career soon led him from his native Texas to North Hollywood, where a series of albums won him accolades from the Los Angeles Times, the NXNW Music Festival and a long list of others. In the early part of this fast-fading decade he even won the Pontiac Vibe Car Commercial Contest, using the prize money to (what else) produce another record, the critically acclaimed Lone Star. His most recent is North Hollywood Skyline and is well worth a listen or ten.

Right now though, we don’t care about his original stuff (sorry). Here’s a sampling of the way this guy nails a cover.

Brady Harris – Like a Virgin (Madonna)

Brady Harris – Ace of Spades (Motörhead)

Now, the important part. As regular readers will have already guessed, Brady has graciously agreed to record a special cover just for this blog. What song? You tell him!

Below are ten songs. Click on any one to listen to the original. Then just pick which one Brady should cover in the poll on the right! The winning song get the Brady Harris treatment which, as you now know, is quite something.

Enough talk though; this month’s almost over. Presenting…

The Contenders
The Beatles – Glass Onion
The Beatles – Your Mother Should Know
Blondie – Heart of Glass
Ian Brown – Dolphins Were Monkeys
Cheap Trick – Come On, Come On
Feist – 1, 2, 3, 4
Grace Jones – I’ve Seen That Face Before
Oasis – Hello
Kevin Salem – Lighthouse Keeper
Bruce Springsteen – Born in the U.S.A.

Voting closes in one week, so get deciding! Vote on the right. And remember, check back later this week for more Commissions excitement.

Cover Me Presents: John Dissed’s "Bang a Gong (Get It On)"

 Posted by at 1:50 am  No Responses »
Oct 302009
 

Cover Commissions is a monthly series in which a featured artist produces a special cover for this blog. The song to be covered is usually chosen by blog readers via a poll or suggestions form. Any artists interested in participating in a future installment, please email me at the address on the right.



Just last week we held a last-minute run-off to pick the winner of October’s Cover Commissions ( it came down to Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round” vs. T. Rex’s “Bang a Gong (Get It On)”). Well T. Rex took the prize and, in record Cover Me turn-around, we’ve already got the tune!

It shouldn’t be a surprise that John Dissed turned this around so fast though. After all, this guy’s a cover expert. The price of an email address at his site gets you access to the dozens of free covers he’s recorded. His cover of “Bang a Gong,” though, you can only get here. But first let’s hear a bit about it.

I have never been a fan of this song, but listening to it after realizing that it had a good chance of winning the most votes, I began to recognize its brilliance. I always knew it was a catchy song, but it has a classic Stonesy type of feel that could have only happened in the early ‘70s. I consider ‘70s rock n’ roll to be the height of recorded music and this song is up there with the best of that era.

I also listened to Ministry’s cover of the song which contributed a bit to the way I muted the guitars. Aside from that, I tried to keep the vibe of the original, but with acoustic guitars. I played the acoustic parts to the track, then overdubbed the vocals, bass and electric guitar. I noticed after I recorded the vocals that I had changed the melody slightly, but kept it that way since it was my natural memory of the part. The bass and lead parts are similar to the original as well, except for the horn melody before the final chorus, which I played on electric.

I like to use a single voice for lead vocals, but this time I went for a doubling effect that seemed appropriate. This effect is the biggest departure in sound from my other acoustic music.

That tells you all you might want to know about recording this cover, but it doesn’t hint at this bad-ass performance. Words wouldn’t do it justice anyway. This will:

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This mp3 may be freely shared with the artist’s blessing. Post it on your blog, send it to your friends, tweet it for the world. When you do share this however, please include a link to this site. Cover Commissions is a monthly occurrence here, and the more attention this project draws the more exciting we can make future installments.

Cover Commissions: John Dissed

 Posted by at 7:46 pm  No Responses »
Oct 162009
 

Cover Commissions is a monthly series in which a featured artist produces a special cover for this blog. The song to be covered is usually chosen by blog readers via a poll or suggestions form. Any artists interested in participating in a future installment, please email me at the address on the right.


October may be half over, but at Cover Me we’re making up for lost time by announcing a true cover artist extraordinaire to take on this month’s Cover Commissions. His name’s John Dissed, and this guy knows covers.

Based in Los Angeles, John’s been recording his tunes since 2007 (many of which are available at his website), but has been earning a reputation as a songwriter par excellence for longer than that. In 2006 “Mr. Madness,” a song he co-wrote for Manda Mosher, earned the “Rock Single of the Year” accolade from the Los Angeles Music Awards. Check out Mosher’s glam-folk video at the ‘Tube.

As tends to happen here, it was his cover songs that first caught our ear. And this guy’s got cover songs coming out the…well, he’s got a lot of them. He’s taken on everyone from the Rolling Stones to Duran Duran, each time with stripping down the song to lyrics and melody. We’ve got a few choice picks for ya here, but dozens more Dissed covers can be had just by giving him your email address at his website.

Dissed has got a special cover up his sleeve just for Cover Me. What song, you ask? As always, the choice is yours. Below are eight songs, each linked to their YouTube video. Listen to Dissed’s tunes, listen to these originals, then pick which one you’d like to hear him do in the poll on the right! The winner will be posted exclusively on Cover Me in a month or so.

Berlin – Take My Breath Away
The Cars – Candy-O
The Cure – Doing the Unstuck
Dead or Alive – You Spin Me Round
Kings of Leon – Use Somebody
The Outfield – Your Love
Social Distortion – So Far Away
T. Rex – Bang a Gong (Get It On)

Voting closes in one week, so get deciding! Vote on the right.

Cover Commissions: Peculiar Gentlemen

 Posted by at 2:20 am  No Responses »
Sep 042009
 

Cover Commissions is a monthly series in which a featured artist produces a special cover for this blog. The song to be covered is usually chosen by blog readers via a poll or suggestions form. Any artists interested in participating in a future installment, please email me at the address on the right.


Only in New York. Where else could a folk guitarist who goes by “Sweet” Willy Jive and a hip-hop keyboardist named E-Beats come together to form a band? Peculiar Gentlemen indeed.

Add in bass, drums, two back-up singers, and the occasional tag-along you have the current configuration of this ramshackle group. It’s the Dresden Dolls meets the Supremes as channeled by hip Brooklyn urbanites. Before reading further, I suggest you check out their MySpace.

The two YouTube videos below give you an idea of their funky flexibility, moving from cabaret-blues on “The Part That I Love” to soul-rap with “The Difference.” Who got the good shit? They got the good shit!

That good shit continues right here on Cover Me, with Peculiar Gentlemen having volunteered to perform a cover. A cover of what? As always, the choice is yours.

Below are ten songs, each linked to a YouTube video. Check out any you don’t know, check out the band’s music, then go vote on the left what song you want them to perform! Voting is open for one week, and after that the band will get to work (so check back later this month for the finished product!)

For Your Consideration:
Roy Ayers – Everybody Loves the Sunshine (5 votes)
Beyoncé – Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) (29 votes)
Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta Feeling (15 votes)
Ray Charles – A Fool for You (9 votes)
Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions – It’s All Right (8 votes)
Michael Jackson – You Rock My World (11 votes)
Phoenix – Lisztomania (21 votes)
Prince Paul – Beautifully Absurd (3 votes)
Sly & the Family Stone – Hot Fun in the Summertime (13 votes)
Tears for Fears – Sowing the Seeds of Love (23 votes)

Voting closes in one week, so hop to it on the right! The band’s latest album The Difference is available at Amazon, CDBaby, and iTunes. And don’t forget, last month’s Commissions artist Broken Chimneys’ Springsteen cover is coming soon!

Cover Commissions: The Broken Chimneys

 Posted by at 1:50 am  No Responses »
Aug 072009
 

Cover Commissions is a monthly series in which a featured artist produces a special cover for this blog. The song to be covered is usually chosen by blog readers via a poll or suggestions form. Any artists interested in participating in a future installment, please email me at the address on the right.


The Broken Chimneys is the brainchild of one Adam Selzer. Adam’s been making music for years in various incarnations (search his name on iTunes and watch your computer crash) but the Broken Chimneys moniker came out of his other career: a young adult author. The author of Pirates of the Retail Wasteland and I Put a Spell On You, his latest is I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It. If Katy Perry doesn’t sue, maybe Jill Sobule will! He describes how that turned into a new musical project:

The Broken Chimneys were formed to record a “cover of an Adam Selzer song” for use on the “soundtrack” to the forthcoming novel I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It. The results were so good that a whole album was recorded, featuring “rock” versions of some of Adam’s “greatest hits,” a couple of long-lost songs that were staples of the live set before the first album was out, and a couple of new songs.

What he neglects to mention are the non-Selzer covers the Chimneys have churned out. We’ve already seen four Dylan tunes (reposted below), and the version of “I Get a Kick out of You” below will make you beg for a full The Chimneys’ Tribute to Anything Goes album. Selzer even uncovers a lost Porter lyric: “I get no kick eating brains / One little taste and the rest goes to waste.” Now why wasn’t that in the original?

And that’s just the beginning! Selzer has offered to work up another Chimneys cover specifically for this blog, but he needs your help! Eight song choices are presented below, each with a link to a youtube video so you can easily listen to any tunes you don’t know. Which tune covers is up to you!

Listen to each, listen to the Chimneys’ other music (way more over at his site), then cast your vote in the poll on the right. Voting closes in one week and a brand-new cover of the winning song will debut here in a month or so.

For Your Consideration:
Joan Baez – Diamonds and Rust (7 votes)
John Lennon – Nobody Told Me (6 votes)
Richard Marx – Hazard (8 votes)
Neutral Milk Hotel – Two Headed Boy (11 votes)
Bruce Springsteen – For You (23 votes)
Tom Waits – Innocent When You Dream (14 votes)
War – Low Rider (17 votes)
Wilco – Laminated Cat (aka. Not for the Season) (8 votes)

Voting closes in one week, so hop to it on the right!

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