UK TikTok hero Sam Ryder has a new song out, “Mountain”, which he showcased during triumphant return to Eurovision, where, accompanied by a cameo from Queen’s Roger Taylor, he achieved an unexpected British 2nd place. To promote “Mountain,” Ryder recently appeared on Chris Evans’ radio show, and included an acoustic version of his previous single, a cover of “You’ve Got the Love.”
You probably know The Nerves’ “Hanging on the Telephone” from its cover by Blondie, the second single from their third album, Parallel Lines. Though this cover was a hit in the UK, it took the album becoming a hit in the US for the song to become known on this side of the pond. Blondie’s version isn’t particularly different from the original. And because The Nerves didn’t last, Blondie’s version has remained the definitive one. Continue reading »
As will surprise absolutely no one, “Black Hole Sun” is the most covered Soundgarden song ever, and it’s not even close. (Second Hand Songs lists almost ten times as many covers of “Black Hole Sun” as the runner up, “Rusty Cage.”) So it’s hard for artists to put their individual spin on it.
American singer-songwriter King Princess (aka Mikaela Mullaney Strauss), who we last heard from covering the Velvet Underground’s “There She Goes,” is determined to put her stamp on the oft-covered grunge ballad. She recorded for the legendary Australian radio station triple j’s “Like a Version” series. Continue reading »
Though not their biggest hit in terms of sales or charts, “Clocks” is certainly one of Coldplay‘s most iconic songs. This is in part due to to the insistent piano riff, which made the song stand out among the other big hits of 2003. But also: it has been sampled bunch of times since, including by many hip hop and R&B artists. Continue reading »
Sparklehorse’s debut, Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot, is one of the iconic records of the ’90s lo fi, “slacker” indie folk/pop/rock explosion. Basically, a bunch of singer-songwriters made and released what sounded like home-recordings of deliberately mixed quality. The homespun quality was the appeal. Mark Linkous aka Sparklehorse was one of the main figures of the movement. Only in the case of his debut, he was actually backed on many of the tracks by Cracker. “Cow” is the centerpiece of Vivadixie…. Far and away the longest song the record, it is propelled forward by its insistent beat, its numerous guitar solos and its refrain. Unlike some of his music, the only really lo-fi or slacker thing about this song is Linkous’ delivery. Continue reading »
A few years ago we wrote about how “Bette Davis Eyes” was not originally a Kim Carnes song but actually a Jackie DeShannon song. But DeShannon’s original sounds nothing like Carnes’ cover. And it’s Carnes’ cover that was the hit and also the iconic version. Covers of the song inevitably reference Carnes, rather than DeShannon, probably because most people don’t know about DeShannon’s original upbeat R&B version. Continue reading »