Dua Lipa’s music has been omnipresent this year. Her Grammy-winning album Future Nostalgia, released last spring, became the soundtrack for a global audience’s new virtual reality. The record is cavalcade of glossy dance pop and a surprisingly transporting at-home listen, offering a fantasy facsimile of a night on the dance floor. Continue reading »
In a recent appearance on SiriusXM, British singer-songwriter Arlo Parks performed a soulful and chilled out rendition of Clairo’s 2019 hit “Bags.”
The original version has an upbeat, yet slightly broken vibe, the lyrics of a breakup and the depression that ensues are highlighted with janky keys and and straightforward beat. Parks has highlighted the soft, sad lyrics and turned into a slow and simmering late night jam, one to put on in the early hours, staring at the dying embers of the fire and of loves lost. Continue reading »
When we last heard Amigo the Devil, he was stripping down a Tom Jones song to create a haunting murder ballad. Now he does the same to another highly polished pop song – but a much more recent one. “[The original is] this very confidence-boosting, really good-feeling, power-infusing song,” Amigo’s Danny Kiranos told Rolling Stone. “I was curious what it would sound like if you took away the positive nature of it and kept the lyrics, essentially the emotions they are portraying.” Continue reading »
Check out the best covers of past months here.
I’ve wanted to do a “Full Albums” on Patti Smith’s Horses for years. But it, and she, gets covered less than you’d think. This beautiful piano “Redondo Beach” gets me one step closer. Though, admittedly, I already had Courtney Barnett’s recent cover for that slot. Someone cover “Break It Up” already! Continue reading »