April was the best month for covers of the year so far. There’s no particular reason for that, I suspect. These things just ebb and flow. But the fact remains that it was a proverbial embarrassment of riches, as the length of the list below confirms.
As always, there’s no quality difference between the main picks and the honorable mentions; a cover’s categorization is only determined by how much I had to say about it. Continue reading »
With the exception of a small-minded baker in Colorado with a penchant for litigation, the wedding-service industry has mostly welcomed the legalization of gay marriage in the U.S. because of the new business it brings. Same-sex couples strutting down the aisle in greater numbers presents another hot-button cultural issue: how to find the perfect song for that first dance? Despite the fact that pop music has been loosening its collar since Elvis first shook his pelvis, when it comes to gender roles, mainstream songs tend to be as heteronormative as a ‘50s sitcom, no matter how suggestive the lyrics may be.
To address this issue, and no doubt tap into a lucrative commercial market, MGM Resorts sponsored a six-track EP called Universal Love. The collection features reworked versions of popular love songs with altered pronouns to celebrate same-sex love. The company must be betting big as they tapped serious star power, namely Bob Dylan, St. Vincent, Kele Okereke (lead singer of Bloc Party), Valerie June, Benjamin Gibbard (lead vocalist of Death Cab for Cutie) and Kesha. Continue reading »
A recent trend in the ongoing vinyl revival has been record subscription services, where every month any number of start-ups will send subscribers a few curated records. One such service, Turntable Kitchen, stands out from the pack by commissioning original music: full-length covers of classic albums by younger bands. The service has already released Yumi Zouma covering Oasis’ (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, Jonathan Rado of Foxygen covering Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run, and Mutual Benefit covering Vashti Bunyan’s Just Another Diamond Day. Their fourth release is their biggest yet, and also their best. It’s Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service covering Teenage Fanclub’s 1991 masterpiece Bandwagonesque. Continue reading »
Back in November, an Instagram clip was released of Ben Gibbard covering Alvvays’ “Archie, Marry Me,” and made the Internet swoon. Recently, a full video of the simple but powerful piano cover was released. Continue reading »
Stars released their third album, Set Yourself on Fire, in 2004. It was fairly well received, gaining popularity with tracks like “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead,” and “Ageless Beauty.” Not quite riding on the coattails of that success, but also not leaving enough time for people to forget the album, Stars released a remix album of Set Yourself on Fire in 2007, called Do You Trust Your Friends? Continue reading »
The first CD released by The Postal Service was the 2003 single “Such Great Heights.” The song was written by Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello and featured Iron & Wine doing a cover version on the B-side. The Iron & Wine take was featured on the soundtrack for Garden State and went on to become the wider-known version. Ever since, the song has made the cover rounds. Ben Folds, Rilo Kiley, Streelight Manifesto have all had a go and recently we featured Amanda Palmer and Kim Boekbinder doing a wonderful ukulele version. Continue reading »