Cee Lo Green has made something of a reputation for himself this summer by peppering his performances with random, seemingly spontaneous karaoke covers that, by most accounts, drag down the show something awful. When he actually focuses on a cover, though, he can’t be beat (see: The Best Cover of 2010). That showed again on BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge a few days ago, when he rocked through Miles Kane’s British hit “Inhaler.” Continue reading »
Rave On Buddy Holly, arguably the most hyped cover album of the year, finally drops this week. Rampant previews hinted that the album would be something special, and the A-list lineup of artists doesn’t disappoint. Rave On is a solid, carefully curated collection of tracks from Buddy Holly‘s surprisingly extensive catalog, a worthy tribute to the rock pioneer.
Choosing standouts from such a varied and high-profile set of covers is a challenge. Some of the best moments come from contributors who chose to keep their covers low-key. Dan Auerbach’s vocals gracefully carry the Black Keys‘ quiet, percussion-based opener “Dearest,” while Fiona Apple and Jon Brion trip through a pitch-perfect duet in “Everyday.” My Morning Jacket offers the elegantly subdued “True Love Ways,” embellished with a lovely string section. Continue reading »
They Say It’s Your Birthday celebrates an artist’s special day with other people singing his or her songs. Let others do the work for a while. Happy birthday!
Cee-Lo Green turns 37 today, and he has every reason to celebrate. The Atlanta-born singer, rapper, and producer has been everywhere the past year: taking over the radio with his ridiculously catchy single “Fuck You,” performing at the Grammys with a psychedelic peacock costume and backup from Gwyneth Paltrow, and, most recently, judging the hit NBC show The Voice. His birthday may fall on Memorial Day this year, but we’re not sure this guy ever takes a day off.
Countless artists, from Sara Bareilles to Pixie Lott to William Shatner have jumped aboard the Cee-Lo bandwagon with their own takes on “Fuck You” – just like what happened five years ago when Green’s Gnarls Barkley hit “Crazy” climbed the charts. In honor of his birthday, Cover Me presents alternate renditions of Cee-Lo’s two biggest hits, along with three others from his solo career and his work in Gnarls Barkley. Continue reading »
You’ve heard about the upcoming tribute album and listened to the Black Keys’ cover of “Dearest,” now another song from Rave On Buddy Holly has surfaced. On her KCRW show this past weekend, DJ Liza Richardson gave us a sneak peek at Modest Mouse‘s version of “That’ll Be The Day.” Continue reading »
And the winner for Most Anticipated Tribute Album of 2011 goes to…
Rave On Buddy Holly, coming June 28th to celebrate what would be Buddy Holly’s 75th birthday this fall. This tracklist defines the term “stacked.” From veterans like Paul McCartney and Patti Smith to newer breakouts like She & Him and Cee-Lo Green, every one of the 19 tracks looks to be another potential stunner. My Morning Jacket crooning “True Love Ways”? The Black Keys rocking “Dearest”? John Doe doing who-knows-what to “Peggy Sue Got Married”? Continue reading »
Every Wednesday, our resident Gleek Eric Garneau gives his take on last night’s Glee covers.
With all the buzz surrounding “The Substitute,” I’m sure everyone’s already aware of the episode’s two big numbers: Gwyneth Paltrow taking on Cee-Lo’s sanitized “Forget You” and an elaborate reading of Rihanna’s “Umbrella.” As it happened, those were the only two numbers not from a Broadway musical on last night’s Glee. I like the show to diversify its musical offerings and having a 3/2 split between showtunes and modern pop songs doesn’t exactly cut it.
Despite that imbalance, musically I thought last night’s episode did a pretty good job. If the last two episodes are any indication, it seems as though Glee is scaling back the number of songs per episode but giving us full performances of all of them. I’m happy to make that trade; one of my biggest peeves in all of coverland is a performer not finishing what he or she starts. Ask any of my friends how I react when a cover band only plays half of a song. It’s not pretty. Continue reading »