If you missed the whole brouhaha when Steely Dan dropped Aimee Mann as their opening act, it’s too long to recap here. To skip to the end, Mann tweeted, “All is forgiven if Donald [Fagan] just tells me what Brooklyn is about.” And he did! So, at a recent show at City Winery, she covered it. All does indeed appear to be forgiven. Continue reading »
“Love Gun,” the title track to KISS’ 6th album, is not one of their bigger hits but is regarded by lead singer Paul Stanley as one of their signature songs. Like most of KISS’ repertoire, it’s fairly straightforward arena rock with lyrics that don’t leave much to the imagination. But it features a fun, scale-climbing solo by Ace Frehley, some bolero-esque breaks and the bass part practically dances. Continue reading »
Some covers are more equal than others. Good, Better, Best looks at three covers and decides who takes home the gold, the silver, and the bronze.
While going back through the hundreds of new covers I’ve amassed in preparation for our upcoming Best Covers of 2020 list, I noticed a micro-trend: Heavy metal covers of Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down a Trend” were big this year. So let’s rank three of ’em.
The Don’t Sleep cover is good.
The Two Minutes to Late Night cover is better.
The Inter Arma cover is best. Continue reading »
Gotye‘s “Somebody That I Used to Know” has pretty much conquered the world over the past few months, leaving heaps of cover versions and newly-minted YouTube celebrities in its wake. Now the hyper-catchy Australian earworm is even making its mark on the world of loud rock and metal, with New York rockers Coheed and Cambria adding it to their live set. The performance has hit the internet thanks to fan-shot videos, including this recording from their recent stop at The Music Farm in Charleston, South Carolina. Continue reading »
Rhode Island’s favorite indie-hipster-country-folk rockers Deer Tick make quite an impression in a live setting, following in the long tradition of light beer-soaked guitar riffs, loud drumming and rough, attitude-heavy vocals. In a recent session for LaundroMatinee they paid tribute to their roots-rock forefathers, the legendary ZZ Top. Taking on the song “Cheap Sunglasses,” a fitting choice considering frontman John J. McCauley’s taste in eyewear, they let their ’70s influences run wild. Continue reading »
They Say It’s Your Birthday celebrates an artist’s big day with cover tributes to his or her songs. Let others do the work for a while. Happy birthday!
Bruce Dickinson may be the most metal individual of all time. Not only does he front Iron Maiden, one of the pioneering groups of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and a genre-defining titan of rock, but he’s also a licensed commercial airline pilot. That means that he can charter a Boeing 757 to fly fans of his band to gigs they might not otherwise reach, something he’s actually done before. He’s even got a special plane named after his band’s mascot, “Ed Force One.” Continue reading »