Review: The Dandy Warhols’ ‘Pin Ups’

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Mar 242026
 

You sort of know where you are with Portland’s Dandy Warhols. Their grungy fug of elemental electronica and gritty guitars rarely disappoints, nor does it stray far from their narrowly defined template. Applying a sheen of intelligent and informed dumb to everything they touch, cover versions have always proven sure ground for the quartet, making Pin Ups, their second set devoted thereto, something to relish. Given, too, the influences in their original songs are never that hard to spot, they nail more personality into the songs of others than you might reasonably expect, making this so much more than swoozy re-runs.

It is easy to imagine the discussions leading to this set of 17 songs were as much fun as the making of it. Some songs and some bands were just screaming out for inclusion–witness the Cramps and the Runaways–but I can’t say Dylan and the Beatles were expected to be featured, let alone the particular songs chosen. Of course, this isn’t the first airing for all of these songs, some collated and curated from previous forays into tribute discs and similar. Overall, there is also a stronger UK goth presence than might have been expected, with a song from the Cure and two by the Cult. Any obtusely perceived debt to UK punk is likewise mined through assaults on the songbooks of both the Clash and the Damned. Intrigued? I am.
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La Roux’s Synthpop Cover of Gang of Four’s “Damaged Goods” Hides Sinister Side

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Dec 072021
 
la roux damaged goods cover

La Roux, the English singer (formerly a duo), is not the first person you’d expect to cover Gang of Four. A synthpop artist, she’s appeared on Cover Me a few times over the last decade. And synthpop did sort of emerge from post-punk. Still, Gang of Four’s sound is so angular and so aggressive it’s not something you really associate with synthpoppers.

“Damaged Goods” was Gang of Four’s first ever single and it does an excellent job of introducing listeners to Gang of Four’s famous fusion of angry British punk and American funk. La Roux’s new cover is a lot less aggressive. The music is peppy, dancey synthpop instead of the staccato bass and guitar opening of the original. And even when it moves into its groove, the original is still edgy. La Roux’s vocals also hide the anger: her voice is a high-pitched croon, in comparison to Jon King’s speak-shouting in the original.

The tenor of La Roux’s cover never really changes, which is why it’s important to watch the music video. A little over halfway through the song, La Roux starts assaulting a microwave with a bat. Apparently it’s Gang of Four’s microwave and their bat. Regardless, it’s the only thing that actually reveals the aggression in the original’s lyrics.

Pick Five: Andy Gill (Gang of Four)

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Apr 192018
 

In Pick Five, great artists tell us about five cover songs that matter to them.

gang of four covers

When post-punk pioneers Gang of Four first reunited in 2005, they told the New York Times they weren’t planning on writing any new songs. They have clearly changed their tune since then, following a couple recent albums with a new EP out this week. Way back in 1980, David Fricke called them “probably the best politically motivated band in rock & roll,” and they’re still at it: that new EP features a photo of Ivanka Trump on the cover. And its title? Complicit. (As if that wasn’t pointed enough, there’s also a Russian translation.) Continue reading »

In The Spotlight: Uncle Tupelo

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Jun 132014
 

In the Spotlight showcases a cross-section of an artist’s cover work. View past installments, then post suggestions for future picks in the comments!

There is very little that can be considered “new” in the world of popular music — everything builds on something that came before, and influences get combined in different ways. So the idea that you can declare the inventor of a musical genre is ridiculous. Uncle Tupelo didn’t invent alt-country, a mix of country, rock and punk (check out, say, Jason and the Scorchers, the Long Ryders, Rank and File, X, or the Blasters, for example, for proof that these strains were already well mixed when Uncle Tupelo emerged). But it cannot be denied that Uncle Tupelo’s debut album No Depression, which gave its name to the influential message board and magazine that spearheaded the movement, helped to kickstart the genre’s popularity and became one of its cornerstones.

And it all started with a bunch of high school kids.
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Five (or so) Good Covers: Sweet Jane (Velvet Underground)

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Nov 012013
 

Five Good Covers presents five cross-genre reinterpretations of an oft-covered song.

“Sweet Jane” is a great song. Released on 1970’s Loaded, the Velvet Underground’s last studio album featuring Lou Reed, it immediately became a staple of FM radio, despite its odd and provocative lyrics, unusual structure, and unconventional sound, and it continues to get airplay to this day. What’s the appeal? Part of it, of course, is the riff (which apparently includes a “secret chord”), part of it is the indescribable cool of Reed’s delivery, and part of it is that magic that makes some songs great and others not so much. According to Rolling Stone, it is the 335th greatest song of all time, which is curiously specific. And now, in honor of Reed’s passing earlier this week at the age of 71, the time has come to write about it here on Cover Me.
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Download Free Covers EPs from Roberts & Lord and La Resistance

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Sep 282011
 

Two free new cover EPs to direct you to today. The first comes from Roberts & Lord, a duo that met by trolling Myspace. Ex-Simian singer Simon Lord (the voice of that “We Are You Friends” song) stumbled across California producer Rafter Roberts while looking for a collaborator online and they decided to work together. The electronic experimenters soon found themselves a home on Asthmatic Kitty – aka Sufjan Stevens’ record label – and released full-lengthy debut Eponymous and this free COVERS EP. Download two tracks below (including a must-hear “Because”), then grab the full thing here. Continue reading »