Apr 092018
 

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

money for nothing covers

Dire Straits got a raw deal. Their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class that should, in all rights, include Radiohead. This was the first year the band was eligible, and they in particular seemed like a shoe-in. No luck. Instead, Dire Straits are getting lined up right next to Bon Jovi and the Moody Blues in yet another slate of honorees inspiring endless articles about how out-of-touch the Hall is.

And I have nothing against Bon Jovi or the Moody Blues, but I hate seeing Dire Straits lumped in with the “classic rock for aging boomers” crowd. I mean, I get it, but Dire Straits are so much more than that to me. (Sidebar: I’d be remiss without nothing that Nina Simone and Sister Rosetta Tharpe are getting in, though it’s a shame the Rock Hall voters couldn’t find any living women or minorities to celebrate). Continue reading »

Feb 022018
 
strombo show covers

As an avant-garde jazz-influenced album, David Bowie’s final record Blackstar would seem damn-near uncoverable (unless you’re an avante-garde jazz band). But the songs keep getting covered, and by some surprising artists. Sting covered “Lazarus.” Nine Inch Nails covered “I Can’t Give Everything Away.” Amanda Palmber and Anna Calvi covered the title track. (So did Car Seat Headrest and Hiatus Kaiyote’s Nai Palm, blending it with Radiohead, no less).

The latest comes from indie-rock vets Spoon, who tackled “I Can’t Give Anything Away” on The Strombo Show, a radio program that is quickly become Canada’s answer to other international cover-shows BBC Live Lounge and Triple J “Like a Version.” Britt Daniel’s understated vocals deliver the quiet melody and bigger chorus perfectly, but the secret star of this stripped-down version might be pianist Alex Fischel. Needless to say, it sounds quite different than Nine Inch Nails’ take on the tune.

And, while we’re at it, here’s a bunch of other Strombo Show covers from recent episodes too. Continue reading »