Jan 062021
 

Under the Radar shines a light on lesser-known cover artists. If you’re not listening to these folks, you should. Catch up on past installments here.

Shaye Zadravec

It’s a tradition as old as Cover Me. We put together our posts for the year’s best covers, and not 48 hours after our post is finalized, a cover crosses our radar that absolutely would have made the list had we only heard it just a few days earlier. It’s frustrating, but at least we’re in a position where we can still spread the word.

For me, 2020’s woulda-coulda-shoulda song was “Skyway” by Shaye Zadravec, from her cover album Now and Then. She’s a new name to me, but in Calgary she’s been performing for almost a decade, getting the attention and mentorship of Ian Tyson (“Four Strong Winds”) and Chip Taylor (“Wild Thing,” “Angel of the Morning”) in the process. Catch her here while her star is still ascending.

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Jun 112018
 

In Pick Five, great artists pick five cover songs that matter to them.

the posies covers

Beloved power-pop stalwarts The Posies turn 30 this year, and are celebrating with an ambitious round of reissues of their first three major-label albums: 1990’s Dear 23 (out this Friday), 1993’s Frosting on the Beater (out August 3), and 1996’s Amazing Disgrace (out October 28). All feature new remasters from the original tapes and unheard bonus tracks. While we wait, relive the original version of one of their biggest hits, “Dream All Day.”

The band is currently on a lengthy 30th anniversary tour (upcoming dates at the bottom, and also here), but founding members Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer took some downtime in the van to tell us about their favorite cover songs. As will not surprise anyone who’s heard their music, they really like Elvis Costello! Also not surprising: These two guys know their stuff, digging deep into the crates of soul, college-rock, and beyond.

And now, join Ken and Jon as they lead you on a guided tour through their cover-song collections… Continue reading »