Cover News: February 27, 2010

 Posted by at 6:45 pm  3 Responses »
Feb 272010
 

Cover News is a weekly feature keeping you up to date on the goings-on in the world of cover tunes, tribute albums, etc. Plus, at the bottom we post the array of cover tunes we’ve been sent in the past week. Have you recorded a cool cover? Send an mp3 to the address on the right! As always, follow Cover Me on Twitter for the latest news.

Angélique Kidjo


This Week’s News

Remember when Weezer was good? Kristy Brannon does. Check out her “Say It Ain’t So” recorded for Cover Me. [Cover Me]

Angélique Kidjo is putting a new spin on the whole cover album thing, singing songs that inspired her as a child growing up in Benin. The songs range from a traditional lullaby to “Cold Sweat,” with Bono and John Legend along for the ride. [Kidjo]

Y’all want 14 more Lady Gaga covers? Thought so. [Twitter]

I don’t know what “I Put a Spell on You” has to do with Haiti, but after so many awful choices (“Everybody Hurts”…really??) that’s a blessing. Shane MacGowan (sober!), Johnny Depp (somber!) and friends sing it for charity. [YouTube]

Way back in November of 2008 we posted a full-album cover set of In Rainbows. If we did it again, we’d have to include Bat For Lashes’ string quartet-assisted version of “All I Need.” [24 Bit]

We’d also include Oh No Ono’s “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi.” Why is everyone loving on Rainbows all of a sudden? [Stereogum]

Do the D.A.N.C.E. I mean it! Do it now! [Et Musique Pourtous]

Bettye LaVette’s rendition of “Love Reign O’er Me” at 2008’s Kennedy Center Honors apparently brought Pete Townshend to tears. He can cry all over again when it comes out on Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook. [Paste]

These days Conway Twitty is best known as a long-running Family Guy gag, but he made music at one point too. Bonnie “Prince” Billy remembers. [My Old Kentucky Home]

While the world awaits a new My Morning Jacket album, Jim James is off performing some Valentine’s Day covers for the swooning masses. [You Ain’t No Picasso]

The XX have been getting so much blog love, it was only a matter of time before the covers started rolling in. Listen to El Perro del Mar’s take on “Shelter” at a recent NYC show. [Vimeo]

After weird-ifying The Velvet Underground & Nico and Songs of Leonard Cohen, Beck has just finished covering Skip Spence’s Oar with help from Feist. [Musical Pairings]

When Friendly Fires aren’t stirring shit up with Radiohead, they make music. Sometimes people cover that music. [Stereogum]

Cover Dylan, win fame and fortune! [Dylan Radio]

This Week’s Submissions

DREAMS – In Dreams (Roy Orbison) [more]

Luc & Nóe – 12:51 (The Strokes) [more]

My Favorite Robot – Fascination Street (The Cure) [more]

NewDay – Fire Love (Lil Wayne/Sade) [more]

Paper the Operator – I Get Wet (Andrew W.K.) [more]

Duke Robillard – Bye Bye Blues (Hamm/Bennett/Lown/Gray) [more]

Julian Shah-Tayler – Just Like Heaven (The Cure) [more]

Seth Shellhouse – I’ll Keep It With Mine (Bob Dylan) [more]

The Steel Wheels – Red Wing (Trad.) [more]

The Steel Wheels – Workin’ on a Building (Trad.) [more]

Send your cover to the address on the right for inclusion!

Cover Commissions: James Eric

 Posted by at 1:10 am  1 Response »
Feb 192009
 

Hello cover lovers! It’s an exciting day here at Cover Me, for we are debuting a new series. For over a year now I’ve been bringing you covers from all over the interwebs, passing along the best and the strange, the gorgeous and the goofy. However, I’ve been thinking, why be content as a middleman? Why not offer some original content? Since I have no musical talent myself (you know, the old critic as failed musician thing), it’s time to start recruiting people with actual talent. So let me present…Cover Commissions, Volume 1.

Here’s the gist. Every month we will present to you an artist, one who’s probably showed up on the blog before, one whom I feel has a lot to offer cover-wise. Said artist has signed on to produce a special, never-before-heard cover for Cover Me. A commissioned work minus the money. What song will be covered? Well that depends on the artist, but as often as possible, the song choice is up to you! Read on (and if you’re an artist interested in hopping aboard, email me!)


So without further ado allow me present this month’s artist, the man to kick off Cover Commissions: James Eric. You’ve seen James here before, covering Sigur Rós and Justin Timberlake. However, those just scratch the proverbial surface of the covers machine that is James Eric. He’s got dozens on his website, and now he’s signed on to produce a special cover for us!

What song, you ask? Well, this is where you come in. To the right you’ll see a poll of ten songs that James and I came up that he could cover for us. Cast your vote and within a week or two a brand-new cover of the winning tune will be up for your enjoyment! Without further ado…drum roll…here are your options!

Lily Allen – Everybody’s At It
Devo – Beautiful World
The Hold Steady – Slapped Actress
Justice v. Simian – We Are Your Friends
Gladys Knight & the Pips – Midnight Train to Georgia
MGMT – Time To Pretend
Patti Smith – Land
Vampire Weekend – M79
Tom Waits – Misery Is the River of the World
Stevie Wonder – Signed, Sealed, Delivered

There you have it. Ten songs, both indie and classic, but there can only be one winner. Before you vote though, do your research! For starters, head on over to James’ site and listen to some of his other covers (I’ve linked a few below). Then track down any of the original songs you may not know. They should mostly be available at the Hype Machine (do a search, then click the “Read full post” link if there isn’t a play button) or, barring that, Free Napster (search by track). Which would work best with James’ style? Which would be fun to have a cover of? Cast your vote and if you’re so inclined, post a comment explaining your choice. Also, if you have a better name for this feature that Cover Commissions, I’m open to suggestions.

You have one week to vote, so hop to it! To help you along, here’s a few samples.

James Eric – Mrs. Officer (Lil Wayne)

James Eric – Dreaming (Blondie)

James Eric – Reservations (Wilco)

Best of 2008…Again

 Posted by at 6:57 pm  No Responses »
Jan 142009
 

–Edit: Reposted, with the offending link removed.–

Didn’t best of 2008 lists get played out in, oh, 2008? Yes. I even already had a post on the best covers of the year. So what is this? Well, I get a kick out of year-end lists, so I really enjoyed seeing the Hype Machine compile hundreds of them into one master list of the fifty most highly-rated albums on the blogosphere. You can read it most easily here, though there aren’t too many surprises. Regardless, I though I’d throw up all the covers I had of songs from these albums. In true year-end list fashion, they’re in descending order.

Laura Barrett – Gamma Ray (Beck, Modern Guilt)
I’ll be honest: I like Beck, loathed this album. I only even made it throw once, it just seemed like experimental mush that took me nowhere. Luckily, Barrett heard something I didn’t, as her twee karimba (wikipedia it) cover gives it a fuzzy cuteness that the grunge-synth of the original obliterated. [Buy]

Friendly Fires – I’m Good I’m Gone (Lykke Li, Youth Novels)
Count me out of the Lykke Li obsession too. From the first time I saw her spastically gyrating on Conan, I knew this strange Swede was not for me. Friendly Fires strips away the irritating production enough to make it more tolerable, though it sneaks in towards the end. [Buy]

Holy Fuck – Balloons (Foals, Antidotes)
I haven’t actually heard the original here, but this unfortunately-named band’s electronica take slowly draws you in, taking it sweet time to add layer to layer. [Buy]

Mason Proper – Get Innocuous/Love Lockdown (LCD Soundsystem/Kanye West, 808s and Heartbreak)
Brilliant. Mason Proper takes the bass line and lyrics from the Kanye hit and throws in some LCD production for a take that may just eclipse the slow-burn original. A point in Proper’s favor: no AutoTune. [Buy]

Ola Podrida – Calling and Not Calling My Ex (Okkervil River, The Stand Ins)
Having a go at another album that passed me by, Podrida brings out a sweet indie melody that stands on its own so well I’m having trouble imagining the original. [Buy]

Noah23 – Canadian Dollars (A Milli) (Lil’ Wayne, Tha Carter III)
Though not as blog-worthy as when ?uestlove held down the a milli’s with Jimmy-Fallon-houseband The Roots (video), Noah23 challenges Weezy by throwing down his own verses instead of Wayne’s. It’s a hip-hop cover of a hip-hop song, but one completely different. [Buy]

The Kooks – Violet Hill (Coldplay, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends)
A live acoustic take for the BBC, this cover-loving indie group strips back the Brian Eno production to focus on the herky-jerky melody and falsetto-swoon chorus. A song everyone got sick of long ago gets some welcome new life. [Buy]

Roommate – Lights Out (Santogold, Santogold)
The slow pulse oozes sex on this come-on cover that makes you want to be more than just Roommates. [Buy]

Radiohead – The Rip (Portishead, Third)
Frankly, I didn’t see the hype about this album, but Thom Yorke’s plucking makes this one sound like an acoustic In Rainbows outtake. The original ‘Head gets good…head…from another ‘Head. Now if only Motörhead gets on board, the trinity will be complete. [Buy]

David Porteous – Electric Feel (MGMT, Oracular Spectacular)
David makes a bold stance here, replacing the psych-techno throb of MGMT with some crunchy blues guitar. Crunchy solo blues guitar. There’s no way this should work, but it’s fantastic. [Buy]

Hot Chip and Peter Gabriel – Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend)
It’s clear Gabriel hasn’t lost his sense of humor, choosing to be involved in this cover presumably for the sole reason that it name checks him. A lot. Sure, it’s an excellent cover in its own right, but nothing can top the moment where he sings, “And it feels so unnatural to sing your own name.” Tell that to Lil’ Wayne. [Buy]

First Aid Kit – Tiger Mountain Peasant Song (Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes)
The Kit accomplishes the shocking feat of stripping a Fleet Foxes song back even more than the original, leaving little more that a delicately strummed guitar to contend with the female duet that adds a vocal oomph to the proceedings. [Buy]

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