Aug 082011
 

Festivals often entice artists to perform covers. What better way to convert the uninitiated than by drawing them in with a song they know and then (ideally) hooking them by transforming it into your sound? This past weekend’s Lollapalooza, though, seemed to offer even more cover performances than usual. Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune even christened Saturday “#80snight” to keep track of all the ‘80s covers performed. Continue reading »

Oct 152010
 

You’ve heard Lissie plenty of times here before and we’ve seen her work her way through Kid Cudi, Lady Gaga, and Metallica covers. The next step? Led Zeppelin‘s “Stairway to Heaven” of course.

Few artists are willing to take on the Led Zeppelin classic; even fewer are willing to do it live in-studio. Brave little Lissie decided to take the risk, so she tackled the iconic song recently. Her husky, sultry voice echoes the emotion of the original and she channels Stevie Nicks (in a good way) when the song reaches its vocal climax. The video conclusively shows us that she’s into the song and wants to do it justice. Instrumentally, drums and bass stand front and center in Lissie’s version of “Stairway to Heaven” and she made sure not to leave out the recorder intro. Lissie’s risky bet pays off with an excellent version of the classic.

Let’s hope Lissie’s planning to cover Justin Bieber‘s “Baby” next. Think she could pull off Ludacris‘ rap? You bet! Continue reading »

Jun 162010
 

Music bloggers get hundreds of emails a day from bands. An obscure artist trying to get their original material heard fights an uphill battle, but there’s a shortcut that more and more artists are discovering: covers. A disc of originals may never get unwrapped, but do a semi-professional Lady Gaga cover and the blog love starts rolling in.

Illinois songwriter Lissie has figured this out. She first appeared on the horizon for many with her cover of “Bad Romance” (below). She followed up with an about face on Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” (also below). Now she’s back a third time going for real Internet cred with a cover of Pitchfork/Kanye West fav Kid Cudi. Quite disparate sources of inspiration. What’s next, Rachmaninoff?
Continue reading »