When we put together our 50 Best Stevie Wonder Covers Ever list last year, you know what song was never in contention? “Chemical Love,” off Wonder’s 1991 soundtrack for the Spike Lee drama Jungle Fever. Because, other than a couple random YouTubers, it’s the rare Stevie tune that basically no one has covered.
Until now. Continue reading »
Last week we saw three videos from John Legend and the Roots’ Spike Lee-filmed concert. Since, JohnLegendVEVO has upped many, many more. You can watch them all here. One, however, deserves its own post.
The Legend/Roots album Wake Up! was originally inspired by them covering the Arcade Fire song of the same name. Ironically, that song was cut in favor of a protest-soul theme. We wondered what the heck their cover of “Wake Up” would sound like. Now we know. Epic. Continue reading »
Do the Right Thing. Driving Miss Daisy. John Legend and the Roots at Terminal 5. What do these things have in common? Well, if you read the headline, you already know: Spike Lee filmed them. As part of American Express’ Unstaged series pairing famous musicians with famous directors, Lee brought his Brooklyn touch to last night’s Manhattan concert. He went all out, recreating the Wake Up! album cover onstage and letting the guys do their thing.
So far only two songs have been archived, but if the recent Arcade Fire/Terry Gilliam Unstaged is any indication, the full thing will be rebroadcast in a week or two. Until then, check out Legend and the Roots performing Eugene McDaniels’ “Compared to What” and album highlight “I Can’t Write Left Handed.” As we saw before, this latter features the Roots’ “Captain” Kirk Douglas playing brain-exploding guitar. Screw “best guitarist in hip-hop”; this guy might be one of the best guitarists around period.
EDIT: Added third song, “Wake Up Everybody,” at bottom. Continue reading »