May 242022
 

Rarely Covered looks at who’s mining the darkest, dustiest corners of iconic catalogs.

bob dylan late 1960s

Today, on Bob Dylan’s actual birthday, we present part two in our week-long series showcasing covers of lesser-known Dylan songs.

I explained my methodology for defining “lesser-known” in part one on the early ‘60s tunes, but, briefly, the main criteria is that it can’t have appeared on a proper album. Then I just eliminated some additional well-known non-album tracks.

The late ‘60s offer a wealth of such tracks that have been covered – if not often, very well at least once or twice. Dive in below, and check back tomorrow as we enter Bob’s 1970s.

Happy birthday Bob! Continue reading »

Mar 142016
 
stephen_malkmus

Not only did Will Arnett somehow convince Stephen Malkmus of Pavement to take his first-ever composer job for Arnett’s new Netflix show Flaked, but he got the ’90s rock icon to cover one of the most unlikely songs we can think of: Jimmy Buffett‘s “Margaritaville” – the song than spawned a thousand restaurants. The whole thing is not out yet, but 60 seconds appears at the end of one of the episodes, and you can listen to that clip below. Continue reading »

Jun 262014
 

1994. A brilliant year for music. In my native UK, we heard the first rumblings of Britpop with the release of Oasis’s ‘Live Forever’, ‘Parklife’ by Blur and Primal Scream’s ‘Rocks’. Stateside, Green Day released their classic ‘Dookie’, Johnny Cash had his his renaissance with his first Rick-Rubin produced album, and Outkast unleashed their debut. Continue reading »

Aug 242011
 

Go put on “Gold Soundz.” Sunny alterna-pop at it’s finest, sonically summing up that twentysomething drunken summer spent at the moon tower. Feel the UV rays coming from the speakers. Did you ever think you’d hear a version you’d want played at your funeral?

Astrid Swan, already no stranger to the covers scene, looked to the catalog of one of the most revered bands in alternative music and put it through her Finnish-pixie prism. Hits (Pavement For Girls) is the result, as varied as it may be. The first question that comes to the male mind while letting Swan’s icily-expansive interpretations seep their way in: is this really how Pavement sounds to women? Continue reading »