May 192020
 
quarantine covers
Amy Helm – Twilight (The Band cover)

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Mar 262012
 

Michael Pomranz, who records with a rotating cast as World Blanket, based his upcoming record 2012 on the writings of psychedelic drug guru Terence McKenna. It comes as no surprise, then, that the man is a Syd Barrett fan. (Fun fact: he’s also the Tosh.0 writer who first discovered Rebecca Black’s “Friday” – but try not to hold that against him). Continue reading »

Nov 092011
 

Just last week, we posted King Khan’s new quasi-solo Jay Reatard cover. We noted that this followed the dissolution of his beloved psych-garage outfit The King Khan and BBQ Show. Well, it also preceded the official reunion. Khan and Mark Sultan have returned following their acrimonious split with a new 7”. The A-Side is new song “We Are the Ocean” and the flip holds a post-Pink Floyd Syd Barrett cover.

The duo tackle Barrett’s “Terrapin,” which has also seen covers by Phish and Syd’s Floyd replacement David Gimour. Their version is a Nuggets-style psychedelic haze, tambourine and theremin soundtracking their return. Stream it below, then buy the 7” at Midheaven Mailorder.

The King Khan and BBQ Show – Terrapin (Syd Barrett cover)

Buy the “We Are the Ocean/Teremin” 7” at Midheaven Mailorder.

Oct 282011
 

In the Spotlight showcases a cross-section of an artist’s cover work. View past installments, then post suggestions for future picks in the comments!

In 1984 a band from Glasgow released a song that sounded like the inside of a jet engine factory, only you could hum it. The song was “Upside Down,” and it stayed on the UK indie charts for almost a year and a half. The band was The Jesus and Mary Chain, less content to push the envelope than to blow a hole through it with feedback and distortion. With their first album, Psychocandy, they made it official: here was a group that combined the squall of The Velvet Underground and the tunefulness of The Beach Boys to make torture chamber pop, producing a wall of sound that surely had Phil Spector nodding approvingly. Continue reading »

Sep 292011
 

As expected, last night’s Pink Floyd tribute on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon dug a little deeper than the previous two (here and here). MGMT, a band who seem like they’ve seen The Wall a time or two, dug out “Lucifer Sam.” The Syd Barrett-penned tune first appeared on Floyd’s 1967 debut The Piper at the Gates of Dawn and hasn’t been heard much from since. Continue reading »

Feb 112011
 

Live Collection brings together every live cover we can find from an artist. And we find a lot.


Hailing from Chicago, IL, the Smashing Pumpkins helped blaze a trail for the wave of apathy that infected most ’90s alternative rock. They also gave hip kids from the Midwest the first nationally-recognizable band they could take pride in since Cheap Trick. Formed in 1988, the Pumpkins enjoyed over a decade of fame and influence until noted in-fighting brought about their dissolution at the turn of the millennium. After numerous side-projects and member-shuffling, the Pumpkins have once again taken to the stage under the leadership of Billy Corgan, perhaps one of rock music’s true auteurs.

The Pumpkins have celebrated their diverse influences via cover songs throughout their career. A quick scan of their recorded catalog reveals studio takes of tracks originally by acts like the Cars, Van Halen, Alice Cooper, the Cure and Missing Persons. Their live shows are similarly peppered with covers that one might not expect to hear from these iconic slackers. Some of these do seem like a natural fit though: it’s not too hard to draw a line to the Pumpkins from Neil Young, Depeche Mode or Pink Floyd, for instance. Continue reading »