The Afghan Whigs Archives

Review: ‘The Power of the Heart: A Tribute to Lou Reed’

Posted by Seuras Og at 9:00 am No Responses »

Apr 192024

Lou Reed was quite the fella. Initially a proto-Brill Building popsmith for Pickwick Records, he morphed into a leather and shades VU biker and glam-rock trans offender. And FX metal feedback noisenik, and elder statesman socio-political commentator, before closing his recording career with a soundtrack for meditation and mindfulness. Indeed, just about anything and everything, for nearly five decades, all while being a notoriously spiky literary curmudgeon, bane of any journalist trying to capture his essence. It took music, not words, to do that, and with The Power of the Heart: A Tribute to Lou Reed, it’s officially been done.
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Pick Five: Wussy

Posted by Ray Padgett at 3:14 pm No Responses »

May 172018

In Pick Five, great artists pick five cover songs that matter to them.

Next year marks the fiftieth birthday of Robert Christgau’s “Consumer Guide” record reviews. His blurbs pioneered the idea of giving albums letter grades, and he’s graded thousands over the years. In the 2010s, though, he’s only awarded a coveted A+ four times. The recipients: A Tribe Called Quest, Laurie Anderson, Vampire Weekend, and… Wussy. As if that wasn’t high enough praise, in that Wussy review for 2014’s Attica! he dubs them “the best band in America.”

He’s not alone, either. This Ohio band, based around the duo of Chuck Cleaver (formerly of Ass Ponys) and Lisa Walker – middle and left in that top photo, respectively – has become a critics’ darling in recent years. Their new album What Heaven Is Like should only continue that trend. Billboard’s already called it “a concise 10-song meditation on hope and fear,” and it doesn’t come out until tomorrow.

Two of those ten songs are covers, the first time the band’s included any on a proper album. Not that most listeners will probably realize that they’re covers; these music superfans dig deep into the vaults, covering cult favorite folkie Kath Bloom’s “Oblivion” and 1970s garage rockers The Twinkeyz’ “Aliens in Our Midst.” Listen to the latter: Continue reading »

Wussy Cover the Beatles’ “Getting Better” as a Psych-Garage Nugget

Posted by Ray Padgett at 4:38 pm 1 Response »

May 082018

The Sunday Times said Wussy’s last record sounded like “if Michael Stipe co-wrote songs with Morrissey…then hired Neil Young, Crazy Horse and the Cowboy Junkies to play them, and asked Kevin Shields to mix them.” That’s a lot of name drops, but Wussy is the sort of band who inspires a lot of name-dropping from critics. In a rare A+ review a few years back, Robert Christgau threw Television, Sonic Youth, and Nirvana on that list.

And they’ve never been shy about embracing influences themselves (how do we know? Check our “Pick Five” series next week…). So on the eve of their new record What Heaven Is Like, they quietly dropped a new covers EP on Bandcamp. Continue reading »

The Afghan Whigs Uncover the Desperation in “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic”

Posted by Mike Misch at 2:00 pm 1 Response »

Sep 022014

Alt-rock heavyweights The Afghan Whigs, who released their first studio album in 16 years this April, have never shied away from covering a song. Finding a mildly sinister way to do it is nothing new either. But The Police‘s 1981 smash hit “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic,” with its reggae-tinged, new-wave pick-me-up appeal, seems at first to be an unlikely candidate for a Whigs cover. Continue reading »

The Emperors of Wyoming Redeliver Afghan Whigs’ “Rebirth of the Cool”

Posted by Chet Thomas at 10:00 am 1 Response »

Apr 042014

References abound with this cover. A band that takes their name from a Neil Young song covers The Afghan Whigs’ song that is a play on the title of a Miles Davis album, Birth of the Cool. Some critics say The Emperors of Wyoming sound like Tom Petty, Tom Waits and Creedence Clearwater Revival while one of their songs, “Brand New Heart of Stone,” is an obvious tribute to The Rolling Stones track with a similar name. Continue reading »

Cover Classics: Backbeat [Original Soundtrack]

Posted by Greg Duncan at 5:00 pm No Responses »

Jul 122013

Cover Classics takes a closer look at all-cover albums of the past, their genesis, and their legacy.

Considering The Beatles’ impact on music, pop culture and beyond, surprisingly few filmmakers have taken on the challenge of telling the legendary band’s story on the big screen. Director Iain Softley stands apart as one of the few who wasn’t daunted; his very first film, Backbeat, tells the story of the Beatles’ raucous early years as a cover band, performing in the seedy red-light district of Hamburg, Germany. The film concentrates on the love triangle amongst John Lennon, then-bassist Stuart Sutcliffe, and German photographer Astrid Kirchherr.
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