Cover Me Q&A: What’s your favorite instrumental cover?

 Posted by at 12:00 pm  3 Responses »
Jul 132022
 

Welcome to Cover Me Q&A, where we take your questions about cover songs and answer them to the best of our ability.

a cappella cover

Here at Cover Me Q&A, we’ll be taking questions about cover songs and giving as many different answers as we can. This will give us a chance to hold forth on covers we might not otherwise get to talk about, to give Cover Me readers a chance to learn more about individual staffers’ tastes and writing styles, and to provide an opportunity for some back-and-forth, as we’ll be taking requests (learn how to do so at feature’s end).

Today’s question: What’s your favorite instrumental cover?
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Five Good Covers: Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime (The Korgis)

 Posted by at 5:00 pm  2 Responses »
Apr 292016
 

Five Good Covers presents five cross-genre reinterpretations of an oft-covered song.

everybody's got to learn sometime covers

The Korgis really were an extraordinary group. With a name derived from the name of ubiquitous ’80s synthesizer makers Korg, they evolved out of the eccentric and often unclassifiable ’70s UK band Stackridge, at a time when fashion demanded shorter and hookier songs, shorter hair, skinny ties, and shiny suits, i.e. the ’80s. Stackridge were resolutely unfashionable and nominally prog, although their music could be an odd amalgam of twiddly instrumentals, folk, psychedelia and music hall. Their instrumentation could include anything from flutes and fiddles to dustbin lids, and bear tribute to the days when record companies had money to invest in the sometimes vainglorious pursuit of a hit, allowing a band to mature over several albums, rather than today’s one strike and you’re out.
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Five Good Covers: Life In A Northern Town (The Dream Academy)

 Posted by at 5:00 pm  3 Responses »
Nov 162012
 

Five Good Covers presents five cross-genre reinterpretations of an oft-covered song.

Nick Laird-Clowes had become friends with Paul Simon. One day he played Simon a chorus that had yet to find verses or a bridge; Simon told him that if he could build a song around it, he’d have a hit. “What are you going to call it – ‘Ah Hey Ma Ma Ma’?” Simon asked. Laird-Clowes said no, it would be called “Morning Lasted All Day.” Simon shot that down. After giving it some more thought, Laird-Clowes asked how “Life in a Northern Town” sounded; Simon said it was a great title, and the rest is what we here at Cover Me like to call history. Continue reading »

Quickies: Stephaniesid, David’s Lyre, Julia Easterlin, Blue Valentine, World History

 Posted by at 5:00 pm  1 Response »
Oct 262011
 

Quickies rounds up new can’t-miss covers. Download ‘em below.

• North Carolina collective Stephaniesid describe their sound as “pop-noir,” which is a phrase that could also be used to describe the Dream Academy (“folk-pop-noir” perhaps). Their cover of “Life in a Northern Town” brings a joyful bounce to the proceedings, adding in xylophones, horns, and whimsy aplenty.
MP3: Stephaniesid – Life in a Northern Town (The Dream Academy cover) Continue reading »