Download This: Wakey!Wakey! Wednesdays

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Jan 192011
 

Download This scours the web’s dark corners for cool cover freebies. View past installments.

Some of you might have some familiarity with Wakey!Wakey! by now. If the band’s debut studio full-length Almost Everything I Wish I’d Said The Last Time I Saw You, released last February on Family Records, failed to catch your ear, perhaps frontman Mike Grubbs’ recurring spot as the piano-playing bartender on TV’s One Tree Hill did. And if neither of these ring a bell, maybe you’ve stumbled upon the band on their relentless touring efforts (Currently, they’re doing shows in England both as headliners and in support of James Blunt).

But whenever you have – or will – come across the building wave that is Wakey!Wakey!, you shouldn’t miss the collection of covers that a solo Grubbs released back in 2008 as part of Wakey!Wakey! Wednesdays. Featuring songs by The Decemberists, Weezer, Alicia Keys, and more, the ten tracks were released one at a time on consecutive Wednesdays (the original G.O.O.D. Fridays?), and are all available for free download or stream over at The Family Records’ site. Continue reading »

Full Albums: Weezer’s Blue Album

 Posted by at 3:19 am  No Responses »
Jun 032008
 

Put on your scarves and Buddy Holly glasses, cause today we’re bringing you the band that was emo before the term existed, and once the term did exist, still kicked ass. For everyone who grew up on the first of their three self-titled albums, and Pinkerton, here are a few new ways to think about your favorite songs. Oh, and did I mention their new one comes out tomorrow? =w=

Asher – My Name Is Jonas
One of the better-known songs on the album, I had trouble finding a decent cover of this one. The best I could find is this solo acoustic take. I like the guy’s voice, but the recording quality’s not great.

Beans – No One Else
Weezer rave!!! Someone get me a glowstick.

Christopher John – The World Has Turned and Left Me Here
One of the more obscure songs on the record, this was always a favorite of mine. This quiet take mostly does it justice, though the singer verges on whiney.

Biffy Clyro – Buddy Holly
The same group who brought you that Umbrella cover that made the blog rounds last year, here Clyro brings a spastic guitar-attack to the album’s trademark song. If you haven’t seen the original video, incidentally, it’s one of their best, so check it out.

Spoony – Undone (The Sweater Song)
It starts out just like the original. Then quickly stops being anything like the original.

Relient K – Surf Wax America
An acoustic take of a song they performed live on their ’06 tour, they strip it back to acoustic guitars and some super-sensitive harmonies. Pity this version doesn’t have the piano and steel guitar the live version does, but it’s the only decent quality recording I could find.

Wakey! Wakey! – Say It Ain’t So
This guy has gotten a lot of well-deserved hype for his cover series, and this song is a perfect example, a delicate piano take that manages to not be as lame as that description might sound.

Hermann H and the Pacemakers – In the Garage
Off the incredible – and incredibly strange – Japanese tribute album Across the Sea, Hermann brings the bossanova excitement with a full horn section.

Glasseater – Holiday
Like the original, but crunchier, and with a wannabe John Bonham on drums.

Mock Orange – Only In Dreams
At four and half minutes, the length pales in comparison to the original, but it’s a tightly-done take that makes the song as loud and rocking as everything else on the original album.

The Decemberists

 Posted by at 2:53 am  No Responses »
Apr 172008
 

The Decemberists are a group I would think had too unique a sound to either cover well or be covered. I was wrong. First up, the Decemberists cover others:

The Decemberists – Bridges and Balloons (Joanna Newsom)
Meloy’s voice is perfect for this warbling baroque melody, accompanied only by his guitar. Wait…alright, so I’m off to a bad start on my “no Colin solo recordings” pledge, but it’s technically by the Decemberists.

The Decemberists – Think About Me (Fleetwood Mac)
This one comes off of the Portland covers comp, Bridging the Distance, but the whiney, airey female vocals annoy me. The backing is fun though, and if Meloy was singing it, I think it would be much better.

The Decemberists – I’ll Come Running (Brian Eno)
A newish one from last year, the group performed it on the Sound Opinions radio show, and then live subsequently. It sounds the most like an actual Decemberists song of all these. The banjo solo probably helps.

The Decemberists – Little Boxes (Weeds Theme)
Shame on all you readers for not alerting me to the Weeds cover series, where the theme song has been covered by everyone from Randy Newman to Linkin Park. Most just do the 52-second intro clip, but the Decemberists really went into extended jam mode, stretching out past the two-minute mark. Whew.

The Decemberists – Human Behavior (Björk)
I always claim to hate Björk, but songs like this make me think I might have to change my stance. The lyrics are weird, sure, but interesting in their own anthropological way.

The Decemberists – Wuthering Heights (Kate Bush)
Former violinist Petra Haden takes the lead vocals on this number, a bit on the precious side, but with an organ background that gives it a little more oomph.

Others cover The Decemberists:

Kiki & Herb – I Was Meant for the Stage (The Decemberists)
From a cross-dressing twisted cabaret act, this song has me a bit perplexed. It sounds so natural sounding like Judy Garland on Broadway, you can’t quite remember how it was a Decemberists song originally.

Simon Murtha-Smith – Shankill Butchers (The Decemberists)
There’s nothing inherently special about this cover: a whiney white guy strumming an acoustic guitar and singing the song straight. So maybe it’s the quality of the voice, maybe it’s the dedication to the lyrics, or maybe it’s the emotional expression in each line, but I like.

Wakey! Wakey! – Apology Song (The Decemberists)
Best of the bunch, it’s emo combined with a musical in a Ben Folds sort of way. This guy has been doing a series of downloadable covers that have gotten quite a bit of well-deserved attention. Catch up on them here.

Patti Smith – Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect (The Decemberists)
Patti’s Twelve was one of my favorite releases of last year, but she was right to leave this one off the album proper. She’s clearly got great taste in music, but the style doesn’t really fit her voice.

Blanket Music – Red Right Ankle (The Decemberists)
Another Portland group paying tribute to their own, they turn it into a nursery rhyme with what sounds like a toy piano playing the background.

Kevin Davis – Grace Cathedral Hill (The Decemberists)
Hearing Decemberists songs outside of their original context is strange, especially when the performance style is so different. Just two guys with beautiful voices and a quiet acoustic guitar. Better than the original?

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