Each week I'm posting a random or not-so-random cover song. Only the current week's track will be available but if you see a past one you'd like, contact me and we'll make arrangements.
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Sunday, January 2nd, 2011
British Sea Power covers Pixies
Frank YangThe first covers selection of 2011 is inspired by the first major record release of 2011, at least in my books, and that’s Valhalla Dancehall the new album from British Sea Power. And for the track, we reach back three years and a bit for Dig For Fire: A Tribute To Pixies, a tribute album dedicated to the college rock forebears.
The Brighton-based band not only turned their selection it into an instrumental, but they turned it into an ambient instrumental – the finished product has more in common with Caribou the band than “Caribou” the Pixies song. In fact, it’s nigh unrecognizable, even if you know what the song is supposed to be, the only obvious connection being the melodic hook at the end of the chorus. And while most of it’s rather serene – perfect for the post-New Year’s Eve weekend – it does get abrasive towards the end, because what’s a Pixies cover without a quiet-LOUD dynamic shift?
Valhalla Dancehall is out next week. Pixies continue to not release new music but make old show recordings from both their original run and reunion available for download. In addition, their latest best-of compilation Wave of Mutilation: The Best of the Pixies gets a double-vinyl release next week.
MP3: British Sea Power – “Caribou”
Video: Pixies – “Caribou” (live @ Coachella)
Sunday, December 26th, 2010
The Flaming Lips cover Frank Sinatra
GVSBAnother year of covers done, and it was – for me, at least – a pretty good year. Which I think rates lower than “very good”, but I’ll take it. And it was a pretty good year for The Flaming Lips, as well. After returning to active duty as a band who makes records, rather than a band who makes films and commercials and whatnot, with last year’s Embryonic, they spent 2010 doing what they arguably do best – put on amazing and outrageous live shows. And they’ll cap it off this New Year’s Eve with a complete album performance of their masterpiece The Soft Bulletin in their hometown of Oklahoma City.
Furthermore, according to Rolling Stone, they’re aiming to make 2011 pretty special as well. Wayne Coyne says they’re going to record and release a new song every month next year and document the process on video. The intention is that the songs be collected in an album form, when all is said and done, and the video footage edited down to an accompanying film. And then of course they will tour some more.
And so we close out 2010 with a track that dates back many years, good and bad, to 1993. It’s a contribution the Lips, along with a bevy of acts who’d never make it out of the college rock underground, made to Chairman of the Board: Interpretations of Songs Made Famous by Frank Sinatra, a tribute album to Ol’ Blue Eyes and the songs he made famous, if not wrote or originally recorded – this one was originally recorded by Bob Shane of The Kingston Trio.
Happy New Year, all.
MP3: The Flaming Lips – “It Was A Very Good Year”
Stream: Frank Sinatra – “It Was A Very Good Year”
Sunday, December 19th, 2010
A bunch of people cover a bunch of Christmas tunes
ICHCI’m not really a Christmas person. I’m certainly not against it or a conscientious abstainer, at least not from its secular aspects, I just do my best to ignore it for the first couple weeks of December until denial gives way to blind panic when I realize I still have too much to do to the degree in which I do participate. Things end up so hectic that actually enjoying the season, whatever that means, is mostly out of the question.
One thing the holidays are good for, though, are covers as everyone and their mother seems inspired to track a seasonal standard or two. The potential downside of this is that the same tunes crop up, year after year, but I think I’ve collected a bunch of more recent/less ubiquitous tunes that will hopefully come across as a little fresher to your ears. Happy statutory holidays, everyone!
Billy Bragg and Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine teamed up for the BBC last year in taking on the Pogues holiday classic. I’ve mixed feelings about Welch’s parts, and not just because Kirsty MacColl can’t be touched – while it’s nice to hear her not overpower things with her voice for a change, the restrained Flo sounds kind of bored. Billy, however, is wonderful as always.
MP3: Billy Bragg and Florence & The Machine – “Fairytale Of New York”
Video: Billy Bragg and Florence & The Machine – “Fairytale Of New York”
Video: The Pogues with Kirsty MacColl – “Fairytale Of New York”
British duo Slow Club gave their debut album Yeah, So? a North American release this year and followed it up with the holiday-themed Christmas, Thanks For Nothing EP last week, which included this terrific cover this Phil Spector tune (performed by Darlene Love) which allows Rebecca Taylor to show off her pipes in a way she doesn’t get to nearly enough.
MP3: Slow Club – “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”
Stream: Darlene Love – “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”
Another British duo making noise this year was Summer Camp, first thanks to the mysteriousness of their identities and then the retro-pop excellence of their debut EP Young. They got into the Christmas spirit with a cover of the beloved Waitresses tune.
MP3: Summer Camp – “Christmas Wrapping”
Stream: Summer Camp – “Christmas Wrapping”
London’s 6 Day Riot, who released their third record On This Island earlier in the year, wished their fans a merry Christmas with this cover of this Pretenders song which, for my money, is always overlooked/underappreciated when it comes to seasonal songs. It’s one of my very favourites.
MP3: 6 Day Riot – “2000 Miles”
Video: The Pretenders – “2000 Miles” (live)
Bostoninans Wheat are working on their next album, the follow-up to last year’s White Ink, Black Ink, but still found the time to record a couple of Christmas tunes to give away – the b-side is an original composition and the a-side is the song made famous by Judy Garland in Meet Me In St. Louis.
MP3: Wheat – “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”
MP3: Wheat – “It’s Snowing – I Love You”
Video: Judy Garland – “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”
Toronto’s Ohbijou covered Wham!‘s “Last Christmas” as a special treat last year about this time, and yet in the interim it hasn’t been added to the not-quite-definitive index of covers of that song over at www.last-christmas.com. Someone get on that! The band would, but they’re busy making album number three.
MP3: Ohbijou – “Last Christmas”
Video: Wham! – “Last Christmas”
The Rural Alberta Advantage only played this song – which I thought was traditional but actually only dates back to 1941 and was written by Katherine Davis (thanks Wikipedia – this past Thursday night at their hometown show at Lee’s Palace, but it was captured for posterity thanks to Joe at Mechanical Forest Sound. The RAA are set to release album number two in Departing come March 1 and have just been announced as playing the New Year’s Eve show at The Tranzac on, um, New Year’s Eve. Tickets were going fast and will now be going faster.
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Little Drummer Boy” (live)
Sunday, December 12th, 2010
The Rural Alberta Advantage cover Survivor
Saddle CreekFor the longest time, despite actually being alive and conscious when it was a hit, I thought that this Rocky theme song was not by Survivor but Frank Stallone, brother to Sylvester. But in fact the song I was thinking of was “Far From Over” and was the theme song to the John Travolta vehicle Staying Alive – but you can see how I got confused – beyond the nepotism angle, both are indelibly ’80s and inspirationally anthemic. It’s just that one was inspiring underdog Tony Manero to follow his dreams and dance, while the other was inspiring underdog Rocky Balboa to follow his dreams and hit people.
Maybe both songs prompted Nils Edenloff to follow his dreams and move from his native rural Alberta to Toronto and form The Rural Alberta Advantage, and his decision to cover the Survivor tune as a b-side to the “Drain The Blood” 7″ was his way of paying tribute to that inspiration. And maybe I can request a take on that Stallone song as a b-side to one of the singles from their forthcoming second album Departing.
The Rural Alberta Advantage play a sold-out hometown show at Lee’s Palace this Thursday and Departing will be released on March 1 of next year. Neither Survivor nor Frank Stallone have done anything of note in nigh on twenty-five years but continue, I would think, to live comfortably on the royalties from the aforementioned songs and films.
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Eye Of The Tiger”
Video: Survivor – “Eye Of The Tiger”
Sunday, December 5th, 2010
Superchunk covers The Cure
AV ClubThis week’s selection again comes from that treasure trove of people-doing-other-people-but-not-in-that-way-you-sicko goodness that is the AV Club Undercover. One of the things I liked about this series, besides everything, is that they didn’t only have it set up so that is was the new guard covering the old guard, but got a couple of the latter in to tackle other artists’ material as well.
So when the back with a vengeance Superchunk got their turn in the studio – and even though their own “Detroit Has A Skyline” was still in play, if they felt like not being sporting – they reached back another generation and opted to take on The Cure. And not one of their broodier numbers, though that’d have been interesting to hear, but the 1985 single which would serve as the blueprint for most of The Cure’s unabashed pop singles and biggest hits. Mac McCaughan’s voice is about as opposite from Robert Smith’s as you’re going to find, but otherwise the ‘Chunk pay pretty faithful service to The Cure in their take.
Superchunk’s first record in almost a decade, Majesty Shredding, gives the band reason to return to Toronto for the first time in forever this week with an in-store at Sonic Boom on Thursday, December 9 at 3PM in advance of their show opening up for Broken Social Scene at the Sound Academy that evening. The Cure haven’t put out a new record since 2008’s 4:13 Dream but their classic Disintegration was given a three-disc reissue this year so they’ve not been up to nothing, and Smith has promised more archival releases in the near future. And he’s also stopped saying each record/tour is going to be their last, so there’s that.
The Twin Cities welcome Superchunk back with a studio session at MPR and an extensive interview with McCaughan at Minneapolis City Pages.
MP3: Superchunk – “In Between Days”
Video: Superchunk – “In Between Days”
Video: The Cure – “In Between Days”
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