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, October 21st, 2012
El Perro Del Mar covers The xx
Frank YangThe cover song is typically reserved for songs that influenced an artist, have great personal meaning, or just tickles their fancy and can usually be categorized as either “classic”, “obscurity”, or “ironic”. For an artist to choose a current song – and one that’s not a chart-topper or in this case, even an official single – really says something about the power of that song.
Case in point, Sweden’s Sarah Assbring, who took “Shelter” from The xx’s Mercury-winning 2009 self-titled debut and made it a fixture of El Perro Del Mar’s live shows in support of her 2010 record Love Is Not Pop, taking the time to properly arrange the song for her band rather than just toss it off. It doesn’t stray too far from the original as Assbring’s voice does the sultry/lonely thing as well as Romy Madley Croft; maybe even better as she doesn’t have an Oliver Sim to sing alongside her. The recording comes from a performance in New York in February 2010; she repeated it in Toronto a week later.
El Perro Del Mar’s new record Pale Fire is out in a few weeks on November 13. The xx released their sophomore effort Coexist last month and are at Massey Hall this Tuesday, October 23, in support.
MP3: El Perro Del Mar – “Shelter” (live at The Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY – February 17, 2010)
Video: El Perro Del Mar – “Shelter” (live at The Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY – February 17, 2010)
Video: The xx – “Shelter” (live at Live at Eurosonic – January 2010)
Sunday, October 14th, 2012
Cat Power covers Fleetwood Mac
Shawn MortensonSince Sun, Cat Power’s first record of original material in some six years – really does seem to mark a new chapter for her creatively as well as personally, I’m dialing it back – way back – for this week’s track, all the way to 1998.
This Fleetwood Mac cover was recorded as part of a radio session for Radio Munich in November of that year, and it’s pure Moon Pix-vintage Cat Power, all smoky, mysterious, and slightly wounded Chan Marshall vocals subtly improving on the melody while backed by a couple of spidery guitars. It falls into the class of the best Cat Power covers, which are easily mistakable for her own songs – no matter how well-known and well-loved they may be – but with a little effort, the original is audible and intact underneath.
Cat Power is back for her first show back in Toronto in some four and a half years this coming Saturday, October 20, at the Kool Haus. Fleetwood Mac haven’t released a new record since 2003, but confirmed earlier this year that they will be touring in 2013, their first time on the road since 2009’s Unleashed tour.
MP3: Cat Power – “Dreams”
Video: Fleetwood Mac – “Dreams” (live, 1977)
Sunday, October 7th, 2012
Frightened Rabbit covers Death Cab For Cutie
SpinLast Summer, Scotland’s Frightened Rabbit went on tour around North American supporting Death Cab For Cutie, and during the Montreal stop at which both were on the bill at Osheaga, Spin got Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison to head down to the banks of the St. Lawrence River and play a solo acoustic cover of one of Death Cab’s songs, taken from Plans.
Now this Fall, Frightened Rabbit are back on the road in North America for their own headlining tour both in support of their new EP State Hospital and in preview of their new album, due out early next year. Death Cab frontman Benjamin Gibbard has gone the solo route for his new record Former Lives, and both are in town in the next week – Frightened Rabbit at the Mod Club on Wednesday night, October 10, and Gibbard at the Danforth Music Hall on Sunday, October 14. Neither tour is going to Montreal.
I thought that was interesting, anyways.
MP3: Frightened Rabbit – “Different Names For The Same Thing”
Stream: Death Cab For Cutie – “Different Names For The Same Thing”
Sunday, September 30th, 2012
The Afghan Whigs cover The Supremes
Sub PopHistory likes to lump The Afghan Whigs in with the grunge end of the ’90s Alternative Nation scene – and yeah, they certainly benefitted from being on Sub Pop for the release of Up In It in 1990 and Gentlemen in 1993 – but they didn’t have much in common with their Pacific northwest brethren, stylistically. They came from much more of a place of R&B and soul than psych, metal, or other brand of classic rock… and while there may exist photographic evidence to prove otherwise, I don’t see Greg Dulli as much of a flannel guy.
So it actually makes a lot of sense that their only two official releases since reuniting early this year have been a couple of covers – one of 1970s soul singer Marie “Queenie” Lyons and another of 2012 R&B/hip-hop breakout star Frank Ocean. The Whigs have long made a habit of recording and releasing covers, specifically ones that point to their musical influences. Case in point, their 1992 EP Uptown Avondale which collected four Stax/Motown covers including this one (which again appeared on their 2006 best-of Unbreakable), a Holland/Dozier/Holland classic that was a #1 single in late 1964 and early 1965 for The Supremes. And it’s a pretty great example of what a few chord voicing changes can do to the character of a song, as the Whigs’ decision to take things into a minor key make it an infinitely more sinister tune; no, girl – don’t go see about him. Just don’t.
Diana Ross left The Supremes in 1970 and after a number of lineup changes, they disbanded in 1977. The Afghan Whigs are at The Phoenix on Wednesday night.
MP3: The Afghan Whigs – “Come See About Me”
Video: The Afghan Whigs – “Come See About Me”
Video: The Supremes – “Come See About Me”
Sunday, September 23rd, 2012
You Say Party! covers R.E.M.
StereogumI’ve credited this week’s selection to Vancouver’s You Say Party! rather than their former monicker of out of deference for their reasons for dropping the second half of their original name and in the interests of staying current as they prepare to make their live comeback later this week, returning from their year-and-a-half hiatus. They were still You Say Party! We Say Die! in 2007 when they contributed a track to the Stereogum-compiled Drive XV, a tribute album to mark the 15th anniversary of R.E.M.’s seminal Automatic For The People album, toning down their signature dance-punk energy for a surprisingly New Romantic-ish take on “Nightswimming”.
A little basic arithmetic tells us that if 2007 was the 15th anniversary of Automatic, then this year – 2012 – would be the 20th and surely that’d be reason enough for year-long celebrations to commemorate one the great American bands’ greatest records… and yet there’s been nothing. Maybe that’s because they’ve been concentrating on marking the 25th anniversary of another of the aforementioned great American bands’ greatest albums – that’d be Document, the deluxe reissue edition of which comes out this Tuesday, September 25. That also means we’ll have to wait five years or so for the 25th anniversary edition of Automatic, but it also means we’ve got quarter-century editions of Green and Out Of Time coming before then, so that’s something to look forward to.
You Say Party’s return is also marking an anniversary, but not theirs – their label. Paper Bag Records’ tenth birthday party goes this week, and YSP are one of the big draws for the Saturday night of the three-day bender. Odds are “Nightswimming” won’t be on the set list, but it’d be pretty sweet if it was. At the time Drive XV came out, bassist Stephen O’Shea explained to Stereogum why they chose to cover that particular song.
There probably doesn’t exist the occasion that will ever bring R.E.M. back together (though hey, the I.R.S. marque turns 35 in a couple years…). Their dissolution a year ago last week seems pretty firm, and honestly I hope they stick to it. A graceful exit is a difficult thing to achieve, and they did so. But they’ve not been idle; Spin reports that guitarist Peter Buck debuted his new band Richard M. Nixon in Seattle last week, and a solo record will be out sooner rather than later. So there’s that.
MP3: You Say Party! – “Nightswimming”
Video: R.E.M. – “Nightswimming”
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