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, May 17th, 2009
Matthew AvignoneFor an establishment with the history and mythology that it has, the Chelsea Hotel in New York City really isn’t all that expensive – rooms can be had for as little as $129 a night which, for Manhattan, is kind of dirt cheap. Of course, it’s far from opulent and you’re probably not guaranteed the sort of time Leonard Cohen immortalized in his song, “Chelsea Hotel No 2”.
It’s one of Cohen’s finest compositions and certainly one of his most-covered, Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam one of hundreds who’ve committed a version of it to tape, this recording dates back to around 2002. But though it’s both old and rare, it doesn’t appear on his forthcoming double-disc collection of rarities, Around The Well. Perhaps it was too obvious, considering the covers that did make the cut include songs originally by The Flaming Lips, Stereolab and The Postal Service.
Around The Well is out on Tuesday, the same date that Leonard Cohen plays Copp’s Coliseum in Hamilton. Me, I saw him on Thursday. More on that forthcoming.
MP3: Iron & Wine – “Chelsea Hotel No 2”
Video: Leonard Cohen – “Chelsea Hotel No. 2” (live in San Sebastian, 1988)
Sunday, May 10th, 2009
Rate Your MusicIf this were a perfect world, then rather than Bruce Springsteen have played here this past week and The National rolling in for a show at the Kool Haus next Thursday, both would have found themselves in town at the same time. And of course, the Boss somehow would have found his way down to the National’s show and joined them onstage for the encore, where he’d have joined them on his Nebraska tune which they’d covered for the opening night of the New York Guitar Festival back in 2006. And it would have been epic. And of course, Bruce would have still managed somehow to do this while playing this standard three-hour show – maybe ducking out during an extended sax solo. Perfect world, remember?
But, of course, this is far from a perfect world – a fact I’ve been very much reminded of lately – so we’ll have to accept that Springsteen will be enjoying a homecoming in East Rutherford, New Jersey the evening that The National kick off a short tour here in Toronto. But considering they’re not technically touring Boxer anymore, it’s not unreasonable to think that the set list could contain a few surprises – some new stuff, certainly, although we’re told not to expect a new record till next year, but maybe also a cover or two? Maybe this one?
The live recording from the New York Guitar Festival originally appeared as the b-side on the Apartment Story 7″ and again surfaced on the audio portion of last year’s A Skin, A Night/The Virginia EP documentary/b-sides compilation package.
MP3: The National – “Mansion On The Hill”
Video: The National – “Mansion On The Hill” (live in NYC 2006)
Video: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – “Mansion On The Hill” (live in NYC 2000)
Sunday, May 3rd, 2009
Fat CatScots The Twilight Sad don’t come across as the cheeriest folks you’ll meet, at least not musically. Though subsequent releases have seen the band becoming a touch more interested in atmospherics and dialing down the sonic blitzkrieg a bit, their 2007 debut Fourteen Autumns, Fifteen Winters is still a towering example of angst made audible, in deafening fashion.
And it’s that aesthetic – massive, roaring guitars and James Graham’s thick Scottish brogue – that the band brings to this live Joy Division cover, taken from last year’s tour-only album of odds and sods, Killed My Parents And Hit The Road. Song and structure-wise, it’s done pretty faithfully, but sounds as if all that anxiety and tension that was wound up in Ian Curtis’ voice is let loose in a torrent of guitar. I approve.
The Twilight Sad are opening up for Mogwai on first leg of their North American tour, finishing up this week in Chicago but not before they play Toronto on Monday night at the Phoenix. Then it’s back to Scotland where they’re working on final mixes of their next album. In this interview with Citizen Dick a couple months ago, they said that they were looking at an October 2009 release with more North American touring to follow.
MP3: The Twilight Sad – “Twenty Four Hours”
Video: Joy Division – “Twenty Four Hours” (fan video)
Sunday, April 26th, 2009
iTunesThe Kills have been called a lot of things – punk, blues, rock, garage – but never country. So it was a bit of an eye/ear-opener when the duo opted to perform a Patsy Cline cover as part of an acoustic session they recorded for iTunes earlier this year. Even more surprising was that singer Alison Mosshart actually did the country classic some justice – that she’s got a pair of pipes is well-established, but till now she’s specialized in sounding sexy, raw and unhinged. Vulnerable and yearning – that’s new.
But don’t expect to see too much – or any – of this side on The Kills’ current tour, which rolls into The Phoenix next Thursday night, May 7. They’re still touring 2008’s greasily excellent Midnight Boom, whose seedy urban vibe is as far from the country as you can get. They’re also reissuing their 2003 debut Keep On Your Mean Side on May 5, bolstered with five bonus cuts.
There’s an extensive feature on Alison Mosshart at Interview Magazine.
MP3: The Kills – “Crazy”
Video: Patsy Cline – “Crazy”
Sunday, April 19th, 2009
Frank YangYoung bands who find themselves on the road for extended periods of time without a lot of material to draw on will frequently start throwing covers into the mix not only to pad out the set to a reasonable length, but also to amuse themselves (and hopefully the audience as well). And so it was that London folkies Noah & The Whale introduced a version of The Smiths’ classic (though pretty much every Smiths song could be called a classic) “Girlfriend In A Coma” to their shows in support of their debut Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down, substituting Morrissey’s archness for Charlie Fink’s croak and upping the tempo into jaunty skiffle-pop territory.
On their forthcoming North American tour, which includes a date at the Mod Club in Toronto on April 27, the band should have more than enough original material to fill up a set list – their second album First Days Of Spring is complete and set for release in June. Morrissey still refuses to set foot in Canada, so don’t expect to see him scheduling (and probably cancelling) any dates for his latest Years Of Refusal any time soon.
Filter have an interview with Noah & The Whale in advance of this weekend’s performance at Coachella where, in the broadest terms, they will share a bill with Morrissey.
MP3: Noah & The Whale – “Girlfriend In A Coma”
Video: The Smiths – “Girlfriend In A Coma”
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