Five For Friday 21 - Back From The Dead

As usual I've less than kept up with my promise to update more this year, in fact this is the worst year to date. I can't believe this is only my third post of the year??? How did that even happen? Let's just say I've had a really good year and seen some really great shows. For once we will have a Five for Friday that features all popular acts, my personal favorite being Wild Flag. For those that don't know I'm a HUGE Sleater-Kinney fan and a pretty big Helium fan as well, so this band has been like a dream project, not to say Mary Timony and Carrie Brownstein's previous project together - The Spells, wasn't awesome, but throwing Janet Weiss and Rebecca Cole in with them has made this band unstoppable. I saw Wild Flag for the third and fourth times a couple weeks ago and they did not disappoint. Carrie blew my mind on Ask The Angels even if she did douse me in beer in the process. I highly recommend checking out their album if you haven't had the chance to already.

The Widowspeak album is also pretty damn good and I'm kicking myself for missing them over CMJ, however I put all my energy into Wild Flag and then got really sick, a sickness I'm sadly still battling. Also I'm a sucker for anything by Bob Mould and I love The Decemberists so of course I'm loving this Sugar cover. Enjoy the music folks.

Wild Flag "Ask The Angels" (Patti Smith Cover)
The National "Twenty Miles To NH Part 2" (The Philistines Jr. Cover)
Asobi Seksu "Never Understand" (The Jesus and Mary Chain Cover)
Widowspeak "Wicked Game" (Chris Isaak Cover)
The Decemberists "If I Can't Change Your Mind" (Sugar Cover)

As always, support the artists, click the artist name for the website or use the links to the right to buy music as well as support the blog.

Five For Friday 20 - The Missing Edition

I have nothing to say for myself. Does anyone else remember Kenickie?

Blur "Substitute" (Who Cover)
Buffalo Tom "Heaven" (The Psychedelic Furs Cover)
Dirty Projectors "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine" (Bob Dylan Cover)
Kenickie "Save Your Kisses For Me" (Brotherhood of Man Cover)
Sonic Youth "I Know There's An Answer" (Beach Boys Cover)

As always, support the artists, click the artist name for the website or use the links to the right to buy music as well as support the blog.

Something I Learned Today: Our Concert Could Be Your Life

photo by Amanda Hatfield

Our Concert Could Be Your Life took place this past weekend at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City (how I wish I could've made it to this show) and featured an all-star indie line up of bands covering classic indie rock songs from bands featured in Michael Azerrad's book Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes From the American Indie Underground 1981-1991. The tribute show celebrated the 10th anniversary of the book and was hosted by Janeane Garofalo and Eugene Mirman. On the bill were Ted Leo (covering Minor Threat), Tune-Yards (covering Sonic Youth), Titus Andronicus (covering The Replacements), Wye Oak (covering Dinosaur Jr) & St Vincent (covering Big Black) among others including an amazing Nirvana encore with various musicians who performed earlier in the night.

I don't have any mp3's of the show but I highly recommend heading over to NPR to listen to the whole show or any specific sets that interest you.

PS I'm not quite dead.

Happy Chanukah v3

Once again we will post the same Chanukah songs as we have done in previous years (although apparently I missed last year...oops). Thankfully I've picked up a few more along the way because it seems few Jews out there want to do any new covers for us. If you know of anything post it here or send it my way. Happy Chanukah to all my Jews!

So on this 6th night of Chanukah I give you some tunes to keep you warm (just like on the first year of this blog).

Barenaked Ladies "I Have A Little Dreidel"
Barenaked Ladies "Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah"
Ben Kweller "Rock of Ages"
Erran Baron Cohen featuring Jules Brookes "Dreidel"
The Yule Logs "Hanukkah, O Hanukkah"
Michelle Citrin "Light One Candle" (Peter, Paul & Mary Cover)
Neil Diamond "The Chanukah Song" (Adam Sandler Cover)
Grape Soda "Rock of Ages"Black Tape For A Blue Girl "Chanukkah Oh Chanukkah"
Save Ferris "Christmas Wrapping" (The Waitresses Cover)

As always, support the artists, buy the music. Use the links to the right and support the blog too!

Don't Be Afraid To Sing

photo by Dominick Mastrangelo

Last night I finally had the pleasure of seeing Stars live, and not only that, I saw them in an intimate venue in Brooklyn. Tickets went on sale the day before the show and sold out pretty quickly so I was quite pleased to have snagged a couple. Show was advertised as being at 8pm, at which time I arrived only to find out doors were not opened yet. By the time we made our way inside it was already 8:30pm and the band didn't go on until around 9:45pm, no openers, just a night of Stars. They played almost all the songs I wanted to hear, except my favorite "Elevator Love Letter" which was a little disappointing but I shall live. Torquil Campbell did most of the talking, not that there was much talking and a pregnant Amy Millan stuck to a multitude of Thank You's, just a full set of music and a constant influx of white roses and rose petals being thrown out to the audience. It was a night I was glad to be part of and I'm loving that larger bands are going back to their roots and doing intimate shows lately.

Stars "Asleep" (The Smiths Cover)
Stars "Hungry Heart" (Bruce Springsteen Cover)
Stars "This Charming Man" (The Smiths Cover)
Amy Millan "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" (Death Cab For Cutie Cover)
Ben Gibbard "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead" (Stars Cover)
Jason Collet "Reunion" (Stars Cover)

As always, support the artists, click the artist name for the website or use the links to the right to buy music as well as support the blog.

Five For Friday 19 - The Wussy Edition

Summer is in full force and so am I! I've been going to a ton of shows (so many great free shows in New York in the summer - more about that later...maybe), travelling and getting lots of sunshine. All of this obviously equates to not updating of this blog. This sort of counts as an update I guess, the wussy way out I suppose.

Enjoy the cover shuffle, especially this sweet version of Divine Hammer!

Jóvenes y Sexys "Divine Hammer" (The Breeders Cover)
The Mr. T Experience "Crash" (The Primitives Cover)
Southern Culture On The Skids "(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden" (Joe South Cover)
Rogue Wave "Maps" (Yeah Yeah Yeahs Cover)
Of Montreal "More Than A Feeling" (Boston Cover)

As always, support the artists, click the artist name for the website or use the links to the right to buy music as well as support the blog.

Celebrated Summer

As everyone already knows, summer solstice has arrived. We've had gorgeous weather here in New York City recently and I never want it to end. I only wish I didn't have to work and could spend all my days at the parks and beaches in and around the city. Instead I will appease myself with some summer tunes to celebrate the official start of my favorite hot and humid season.

Cub "Summer Samba" (comp. Marcos Valle)
Bree Sharp "Boys of Summer" (Don Henley Cover)
Devendra Banhart "In The Summertime" (Mungo Jerry Cover)
Mark Kozelek "Celebrated Summer" (Husker Du Cover)
My Morning Jacket "Hot Fun In The Summertime" (Sly & The Family Stone Cover)
Peter Bjorn & John "Summer Breeze" (Seals & Crofts Cover)
PYT "Summer of 69" (Bryan Adams Cover)
R.E.M. "Summertime" (comp. Gershwin)
Soul Asylum "Summer of Drugs" (Victoria Williams Covers)
14 Iced Bears "Summer Nights" (John Travolta & Olivia Newton John Cover)

As always, support the artists, click the artist name for the website or use the links to the right to buy music as well as support the blog.

In For The Kill

Last Monday I finally saw La Roux at my least favorite venue in town, Terminal Five. It was like old times, getting to the show before doors opened to get up close and personal with Elly Jackson (except for the fact that the venue gates you away from the stage and you can't actually get up close and personal with anyone besides the other sweaty folks in the crowd). Thankfully everyone in the crowd was looking to have a good time, dancing through all the upbeat songs and giving Elly full attention when she pulled out her acoustic guitar and sat down to play "Saviour." I had an amazing time (not quite as amazing as Sleigh Bells) and I highly recommend checking out La Roux if they hit up your town on the remainder of this tour.

The British duo started in 2008 with their first single "Quicksand" and have blown up in England and across Europe and are slowly making headway in the US. La Roux have everything going for them, Elly has a strong voice, great style and a wonderful stage presence and she and Ben Langmaid write catchy, upbeat, dancey tunes that are synth heavy and make it impossible for you not to want to dance around. Most of the tunes are perfectly crafted and could have been plucked right out of an 80s pop collection, which is rather ironic because Elly was born in the late 80s. I'm a sucker for a good pop song and La Roux definitely do it right.

On July 26th a La Roux curated compilation called Sidetracked is out in the UK on Renaissance and features a studio version of "Under My Thumb," which I greatly look forward to hearing and hope to post once I have my hands on it.

Here are a trio of covers by La Roux and a bunch of folks covering La Roux, plus Heaven 17 & La Roux together doing the Heaven 17 classic "Temptation!"

La Roux "Under My Thumb" (The Rolling Stones Cover)
Heaven 17 & La Roux "Sign Your Name" (Terence Trent D'Arby Cover)
Franz Ferdinand & La Roux "Call Me" (Blondie Cover)

La Roux Covers:
Athlete "Bulletproof"
Lou Barlow "Bulletproof"
Steel Train "Bulletproof"
Daniel Merriweather "In For The Kill"
Kelis "In For The Kill"
Miike Snow "In For The Kill"
Yes Giantess "I'm Not Your Toy"

BONUS:
Heaven 17 & La Roux "Temptation"


As always, support the artists, click the artist name for the website or use the links to the right to buy music as well as support the blog.

Five For Friday 18- The I'm Not Dead Yet Edition

Yes it's true, I am still among the living. I have been going to a ton of live shows lately, most notably the much hyped (and for good reason) band Sleigh Bells. I finally saw them last week, then again this week and they were amazing! All I could have hoped for - a hot, sweaty, in your face show, something I've definitely been missing lately. I've been pushing this band onto friends for over six months now and with the digital release of their album Treats on M.I.A.'s NEET Recordings earlier this week they seem to have exploded overnight. If you haven't had a chance already, stream the album on NPR right now and pre-order the album now from insound and get a free 7 inch. No Sleigh Bells covers that I can locate so I'm cheating and throwing out a mash-up with another amazing, high-energy musician I recently saw - Rye Rye.

Sleigh Bells x Rye Rye - Tell 'Em Rye Rye Said Bang

To balance out this non-cover overload here's a real Five For Friday for you that in absolutely no way relates to Sleigh Bells!

The Avengers "Paint It Black" (The Rolling Stones Cover)
Hinterland "For Love" (Lush Cover)
Manchester Orchestra "This Year" (Mountain Goats Cover)
Nina Persson "Losing My Religion" (R.E.M. Cover)
The Wedding Present "Back For Good" (Take That Cover)

As always, support the artists, click the artist name for the website or use the links to the right to buy music as well as support the blog.

I've Got A Heart of Stone

Today's post comes from the mailbox. The Raveonettes tune "Heart of Stone" was just covered buy not one but two bands recently. First, one of my (and everyone else's) favorite bands of the past 6 or so months, Dum Dum Girls, whose debut album is due to drop in a matter of weeks, do a version similar, though shorter and more fuzzed out than the original. Second, a slowed down version of the song from Amazing Baby. Give both a listen and let me know your thoughts.

Dum Dum Girls "Heart of Stone"
Amazing Baby "Heart of Stone"

BONUS:
The Raveonettes "My Boyfriend's Back" (The Angels Cover)

And here's The Raveonettes video for "Heart of Stone":



As always, support the artists, click the artist name for the website or use the links to the right to buy music as well as support the blog.