Calvin Johnson Can Do No Wrong

I've asked my pal Denise from Logical Logic to do a little guest post for me while I'm gone. If you like the following I highly recommend her blog as it doesn't focus on the next big thing, instead it focuses on the music she loves, some of which you may have missed over the years (recent posts include The Need and Galaxie 500). It's never too late to start listening to a band that's new to you. Now for Denise to shed some light on Beat Happening.

In my humble opinion Beat Happening are one of the best and most influential bands to ever exist. They proved without a doubt that you didn't have to be the most awesome singer, guitarist, or drummer to start a band and make records. The DIY ethics that they lived (maybe most notable by Calvin Johnson starting K Records) continue to inspire countless young bands. They also wrote some of the sweetest, saddest, and sexual songs I've ever heard. I think it's true talent that can write about sex without being crude and about love without being sappy. The lyrics can be cutting on occasion and that adds to allure of the band - you just never knew lyrically what might be coming your way.

In the spirit of the day I would like to share with you a song called Christmas by Beat Happening. It's everything about the band that I love. Kind of warped, kind of sad, kind of funny. Since this is a covers blog I compiled some of my favorites. In particular, the Luna version of Indian Summer is a nice take on the song. Different, yet capturing the feel of the song extremely well. The Velocity Girl song makes me miss the keyboards in the original version - a joint venture between Beat Happening and Screaming Trees - yet I still find it to be quite pleasing. The Cub and Shapiros versions of the songs are pretty faithful covers but still make my black heart beat a little red.

Luna "Indian Summer"
Velocity Girl "Tales Of Brave Aphrodite"
Cub "Cast A Shadow"
The Shapiros "Cry For A Shadow"

Bonus:
Beat Happening "Christmas"

*Gasp* This is the first time I've posted a non-cover song, a special Christmas gift indeed!

It's A Marshmallow World

Well I managed to throw up a bunch of tracks on the server this morning so I could put up a little Christmastime mix for all of you. Anyone that knows me knows that although I'm Jewish I'm a sucker for a Christmas tune.

I wish everyone a safe and Happy Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, New Year and anything else that may fall over the next few days. I'm hoping to get one more post up before I skip town and maybe get a guest post or two up, if not I'll be back in 2009.

Aimee Mann "I'll Be Home For Christmas"

Jill Sobule "Merry Christmas From The Family" (Robert Earl Keen Cover)

Belle & Sebastian "O Come, All Ye Faithful"

Pedro The Lion "The First Noel"

The Mountain Goats "Run Run Rudolph" (Chuck Berry Cover)

Bright Eyes "Silver Bells (Christmas Time In The City)"

Sarge "Last Christmas" (Wham Cover)

Ciao Bella "Christmas Time" (Chris Stamey Cover)

Evan Dando "Silent Night"

Cap'n Jazz "Winter Wonderland"

Math and Physics Club "Marshmallow World" (Darlene Love Cover)

Cocteau Twins "Frosty The Snowman"

The Puppini Sisters "Jingle Bells"

As always, support the bands and buy some music, it is the holidays after all!

Happy Chanukah v2

Thankfully we have a few more Chanukah tunes than last year to share with you, hopefully more pop up this holiday season but I will not hold my breath. Also why are there four different ways to spell Chanukah, Chanukkah, Hanukah, Hanukkah???

So on this second day of Chanukah I will give you the gift of covers. The tunes for the most part are not along the line of the usual songs I post here but given the limited choices out there I'll take all I can get. The Save Ferris song is not a literal cover, more of an interpretation but it's probably my favorite of the bunch followed by Ben Kwellers rendition of "Rock of Ages".

Happy Chanukah all! I'll try to get one more holiday post up by tomorrow, if not I wish everyone a happy holiday season and a great New Year too, I'll be out of the country for a week enjoying some much needed sun (it's insanely cold in New York right now) and sand but I'll be back in 2009 with a resolution to post more often.

Also a holiday gift to myself was buying a domain for this blog and if the internet police come back with a vengeance in 2009 I'll be moving this all to my own host. So update your bookmarks with http://blowinyourcover.com/ if you'd like.

Barenaked Ladies "I Have A Little Dreidel"
Barenaked Ladies "Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah"
Ben Kweller "Rock of Ages"
Erran Baron Cohen featuring Jules Brookes "Dreidel"
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!

Five For Friday 9

This Five For Friday will start the holiday season off right with a bunch of pop songs. I hope to get in at least one more holiday post in the next few days, but if not I wish everyone a happy holiday season!

Kate Nash "Christmas Wrapping" (The Waitresses Cover)

Melt Banana "White Christmas" (Bing Crosby Cover)

The Raveonettes "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" (Darlene Love Cover)

Saint Etienne "I Don't Intend To Spend Christmas Without You" (Claudine Longet Cover)

Strawberry Fair "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" (Vaughn Monroe Cover)

Love is All

Photo by John Niedermeyer

On Sunday, December 7th, I checked out Crystal Stilts and Love is All at the Bowery Ballroom and I'm glad to report the sound was much improved over the last show there. I was so excited that there were two bands on the same bill that I was eager to see live, because that rarely happens any more. Music Snobbery has a great review and some swell photos from the show so I won't bother posting a review, instead I'll focus a bit on Love is all since I don't have any Crystal Stilts covers (if anyone has any please send them my way though).

If you aren't familiar with Love is All, they are an adorable Swedish pop band who formed from the ashes of Girlfriendo. The show is high energy and lead singer Josephine is almost elfin like playing the cowbell or tambourine and jumping around the stage or playing her keyboard and singing. They write the kind of pop songs that when you listen to them you are instantly in a great mood and you really cannot sit still. I highly recommend the two most recently released, the Wishing Well EP where the covers below are from as well as the latest A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night on the small Whats Your Rupture label out of New York. I just want to say the fact that they cover Lung Leg is awesome and this is probably my favorite Lung Leg song at that.

"So Far Away" (Dire Straits Cover)
"Kung-Fu On The Internet" (Lung Leg Cover)

Bonus
Of Montreal "Make Out, Fall Out, Make Up" (Love is All Cover)

As always, support the artists and buy the music!

New York City

New York is my favorite city in the whole world. I love that I can do anything I want at just about any given time, and if I can't do it quite at that moment, I know it's only hours away until I can do it. I'm elated to be living back in my birthplace, although I enjoyed the California weather for 5+ years, I am not California material at this point in my life. It's a gorgeous place to visit but I am a New Yorker at heart and I will always have a yearning in my soul if I am not here. Having been gone so long I revel in the little things that people don't always see. I love riding the 7 train above ground in the morning and looking out at Manhattan, seeing the skyline from my subway stop, riding past Silvercup Studios (where many of my favorite shows are filmed - 30 Rock, Ugly Betty & Gossip Girl) and dreaming that I worked there instead of my eventual stop at Grand Central Station. But I adore walking through the crowds of people every morning knowing how amazing this place is and that it is all mine. I will even admit to finding amusement in the people on the subway ranting and raving and making no sense, which I just experienced on my ride home, in addition to a blind older gentleman playing a violin as we passed underground from Manhattan to Queens, where else can you get all that entertainment in 20 minutes for $2?

I had planned to do this post when I first came back to the city, then when I first moved back to the city, but now I feel that I am finally again PART of the city it's a perfect time for this post. So here is my ode to NY with a Jersey track thrown in for good measure (I grew up mostly in Jersey).

Jeff Buckley "Back in N.Y.C." (Genesis Cover)
Jonatha Brooke "Bleecker Street" (Simon & Garfunkel Cover)
R.E.M. "First We Take Manhattan" (Jennifer Warnes Cover)
Scrabbel "Chicago New York" (The Aislers Set Cover)
Ted Leo "Union City Blue" (Blondie Cover)
They Might Be Giants "New York City" (Cub Cover)
Ryan Adams "Brooklyn" (Jesse Malin Cover)
Cat Power "Hard Times In New York Town" (Bob Dylan Cover)
X "Positively 4th Street" (Bob Dylan Cover)

And here's an early Christmas present...
Stars "Fairytale of New York" (Pogues Cover)