Ok, so I generally like cover records because they are fun and unpredictable. You hear a lot of songs you love mixed in with songs you've never heard before, especially for the Minnesota Beatle Project....which name seems self-explanatory for what the project is about. I mean, The Beatles have suuuch a huge back log of songs, there is a ton of work to choose from.
The problem is that a bunch of them sound like covers. Soul Asylum does 'Good Morning, Good Morning' and god, they really shouldn't have. The Beatles got to do it because it was totally sincere, they wrote it. But Soul Asylum just sounds like a cover, its really not fun or exciting. I almost feel like I have to go song for song on this one........
01 Good Morning Good Morning – Soul Asylum Already talked about it, not a fan, super unnecessary.
02 Revolution – Total Babe Better, they tweak the melody so it works for them, still just a cover, but a good execution of a good song.
03 Child Of Nature – Mason Jennings Great. Like the Total Babe track, its an execution of the song, stripped down a little to service Mason Jennings, but he is pitch-perfect for this song.
04 Fixing A Hole – Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons It's Not Cory Chisel's fault that I don't really like this song much. Actually I prefer this cover, he pulls in the long minor notes so they don't rings in my ears and sound sort of sour. Big thumbs up for updating the tune.
05 Real Love – Lookbook The first example of a couple on this record of how contemporary The Beatles writing can sound. Plus a female lead vocal compliments Lennon's melody excellently.
06 Happiness Is A Warm Gun – A Night In The Box I love this song, the original is so great. Just little vignettes of songs, all of which I would love to hear in their entirety. This doesn't disappoint at all, an extremely faithful replaying of the song. Boosh.
07 It's All Too Much – Polara The Beatles are just so relevant today, and this tune is exactly why. It is so easy to forget that Polara didn't write this song, it sounds like something someone written yesterday and its an awesome song. The original is all sorts of layered and progressive with the percussion, almost back beating. I just love this one.
08 Tomorrow Never Knows – Meat Puppets feat. Alison Scott Fuzzy and warm, but I think this falls into the area of Beatles' songs that I don't really care for.
09 I Am The Walrus – Pert Near Sandstone Bluegrasse-y cover of 'I am the Walrus'? Sounds great! No, not really. By the end you just feel like this band had no business playing this song. And maybe no one does.
10 Michelle – The New Standards This is another real winner. Chan Poling has a deep, mournful, maybe even a little aggressive voice that really embodies what the song is about. Which is sort of creepy and unromantic, if you think about it.
11 And Your Bird Can Sing – Rogue Valley One of the more precious Beatles songs, an admirable execution.
12 Dear Boy – P.O.S. Timeless melody can demand updating. The layered vocals and electronic slow drum beat make this song sound brand new, even when those elements are all in the original. If anything it highlights how progressive The Beatles were, making sounds and effects that still sound contemporary. Just excellent.
13 I Want To Hold Your Hand – Edison High School Light and fun and a little less energy than the original but still lovely. If I didn't know it was a cover, I would think this band was amazing at the 60's throwback. But I know, so it still sounds like a cover.
14 Golden Slumbers – Communist Daughter I would have thought this would be an obvious 'cover' sounding song, cause I just love the original so much. But man, Communist Daughter owns this version, it is theirs, unequivocally. Just as good as the original at least.
15 Hey Jude – Sounds Of Blackness Soulful-choirs and shit, horns and hand-clapping. A little tropical beat in the background. Really nice. Honestly I have no frame of reference for this sound, so I can't say whether Sounds of Blackness would have written this tune, but I think that they probably excel at re-imagining songs rather than writing their own. So hey, this is their forte!
16 Good Night – Curtiss A’s D’Lando Flaques-Ffaire *Rockestra Another of my faves. Not many groups have actually written great lullabies. Its a weird art to make a melody that's both soothing and universally singable. I was listening to the original for comparison and I just had to listen to it all the way through, because it is just so sweet and sincere. That being said, I wasn't quite as riveted to the cover (I'm not really sure what is a name and what is The Name of the Band...Curtiss A's?) but the singer has a nice rickety kind of voice, older David Bowie sounding, matches the song nicely and I enjoyed it there. And there's a little guitary 'Here Comes The Sun' riff as a hidden track at the end.
Okay! Minnesota Beatle Project Vol. 2, this post felt like it took forever to write but it's out in the world now and there is no stopping it! If you love The Beatles, any one of these bands, or are from Minnesota (which not all of the bands are on this volume, but close enough) consider buying the record. Find out more about the project and the bands here.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Me too!
I noticed that Patrick wrote a quick little guy (sorry ladies, blog posts are almost always boys) introducing himself to our non-existent readers (alright!) so I'm doing the same.
Whereas his stuff will be mostly musics, I'm going to cover mostly comics with a dash of movies and TV and all sorts of nerdery. Hope you enjoy.
Whereas his stuff will be mostly musics, I'm going to cover mostly comics with a dash of movies and TV and all sorts of nerdery. Hope you enjoy.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Oh Land-Oh Land EP and Laura Marling-The Blues Run The Game EP
What great little records! EP's........releases.........
Whatever they are.
Both of these EP's are huge jerks for not being longer, the Laura Marling especially, as it is only 2 songs. But oh, what 2 songs! Marling isn't exactly pushing the envelope or anything, but she is so amazing as she is, I wouldn't want her to push anything lest she damage her guitar playin' hands. The first track 'Blues Run the Game' is a little jaunty, folksy number. The fine young lady from England has a touch of smoke to her voice, but she stays away from anything jazzy or poppy on the road to sweet acoustic wonder. The second track is "The Needle and The Damage Done", a Neil Young cover. Also a Thursday lyric but whatevs. She finger picks her way into a slightly more upbeat version of the song. I think she owns it, she sounds like she had written it, none of that 'sounds like a cover' nonsense. If this wasn't an EP I'd be waaay happy. But as is, I will patiently wait for a full length.
Oh Land is another lady-centric group, which is one of my favorite things. Nanna Oland Fabricius calls herself Oh Land and she is starting to get some big looks, at least that's what the internet indicates. I know I am looking because 'Son of a Gun' is a really amazing single. As far as sound she intersects a few great women; Marina and the Diamonds, Kate Miller-Heidke, and one of my favs, Lykke Li. If Lykke Li had a more full sound it would be Oh Land, which is cool because they are both Scandinavian, classically trained ballet dancers.
It's a six-song EP but the last two tracks are really kind of unfortunate remixes. I am a fan of remixes but these two are a great example of why they get a bad rep. Boring on the best edge, unnecessary on the whole, the song doesn't do any better by being remixed. The first 2 tracks-'Son of a Gun' and 'White Nights'- have a really similar sound. Think really driving, almost tribal drums with long, lean synths, and sexy melodic vocals. Both are just excellent, though I think 'Son of a Gun' is going to be her stand-out. The third track features a plinking marimba and really gets that Lyyke Li feel in. The final track (because I am ignoring the remixes) is 'Wolf & I'-a lot slower with her voice ranging away from the electro sound and into a more organic smoky register. The first time I heard it I thought "Aww, dang. I guess you just can't keep up that much energy over a whole record, eventually you have to fall back on something more conventional." I don't quite feel the same way now, but I think that if 'Wolf & I' is your favorite Oh Land song, you probably don't actually like Oh Land.
Ok! That is the post. Today it was Laura Marling from the UK and Oh Land from Denmark via Brooklyn. I have a ton of stuff building up so hopefully I won't dwell on the next few like I did these EP's But there is a new Figurines record, eeeee. and that Asobi Seksu is still out there.......
Whatever they are.
Both of these EP's are huge jerks for not being longer, the Laura Marling especially, as it is only 2 songs. But oh, what 2 songs! Marling isn't exactly pushing the envelope or anything, but she is so amazing as she is, I wouldn't want her to push anything lest she damage her guitar playin' hands. The first track 'Blues Run the Game' is a little jaunty, folksy number. The fine young lady from England has a touch of smoke to her voice, but she stays away from anything jazzy or poppy on the road to sweet acoustic wonder. The second track is "The Needle and The Damage Done", a Neil Young cover. Also a Thursday lyric but whatevs. She finger picks her way into a slightly more upbeat version of the song. I think she owns it, she sounds like she had written it, none of that 'sounds like a cover' nonsense. If this wasn't an EP I'd be waaay happy. But as is, I will patiently wait for a full length.
Oh Land is another lady-centric group, which is one of my favorite things. Nanna Oland Fabricius calls herself Oh Land and she is starting to get some big looks, at least that's what the internet indicates. I know I am looking because 'Son of a Gun' is a really amazing single. As far as sound she intersects a few great women; Marina and the Diamonds, Kate Miller-Heidke, and one of my favs, Lykke Li. If Lykke Li had a more full sound it would be Oh Land, which is cool because they are both Scandinavian, classically trained ballet dancers.
It's a six-song EP but the last two tracks are really kind of unfortunate remixes. I am a fan of remixes but these two are a great example of why they get a bad rep. Boring on the best edge, unnecessary on the whole, the song doesn't do any better by being remixed. The first 2 tracks-'Son of a Gun' and 'White Nights'- have a really similar sound. Think really driving, almost tribal drums with long, lean synths, and sexy melodic vocals. Both are just excellent, though I think 'Son of a Gun' is going to be her stand-out. The third track features a plinking marimba and really gets that Lyyke Li feel in. The final track (because I am ignoring the remixes) is 'Wolf & I'-a lot slower with her voice ranging away from the electro sound and into a more organic smoky register. The first time I heard it I thought "Aww, dang. I guess you just can't keep up that much energy over a whole record, eventually you have to fall back on something more conventional." I don't quite feel the same way now, but I think that if 'Wolf & I' is your favorite Oh Land song, you probably don't actually like Oh Land.
Ok! That is the post. Today it was Laura Marling from the UK and Oh Land from Denmark via Brooklyn. I have a ton of stuff building up so hopefully I won't dwell on the next few like I did these EP's But there is a new Figurines record, eeeee. and that Asobi Seksu is still out there.......
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