Archive for the ‘Covers’ Category
Starfucker: Julius
Things are looking up for Portland-based indie electronica band, Starfucker. Although they briefly changed their name to PYRAMID then to Pyramiddd, they are back to the original name – which really suits their quirky music and stage personas better anyway. Although they had a taste of financial success from having “Rawnald Gregory Erickson The Second” featured in a Target commercial, changing their name back may have had brought some better luck their way because they’ve recently announced some big news.
After recently signing with Polyvinyl Records, they announced a huge tour for September and October where they’ll be supporting the band The Octopus Project. To celebrate these gigs, they’ve released a new single titled “Julius.” On October 12th, it’ll physically be released with “Helium Muffin” as a b-side on a 7″. You should save some cash for this release because only the first 500 will be in a limited edition blue vinyl.
“Julius” doesn’t steer away from their signature synth pop jam sound but it does manage to sparkle with a light weight the same time as it pulls you into deep layers of synthesizers. There’s a lot of reverb drowning out the vocals – which isn’t something new with this band – but it gives off a nice dance vibe that is a bit more chill rather than cheesy.
Check it out below! I’ve also included their cover of Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” off of their first album, Jupiter. For some reason, these boys like to cross dress at their shows. So it isn’t surprising to see a little of that in the promo photo above or hear their rendition of this song made famous by an 80s icon.
Cee-Lo Green: Fuck You
If you haven’t been listening to Cee-Lo Green‘s latest song, “Fuck You,” all week, your only (absurd) excuse is that you’ve been living underneath a rock. The Goodie Mob and Gnarls Barkley member has recently announced that his latest solo album, Lady Killer, is slated for release on December 7 via Elektra Records and as a follow up to his first single, “Georgia,” and his contribution to the latest Twilight soundtrack with “What Part of Forever,” he presents us this blunt but sweet, masterpiece of a song that tells the story every jilted lover has ever wanted to tell his shady (and probably shallow) ex.
Green first uploaded the song onto this YouTube channel. The video has the words to the song but it’s not like any of us need it since the chorus is pretty catchy. (Those who love typography probably dig it.) Of course, it became viral and an internet sensation over night – which is completely justified. “Fuck You” has everything a great pop song should have. It has great chorus (who can resist singing “Oo ooo oooo!” after swearing?), it’s plumped with pop culture references such as the xbox, atari, “I pity the fool,” and “she’s a gold digger,” and a nice Jackson 5 sunshine vibe. The juxtaposition is what really sells this gem. It’s so foul-mouthed and full of attitude but it all sounds so sweet in the all that soul Green showers upon our ears. Also, props to Cee-Lo for using butter-smooth voiced Bruno Mars for his songwriting talents.
My friend Mouse recently said, “I’d argue that Cee-Lo, Kanye, and Lady Gaga understand “what’s cool in pop” better than anyone else. But you always want to root for Cee-Lo.” I agree with every word in this statement. These three are doing something significant enough (whether it’s good or bad) to be in the spotlight and their music isn’t bad. It’s just that Cee-Lo tops the other two simply because 1) he’s not tripping over his huge ego and 2) he doesn’t need to call out to all his “little monsters.” Ain’t that some shit?
If you haven’t listened to the song yet – shame on you. When something goes viral, you should be in the know. In this day and age, if you own a computer you should have been affected by viral videos such as the one below for “Fuck You.” If you were one of the people playing it on repeat all week like me, check “Georgia” out and his cover of Band of Horses’ “No One’s Gonna Love You.”
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti Music Video: Mistaken Wedding
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti has made some pretty weird videos in the past but this one is just plain silly. The video for, “Mistaken Wedding,” which is the b-side to the single “Round and Round,” looks like a typical and quite boring video of a Jewish wedding. That is until Pink is superimposed throughout the rest of the video like a random stamp. At times he looks bored lip-syncing along to the lyrics but at other times, he seems quite delighted to be there when he smiles for no apparent reason. Sometimes he’s chain smoking and sometimes he’s just looking at you through a pair of bright-colored sunglasses. It’s definitely not what I expected for the track but it’s amusing once you stop wondering if this is really a karaoke video or not.
In other Ariel Pink news, Pink and his Haunted Graffiti recently did a cover of R. Stevie Moore’s “She Don’t Know What To Do With Herself” for a compilation titled “Copy Me, Treat Me” which is also a free download. You can watch the “Mistaken Wedding” video and grab the R. Stevie Moore cover after the jump.
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros: Memory of a Free Festival (David Bowie cover)
Everyone knows how magical I think Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros are. (You can listen to me blabber about them on Hype Machine Radio.) However, Edward Sharpe doing a David Bowie cover just completely blows my mind to pieces. Who doesn’t love Bowie and what group would do a better job of highlighting all the eccentricities of his music?
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros’ cover of “Memory of a Free Festival” comes off of a compilation titled We Are So Turned On that will benefit War Child International. It’s a double disc album that features an insane amount of talented artists such as Warpaint, Vivian Girls, A Place To Bury Strangers, VoicesVoices, Sister Crayon and plenty more all doing David Bowie covers.
It’ll be released on September 14th via Manimal Vinyl but check out the Edward Sharpe cover below for now!
VV Brown: Shark In The Water (Louis La Roche remix)
VV Brown is electrifying as a pop singer-songwriter. I can’t really say that about most pop singers. There are a few I’m willing to fully back. I’m not even sure if I even have to use all my fingers to count them. However, I can say that VV is extraordinary and I know this because I’ve seen her live three times in the last year.
When she first came on to the scenes over here in the States, she seemed like a combination of Amy Winehouse retro and Lily Allen attitude at first. Yet, it wasn’t long after I saw how much of stage presence she had and I heard how credible her album, Travelling Like the Light, was that I knew she had her own style. As a former model, she uses the stage well but she has the talent to back the looks up. Thanks to her, Beyonce (in the Lady Gaga/Telephone video) and others are now sporting the big poof of bangs. VV Brown is adorable. There’s no denying that but she just seems to do mainstream-like pop right. She’s got an edge to her to music.
That edginess also applies to her personality. Born Vanessa, VV turns out to be MC battle name from her hip-hop battles on the playground when she was younger. She is actually not that bad of a rapper and anyone who’s seen her live would know this since she always does a cover of Drake’s “Best I Ever Had.” Of course, with me being one of the few people who isn’t a big Drake fan, I find her version much more entertaining.
Check out a Louis La Roche remix of her popular song, “Shark in the Water” and a video of her performing “Best I Ever Had” live after the jump. (The video is actually from the first VV show I had ever gone to at Spaceland. I also believe it was her first LA show.)
Robyn: Dancing On My Own (Acoustic), Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart (Alicia Keys cover)
I know it sounds like I’m constantly talking about Robyn‘s “Dancing On My Own,” but I always have a good reason to bring it up! You’ve heard the song, you’ve seen the video and I’m also sure you’ve heard some remixes as there are a ton floating around. However, I am not bringing you a remix of the song today. Instead, I want to offer more of an intimate take on the song.
Robyn recently performed an acoustic version of the song on BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge and it’s fantastic. It’s naked, it’s delicate but it still has gumption just like the message of the song, itself, does. If you’ve ever heard any other acoustic performance from Robyn (such as this one) you know that she doesn’t disappoint even when the beats are taken out.
Also, guests on the radio show are often asked to perform a cover and Robyn chose to do a rendition of Alicia Keys’ “Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart.” There’s a moment in there where she stumbles a bit and starts giggling but other than that, it’s money. Take a listen to both tracks below!
Fanfarlo Music Video: Fire Escape (Both versions)
Fanfarlo is so great to see live. For a fairly new band, they’ve got some massive talent when it comes to musicianship. They’re never sloppy and if anything, Simon Balthazar’s baby face shocks me every single time I see that it’s him who has that booming but charming voice.
Another thing that I’ve noticed about Fanfarlo is that they tend to like mapping out different concepts for their music videos. A video for “Harold T. Wilkins” was released late last year but they had also released a lower-budget version before they blew up. This time around, it’s safe to say that their popularity got them the chance to make an even better music video… so you would think they’d be happy with one. Nope. Wrong. It turns out that they couldn’t decide which ending they liked better for their new “Fire Escape” video.
You can watch both versions below. The first is the official video and the second is the one with the alternative ending. It should be a good watch since they got the director of Radiohead’s “Just” for this one. Also, make sure to grab their cover of Smashing Pumpkins’ “We Only Come Out At Night” after the jump!
The Henry Clay People Music Video: Your Famous Friends
I’ve always liked The Henry Clay People. They were one of the first bands LA.CityZine (before the music section moved and became BeatCrave) had interviewed for our Know Your LA Bands series back when I had first moved here. They always seemed like genuine and fun guys who just played some really rad rock tunes. Personally, I think their sound is a combination of Pavement and The Raconteurs but whether you agree with me or not, there’s no doubt that The Henry Clay People come without pretense or sloppiness.
Their latest album, Somewhere Along the Golden Coast, dropped June 8 on TBD records and it’s pretty solid – nothing less than most of us local folks expected. However, I’d like to turn your attention to their video for the track, “Your Famous Friends.” Directed by Benjamin Hoste, who is also responsible for this Happy Hollows video, the clip features no one famous despite the name of the song but it does involve some familiar political faces and they do some entertaining things….
Check it out below! You can also grab their Television cover, “Glory,” which is also on L’Aventure along with numerous other LA artists such as Local Natives. (It’s also featured on the latest Wild Tonic mixtape.)
Golden Ages: Africa (Toto cover)
Sometimes I’m late in the game, but that’s okay because I’d rather be involved in a world that’s wealthy with great music and be behind rather than in one that’s desolate and only filled with one-word songs by Beiber and Ke$ha. When I say I’m late in the game this time, I’m talking about Philadelphia’s dreamwave sensation, Golden Ages. I really just stumbled upon this artist through a long link clicking process but the result is phenomenal.
Considering the fact that I don’t actually cover a lot of artists from Philly (and I’m not sure why that is either – it actually upsets me a little), Golden Ages (aka Francis Tseng) is a real gem to discover. As a producer who was familiar with the electronic music scene, Golden Ages is a project that is only over a year old but it has basically become exactly what Tseng wanted it to be – something that was more organic rather than plastic.
Tseng, under the moniker Golden Ages, currently has an LP out titled Tradition, but he’s getting ready to release another one. The best part about that? He’s already released a FREE 3-song EP in anticipation titled “Africa” which is appropriately titled since he does a cover of Toto’s hit song of the same name. Check his cover out along with the song, “It Doesn’t Mean Shit” below.
Wild Tonic Monthly Mixer: June 2010
July is here and that means I get to share my most-played tracks from June! I hope you’ve been enjoying the past mixtapes because there are some gems in there I wish I had the time to dedicate entire posts to.
Last month’s mixtape was geared toward more electronic-based songs but this month I spent a lot of time listening to a lot of great indie rock tunes such as new ones from Los Angeles’ Seasons who just released their EP, “Winter.” Of course, Australia’s Tame Impala is also included again as they are my most current obsession. I’ve also included another Televsion cover from The Henry Clay People who also recently released an album. You can also find their rendition of “Glory” on the L’Aventure album.
However, for those of you are more inclined to dig the dance tracks - don’t worry! I got you covered with Delphic’s “Counterpoint” along with a few remixes of some great tunes such as Local Natives‘ “Sun Hands” by Russian Adults and yes – a Rihanna track. Just don’t knock it until you hear this remix. Gentlemen Thieves managed to get me to listen to Rihanna on repeat with their remix of “Rude Boy.” As much as I also like the original, their rendition blows it out of the water.
I should confess something though. I’ve been listening to Wild Nothing’s Gemini quite a bit this past month as well but the track, “Your Rabbit Feet” just surfaced in the last few days via a sold out EP titled “Evertide.” I haven’t really been spinning this track for a month but have a strong feeling that will happen in the near future. I just had to share it as soon as I could. Long live guitar pop!
Grab the latest Wild Tonic mixtape below and enjoy!
