Galaxie 500 - “Submission” (Sex Pistols cover)
We’ve already posted two covers today, so why stop now? I actually thought it was the original. Maybe it should be…
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Robyn - “Cobrastyle” (Teddybears cover)
This is Robyn’s cover of that Teddybears song that everyone has heard at some point in their lives, whether they realize it or not — “Cobrastyle” — which probably came about due to her working with Klas Åhlund, a member of the Teddybears, in production of the album.
Robyn puts her own cute spin on the Jamaican vernacular (courtesy of Mad Cobra, originally) that made the original so catchy and fun to tap your foot to to and leaves a song that is still fun and catchy, but with a sizeable injection of silly and sexy. It practically demands repeat plays.
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Dr. Dog - Heart It Races (Architecture in Helsinki cover)
I’m a big fan of Architecture in Helsinki, so when reader Dave Koen e-mailed us with a few (note: understatement; thanks Dave!) artists to check out, this was the first link I clicked.
This is Dr. Dog’s cover of Architecture in Helsinki’s “Heart It Races”. I generally approach covers with caution, but this is actually pretty good.
You can stream more Dr. Dog on his MySpace and stream his full, unreleased album here.
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Yael Naïm - Toxic
First off, I wanted to say it was great meeting fellow Tuneage contributor, Rach, last night at the meet up! Alright, now back to business :)
This is off of Yael Naïm’s latest album, which comes out on Tuesday, the 18th. One way to describe her album is … beautiful. It’s absolutely gorgeous! It’s mainly acoustic French pop. (Perhaps I just made up a new genre? Naaaah…) She sings in Hebrew and in English, yet the album has a very French sound. (Be sure to check out her song Paris on her Myspace page)
I love this cover of Toxic. It reminds me of an eerie circus. The swirling ascending/descending synth and xylophone sounds enhance that feeling. Covers are a great way to interpret someone else’s song. I really like what she did with this one. It’s a completely different song!
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Sun Kil Moon - Ocean Breathes Salty
About two years ago, it seemed like if you were to be an “indie rock” musician worth your salt, it was necessary that you buck up and record a few decent covers. Everyone was pumping out tribute songs (to Elliot Smith, the White Stripes, Joni Mitchell, etc.) and covering their contemporaries in one big musical circle-jerk.
Though that moment is more or less over, it resulted in one of my favorite ever records, Sun Kil Moon’s Tiny Cities, in which Mark Kozelek (aka the ex-lead singer of the Red House Painters and the random other band member in Almost Famous’ Stillwater) plays the Modest Mouse canon, completely re-imagined. What could have been a risky experiment became a beautiful rethinking of the music, taking discordant, angry songs and exposing them lyrically for what they really have to offer.
Even if you are not a Modest Mouse fan, give this a try. It’s really gorgeous.
This is an excellent a capella version of Tuneage favourites Vampire Weekend’s Oxford Comma, as performed by The Carleton Singing Knights.
And if you liked that, the guy that uploaded the video also has 40-something more a capella versions of songs by artists like Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin, Grizzly Bear, Postal Service, and Daft Punk.
