Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Chameleon, Comedian, Corinthian and Caricature.

I'm a terrible music blogger, I know. Updating only once a week? That sucks, right? But, man, I don't know how all the other MP3 bloggers do it. Daily updates? Huge essays? I'm a total slacker and I can't even find the time for that level of dedication.

I'm really going to try to post more frequently. My birthday is a week from today and I generally make my New Year's Resolutions then. Maybe I can up it to two or three entries a week for a while. Unless there's something really good on TV ...

  • El Nino "Reptile"< (Lisa Germano cover)
    This is just one of hundreds of songs I've snagged from Musical Family Tree, a massive, ever-growing collection of MP3s from Bloomington/Indianapolis-based acts. Some of these bands are still performing and some are now defunct, but many are the bands I spent a lot of time adoring in the early/mid-1990s when I was in Bloomington. And not just because they were my friends and acquaintances. El Nino was one of said bands. And so was Lisa Germano, for a while. I miss Bloomington.

    If you have the time and interest, you might find a handful of interesting covers by interesting acts in the giant MFT catalog and it would take me forever to locate, list and link them all, but I'll point you in the direction of a few:

    1. Vess Ruhtenberg (United States Three, among others) and Michelle Marchessault (ex Gerunds and Sardina, both of which you should check out) performing "Blue Moon"
    2. Sardina performing "Me and My Arrow," which I originally posted around this time last year.
    3. Admiral Stereo has covers of "Gouge Away" and "Honey Pie," among others.

    I hope at least some of you take the time to check out the music offered at that site. Jeb's got a real labor of love going on there, and I for one couldn't be more appreciative.

  • Five in Love "Smooth" (Santana/Rob Thomas cover)
    I can't hear any version of this song without remembering the horrifically hot summer of 1999 in which I was commuting daily to the Borders in Deerfield, where I briefly worked as an interim manager. One of the worst summers of my life, though I didn't really know that at the time. I think I'm over it enough to enjoy this swingy cover though. I think ...

  • In Flames "Land of Confusion" (Genesis cover)
    I never thought I'd say this, but more and more, I enjoy Swedish death metal.

  • The Minus 5 "Wicked Annabella" (Kinks cover)
    A competent cover by Scott McCaughey's ever-changing chamber-pop collective. Man, I love Ken Stringfellow.

  • The London Punkharmonic Orchestra "Ever Fallen In Love?" (Buzzcocks cover)
    Ah. Classical punk covers. Were they the catalyst for all those ridiculous "String Quartet Tributes" out there nowadays? Perhaps. But I'm not holding it against them. Hell, anything is better than the Fine Young Cannibals version.

  • Pop Will Eat Itself "Games Without Frontiers" (Peter Gabriel cover)
    In my college dorm there was a very friendly, straight-laced looking girl named Erika who was really into bands like PWEI. It kind of freaked me out. In a good way. I like this cover way more than the original, but that's not saying much since I'm one of the few people who seem to be in the "Oh my God, I fucking hate Peter Gabriel" camp.

  • Replicants "The Bewlay Brothers" (David Bowie cover)
    I didn't really embrace the Replicants at first, but I see now the error of my ways. This is one of my favorite Bowie songs covered in a really engaging way. Yay for that.

  • Ushuaia Rocks! "Pink Moon" (Nick Drake cover)
    Argentine punk bands. I can never get enough.

    Also: Remember the database of Smiths/Morrissey covers I posted a few entries ago? Well, here are a couple for other acts. (Note: These are databases of INFORMATION. I'm not implying that you can find the actual tracks there.)
  • Dylan covers
  • U2 covers
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