Music update
You know, I think about posting about my musical finds all the time, but they don't really fit in with my blog's theme, so I forget.
But I've been getting back into music again. Part is due to the iPod I got for Mother's Day and part is due to my Swap-Bot CD swaps, where I have gotten some great new musical finds.
I need to get my old covers site back up (the link is to the old Geocities account I had that I lost access to when Yahoo bought them out and then I was mysteriously locked out of my Yahoo account in November 2000. But no, I'm not bitter ;) I'm mostly annoyed that you can't contact Yahoo to tell them to just take the site down!) and updated a bit. I know there are other covers sites out there, but I've been into and organizing and researching covers since 1993 and just because my site never got any magazine press like those that shall not be named, doesn't mean mine had no merit. But I digress.
In any case, I'd like to revisit my old idea: cover of the week. It had originally been of the week, then I got into parenting and it became cover of the month. Now my parenting duties are getting a bit lightened, and I can be back to cover of the week!
To start us off, let's talk about a great covers EP I just got turned on to. It's by Espers, a folk/rock/electronic band that now has 3 albums including The Weed Tree, which is all "covers". I use quotes, because a couple of the songs are basically "traditional" songs that don't have a specific artist that they are associated with, but have been handed down through our history. In this EP, these songs are "Rosemary Lane" and "Black is the Color", both I really like.
The first song I was introduced to on this album was "Flaming Telepaths", which is a Blue Oyster Cult cover. I did ultimately get a copy of the original and it's pretty good, but the cover is just amazing. And double the length! They made this 5 minute song 10 minutes, but it is still entertaining, with the heavy synthesizers and folk like vocals.
I am also in love with "Tomorrow", which I found out recently was a cover of The Durutti Column. I do have a Durutti Column album that I bought for their great cover of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" and it turns out that this is the album that has their version of "Tomorrow"! It is a nice song, but just doesn't have the heartfelt emotion that Espers version has. They really take the "Cat's in the Cradle" element of the lyrics of this song ("All I ever wanted was your time. All you ever gave me was tomorrow.") and amplify them. Genius.
Also on this EP are "Afraid", a song done by Nico, sometimes associated with The Velvet Underground, "Blue Mountain", a song done by Michael Hurley, an early folk rock pioneer who has influenced many current artists, and "Dead King", an Espers original.
All in all, this EP is highly recommended if you like folk, indie, Americana, or just great music.
But I've been getting back into music again. Part is due to the iPod I got for Mother's Day and part is due to my Swap-Bot CD swaps, where I have gotten some great new musical finds.
I need to get my old covers site back up (the link is to the old Geocities account I had that I lost access to when Yahoo bought them out and then I was mysteriously locked out of my Yahoo account in November 2000. But no, I'm not bitter ;) I'm mostly annoyed that you can't contact Yahoo to tell them to just take the site down!) and updated a bit. I know there are other covers sites out there, but I've been into and organizing and researching covers since 1993 and just because my site never got any magazine press like those that shall not be named, doesn't mean mine had no merit. But I digress.
In any case, I'd like to revisit my old idea: cover of the week. It had originally been of the week, then I got into parenting and it became cover of the month. Now my parenting duties are getting a bit lightened, and I can be back to cover of the week!
To start us off, let's talk about a great covers EP I just got turned on to. It's by Espers, a folk/rock/electronic band that now has 3 albums including The Weed Tree, which is all "covers". I use quotes, because a couple of the songs are basically "traditional" songs that don't have a specific artist that they are associated with, but have been handed down through our history. In this EP, these songs are "Rosemary Lane" and "Black is the Color", both I really like.
The first song I was introduced to on this album was "Flaming Telepaths", which is a Blue Oyster Cult cover. I did ultimately get a copy of the original and it's pretty good, but the cover is just amazing. And double the length! They made this 5 minute song 10 minutes, but it is still entertaining, with the heavy synthesizers and folk like vocals.
I am also in love with "Tomorrow", which I found out recently was a cover of The Durutti Column. I do have a Durutti Column album that I bought for their great cover of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" and it turns out that this is the album that has their version of "Tomorrow"! It is a nice song, but just doesn't have the heartfelt emotion that Espers version has. They really take the "Cat's in the Cradle" element of the lyrics of this song ("All I ever wanted was your time. All you ever gave me was tomorrow.") and amplify them. Genius.
Also on this EP are "Afraid", a song done by Nico, sometimes associated with The Velvet Underground, "Blue Mountain", a song done by Michael Hurley, an early folk rock pioneer who has influenced many current artists, and "Dead King", an Espers original.
All in all, this EP is highly recommended if you like folk, indie, Americana, or just great music.
Labels: covers, Durutti Column, Espers
posted by Elspeth at 12:05 PM
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