I Want To Be Like Them

There are so many amazing cover songs that this task was really difficult. I sorted through about 300 or so before coming up with 42 that I couldn't dispense with. I made two separate mixes (will post the next one in a second) to keep things a little less unruly. Even as I post these mixes, however, I can't stop thinking about songs like "Take Me to the River"; "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?"; "Nothing Compares 2 U"; "All Along the Watchtower"; "The Mercy Seat"; "Korobeiniki"; "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)"; "I Will Survive"; "Three is a Magic Number"; Far's version of "Pony"; Original Hamster's "Notorious DSP." Hopefully those show up on someone's mixes, because I thought it'd be ridiculous to make a third.

Anyhow, before I started working on a mix I thought it would be awesome if I could sequence it where artist A would cover B and B would cover C, etc. This proved impossible out of the songs I'd amassed, but I still had block of artists covering each other, so I decided to just stick with that. Here's the tracklist:

"I Want To Be Like Them"

01. Gnarls Barkley - Gone Daddy Gone (Violent Femmes cover)
02. Violent Femmes - Crazy (Gnarls Barkley cover)

Cee-Lo Green and Gordon Gano are both crazy in their own right, but I love both of these songs and the stylistic choices they each used. The Violent Femmes version of "Crazy" almost sounds like Morricone song on mushrooms. Love it.

03. Thom Yorke - All For The Best (Miracle Legion cover)
04. Vampire Weekend - Exit Music (For A Film) (Radiohead cover)
05. Hot Chip and Peter Gabriel - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (Vampire Weekend cover)
06. Max Tundra - Playboy (Hot Chip cover)
07. Matthew Carroll - Carbon Cones (Max Tundra cover)

These are some of my favorite artists and there's no real story here, with the exception of the Matthew Carroll cover. Oddly enough there's an entire album of Max Tundra covers called "Best Friends." Each artist tackles a track from his debut album "Some Best Friend You Turned Out To Be" and recreates the record. I'm always intrigued by covers of electronic music and it's a fun listen. Oh, it's also fun to hear Peter Gabriel sing his own name.

08. Dump - Yo Yo Bye Bye (Why? cover)
09. Why? - The Wig Master (Xiu Xiu cover)
10. Xiu Xiu - Under Pressure (ft. Michael Gira) (Queen Cover)

I've been working on these mixes for a couple days and just now as I went to write this, I saw that someone else put up this Xiu Xiu track. Oh well. I think it just goes to show how great a remake it is. The Why? cover of Xiu Xiu, however, takes the worst (albiet creepiest) song from Xiu Xiu's best album and turns it into something incredible. Yoni really gets the the heart of Jamie Stewart's original intentions and, by adding lyrics of his own, makes the song really special (and still creepy).

11. The Frogs - Rearviewmirror (Pearl Jam cover)
12. Pearl Jam - Love, Reign O'er Me (The Who cover)
13. The Who - Eyesight to the Blind (The Hawker) (Sonny Boy Williamson II cover)

I felt it appropriate for The Frogs to follow Xiu Xiu as they share some sonic similarities. I love their take on "Rearviewmirror" as they make a fairly straightforward rock song (with overlooked dark lyrics) into the pained tale of abuse that it should be. Pearl Jam is my childhood favorite and I still love them dearly, especially their cover songs. I don't think I've ever heard them take on someone else's music and not do it justic. With that said, their Who covers are in a league all their own due to the obvious fandom of PJ's band members. Finally, this Who song is the only track on "Tommy" not written by a member of the band. Fun fact!

14. Iron & Wine - Waitin' for a Superman (Flaming Lips cover)
15. Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs - Borderline (Madonna cover)
16. The Postal Service - Suddenly Everything Has Changed (Flaming Lips cover)
17. The Shins - We Will Become Silhouettes (The Postal Service cover)

I avoided Iron & Wine's "Such Great Heights" assuming it would show up on someone's mixes, but the Flaming Lips cover is just as good and works in this incestuous little block. The Flaming Lips version of "Borderline" is one of my favorite tracks from them in years. It's well-known fact that the Shins version of "We Will Become Silhouettes" is far superior to the original.

18. Jonah Matranga - Birthday (The Sugarcubes cover)
19. Björk - It's Oh So Quiet (Betty Hutton cover)
20. Death Cab for Cutie - All is Full of Love (Björk cover)
21. Andrew Kenny - Line of Best Fit (Death Cab for Cutie cover)

Jonah is my homie for life and has done so many great cover songs. "Birthday", however, is one of my favorite Björk(-related) songs and Jonah's version is my favorite of all of his covers. I him play it at the Onelinedrawing "reunion" show last year even though he said he was only going to play originals. Andrew Kenny is the lead singer of American Analog Set and his DCFC cover is taken from the "Home V" split he did with Ben Gibbard. That split has some AMAZING songs on it and should be owned by everyone.

All songs are tagged to appear as a single compilation in iTunes. The songs, art, and tracklists for both mixes I'm posting today can be downloaded by following this link:


http://www.minusnumbers.com/mixtape

Happy New Year!

-jp

Cover Me

You know that saying, "You snooze, you lose"? Well, that's what happened today as I was putting the final touches of my mix when I decided to go here to make sure there weren't any doubles. Any from Kyle? Nope. Phew. Then, as I was uploading my mix (the album art took awhile), lo and behold I find that there's a new entry by Anam. AND WHAT. WE HAVE THE SAME MIX TAPE NAME. And damn, one or two of the same songs. So, delete process, start again.

Anyway, I kept the album name and the glorious photo of Blackstreet because whatever. I do what I want.

To download: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=83RKOJH2
1. Arctic Monkeys: Take it or Leave it (The Strokes)
The early 2000s "This band is going to save the rock industry" is covered by the late 2000s "This band is going to save the rock industry."
2. God Help the Girl: Funny Little Frog (Belle and Sebastian)
If you haven't checked it out already, this album is full of delights: 1960s girl group style and B&S covers. This is one of those covers, done all jazzy.
3. The Welcome Wagon: Half a Person (The Smiths)
Although the rest of the album is full of Christian/gospel music (still really good and I wish we could sing this in church!), the duo decided to cover this maudlin Smiths song. There are a lot of shitty covers of The Smiths (TaTu anyone?) but this bucks that trend. Maybe it's because they have Jesus on their side.
4. Bright Eyes: Mushaboom (Feist)
Conor Oberst takes an upbeat song, puts his voice on it, and it becomes a post-I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning effort.
5. M. Ward: Green River (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
CCR, ya'll for the second time.
6. The Books (feat. Jose Gonzalez): Cello Song (Nick Drake)
I could listen to the original on repeat, but it is nice to have a refreshing take on it. The gorgeous cellos are still in it, and that's really all we need in life.
7. Friendly Fires: I'm Good, I'm Gone (Lykke Li)
The UK lads decide to spruce up this song by making it dancier and a bit sexier.
8. Xiu Xiu (feat. Michael Gira): Under Pressure (Queen)
I wish this was the only "Under Pressure" cover out there. It's fucking epic and beautiful at the same time.
9. Times New Viking: Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) (Arcade Fire)
Who knew you could take such an operatic song and turn it into a lo-fi skuzzy production and still make it sound good?
10. Arcade Fire: Poupée de cire, poupée de son (France Gall)
For those who don't know me, I'm pretty gay for France Gall and Paris in the 60s.
11. Beirut: Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen)
I don't think anyone could do a better cover than Jeff Buckley of this song, but this is pretty close. Sorry it's live, but that adds to the ~coolness~ factor right?
12. St. Vincent and The National: Sleep All Summer (Crooked Fingers)
I'm not a fan of The National (snooze fest) but Matt Berninger's baritone coupled with Annie's angelic vocals really makes this a winner.
13. Phoenix: Playground Love (Air)
Short and sweet. Like many a playground love.
14. Vitamin String Quartet: Eraser (No Age)
So take what I said about #9 and switch the phrases around.
15. Beach House: Some Things Last a Long Time (Daniel Johnston)
Danny J's voice is so heartbreaking in this song, and I feel that Victoria captures it well in her own haunting way.
16. Nouvelle Vague: Guns of Brixton (The Clash)
Never has The Clash sounded this sexy.
17. Lavender Diamond: Like a Prayer (Madonna)
Fact: This is my go-to karaoke jam.
18. Final Fantasy & Ed Droste: Possibly Maybe (Björk)
If I knew how to cry, this song would make me cry. It's breathtaking and sublime.

Cover Me

* I am still "She of the Sluggish Internet" thus, zipping impossible, and individual links abound.*

Full Mix here (if you want all of them at once, just check all, and click "bulk download" from the sidebar- it's almost like it was in a zip file, I swear!)

For the record, I totally was going to shamelessly include the Hedwig cover but since Kyle saved me from it, I've decided to omit it from my own list. (But since the Richman cover itself is from a charity album, I feel obligated to link you to where you can purchase it, ya know if you're ever so inclined.)

1.) Metric- Don't Think Twice, It's Alright

2.) The Magic Numbers- Crazy in Love: Is it wrong for me to think Beyonce has some good messages?

3.) Klaxons- No Diggity: I'll admit it- I do like the way you work it. Carry on.

4.) Of Montreal- Jimmy: This might be one of those covers that I actually like better than the original. Though I love that M.I.A. can get throngs of Western kids to sing along "Jimmy Aja,*" the Of Montreal version really pushes it up a notch. From the introductory "Ahhhs" to the cheesy Casio-keyboard sounding instrumental arrangement, this version manages to embody a lot of the same notes in terms of Bollywood kitsch, while capturing the longing in the lyrics. Can't you just imagine some foreign lounge singers belting out a version like this? Or it being the sex music of choice for some Eastern Bloc gangsters?

*Oh and if you're wondering, it means "Jimmy, come."

5.) Goldspot- Float On

6.) Jeff Buckley- Yeh Jo Halka Halka Saroor Hae: Before it became synonymous with all-things-terrible, Pakistan enjoyed a prominent, (albeit brief) period of awesomeness when for some reason, 90s musicians really took a liking to the devotional music of Sufi mysticism called Qawaali. Mostly in the form of the music of an artist named Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Suddenly he was popping up on soundtracks for movies like Natural Born Killers, was totally BFF with Susan Sarandon, and having Jeff Buckley declare "Nusrat is my Elvis." Pretty bad ass right? Oh whither has destiny taken us?

7.) Xiu Xiu- Fast Car: File this under songs that make me want to kill myself, (in a good way.)

8) Joan Jett and the Blackhearts- Crimson and Clover: I love that this is a surprisingly faithful rendition of the 1960s original. It sounds like something you might hear played at some retro prom, (that is if all proms weren't by definition lame. So more like something you'd hear at a dance party were all the music is stuff you actually like to hear, and any and all meatheads are relagated to some cage in the back where they can listen to their favorite Jock Jamz).

9.)Opium Jukebox- You Spin Me Right Round: I actually had a tough time picking a song from this artist. Each of their "re-imaginings" of popular tunes cover a range of sounds, from hyper distorted industrial feels to sitar-heavy hippy trips. In the end I chose this one because it takes a light-hearted 80s dance jam and turns it into something a bit more sinister and foreign.

10.) José González- Heartbeats: It seriously took me a really long time to make a connection between the soft acoustic ballad in that one beautifully composed Sony Bravia commercial, (you remember the one, with the colorful rubber balls bouncing all through the streets of San Francisco), with the Knife's synth spectacular original. "Oh wait, this is that song?" Regardless, connection made, and I love this quieter take on the ditty.

11.) Violent Femmes- Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?: This makes me lolz. Especially the addition of nonesense lyrics, sung in the same pitiful begging tone of course- "In my mind my memory's burning/ What's your favorite color of your favorite car?"

12.) Radiohead- Sunday Bloody Sunday

13.) Johnny Cash- Hurt: Just like the Of Montreal selection above, I think my favorite cover songs are the ones where the artist manages to completely rework the original in a context that makes it uniquely their own. While on the surface NIN seems like an odd choice for the Man in Black, anyone listening to this rendition can see it shouldn't be any other way.

14.) Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers I Only Have Eyes for You (The Flamingos):

Bonus:

15.) Golimar, i.e. "Indian Thriller": You're welcome.

Worship & Tribute: A Covers Mix

Download it here and follow along.


1. John Cale - All My Friends [LCD Soundsystem]
I imagine that when members of the Velvet Underground are covering your songs, you've probably "made it."
2. Los Campesinos! - C Is the Heavenly Option [Heavenly]
Classic twee-pop song about girly magazine quizzes from Heavenly and Calvin Johnson updated (and gender-fucked) by your favorite Welsh septet.
3. Jacob Borshard - Kokomo [The Beach Boys]
Is it weird that I feel a strong undercurrent of sex in this dude's ukulele music? I'm not imaging that, right?
4. Yo La Tengo - Speeding Motorcycle [Daniel Johnston]
This project made me realize how many Danny J covers I have on my computer. Also: I have more than once considered getting a tattoo of Daniel's art of this song/lyrics. I will not do that. But I've thought about it.
5. Jens Lekman - You Can Call Me Al [Paul Simon]
Anyone who saw Mr. Lekman on his "Night Falls Over Kortedala" tour knows how rad this part was. (And we also enjoyed dancing to Janet Jackson in an near-empty Troubadour after the show was over. Thanks, DJ Viktor!)
6. Jonathan Richman - The Origin of Love (Reprise) [Hedwig & The Angry Inch]
I was concerned that Anam wouldn't put Hedwig on a mix for the third month in a row, so I did my best to make sure we were covered. GET IT?! COVERED!! (P.S. Thanks to Aiko for using this song to get me into J-Rich).
7. Man Man - I'd Rather Go Blind [Etta James]
Weirdo doowop.
8. The Polyphonic Spree - Five Years [David Bowie]
I figure there are two types of great covers. One where the band recontextualizes the song in their own style and makes it exciting and new, and the other is when a band finds a song that isn't a BIG POPULAR HIT that already fits their style. I think this track falls under "option two."
9. The Fall - Victoria [The Kinks]
I'll bet Mark E. Smith is unpleasant to be around.
10. The Feelies - Everybody's Got Something To Hide (Except for Me and My Monkey) [The Beatles]
Jitter-pop. GO!
11. Devo - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction [The Rolling Stones]
Mutant nerd-pop. GO!
12. Dinosaur Jr. - Just Like Heaven [The Cure]
Seriously. How good is this song? (Sidenote: Yeah. It really ends like that. Yeah. It's kind of annoying.)
13. Lou Reed - This Magic Moment [The Drifters]
Thanks, David Lynch. This song is good for what you do.
14. Stephen Malkmus & The Million Dollar Bashers - Maggie's Farm [Bob Dylan]
Do you have any idea how hard it was to limit myself to ONE Bob Dylan song on this fucking mix?
15. The Mountain Goats - The Sign [Ace of Base]
In the liner notes for the album on which this song appears, it says "All songs written by John Darnielle except 'The Sign' which was written by God and given to Ace of Base."
16. High Places - The Modern Things [Björk]
This little ditty is from Stereogum's "Enjoyed: A Tribute to Björk's 'Post'" which can be downloaded here.
17. Parenthetical Girls - Handsome Devil [The Smiths]
A) Sorry for the sound quality on this one, it's off a 7". B) Sorry for the weird sore-thumb sticking this song is on the mix, but I'm hoping that Zac Pennington would make out with me if I put it on here. Dude makes me feel deeply sexually confused.
18. !!! - Get Up [Nate Dogg]
I used to go to the same optometrist as Nate Dogg.
19. Spiritualized - Oh Happy Day [Traditional]
I really like songs about Jesus. What are you gonna do about it?

Bonus beats:
Built to Spill - Freebird [Lynyrd Skynyrd]
Built to Spill - Cortez the Killer [Neil Young]
I dig both of those covers, but considering that Neil Young cover is 20 minutes, it wouldn't really fit on a one-CD mix, now would it?

Theme for January

So....

If I make the theme for January "Covers," will you actually feel inspired to make a mix? Please?

<3,
Kyle

Lady Bizniz- Songs for Fancy Ladies and Others Too

Since everyone mostly seems to be waiting in the wings like a shy boy hugging the wall at a junior high dance, and it being ladies' night and all, I guess I'll go ahead and take your collective hands and ask, "I know it's a bit late, but may I have this mix?"

Full mix available Here

1. Missy Elliott-Work It: "Ain't no shame ladies do your thing/just make sure you ahead of the game." Word.

2. The Runaways- Cherry Bomb: I wish I was cool enough to run with these broads, but I have a feeling they'll straight up cut a bitch.

3. Janis Joplin-Piece of my Heart: Go look up just about any youtube vid of Janis on 1960s television. Now that's an iconoclast. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to hop in my car,visit a corporate coffee monolith and blog about how we're all pawns in the system, man, because i'm a total anarchist that way. Also, insert obligatory "Jackie Jormp-Jomp" reference here.

4. M.I.A.-Bamboo Banga: Not going to lie, when this song comes up on shuffle, I can't help myself from rapping along in highly accented mimcry: "Strike match/light fire/who's that girl called Maya?" Lines like "Barbarella look like she my dead ringer" display the sort of irreverant confidence and self-aggrandizing bravado that I wish more female artists would embrace.

5. Rupa and the April Fishes- une américaine à paris: I don't remember who turned me on to this artist, but bottom line, she's brown and she sings in French. Win.

6. Pretenders- Brass in Pocket: While the patronizing label of "girl power anthems" abound, this is one of those songs that seems to really embody a sort of empowering self-determination without being lame, (or female specific, really). Perhaps the flip-side companion to Janis Ian's At Seventeen? Together those two songs make for one mighty fine-soundin' bipolar disorder.

7. The Pipettes- Judy: Upon further inspection, this mix should really be called "being a chick often leads to less than desirable situations."

8. Metric- Glass Ceiling: Men- it's all gender apartheid-this, glass ceiling-that. Amirite, ladies?

9. Julie Brown- The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun: Bitches be shootin'.

10. Gillian Welch- My First Lover: Bitches be lovin'.

11. Blue States- Your Girl: Bitches be leavin.'

12. The Blow- True Affection

13. Bat for Lashes- What's a Girl to Do: Too expected?

Bonus:

Midnight Radio-I know I had Hedwig on my last mix, but I really couldn't resist putting this song on a ladies' night mix, what with it's name-dropping sassy brassy ladies like Yoko Ono and Tina Turner.

Ladies' Night

Download the mix here

I tried to make a mix that avoided the female-fronted acoustic-type singer-songwriter thing. So I put punk and pop and noise and such. I hope you enjoy it, my dears.

And follow along:

1. X-Ray Spex - Oh Bondage! Up Yours!

Girl power!

2. Karen O & The Million Dollar Bashers - Highway 61 Revisited

Bob Dylan cover!

3. The Phenomenal Handclap Band - 15 to 20

Disco party!

4. Xiu Xiu - Hello From Eau Claire (Gold Chains Remix)

Least gay song Xiu Xiu's ever done?

5. The Soft Pink Truth - Do They Owe Us a Living

Crass cover!

6. Lovage - Strangers On a Train

Hitchcock = Fucking

7. Salt-n-Pepa - Push It

This song makes my mix worthwhile

8. Lullatone - Pajama Party Pop

Bad segue!

9. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - White Corolla

Another comment!

10. OOIOO - Mountain Book

Japanese weirdos!

11. Ponytail - Die Allman Brüder

Baltimore weirdos!

12. Blood on the Wall - I'd Like to Take You Out Tonight

This song is ~*romantic*~

13. Dear Nora - Second Hand

I listened to this band a ton in 2009

14. Heavenly - Cool Guitar Boy

Classic girl-pop!

15. Le Tigre - Hot Topic

Most cliche song of the whole mix

16. Tiger Trap - Puzzle Pieces

Another "tiger" girl-band to balance the scales

17. Best Friends Forever - Handpocket

Thanks, Debra, for introducing me to this band with your Halloween mix :)

18. Françoise Hardy - Comment Te Dire Aideu?

Bring me back something French!

19. Dub Narcotic Sound System - Sabley Goodness

Bring me back something Olympian!

20. Kimya Dawson - Viva La Persistence

Another bad segue, but I had to get Kimya on here

21. The Velvet Underground - After Hours

And a satisfactory conclusion