New Music: P.O.S - "Why Go?"

P.O.S. - New Music - More Music Videos

(via)

The hot MPLS emcee covers a deep cut from Pearl Jam's culture re-defining grunge classic Ten in a minimalist, beat-heavy style. Check out the nasty breakdown which goes where the guitar solo normally would.

P.O.S. MySpace Page

(Jon Graef)

New Lucy Michelle and the Velvet LaPelles - "Bare Necessities"

Yes, that "Bare Necessities." The one we all know and love. The classic Jungle Book song is given the Lucy Michelle treatment, and you can hear the results over at the group's MySpace Page. It's just as adorable as you can possibly imagine. While you're at it, check out new song "Goodnight" too.

Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles MySpace Page

Video: Ben Harper and Tenacious D Cover Queen's "Under Pressure"

(Via)

Live at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium, as part of the Beastie Boys' Swing State tour.

Fucked Up and Moby Lose Their Minds By Covering The Ramones

From yesterday's 12-hour marathon show in New York. Incidentally, The Chemistry of Common Life is one of the best records of the year. Pick it up here. Expect a review sometime next week.

Fucked Up Wiki Page

(Jonathan Graef)
jon@minneapolisfuckingrocks.com

Kitten Forever Cover Meredith Brooks' "Bitch" In Possibly Ironic Fashion

Throughout their tour with Unicorn Basement (full disclosure: Max and Deanna of UB are pals of ours) telling the masses about their newest release, Born Ready (expect an MFR review sometime this week), sass-irific riot-grrl trio Kitten Forever have been posting some pretty interesting and entertaining video tour diaries. Their latest entry just might take the cake though. Check the video of Kitten Forever covering one-hit-wonder Meredith Brooks' "Bitch", and the tour montage that accompanies it. It may or may not be entirely serious. You be the judge. Either way, it's pretty sweet, actually. Now bow your head in shame if you grew up in the mid-to-late-90s. (Cue Jon Graef head bow).

Oh, the Nineties, the Nineties. Where art thou, the Nineties?

Check out some tracks from Born Ready for download over at the band's MySpace Page. On August 14th, Kitten Forever will play a free, 21+ show at the Uptown Bar. Flier in the hole! Er, below.



Kitten Forever MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Oh Snap!: Jigga 1, Oasis 0 (Or Jay-Z "Covers" Oasis)

This just might be the greatest diss record of all time, and it's not even a record, per se. But it is most certainly a diss. Courtesy of Stereogum, the video of Jay-Z opening his controversial (only to rockists) set at the Glastonbury Festival by "covering" Oasis' biggest hit, the romantic ballad "Wonderwall". After that, Jay-Z launches into a re-tooled version of one of his greatest tracks.

Based on the clip, I'd say Hova's got 99 Problems, but sarcasm definitely ain't one.

Jay-Z MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Brother Ali Covers Atmosphere's "Modern Man's Hustle"

(via Switchblade Comb)

This video was taken from Soundset 08's Hip-Hop karaoke afterparty.

In other tandem Brother Ali/Atmosphere news, the Rhymesayers hip-hop acts are not performing in any of the Download Festivals announced late last week. Apparently, the acts were not confirmed in the first place, and so the proclamation of their participation was premature.

Read more here.

Lastly, in more other Rhymesayers news, Toki Wright posted the third installment of his "Best Week Ever" series on his MySpace page. Listen to Wright's version of the weekly news roundup here.

Atmosphere MySpace Page
Brother Ali MySpace Page
Toki Wright MySpace Page

Prince Covers Radiohead's "Creep" During Coachella Festival Performance

Amazing find from Stereogum of the Purple One covering Radiohead's first and biggest hit from their least artistically-relevant record (arguably). I think Prince could have made a pretty good go at "Thinking About You"--Pablo Honey's introspective, acoustic number about masturbation. After all, it's a subject that Mr. Rogers Nelson knows a thing or two about--but this soulful rendition of the mock self-loathing classic still does the ears good. This might even top his previous dabbling in alt-rock. What's next on Prince's wishlist of the 90s? Perhaps he could do "Sex Type Thing" in the same kind of screeching falsetto that he used for "Kiss". And then, a decade-and-a-half later, Tom Jones can cover it.

On second thought, that sounds like a terrible sequence of events.

(Jonathan Graef)

Tay Zonday Covers Lily Allen's "Smile"

(YouTube via S-Gum)

Download: Lily Allen - "Smile"

Lily Allen had her television debut earlier this week on BBC 3 and one of her first guests was Minneapolis-based "internet sensation" Tay "Chocolate Rain" Zonday. You can see the segment from Allen's show at the top of the post. There's a short interview segment at the beginning, but then the singing starts at the 3:45 mark. Though I feel like it's my professional obligation to warn you of what lies ahead: It's Tay Zonday covering Lily Allen. It's just as bad as you might think it is.

Lily Allen MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Pearl Jam "Baracks Around The Clock" By Re-Writing An Old Classic

Download: Pearl Jam - "Rock Around Barack" (via the Ten Club)

From their slow metamorphosis from platinum-selling, reluctant mega-stars to the Grateful Dead for the Gen-X set, Pearl Jam have been one of the most consistently politically progressive groups in existence, from Ed Ved scrawling "Pro-Choice" on his arm while playing MTV Unplugged back in 1992, to the band's protest of the second Iraq war at a time when few acts were voicing such an opinion (turns out putting a boot up your ass isn't the American way after all). So it should be no surprise, then, that the band has endorsed Barack Obama for President. What's truly surprising is that the band has recorded a tribute to him by re-writing an old rock n' roll standby. That's right: "Rock Around The Clock" has become "Barack Around The Clock".

Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard, who sings on the track, elaborates:

("Rock Around The Clock") is a track I've been thinking about for a while. "Rock Around The Clock" was the first mainstream rock and roll hit in 1955 and it had a transforming effect on American music. At that time, rock and rhythm and blues music was traditionally only played on black radio. I am, by no means, an expert on the history of rock & roll, but this was a big deal. The rhythm of rock music and its energy were so overwhelming that traditional barriers of race and culture broke down with an enormous crash. So here's to new energy, rock and the breaking down of cultural barriers: "Barack Around The Clock!"

Well said. And there you have it. Roll your eyes, if you must. At the very least, Pearl Jam appear to be having fun on the song and have their hearts in the right place. One can't ask for much more. Listen to "Barack Around The Clock" at the top of the post.

Pearl Jam MySpace Page

PS - Not too late to vote in the primary! Polls close at 7 p.m. You still have two more hours!

(Jonathan Graef)

Cover: Sharon Jones - "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Is In)" - Plus European Tour Dates

Download: Sharon Jones - "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" (Kenny Rogers and The First Edition cover)
Download: Kenny Rogers And First Edition - "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" (original)
Download: Sharon Jones - "100 Days 100 Nights"

Tell Donny to shut the fuck up, because Sharon Jones And The Dap-Kings is covering a song which attained its cult status through one of the Coen Bros. most beloved films. But first, a little background. A few days ago, Jezebel posted a video of Sharon Jones being interviewed about Amy Winehouse, amongst other topics. Jones is bitter, naturally, but also retains a cool head on her shoulders. Read that post and watch the video here.

In the comment section for said article, a Jezebel commenter dropped an MP3 of Ms. Jones and The Dap-Kings's live cover of Kenny Rogers And The First Edition's "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In", which you know as the song prominently featured in The Big Lebowski, during one of the dude's hallucinations. Above you'll find the Sharon Jones version, the original, and another Sharon Jones MP3.

Below are European tour dates (via The Music Slut):

Thursday, April 10
Button Factory
Dublin, Ireland

Friday, April 11
Mint Lounge
Manchester, England

Saturday, April 12
Madeira Shelter Hall
Brighton, England

Sunday, April 13
Yardbird
Birmingham, England

Tuesday, April 15
The Sage
Gateshead, England

Wednesday, April 16 thru Friday April 18
Jazz Cafe
London, England

Saturday, April 19
Fiddlers
Bristol, EnglandS

MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Of Montreal Covers Prince

Download: Of Montreal - "I Would Die 4 U " (Prince Cover)
Download: Of Montreal - "Baby, I'm A Star" (Prince Cover)

You Ain't No Picasso recently posted two MP3s of Of Montreal covering Prince.

I've never been a huge Prince fan (I also hate fun, rainbows and sunshine, too!), but hell, how can you not smile at Kevin "Ayn Rand" Barnes belting out the chorus to "I Would Die 4 U"?

Of Montreal MySpace Page

(April Wright)

Deerhunter Blog Posts Ominous Castle's Cover Of "Cryptograms" (Plus New Atlas Sound MP3s)

Download: Deerhunter - "Cryptograms"
Download: Ominous Castle - "Cryptograms"
Download: Atlas Sound - "I'll Be Your Mirror"
Download: The Velvet Underground - "I'll Be Your Mirror"
Download: Lotus Plaza - "What Grows"
Download: Atlas Sound - "Walks Backwards"
Download: Atlas Sound - "Cobwebs"

Here's something which you don't necessarily see everyday: An artist posting a cover version of his original song on his very own blog. But that was the case yesterday with Deerhunter's Bradford Cox posting a cover of "Cryptograms", the title track of Atlanta-based quartet's full-length LP released at the beginning of the year, on the Deerhunter/Atlas Sound/Lotus Plaza Blog. Of the cover version, Cox said:

(The Ominous Circle)cover of Cryptograms' title track that in my opinion is far better than the original. Whoever made this please identify yourself and let use know where we can here more of your stuff...
and tell us what you used to record this cover. it sounds amazing.
you improved the vocals a LOT.

After having listened to both versions of "Cryptograms", the original definitely still has the upper hand on the cover. Ominous Castle's version is sounds like someone kidnapped Devo and forced them to record "Cryptograms" as the theme song for a daytime TV game show. It makes sense to bring out some of the new wave influence in Deerhunter's songs, which in turn could highlight any sort of humanism that's been previously hidden in Deerhunter's work. But, in trying to achieve that artistic goal, OC strips away many of the elements which made the original version so compelling. Namely, the dark, hypnotically robotic pulse which drives the song, Bradford Cox's forceful monotone vocals, and the incredibly lush guitars. You could certainly take those elements away and have a compelling version of the same song. However, Ominous Castle's version simply does not work because the band did not replace the original's merits with different ones.

Still, listening to both is absolutely recommended, because it shows what a world of difference something like instrumentation can make.

Listen to both versions of "Cryptograms" at the top of the post, in addition to recent Atlas Sound MP3s, (which includes a cover of The Velvet Underground "I'll Be Your Mirror. We've also gone ahead and posted the original of that one) as well as an Lotus Plaza MP3.

Read the original post here.

Deerhunter MySpace Page
Ominous Castle MySpace Page (maybe)
Deerhunter Blog

(Jonathan Graef)

Math And Physics Club - "A Marshmellow World" (Special Darlene Love Cover For Christmas)

Download: Math And Physics Club - "Baby I'm Yours"
Download: Math And Physics Club - "A Marshmallow World"

Twee-poppers Math and Physics Club cranked up the class for their cover of "A Marshmallow World." The song was originally sung by Darlene Love and was released for Christmas 1963. I hadn't heard this song for years, and MAPC's mellow pop sound expresses just the right amount of sweetness for this song.

On a sad note, MAPC announced via their official website that violinist Saundrah Humphrey will no longer be touring with the band.
Saundrah joined the group in the summer of 2004.

Quote the MAPC:

Though she may still pop up on future recordings, she will no longer be playing live with the band. Anyone who’s seen us knows that Saundrah added a touch of class to our otherwise shambling performances...

Buy MAPC music here.

MySpace Page

(April Wright)

New Mogwai - "Gouge Away" (Pixies Cover)

Download: Mogwai - "Gouge Away"
Download: Mogwai - "2 Rights Make 1 Wrong"
Download: Clint Mansell (performed by Mogwai and Kronos Quartet) - "Death is the Road to Awe"
Download: Mogwai- "Tracy"
Download: Pixies - "Gouge Away"

Mogwai's cover of the Pixies' "Gouge Away" from the as-yet-unreleased Dig For Fire – A Tribute to the Pixies hit Stereogum today.

I've never been huge into Mogwai, but, after hearing this cover, their CDs will definitely be getting a fresh hearing. I really love the crunch and the weight of this track. The Pixies do it better of course, but that's like putting a pile of kittens next to a hairless Sphynx cat and determining the kittens are cuter. It's a no-brainer.

British Sea Power and They Might Be Giants will also be featured on the collection, which comes out Nov. 27th. I'm really excited to hear what the Johns do with "Havalina."

Listen to Mogwai's cover, as well as the original (in addition to some other Mogwai tracks) at the top of the post.

(April Wright)
Mogwai MySpace Page

(April Wright)

The Shins Cover Pink Floyd's "Breathe" at L.A.'s The Greek Theatre

I was looking around YouTube for video of The Shins's Monday night performance on the Tonight Show, when I found this video instead. It's The Shins covering Pink Floyd's "Breathe", which is the first track off of their seminal, hugely popular (well, except to Neil Hamburger) Dark Side Of The Moon. Video is a little shaky (naturally), but audio is surprisingly good. The performance is from The Shins' Sunday night show at L.A.'s The Greek Theatre

The Shins's take on the Floyd classic is pretty faithful, to be sure. However, I imagine that The Shins doing a cover like this is a rare occurrence, so to me it is cool all the same.

The Shins will play tonight in Phoenix, Arizona, at the Mesa Amphitheatre. Buy tickets here

MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

The Decemberists Cover Brian Eno on Sound Opinions

Download: The Decemberists - "I'll Come Running" (Brian Eno Cover)
Download: The Decemberists - "Oh, Valencia"
Download: The Decemberists - "The Perfect Crime"
Download: The Decemberists - "Summersong"


The Decemberists made an appearance on NPR's Sound Opinions over the weekend and, in addition to performing three songs from last year's The Crane Wife, did a cover of Brian Eno's "I'll Come Running." You'll find that MP3 posted above, along with other MP3's of the band's live renditions of Crane Wife highlights "Oh, Valencia," "The Perfect Crime" and "Summersong."

Click here to download the MP3 of the show itself. It's worth a listen, as the band acts out the entire backstory of The Crane Wife! That alone makes the interview a classic.

(Jonathan Graef)

Alanis Morissette, "My Humps"

I guess this is viral video week at MFR, but I thought that this was too hilarious not to share. You can download an mp3 version of the song here (from Idolator) .

(Jonathan Graef)