Bit of sad news (for me at least) Wolf Parade announced that they will be going on an ‘Indefinite Hiatus’ to work on their various other projects. While they did say they will be a couple of shows in 2011, there is no time table to return to the studio for a follow up to their excellent third album “Expo 86”. In the meantime we can expect another Handsome Furs album in the near future so it doesn’t appear to be a bad blood issue, just a creative decision.
Back with another edition of Who did it better? They were not around a while but Joy Division was and remains one of the most influential and sometimes copied bands of all times. This time we are looking at the first track off their debut album “Unknown Pleasures” (sadly they only have two albums due to the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis, the rest band would later reform under the name New Order)
Here is Joy Division’s ‘Shadowplay’:
Next is the Killers:
Lastly here is a Silversun Pickups version:
For me nothing comes close to the original Joy Division version, but the two covers aren’t without their own certain charm. Of the two though I like the Killers version a bit better though.
Today marks the 19th anniversary of the death of one of the greatest frontman in Rock and Roll, Freddie Mercury (he’s gotta be in at least the top ten). He died one day after announcing he had Aids. Granted not everyone is a Queen fan, but Mercury’s voice and charisma was one of a kind, so in tribute here is my favorite Queen song ‘Somebody to Love’
Back with another edition of “Who Did it Better?” and this time I found three good covers of one of my favorite songs of all times The Smiths ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’. First up the original:
Second a Anberlin cover:
Next up is Noel Gallagher (the genius behind Oasis):
Lastly a Nada Surf cover:
I happen to like all three covers, but I don’t think they stand up to the original, although I must admit there is something haunting about the Anberlin cover that comes close to the original.
I talked about Robert Plant having a very strong solo career so I thought I would take a little time and go through it over a few posts (yes all the way from post Led Zeppelin 1980 to now). After the unfortunate death of John Bonham in 1980, Plant quickly went to work on a solo career, his first effort “Pictures at Eleven” was released in 1982. While musically some of it is, well typical 80’s songs, other songs (such as Slow Dancer) hold up very well over the years. Vocally he isn’t as commanding as he was in Led Zeppelin, but he isn’t trying to be either (although he does go pretty hard on a couple of tracks). The result of “Pictures at Eleven” isn’t a masterpiece by any means, but is a very strong solo effort that gives listeners a first glimpse into Robert Plant post Zeppelin, not the rock icon they knew, but a new phase of a legitimate musical artist.
Back with another edition of Who did it better? and this time I have 4 songs for you to decide from, today we are going with another Bob Dylan classic ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’ (note oddly enough the original song is not on YouTube, but I did find a nice live performance with Tom Petty to supplement it)
Next up a Guns N’ Roses cover
Third I am going to throw in a different Eric Clapton cover
Just for argument sake here is a Avril Lavigne cover
Personally I like all the cover’s (yes even Avril’s), it’s a heartfelt emotional song and all four artist has that come across. My favorite of the four though got to be Guns N’ Roses, just can’t get past Axel’s vocals on this one, but we would love to hear your thoughts!
If you aren’t excited yet, well you should star getting excited, because Rock Icon, Robert Plant will be coming to Boston at the House of Blues on January 25. He will be performing with the Band of Joy to promote his new album, the aptly titled ‘Band of Joy’. Of course Plant is most famous for his work as lead singer for the legendary Led Zeppelin, but musically he has moved as far away from that as possible as seen in his previous album ‘Raising Sand’ with bluegrass-country singer Alison Krauss. So if you are looking to relive the glory days of Zeppelin, this concert is probably not for you (although I hear he does do a couple of Zeppelin songs), but if you want to hear a once in a lifetime artist perform a careers worth of great material, then look no further.
In honor of The Beatles finally going on Itunes I figured I would try to see if anyone comes close to matching them, this time I have two good covers, but first up the original:
Next up is a Breeders cover:
Finally a very weird U2 cover:
My heart is defiantly with the original on this one, although I dig The Breeders cover, personally I think U2 missed the point of the song completely, but tell us what you think!
Somewhere between The Jesus and Mary Chain and the Pixies lay My Bloody Valentine, a band formed in Dublin, Ireland that would be shoegazing, before it was in vogue. With two genius albums (and when I say genius I mean genius) “Isn’t Anything” and their masterpiece “Loveless”, behind them the band broke up in 1997 after years of lack of creative output all hope was loss for a followup to perhaps one of the greatest albums of the 90’s (“Loveless” was released in 1991). But after ten years apart the band reformed in 2007, playing a handful of shows and again sparking rumors of another album, we can only hope.
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 