I enjoy a good challenge. So when a recent and otherwise well-written treatise on the socio-economic function of cover songs past and present declared the R.E.M. catalog "too cryptic to survive being covered", I set out to amass a collection of songs which would prove the author wrong. My dubious pursuit was confounded a bit by a long-time personal apathy for R.E.M.'s particularly angsty, often melodramatic performance style, as filtered through frontman Michael Stipe's voice and phrasing, which just aren't to taste. Sure, there's a few songs I wouldn't change the station [...]
Far be it from me to mistake "unplugged" for folk; as we've been discussing since day one here on Cover Lay Down, if folk is anywhere, it is predominantly in the sense and sensibility, not in the accident of instrumentation or performance. But there are an increasingly large number of folkblogs and small folk labels such as Song, By Toad and Hinah running their own sessions, and sharing them via the web. And though they're not exclusively folk, the musicians that other small-scale, live-session-producing blogs and recording studios [...]
So far this week, we have had posts about types of bodies of water, a lake, a pond, an ocean, and so on. Such songs tend to use the body of water as a symbol or metaphor. And we have seen that such songs can be very powerful. Here, however, is a song which mentions a specific body of water in the title, in this case the Missouri river. The song is also very specific, telling the tale of a particular time and place. James Keelaghan : Cold Missouri Waters [...]
One of the primary reasons I focus on coversong here at Cover Lay Down is because I believe that covers are a great way to make the process of discovering new artists both comfortable and familiar. Most of the time, whether the organizing principle of a given post is the interpretive work of one singer-songwriter, or a single artists' songbook, this means a focus on popular songs, and less popular artists performing them. After all, you don't need me to introduce you to Bob Dylan, but you're much less likely to have heard Angel Snow's [...]
Gas isn't getting any cheaper, so now that you're back from the confusingly-named fields and stages of Bonnaroo , where Ben Folds retired his lush, hushed cover of Bitches Ain't Shit (see Fong Songs for a great live-from-Bonnaroo recording), it's time to start looking at a few festivals closer to home. For us, this means our own stomping grounds, here in the American Northeast. And for my money, there's no better festival around than the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival , a four-day, four-stage extravaganza of music, dancing, and live [...]
In my other life, I'm a middle school teacher; I spend most of my days surrounded by twelve year olds, trying to balance entertainment with mentorship, and curriculum with life lessons. Before that, I taught in a boarding high school, tutored gifted and talented kids in a tiny rural elementary school, ran a before-school program, and did public demonstrations at a science museum. And before that, I was a dropout. And before that, I was a goofball, who needed a little good advice now and then, but couldn't really sit still long enough [...]
As I said in my last post, I'm having to divide this in two... Saturday, April 19, 2008 My cousin has come from West Virginia to visit my grandmother because chances are very good that she won't go home again until we take her casket to be buried next to my grandfather's. Her health has been failing for a long time and the prognosis is not promising. I hadn't seen my cousin since before Cecily's born, since before his father, my uncle, died. [...]
These are posts from my 365 days of song project. I wanted to share the links before I take them down to make room for next month's songs. I hope you enjoy them. Thanks! Friday, February 29, 2008 As I was loading Cecily into the car after her class at The Little Gym, I was thinking to myself about how my ideas of what I wanted to be when I grow up have changed over the years, and now that I'm technically grown [...]
It took me a while to get into Dar Williams . The way she plays with the strong break between her bold lower tones and her breathy upper register is an acquired taste. Her songwriting is generally wry and poignant, but it takes more than one skim-the-surface listen to appreciate its complexity. She tends towards strong, heavy production, which attracts a younger alt-folk crowd, but can overwhelm her well-crafted, literate lyrics. But at her best, Dar is an incredible artist. Her songwriting and her stage [...]
I missed Cry Cry Cry , a folk supergroup of sorts, the first time around. The group was made up of Dar Williams, Lucy Kaplanski, and Richard Sindell. They released only one album, in 1999. I sure am glad I heard this song a few weeks ago on Sirius Disorder . It's really one of the most beautiful and bittersweet songs I've come across in a while. "I saw my choices, and I chose Memphis, now all I can see is you." Cry Cry Cry - Memphis [...]
Cover Lay Down
Star Maker Machine
Audiography: Stop. Pause. Play.
IckMusic
Madonna producer unloads of CD disaster
Diplo Blow Your Head 12 MOOMBAHTON 2k12 MIX
Madonna producer unloads on CD disaster
