As a longtime fan of the Pernice Brothers and having enjoyed Joe Pernice 's first novella, Meat Is Murder , from the 33 1/3 series, I'm looking forward to reading It Feels So Good When I Stop . However, I haven't had a chance to read it yet, so I can only assess the album on its own worth. The album sounds as if Pernice had you over to play a random assortment of songs in his living room, and unfortunately the result simply isn't as good [...]
Chicago and Nashville-based Andrew Belle is a true working musician, playing a weekly gig at the famed Rockit club in Chi-town. Playing a mix of covers and original songs, Andrew finds his own unique voice in the songs. Here, we've got Andrew's rendition of Bright Eyes ' "First Day of My Life," with more original and re-interpreted covers to come with the upcoming release of Sundays at Rockit . Andrew Belle - "First Day of My Life" (Bright Eyes) [...]
On September 22, 2009 Amy Millan unearths her second solo album via the star-studded Arts & Crafts label, Masters of the Burial , a tucked-in, quiet symphony of songs on longing and loneliness. It's likely that you know Millan from her work with Stars and Broken Social Scene but I don't think you know her quite like this. Imbued with clear blue country whispers and folk-freckles, Masters of the Burial feels so deeply soft, so fragile that it almost hurts to [...]
Welcome back, readers! I apologize in advance for this shortened version of Under Cover as I'm currently having a blast in sunny San Diego, California without your punkasses and am so blown away by so much natural beauty that I can't bring myself to open my laptop to write this post, let alone check email. But of course I didn't want to leave you guys high and dry while I hit the surf. Last week I featured a couple of Kanye West -inspired covers for "Love Lockdown" that rocked, sucked, or were perhaps even more [...]
Welcome back, readers! Who rocks the beat, rocks the show better than Kanye West ? Uhh, no one really. Last week I completed the two-part Under Cover - Sampling Edition which was, in essence, slight homage to my annual summer fling - danceable hip hop music. That love continues this week, even though I switched coasts to visit some very chill loves of my life in sunny California... or Cali-for-ni-ay, for all the Timbaland fans. My obligatory Facebook status update about my new whereabouts (... is in LA, trick) inspired a [...]
It had been four long years since Green Day had grace us in the gateway to the west, but the boys in black made sure to dazzle thousands of screaming fans with a set stretching to 30 tracks covering their whole catalog. While the first half of the set was dedicated to material from 21st Century Breakdown and American Idiot , the last half was crammed with as many of their past hits as possible. Rarely is a band so open with fans, inviting them on stage and allowing them to show off their best [...]
A Hotel Café and Popwreckoning favorite Greg Laswell , well known for his signature live cover of Cyndi Lauper 's "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" is taking his love of cover songs one step further and is set to release the Covers EP on October 6th through his label, Vanguard Records . The record features unique interpretations of cuts by Echo & The Bunnymen , Morphine , Mazzy Star , Kate Bush and Kristin Hersh. [...]
Taking a night off from touring with Pete Yorn , Zee Avi stopped through Philadelphia last week to play the chapel at the First Unitarian Church. The petite Malaysian singer songwriter, who reminds me of so many of the best aspects of my favorite female musicians (think: Basia Bulat , Mirah , Regina Spektor to name a few) Watch a video of Zee performing a cover of Interpol's "Slow Hands": In addition to a smattering of stellar [...]
Paolo Nutini . You glance at the name and think maybe that's a new flavor of ice cream. Or maybe gelato. Sounds Italian enough, doesn't it? But you'd be wrong. Paolo Nutini is, in fact, a 22-year-old singer/guitarist from Paisley, Scotland (his father is of Tuscan descent) who quickly became a UK heartthrob in the wake of the success of his 2006 pop/soul debut album These Streets . I recall seeing the video for his tune "New Shoes" on the VH1 Top 20 Countdown one Saturday morning and [...]
You have to be a very a giving musician to agree to play a show at 6 a.m. after driving all night and having to prepare for a "normal" concert in the evening. You have to be a very nice musician to put up with a drunk crowd at 6 a.m. that was given vouchers for free booze and breakfast. Finally, you have to be a very brave musician to get up in front of an audience that spent the last hour warming up by heckling karaoke performances. Andrew McMahon of Jack's Mannequin (formerly of [...]
Weirdly, Sugar Ray , who is apparently still making music even if it's not their own, covered Kid Cudi 's "Day 'N' Nite" for a RawSession. It's strange. But Mark McGrath is still a babe. Enjoy. Kid Cudi's debut album, Man On The Moon: The End Of Day , hits stores September 15th. Sugar Ray : website | myspace Kid Cudi : website | myspace [...]
The Horse's Ha , comprised of Freakwater and Eleventh Dream Day 's Janet Beveridge Bean and The Zincs ' James Elkington, will be playing the first of several mini-tours this summer in support of their genre-bending debut album, Of The Cathmawr Yards , out now on Hidden Agenda . Featuring stellar performers from Chicago's rock and jazz communities, The Horse's Ha blend an all-acoustic instrumentation with sweetly harmonizing vocals that belie the group's darkly haunting songs. The Horse's Ha recorded a cover of [...]
Better Than Ezra 's show at The 40 Watt in Athens is probably best summed up by Steve Sulikowski , of 16 Frames who opened the show, "We're going to rock like it's 1994!" In Athens the crowds are heavy with college students and music snobs looking to find the next "it" band that will be the latest oh-so chic trend in music. They're usually too cool to show any genuine interest in a band and look down their noses at anyone who does. This [...]
Tori Amos is an icon. Now that we have assessed the obvious, let's get educated, deconstruct, and simply learn. It's a rare being that can transform your mind into something like a house of cards. Most days we spend the hours in motion doing calculated things to further our existences, not that doing that is by any means mundane, all though it can be at times, but an honest days work is admirable. We seek to be enlightened, and Tori Amos does just that: she gives us what will not expect, an experience of rare [...]
Welcome back, readers! In keeping with the Michael Jackson theme of the month, we've already paid homage to classics as " Human Nature " and " Beat It ". This week I chose one of my favorites of the many favorite MJ songs- "Man In The Mirror". Perhaps one of the most compassionate hits off of Bad , it was also #1 on iTunes just a little while ago, much to the surprise (and not surprise) of industry giants. Of all his best #1 singles, why this one? More like, why [...]
Mat Kearney packed the Pageant on Monday, July 13, with quite a few lovely ladies who were in store for a 15-song set showcasing his ability to combine the dark soulful songs of Snow Patrol with the pop accessibility of Coldplay . But before Kearney's set, I had the pleasure of photographing the rather lovely to look at Erin McCarley , who's song, "Love, Save The Empty", has been making the rounds on radio and TV countdown shows. McCarley opened the show with a 40 minute set [...]
read ROTHBURY, Day 1 After a somewhat sleepless night - one must grow accustomed to sleeping on the bumpy ground surrounded by bongos, fireworks and crazy people - I awoke Friday morning...afternoon about 12:45-ish...stoked to catch Man Man , local Philly guys I adore, Broken Social Scene who I'd never seen live before and Girl Talk , another act I'd never previously had the fortune of catching in the flesh, among others. Brett Dennen // Ranch Arena [...]
Welcome back, readers! I hope you enjoyed last week's Michael Jackson Tribute post to "Human Nature". With the shock of the gloved one's death still flooding news channels and papers regarding his tragic passing, star-studded funeral service, and talks of tribute concerts, it's increasingly difficult to focus on any other musicians right now. And I've really been enjoying radio stations playing copious amounts of his latest and greatest hits for my daily commute. In any case, I'd like to dedicate Under Cover to MJ for the next few weeks until things calm down, the toxicology [...]
Welcome back, readers! As I'm sure you've already heard, the King of Pop and musical visionary that is/was known as Michael Jackson passed away last week sending the world into a state of complete and utter shock. Google, Wikipedia, and Twitter temporarily shut down due to the surge of MJ-related activity and searches, Billy Mays , Ed McMahon , and Farrah Fawcett 's deaths were overshadowed with his media coverage, stores are selling out of his records, and his name is all over the top of music charts again. Perhaps, then it was only natural [...]
Evan Dando is a living legend to those of us who grew up in the '80s and '90s when alternative rock had just been given a name. Some diehard fans of the Lemonheads still think it's blasphemous that he has been and still is recording and touring under the name "Lemonheads", even though he's the only original member still with the band. However, for anyone who is a fan of hits such as "Into Your Arms" and "It's a Shame About Ray" and wants to hear these live, along with reinterpretations of tunes such as [...]
PopWreck(oning)
Clive Davis Cancels Pre-Grammy Party After Whitney Houston’s Death
Watch: Trailer for Dave Grohl’s documentary, Sound City
Retro-Review: Stellastarr*- Stellastarr*
