“I find it hard to tell you, `cause I find it hard to take/ When people run in circles, it’s a very very/ Mad world.” Yup, that sounds like 2020 alright, though it’s actually part of the enduring hook from Tears for Fears’ 1983 track “Mad World”. Turning the new wave classic into a stirring piano ballad is nothing new, but when Brandi Carlile delivered her rendition during a recent livestream, it felt more devastatingly relatable than ever. Carlile has often pulled out the song during concerts, but gave it a special weightiness during this latest virtual performance. She tucked it into the end of a full-album performance of her 2009 LP Give Up the Ghost on Sunday night. Accompanied by cellist Josh Neumann, Carlile played the haunting piano hymn and sang almost every note with an achingly d...
The pressure to be productive while in quarantine continues to be very real, but Angel Olsen has made it look fairly effortless. In addition to rolling out a stellar new album, Whole New Mess, she’s spent the last few months sharing cover after cover. In March, she took on Roxy Music’s “More Than This”, followed by the Tori Amos original “Winter” in April. For her latest reworking, Olsen has tackled “Beware of Darkness” by George Harrison. Originally appearing on The Beatles guitarist’s All Things Must Pass album, the 1970 track was described by Olsen as “pretty great.” Her rendition, uploaded directly to IGTV late Thursday night, is similarly impressive in its vulnerability and starkness. “I’m just messing around like a tired sad shit,” Olsen wrote of her version, which was filmed in...
It’s been over a year since we last received a proper album from indie rockers The National. But it’s not as though the band’s members haven’t kept busy. Both brothers Aaron and Bryce Dessner recently worked on Taylor Swift’s new folklore LP, while frontman Matt Berninger is gearing up to drop his first-ever solo record this fall. Now, drummer Bryan Devendorf is joining in on the fun, as he’s just surprise-released his debut solo album, Royal Green. Per a statement from the percussionist, this new effort was co-produced in Brooklyn with Nate Martinez. National bandmate Aaron Dessner contributed to the record, as did frequent National producer and arranger Josh Kaufman. Royal Green also looks to be Devendorf’s official solo moniker, as that’s the artist name credited across all streaming pl...
Midwestern indie rockers Whitney have returned with a new covers album called Candid. Stream it in its entirety below via Apple Music or Spotify. Out via Secretly Canadian, the 10-track collection finds Whitney tackling originals by David Byrne and Brian Eno (“Strange Overtones”), Kelela (“Bank Head”), and Damien Jurado (“A.M. A.M.”). The album also includes the group’s rendition SWV’s “Rain” and a collaboration with Waxahatchee on the John Denver classic “Take Me Home, Country Roads”. In a statement about their choice in covers, drummer and singer Julien Ehrlich explained, “This could’ve been as simple as saying we really love these songs and we love our bandmates and making a covers record just felt right, but it truly became an exploration into how we can evolve as a band going for...
PC Music founder and producer wizard A. G. Cook has released his sprawling new project 7G. Stream it in full below via Bandcamp. Consisting of a whopping 49 tracks, 7G is divided up into seven “discs”, each devoted to a different instrument: “Drums”, “Guitar”, “Supersaw”, “Piano”, “Nord”, “Spoken Word”, and… Please click the link below to read the full article. A. G. Cook Unleashes 49-Song Project 7G: Stream Lake Schatz You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
T. Rex’s Marc Bolan (photo via Ian Dickson:Wikipedia) and Peaches (photo by Philip Cosores) There’s a massive tribute album coming out this September that sees everyone from U2 to Father John Misty covering the music of Marc Bolan and T. Rex. The latest artist to share their contribution to the compilation is Peaches, whose cover of the 1972 T. Rex single “Solid Gold, Easy Action” is as big as it is fun. So far, the songs we’ve heard from the tribute album, dubbed AngelHeaded Hipster, have been pretty imaginative thanks to artists like Joan Jett, Kesha, and The Sword. But Peaches puts her own unique spin on her cover while still remaining pretty faithful to the original track. According to a press release, that’s in part due to Hal Willner, the album’s producer and a longtime pa...
Chicago indie rockers Whitney have announced a new covers album. Titled Candid, it’s due out August 14th through Secretly Canadian. Spanning 10 tracks, the album sees Whitney tackling originals by David Byrne and Brian Eno (“Strange Overtones”), Kelela (“Bank Head”), and Damien Jurado (“A.M. A.M.”). The album also includes the group’s previously shared rendition of the John Denver classic “Take Me Home, Country Roads” featuring Waxahatchee and their take on “Rain” by SWV. In a statement about their choice in covers, drummer and singer Julien Ehrlich explains, “This could’ve been as simple as saying we really love these songs and we love our bandmates and making a covers record just felt right but it truly became an exploration into how we can evolve as a band going forward.” Editors...
Captain Marvel just might be the biggest Ariana Grande stan in Hollywood. Last year, Brie Larson covered “My Everything” and “God Is a Woman”. Now, she’s back with a new spin on another Grande classic: “Be Alright”. The breakout single from Grande’s 2016 album Dangerous Woman is light and catchy, and Larson upholds those qualities while giving it a stripped-down sheen. Armed with her own guitar and the quiet background of her peaceful home, the actress nails each note and vocal scale, proving once again that she’s just as good at singing as she is at acting. Watch her cover below. It’s not just a coincidence that Larson semi-regularly shares cover songs on social media and totally nails them. Back in 2005, before she was an A-list movie star, she dropped an album called Finally Out of...
In the early days of the pandemic, Father John Misty released his live album Off-Key in Hamburg to benefit the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund. As the country continues to face unprecedented health and social challenges, the indie folk artist is back with another charity release, this time aligned with Bandcamp’s final scheduled fee-free event. On Friday, July 3rd, FJM unveils a new covers EP called Anthem +3. The EP’s title is pretty autological: It features a new rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Anthem” plus three other previously released covers. Father John Misty recorded his take on “Anthem” just a few weeks back, according to a press release, alongside producer Jonathan Wilson at his Fivestar Studios in Topanga, California. Also on the EP are Wilson-produced versions of Cohen’s “One of U...
Back in April, legendary songwriter John Prine passed away after a battle with COVID-19. Dozens of artists covered his songs to pay tribute to his life and long-lasting influence. One of those musicians was Phoebe Bridgers, who performed his late single “Summer’s End” on Instagram earlier this spring. Now, months later, she’s unveiled a more polished up version for SiriusXM. Listen below (via Stereogum). In her original cover of “Summer’s End”, Bridgers could be seen in her house playing the song live to a computer camera while dressed in pajamas. The setting may have been extremely casual, but her vocals — however poorly mic’d they were, if at all — sounded gorgeous and empathetic. It seems like she was quite moved by Prine’s track, because this new touched-up take sounds much fuller and ...