Cover Tuesday: God Save the Queen and Other British Stuff

By Justin Cates

Ryan Adams is a man of many tastes musically speaking.

He's worked with country legends like Willie Nelson, founded the alt-country groups Whiskeytown and The Cardinals, played loads of rock and just recently announced the formation of a new punk rock group called Pornography.

Given that, it shouldn't come as any surprise that he covers some interesting songs.

"Wonderwall" is one of the myriad of hit singles form the classic Oasis album (What's The Story) Morning Glory?

The New Musical Express (NME), Britain's most popular music magazine named Adams' cover of "Wonderwall" the number one Oasis cover.

I was going to feature three songs from the list, but most of them are pretty bad. So instead here's a loosely related list.



Now here's Noel Gallagher of Oasis performing The Beatles' classic, "All You Need Is Love".

I can't tell how much of the rest of the band is there, but if you look closely you can see his brother Liam just chilling in the background. Probably so they would shut up and stop fighting for three minutes.



Finally, playing off that British connection we finish off with a pair of covers because i didn't want to show preference to one of John Lennon's kids.

The first is a cover of classic cut "Julia" performed by Sean Lennon, John and Yoko Ono's son.



The final track to be featured is from Julian Lennon, the only child from John's first marriage.

"I Need You" was released by the band America in 1972. It's a powerful song, especially when you consider it in the context of a father/son relationship. Julian sounds much more like his father vocally and I've always felt bad for him.

John wasn't much of a dad to him until later in life. In fact, Julian was much closer with Paul McCartney.

Paul and I used to hang about quite a bit...more than Dad and I did. We had a great friendship going and there seems to be far more pictures of me and Paul playing together at that age than there are pictures of me and my dad. -Julian Lennon

Julian was the direct inspiration for three Beatles songs, "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds", "Hey Jude" and "Good Night".

McCartney wrote "Hey Jude" (originally titled, "Hey Jules") to console Julian during the divorce of his parents.

So here we are at the end of a random jaunt through British music. Here's hoping you enjoyed it.

Cheers.

Cover Tuesday: Peppers, an Apple and Multiple Boys

By Justin Cates

I really dig Fiona Apple and on this song she reaches into the Beatles back catalog to cover "Across the Universe".

It's by no means one of the best Beatles songs, but it's still good music in it's own right. On a side note, I've never entirely warmed up to the film of the same name though there were certainly some good bits in it.

Essentially, I thought it was the Beatles adapted for teenage girls. Remember, send those angry comments of dissent to Brian.

Anyway, as she often does Fiona Apple performs this song beautifully with a hint of melancholy. It doesn't hurt that the music video depicts something I can only describe as "beautiful chaos".

I could be crazy, but around the 3:45 mark I'm relatively certain that John C. Reilly steals a record from the juke box then leaps out the window.




Apparently, Fall Out Boy are about to release another album but I can't say I really care anymore. At the risk of sounding like a hipster who dislikes a band once it gets popular, they kind of lost me with their more recent releases but I really enjoyed the first few albums they made.

Their first EP My Heart Will Always Be the B-Side to My Tongue, was released in may of 2004 and featured acoustic renditions of two of their previous songs, two new acoustic tracks and this cover of Joy Division's 1980 song "Love Will Tear Us Apart".

When you strip away all the other stuff going on in their songs, you can begin to appreciate that Patrick Stump actually has a good voice when he's not screeching depressing Pete Wentz lyrics.




This last one is one of those classic surprises where I don't even know how I found it.

This is the Red Hot Chili Peppers covering the Beach Boys standard "I Get Around".

It stays true to the original while still giving it a distinct Peppers flavor. Flea's funky bass—complete with a pelvic thrust—and John Frusciante's guitar flair reminds us who's covering this classic.

I was really impressed with the vocals. I never realized the range of Frusciante. He totally nails the falsetto here and the group's harmonies make me happy.

Here's hoping they do the same for you.

Happy Birthday Ringo

Yikes, we've really let the blog languish on the vine so far this summer. Brian's certainly been busy what with the pending wedding. I'm not sure what I've been doing.

Ringo Starr turned 70 the other day which is impressive.

I've had this tune stuck in my head since I heard part of it on the news the other night.

Congratulations Ringo.

Look for more activity in the near future.

Song Of The Day - August 12, 2008

Today's melodic selection is inspired by the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. One of the many things I enjoy about the Olympics is all of the advertising, because where else would all of that money come from to put on a spectacle to showcase to the world? While most of the advertisements I've witnessed have been exceptional (the Coca-Cola ads come to mind) there are a few that have either made me scratch my head or throw the remote through my TV. One commercial of particular disgust is from the retail giant Target. One of their new back-to-school ads features music by boy band sensation the Jonas Brothers. I have never really listened to their music but I know that I will avoid it at all costs after listening to their abomination of Hello Goodbye, originally performed by The Beatles.

Punk rock and Beatles music do not mix, or at least if they do this version certainly couldn't grasp that concept. The harmonization in the beginning sounds more like whining as opposed to actual singing and I can't even think of words to describe how bad the bridge (the part in the middle) is. John Lennon, who didn't even like the song that much according to music journalist Steve Turner, just rolled over in his grave. 

I understand that bands will cover songs from other bands, and I even like a lot of covers. The issue that I have is when a song is covered simply because it was once popular and might create an avenue for success for the artist covering it. I can't speak intelligently about the motives of the Jonas Brothers since I have never met them (let alone listen to their music) but I am confident that they were presented with this idea and envisioned dollar signs and girls coming their way. 

I'm not sure if Target or their advertising agency is to blame but I know that I am disappointed they allowed the Jonas Brothers to ruin what was once a really, really good song. Sadly, it isn't the first time they have allowed someone to ruin this song. 

"Hello Goodbuy" is a punny campaign slogan that Target has been running for quite some time now. During the time span in which they have utilized this slogan several different artists have been featured covering the classic Beatles tune.

Some have been good:

Others have not:

The song in the first commercial shown above is hip and upbeat while not straying too far from the original song. The second is just weird. In addition to a terrible end to the song, creepy synthesizers and strange instrumentation combine to make a mockery of this Beatles classic.

Ok, I'm done ruining it for you; end of rant. Listen to The Beatles' version and cheer up.

Song Of The Day - July 24, 2008

Today's rendition comes from that band across the pond whose music was considered innovative, creative, cutting-edge, inappropriate, weird, and awesome all at the same time. The Beatles are one of the greatest rock bands of all time. In fact, in 2004 Rolling Stone magazine selected them number one on their list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. The Beatles are  well known for stretching the envelope and innovating in the recording studio by introducing instruments, sound effects, sound loops, double tracking, and many other studio tricks. With more than 40 singles, albums and EPs that reached the number one sport on the music charts it is difficult to select just one of their masterpieces, so expect more from Paul, John, George, and Ringo in future song of the day posts.

Without question, today's song is from perhaps the strangest album produced by the band. The Yellow Submarine album is unique in that the band did not consider it to be a true studio release since several of the songs had been previously released on other albums (including "Yellow Submarine" and "All You Need Is Love"). Today's song was initially supposed to be called "Hey Bullfrog", but unexpectedly started to bark during the recording sessions and the title was changed to "Hey Bulldog." The video is a clip from Yellow Submarine (the movie). This version of the film was only released in Europe (the song was a bonus segment) because it was thought at the time that American audiences would not be comfortable with the length of the movie. Behold, The Bealtes in animated (and no doubt drugged) brilliance.

Fun fact: the Yellow Submarine album was produced by Apple Corps, a record label founded by The Beatles. Ten years after its formation in 1968, Apple Corps filed a lawsuit in 1978 against newly created Apple Computer for trademark infringement. A settlement was reached in 1981, although relations between the two companies have always been on thin ice. Since the original settlement, several additional lawsuits have been filed. For a better synopsis of their embattled history, click here.