Cover Tuesday: A Kick in The Shins

By Justin Cates

The eclectic mix of songs I picked last time were surprisingly popular, so I'll attempt to make this a weekly thing since Tuesday's are dumb. 

The first one today isn't particularly random, it's just good. 

Before frontman James Mercer decided to fire his band and replace them with the new Shins, they made this terrific cover of The Postal Service's "We Will Become Silhouettes". 

I'm pretty sure I've posted this song previously, but I don't care. It's terrific.  

Next up is The Band. I rank them right up there with Little Feat for most underrated band. It's another case where you've heard their songs and enjoyed them, but didn't know it was them.

The first tune from The Band I really fell for turned out to be a cover of the Bob Dylan tune "I Shall Be Released". I think this version from the Band's debut album Music From Big Pink is the definitive version.

Granted, I've never been a huge Dylan fan but I still appreciate his art. I just think the vocals of Richard Manuel, Rick Danko and Levon Helm are far superior to those of Mr. Dylan's original cut.

This song is also cool because of the Dylan/Band connection. The Band was Bob's backing group when he toured the U.S. in 1965 and Europe in 1966 after going electric.



The Kooks are an indie band from the UK that has perhaps best been described as a less abrasive Arctic Monkeys.

They are self-described "musical whores" listing countless recognizable influences like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, The Police and David Bowie.

In fact, their name is derived from the classic Bowie song "Kooks" and the distillation of all these influences has led to a really cool sound beyond their initial label of "typical Britpop".

Today's selection is a cover they did of the Gnarls Barkley hit "Crazy".

The Kooks have stripped it down to simple acoustic guitars. Luke Pritchard's heavily accented lead vocals completely change the tone of the song, and while a little rough in this video where he's playing in the street, are quite honest and charming.

Phish To Jam For Days In Watkins Glen

Phish, a definite favorite of Andy and myself have formally announced they will be playing at Watkins Glen International, the famous road race course located just a short drive from our periodic stomping grounds of Corning, NY.

The concert will take place July 1-3 coinciding with the Indy Racing League event held the weekend of Independence Day.

The concert harkens back to 1973 when the Summer Jam at Watkins Glen attracted over 600,000 patrons to upstate New York to hear music from The Allman Brothers Band, The Band and Grateful Dead.

It was considered to be the largest outdoor concert in the U.S. by the Guinness Book for some time.

Here's a video from Phish's performance June 29, 2010 at CMAC in Canandaigua, NY.

In attendance were myself, Cutting Room Floor drummer Alan Brown and friend of the blog Chris Parry. It was most excellent.

Song Of The Day- September 2, 2008

Now for a break from the sports and a return of the music. I've been digging The Band's second release, The Band from 1969. They really got a great clunky kind of woody down home American vibe on this record, and this song really epitomizes that. This is the lead single from the album, "Up On Cripple Creek". It was the group's first and only top 30 hit charting at #25 in late 1969.

This performance is from the band's classic final concert, "The Last Waltz". This is great stuff, enjoy.

Several Things

Today we've got a new song and some general catchup. After a few days I've warmed to and even am beginning to enjoy the new Hokie football uniforms. I agree wholeheartedly with Brian on his assessment of The Dark Night. Excellent stuff, and worth seeing multiple times. Heath Ledger was/is the man. Today's song comes from Panic At The Disco, a really cool cover of "The Weight", originally performed by The Band. This was taken from an AOL Music Session.