DELTRON 3030 RECOMMENDED: ROBOTANISTS – ‘SHAPES AND VARIATIONS’
It’s a well known fact that I’m a cover song whore. I might be the only person in LA that has all of the Johnny Cash American Recordings, all of the Me First and The Gimme CDs, and this week insisted on purchasing Scratch My Back, the new Peter Gabriel CD. Yes it is true that I haven’t listened to a Peter Gabriel CD since Lloyd Dobler lifted a moderately sized boombox with cartoonish supersonic range to win back the love of Diane Court, but if he’s putting out an album’s worth of covers then I’m putty in his hands. Digging into the tracks I have to say it is a bit lacking. That’s not to say that the choices are uninspired because that couldn’t be further from the case. Gabriel chose some amazing songs from such favorites as Bon Iver (”Flume”), The Arcade Fire (”My Body is a Cage”), and The Magnetic Fields (”The Book of Love”). It’s the approach that was taken that bothers me. In stripping away the drums and the guitars, Gabriel turned these songs into self serving flat whisperfests with nothing behind them. There’s no heart. No soul. What Gabriel must not have understood is that the science of a good cover is to take the opportunity to honor the source material while completely re-inventing it, making it your own in a way that people will recognize its source but, if done properly, they’ll appreciate it more than the original. It is a tough feat, but a goal that one should aspire to. This approach has worked in the past as a launching pad for people like Gary Jules (”Mad World”), Jeff Buckley (”Hallelujah”), and Cat Power (”I Found a Reason”). By leaving the heart of these tracks in place and giving them a makeover these artists forever took ownership of the songs. Trent Reznor himself will tell you that “Hurt” now belongs to Johnny Cash forever. I doubt Thom Yorke will be saying that about Peter Gabriel’s spin on “Street Spirit”.
Clearly I’m bitter for wasting the money.
Worry not my loyal readers. My sad feelings quickly subsided when I was sent an advance copy of LA’s own Robotanists’ forthcoming EP Shapes and Variations. Where Peter Gabriel failed, the Robotanists succeed. Like I said earlier it is very rare when a cover song surpasses the original. Amazingly enough on their upcoming EP the Robotanists manage to pull off this trick seven times. Seven times they reinvent a popular song. Seven times they take ownership of the covered material. I hate to give someone overflowing credit, but not only do they take ownership but they do it with songs that are part of the popular zeitgeist. It’s as if they shouted out “Hey Gabriel, it’s one thing to cover Bon Iver’s “Flume” but try covering Jay Z’s “Empire State of Mind.” It takes balls to do that..and balls are what the Roboantists have. Balls and beautiful lead vocals. Judging from the songs selected (”Empire State,” “Are You Really Going Out With Him,” “Dance Dance Dance,” “Heaven”) one would think that the band was challenged to make the most overplayed songs listen-able again. They rose to the challenge and then some. (more…)
DELTRON 3030 RECOMMENDED: Johnny Cash American VI – Ain’t No Grave
Way back in the stone age that was 1994, people had to borrow cds from each other if they wanted to sample new music. If something really struck you then you’d grab a cassette and make a copy. Taping off the radio was just too annoying and none of the deeper cuts ever got played. It all seems weird to me now but that was the world we lived in. CD exchanges were the precursor to Napster, Limewire and bit torrents. The only problem was you’d run the risk of a never getting your CD back. Sure there was a code of honor with these deals but if the other person fell hard for your album they’d use classic snail tactics to keep the cd in their possession a bit longer. I did this with U2’s Zooropa. I know I know it sound’s crazy. I’m not one to give U2 too much credit around these parts but if not for them I’d never have learned of Johnny Cash. You see back then when U2 was sucking on a completely different level then they are now (ex: Numb, Lemon, their PopMart tour) they closed out their Zooropa album with a synth bass driven song about a man’s search for God in the post-apocalyptic future that shook me to my core. In place of of Bono’s preachy falsetto there was a vocalist with a death welcoming bass baritone who kind of scared me. I’d never heard anything like it. Thanks to that one guest spot on The Wanderer I held on to that CD and never asked for my copy of Urge Overkill’s Saturation back.
Shortly after Zooropa Cash was dropped by his record label and was reborn under the guiding hand of super producer Rick Rubin. Together they released the American Recordings series – a series of cover albums (peppered with some original Cash tracks – stand out “”When the Man Comes Around“) that would vault him into the mainstream and establish a whole new generation of followers who would eventually refer to him as “That guy from that Joaquin Phoenix movie.”
Looking to reclaim his legacy seven years after his death the “Man in Black” has pulled a 2Pac and released his second posthumous album. This collection of covers doesn’t have the star wattage of previous American Recordings…but it doesn’t need it. Recorded on his death bed, Cash managed to squeeze all sorts of otherworldly vibes out of the selected offerings. He even manages to make Sheryl Crow sound down right biblical. The tone of the album is very “un-man in black,” and is a nice contrast to the lasting image everyone has of him– the painful death soaked cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt”. Compared to that track, this album is downright joyful. Speaking of “Hurt,” many a person will tell you that it is the best cover track from the American Recordings. I disagree. As a lover of both lists and covers, I give you the top 5 Johnny Cash covers to have appeared on the American Recordings.
Click to play.
5. “Redemption Day”
4. “One”
3 “Solitary Man”
2 “Hurt”
1 “I See a Darkness”
Highlights: “Redemption Day,” “Ain’t No Grave,” “Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound,” “Cool Water”
DELTRON 3030 RECOMMENDED: The Big Pink – A Brief History of Love
I’ve learned a valuable lesson from some of my previous writer ups — The Internet can be a bad place. The Teenagers, Girls, and The XX have taught me that when I’m done with the write-ups and I’m searching Google for album art I should toggle my safe search on. Harmless searches with terrible results. With that mind I present to you the top ten list of most dangerous band name searches:
10.) Cream
9.) The Morning Benders
8.) Brazilian Girls
7.) Mr Big
6.) Love Spit Love
5.) The Virgins
4.) The Butthole Surfers
3.) Scissor Sisters
2.) Amy Winehouse
…
and coming in at number one is today’s artist of choice: The Big Pink.
I’ve had this British duo’s album on heavy rotation since mid September and I still can’t get enough of it. I’m a sucker for synthesizers and drum machines. However, what’s really doing it for me are the walls of guitar fuzz. Each spin makes their sound travel a little bit further down the timeline till you’re firmly resting in the comfortable bosom of the late 90’s shoegaze guitar scene. I welcome a return to that sound with open arms…but lets all agree to never call it “nu-gaze”. Great. (more…)
DELTRON 3030 RECOMMENDED: Local Natives – Gorilla Manor
George, Washington’s Sasquatch’s lineup was announced today and it is chock full of goodness. They’re boosting a pretty impressive lineup this year which includes the recently reunited Pavement, Massive Attack, My Morning Jacket, Ween, Vampire Weekend, MGMT, LCD Soundsystem, The National, Broken Social Scene, and Band of Horses. Along with those “big” bands tons of artists mentioned here in the past will also be descending on the most beautiful location not named Red Rocks to host a concert – The XX, Phantogram, Passion Pit, Neon Indian, The Middle East and today’s buzzed about band: Local Natives. The Sasquatch announcement coincidentally comes on the same day that Local Natives (who happen to be local natives of Silverlake: yep they had a month long free Mondays residency @ Spaceland last August) release their debut CD, Gorilla Manor- a great CD that is full of soaring voices. Three voices to be exact. No one ever seems to be in charge, vocally speaking. Instead, to great effect, they let the three part harmonies wash over the music and create a different sound. This approach might not work for most bands (please keep your Grizzly Bear comparisons to yourself. Thanks) but it works here for the Local Natives. In case you’re not sold on checking them out I should also mention that they cover the Talking Heads song “Warning Sign“. I’m a sucker for covers and I’m a whore for the Talking Heads…so I became an instant fan.
Yep, I’m an easy mark.
Highlights: “Airplane,” “Sun Hands,” “Warning Sign,” “Who Knows Who Cares”
For those of you who don’t feel like trekking up to George, Washington you can catch the Local Natives and their small font brethren @ SXSW, Coachella, or Bonaroo.
Mar 18 2010 8:00P - SXSW Austin, Texas
Mar 19 2010 8:00P - SXSW Austin, Texas
Mar 20 2010 8:00P - SSXW Austin, Texas
Apr 18 2010 3:00P - Coachella Indio, California
Jun 10 2010 8:00P – Bonnaroo Manchester, Tennessee
DELTRON 3030 RECOMMENDED: Princeton – Cocoon of Love
Princeton are playing a four week long “Free Mondays” residency @ Spaceland this month. They’re from my home away from home, Santa Monica…so I feel I should support them. Beyond the Santa Monica allegiance their album actually happens to be pretty decent. Decent enough to garner comparisons to Vampire weekend by both The NY Times and Pitchfork.com. What I found interesting about these two reviews was how interchangeable they were. The NY Times on 09/11 made reference to the fact that the twin brothers who front the band grew up on Princeton Street in Santa Monica. They used this rather benign factoid to try and drive home the Vampire Weekend comparisons. I thought it was a bit silly, but as an amateur writer I could respect the need for a speaking point that could link two separate entities. All and all it was a fairly positive review that name checked (besides Vampire Weekend) The Cure, Leonard Cohen and “shoegaze”. If you were playing hipster review BINGO you’d be feeling pretty lucky. Pitchfork took their time in posting a review for this album. They waited till December 3rd of the same year when they also mentioned: Princeton St and used it as a tool to begin a forced comparison to Vampire Weekend. They also name checked Leonard Cohen and shoegaze. It reeked of classic late minute high school report cribbing. Pitchfork pretty much pulled a Cliff Notes on their review and moved the content around to give it a different look and feel. This might get past some people, but the old Crib and Switch was a patented move of high school Del. I was on to them. As we all know, from countless message episodes from the ABC TGIF block and real life stern lectures* when eventually being caught, cheaters only cheat themselves. …and in this case, you the reader. Instead of three separate reviews of Princeton you have 1) an original review, 2) a facsimile shamfest, and 3) a Del induced shamefest. To make up for my unfocused talk of Princeton I invite you all to Spaceland tonight for cheap PBRS and free music.
Highlights: “Sadie & Andy,” “Korean War Memorial,” “Shout It Out”
real life stern lectures*: How I was caught by Mr Hilliard in nine grade English class for more or less handing in a transcribed Cliff Notes report on “Of Mice and Men” sans the yellow and black cover I’ll never know. Perhaps I aroused some suspicions when I switched book review topics the day before the report was due. Not exactly a smooth criminal.
DELTRON 3030 RECOMMENDED: The Cribs – Ignore the Ignorant
Now that football is over let’s throw down some mid 90’s baseball analogies. David Cone was easily one of my favorite pitchers growing up. He was a pitbull on the mound and refused to back down from anyone. Sadly he was stuck on some truly terrible teams late in his tenure with the Mets. Coney couldn’t win a world series with them (and they were ready to rebuild*) so he got shipped out to the Blue Jays, then the Royals, back to the Blue Jays, then the Yanks. Along the way he was labeled as a hired gun. As a stud arm who could make a good team great he embraced the role of ace mercenary. Part of me thinks Johnny Marr is a bit of a Coney. Marr, who really has no need to slum since he can live off of his sweet royalties from The Smiths, has jumped on board in the past with The Pretenders and Modest Mouse. Now he’s reaching even lower (in name only) with The Cribs. Honestly the Cribs didn’t need the name check..but if that’s what it takes for people to recognize them as a good band then that’s what it takes. I’m been a huge advocate of the band since their Boondock Saints sampling single “I Gotta Go To LA” and their anti hipster anthem “Hey Scenesters” . Having a veteran in the rotation has really given The Cribs a new sense of purpose. Their newly minted confidence really resonates on this album. Marr’s influence and steady veteran hand can instantly be felt with the fantastic one-two punch of “We Were Aborted” and “Cheat on Me”. Thanks to the help of Johnny Marr a good band just got better. David Cone: Made playoff teams better. Johnny Marr: Making good bands better. Note The Mets traded Coney for Jeff Kent and Ryan Thompson. Thompson was an instant bust and Kent really never meshed or blossomed with the Mets. Four Years later he was shipped to the Indians for a washed up at 27 Carlos Baerga. I’m still bitter obviously.
Catch The Cribs w/ JohnnyMarr @Coachella on Friday April 16th.
Highlights: “We Were Aborted,” “Cheat On Me, Save Your Secrets,” “Last Year’s Snow”