Sharon Van Etten “Serpents” on Jimmy Fallon
January 7, 2012
ok, total girl crush! Can’t get enough of this song. Love it and can’t wait til this album comes out in February.
Best Cover Songs of 2011
December 18, 2011
Seems like cover songs are all the rage and I’m sure it’s due to ease of home-recording through such sites as SoundCloud and Bandcamp. What a great way to get a feel for what a musician’s audience thinks of songs they are working on or just sharing with their fans.
I decided to make a list of the one’s I liked the most but I didn’t put them in any particular order. That’s just too difficult. It’s not a top 10 list, it’s just my favorites so If you have a favorite that you’d like to share, post it in comments.
Trent Reznor and Karen O, Led Zepplin, ‘Immigrant Song’
Good lord, how did they pull this one off?? It’s awesome and updated really well. It won’t ever replace the original but I love it and love how perfectly Ms. O’s vocals work with the song.
Robin Pecknold and Alela Diane cover Nico’s ‘These Days’
The lead singer of Fleet Foxes, has often expressed his love for the 70’s legend and Warhol prootege for her music. It’s nice to hear his take on this classic Nico song.
Bon Iver-Bonnie Raitt ‘ I can’t make you love me/love in the nick of time’
Not only does Justin Vernon produce Grammy nominated albums but he can honor a classic song with skill and beauty. Justin, also known as Bon Iver, does a beautiful mix rendition of two Bonnie Raitt classics.
make you love me_nick
Vernon has covered many songs including a few he recorded in 2008. Here are some stand out covers:
Bon Iver – Why (Annie Lennox Cover)
Bon Iver – The Park (Feist Cover)
John Legend-Adele’s ‘Rolling in the Deep’
I found this amazing a capella version of John Legend singing Adele’s ‘Rolling in the Deep’ and it just floored me. You must have an amazing voice to be able to pull off an Adele cover and John stood up to the challenge. Beautiful.
01 Rolling in the Deep (Adele Cover) (1)
Lissie- Metallica ‘Nothing Else Matters’
Only Lissie could pull off a cover of a metal song and make it work. She may have just breathed new life into this Metallica classic. Lissie just came out with an album of covers, “Covered Up With Flowers” so be sure to check it out. They’re all amazing.
Jessie Baylin Thin Lizzy ‘A Song for While I’m Away’
Sticking with the theme of “rock cover songs you didn’t expect from gorgeous female singer/songwriter’s”, Jessie Baylin gives Thin Lizzy’s,’A Song for While I’m Away’ a new twist. Check out her EP of covers, “Pleasure Center”.
St. Vincent Big Black ‘Kerosene’
and to end the trifecta of our ladies with gentle souls rocking out, here’s St. Vincent blowing our minds with this intense cover of Big Black’s ‘Kerosene’…who knew? It’s loud, it’s obnoxious but it’s amazing. This woman can do anything.
Birdy- Bon Iver’s ‘Skinny Love’
If you haven’t heard of birdy yet, you will. She’s a 16 year old British girl who won Open Mic UK competition when she was just 12 years old. She just released her debut album “Birdy” November 7th.
James Vincent McMorrow Steve Winwood’s ‘Higher Love’
Love this slowed down version of this Winwood classic. If you haven’t heard this guys own stuff you must! He’s an amazing musician.
Justin on Q (interview)
December 11, 2011
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Bon Iver, Nick Cave, and the struggles of being a Grammy Nominee
December 4, 2011
During an interview with The New York Times, Justin Vernon addressed the subject of winning Grammy’s which he explains is not the reason he makes music. He mentioned a letter Nick Cave wrote to MTV after being nominated for an award which resonated with his own feelings on the subject (see letter below). Vernon was asked this question by NYT several months ago so who knows if he feels the same way after being nominated for 4 Grammy’s, but I think if bands like Arcade Fire and Bon Iver are finally being recognized in an industry filled with corporate manufactured artists who haven’t sung a real note live in their entire career then they should show up and honor their success and show the world what a real musician looks/sounds like because everyone seems to have forgotten. It’s time to turn what was starting to become a discouraging joke into a well-respected award again. Independent artists need to show up and respect the efforts and honor the change so it will continue. Think of it, not as a competition or as a trophy but as a way to open doors for your genre and your peers. No you’re not selling out you’re just taking ownership of what these awards should be about.
TO ALL THOSE AT MTV,
I WOULD LIKE TO START BY THANKING YOU ALL FOR THE SUPPORT YOU HAVE GIVEN ME OVER RECENT YEARS AND I AM BOTH GRATEFUL AND FLATTERED BY THE NOMINATIONS THAT I HAVE RECEIVED FOR BEST MALE ARTIST. THE AIR PLAY GIVEN TO BOTH THE KYLIE MINOGUE AND P. J. HARVEY DUETS FROM MY LATEST ALBUM MURDER BALLADS HAS NOT GONE UNNOTICED AND HAS BEEN GREATLY APPRECIATED. SO AGAIN MY SINCERE THANKS.
HAVING SAID THAT, I FEEL THAT IT’S NECESSARY FOR ME TO REQUEST THAT MY NOMINATION FOR BEST MALE ARTIST BE WITHDRAWN AND FURTHERMORE ANY AWARDS OR NOMINATIONS FOR SUCH AWARDS THAT MAY ARISE IN LATER YEARS BE PRESENTED TO THOSE WHO FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE WITH THE COMPETITIVE NATURE OF THESE AWARD CEREMONIES. I MYSELF, DO NOT. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN OF THE OPINION THAT MY MUSIC IS UNIQUE AND INDIVIDUAL AND EXISTS BEYOND THE REALMS INHABITED BY THOSE WHO WOULD REDUCE THINGS TO MERE MEASURING. I AM IN COMPETITION WITH NO-ONE.
MY RELATIONSHIP WITH MY MUSE IS A DELICATE ONE AT THE BEST OF TIMES AND I FEEL THAT IT IS MY DUTY TO PROTECT HER FROM INFLUENCES THAT MAY OFFEND HER FRAGILE NATURE.
SHE COMES TO ME WITH THE GIFT OF SONG AND IN RETURN I TREAT HER WITH THE RESPECT I FEEL SHE DESERVES – IN THIS CASE THIS MEANS NOT SUBJECTING HER TO THE INDIGNITIES OF JUDGEMENT AND COMPETITION. MY MUSE IS NOT A HORSE AND I AM IN NO HORSE RACE AND IF INDEED SHE WAS, STILL I WOULD NOT HARNESS HER TO THIS TUMBREL – THIS BLOODY CART OF SEVERED HEADS AND GLITTERING PRIZES. MY MUSE MAY SPOOK! MAY BOLT! MAY ABANDON ME COMPLETELY!
SO ONCE AGAIN, TO THE PEOPLE AT MTV, I APPRECIATE THE ZEAL AND ENERGY THAT WAS PUT BEHIND MY LAST RECORD, I TRULY DO AND SAY THANK YOU AND AGAIN I SAY THANK YOU BUT NO…NO THANK YOU.
YOURS SINCERELY, NICK CAVE 21 OCT 96.
White Winter Hymnal cover by the cutest kids from Indonesia
November 30, 2011
QOTD
November 26, 2011
“Sleep late, have fun, get wild, drink whiskey and drive fast on empty streets with nothing in mind except falling in love and not getting arrested.” ~ Hunter S. Thompson
watch robin pecknold and alela diane cover nico’s “these days”
November 23, 2011
Click on image at top for Magic Arrows site. great blog and the source for this post.
A beautiful story told visually and musically. The fight with the sea creature at the end works perfectly with the music. The Pecknold family is certainly rich with creativity.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Check out the Roho Bros. in the UK!
October 20, 2011
pic by @oldmanhenenberg
All right boys!
and check out their “Fuel The Fire” video
Shane + skinnies = Wha??!!!
That right there deserves a record deal.
For Tour Dates in the UK check here. There’s only a few more dates and it’s happening now so don’t miss them!
Megafaun ‘Get Right’
October 3, 2011
Roman Holiday: Album review and their first single ‘Fuel the Fire’ (MP3)
September 6, 2011
The album offers a bit of everything; Shadow Show is straight up rock n’ roll and will remind you of a time when rock was king. The anthemic qualities of Blood Red Moon and Telephone drive that point even further. You can envision a live performance complete with crying girls and their fist pumping boyfriends.
Telephone is the shining star on ‘Move Your Heart/Shake Your Bones’. You can’t listen to this song just once, it’ll be on repeat for a while. Between Shane’s voice and Daniel’s guitar parts you will get that feeling, you know the one I’m talking about, the one that can’t be defined in just one word. You will instinctively close your eyes and let it envelop you.
Another favorite is The Ghost. This song is the polar opposite of Telephone. The Ghost will have you dancing around your bedroom like a fool without a care. It’s easy to see a club remix of this song at some point. Runaway Son, Young Together, Yellow Sun, Fuel the Fire, and Lockets are distinctly Roho and are pop rock gold. October takes a turn for the mellow and Shane will surprise you with the most beautiful falsetto. The boy has held out on us. I hope we hear more of that in the future, truly gorgeous.
If you don’t know the back history of Roman Holiday you would think they were seasoned musicians who have honed their skills and paid their dues, not young men in their early 20’s just starting out. Everything about their music has a maturity beyond their years. The boys will be headed to Europe in the fall so be sure to see them live. ‘Move Your Heart/Shake Your Bones’, will be released in the fall as well. Prepare to have your face melted and your bones shakin’. Check out their new single Fuel The Fire below!
Picture Credit: Jade Ehlers
Wilco and Fleet Foxes “I shall be released”
September 1, 2011
Right on Brotha!
This is reblogged from Bon Iver’s official site. Justin Vernon’s point of view on MTV and the VMA’s
You can find the original post here: Bon Iver
“there are great moments in awards shows. bruno mars sounded really good doing ‘valerie’ for amy winehouse. i don’t think anyone is bummed that adele is killing everything. her voice was real and focused when i went thru and watched highlights from tonight. kanye and jay z are always murdering. beyonce is pregnant. yes this is awesome as shit, culturally speaking. but can i just ask, the reader, us, we … as non-rhetorically as possible: don’t we seem dumb? didn’t MTV lose the fight against themselves? Didn’t Rock’n’Roll STOP? Why are the lights so bright? isn’t our talent as artists enough? Why do we try SO hard? Does a moonman mean what it did back then? Should we feel pumped when we get one? Should our mom’s cry? I am not even thinking about it that hard. I will close my eyes in 90 seconds and have total peace… But, seriously. Why are we waving around so much? Why do we NEED this shit so bad? Why don’t we just have MUSIC? DO music? soul? I don’t know. I don’t mean to criticize. Anyone. Actually. Except for MTV. You might have had a very large opportunity to be stabilize your self as a global presence of culture and art about 15 years ago and you fucked the dog. Sorry. Im with my girls on this one. Its becoming increasingly clear as I think about it more and more, that the dollars, if they ARE apart of why you are doing something… they are apart of why you are doing something. that’s fucked to me. that’s the absence of spirit, glue, fabric of what makes us a person. it distracts us from what we could be doing: WORK. on EARTH. Better say this: Forget what I say. If you even read this, you’ll probably say to yourself, who is this ass saying shit? It doesn’t matter what i say. it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter. But this one last thought: What would Bill Hicks say?”
Bon Iver “Holocene” (VIDEO)
August 18, 2011
Baby Kings Japan 2004 #kolsunday
July 24, 2011
I was going to write a long drawn out rant about “selling out” after reading an article (it may have been a blog, can’t remember) on KOL. I’m gonna save that for another day but just one question; how come when a band starts to get big the media tries to tear them down? I don’t get it, and when did “branding” or tie-ins with products become so taboo? This has been going on for years! Pretty sure The Stones, U2 and most definitely Elvis is a brand. Sick of the media criticizing the business end of a band and not focusing on the music just to get readers.
Lets Get The RoHo Boys to the UK
July 9, 2011
Help support @Roman_Holiday by donating whatever you can to get them on the road to the UK and across America. This is a band that is worth the investment. What’s in it for you? When they are huge you’ll look back and say, I helped them get there, and a lifetime of eargasms, of course. They are incredibly talented!
Check them out and help the cause.
Roman Holiday’s 2011 Fall Tour
Download: Fleet Foxes live in concert from La Bataclan in Paris, France (via Some Velvet Blog)
July 3, 2011
via Some Velvet Blog
Bon Iver on Fallon: ‘Holocene’ (video)
June 22, 2011
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) Audio: ‘Bonnie Hathaway’
June 22, 2011
Here is another take on Nick of Time/Can’t Make You Love Me and a little intro from Donny Hathaway‘s ‘A Song for You’.
Justin’s Bonnie Hathaway Cover MP3
Did you know Justin has a Blog? Check it out here
And Happy Release Day Bon Iver! Go buy this amazing album! Amazon
It Ain't Hemingway 