100 Covers: #25 – Car
November 19, 2009
#25 – Car by Built to Spill (from There’s Nothing Wrong With Love, Up Records 1994)
So, here we go with the top 25…
“I want to see movies of my dreams”… that kind of sums it all up.
Opening the Request Lines
November 19, 2009
So, per the last post here is the remainder of the list up to #25. I am going to record the top #25 as quickly as is possible at the moment and get them up here. The remainder of the list is on a ‘by request’ basis… meaning, of course, that if you feel slighted in some way that I didn’t record a song that you wanted to hear now is the time to speak up. If anyone wants me to record one of the songs that are in the #26-#88 range I will sincerely be happy to oblige. (For a more thorough explanation of why I am jumping ahead, read this)
It has taken a lot of strength on my part not do indulge the contents of this list to anyone over the past few months… it really feels like I’m getting something off my chest here. If you wish to take me to task on any of the inclusions (despite my initial request to keep it to yourself) I would be up for a friendly debate or two.
Here you are:
100. Blacking Out The Friction by Death Cab for Cutie
99. I See A Darkness by Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy
98. Embassy Row by Pavement
97. The Good Life by Weezer
96. Nightmares by the Sea by Jeff Buckley
95. It’s Worse When You’re Young by Neva Dinova
94. No Key, No Plan by Okkervil River
93. Mess With the Bulls by Piebald
92. Things Just Getting Good by The Promise Ring
91. Oh, You Are The Roots That Sleep Beneath My Feet And Hold The Earth In Place by Bright Eyes
90. Moment #72 by The Appleseed Cast
89. Lifetime Piling Up by Talking Heads
88. In Our Talons by Bowerbirds
87. The Marionette’s Cottage by Unwed Sailor
86. Postcards From Italy by Beirut
85. Houses Of The Holy by Led Zeppelin
84. Second Place by The Get Up Kids
83. I Put A Spell On You by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
82. Sleeping In by The Postal Service
81. I Was Born (A Unicorn) by The Unicorns
80. The Model by Belle & Sebastian
79. Waterloo Sunset by The Kinks
78. The Agony Of Laffitte by Spoon
77. Where Is My Tarp? by Mount Eerie
76. The Air Near My Fingers by The White Stripes
75. For Me This Is Heaven by Jimmy Eat World
74. Here, There And Everywhere by The Beatles
73. Cattle & The Creeping Things by The Hold Steady
72. On A Bedsheet In The Breeze On The Roof by Joan of Arc
71. Spritz!!! Spritz!!! by Minus The Bear
70. Lazy Flies by Beck
69. White Winter Hymnal by Fleet Foxes
68. Attention All Pickpockets by The Mountain Goats
67. Fairytale of New York by The Pogues
66. Que Shiraz by Hey Mercedes
65. You Left the Water Running by Otis Redding
64. Sluttering by Jawbreaker
63. Your Birthday Present by The Good Life
62. Rain Of Crystal Spires by Felt
61. James by Maritime
60. Borrowed Minivans by Julie Doiron
59. Please Let That Be You by The Rentals
58. Non Photo-Blue by Pinback
57. Late by Ben Folds
56. Zebra by Man Man
55. Chandelier Swing by Braid
54. Paranoid Android by Radiohead
53. Maybe I’ll Catch Fire by Alkaline Trio
52. Gouge Away by Pixies
51. Abegail Anne by Jeremy Enigk
50. June July by John Vanderslice
49. New Martini by Karate
48. Oh Messy Life by Cap’n Jazz
47. You Never Give Me Your Money by The Beatles
46. Napoleon Solo by At the Drive-In
45. Punks in the Beerlight by Silver Jews
44. Aeris’s Theme by Nobuo Uematsu (from Final Fantasy VII Piano Collections)
43. Mary Jo by Belle & Sebastian
42. What Do You Want Me To Say by Dismemberment Plan
41. They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From The Dead!! Ahhhhh! by Sufjan Stevens
40. Cemetry Gates by The Smiths
39. Where She Lies by Jump, Little Children
38. The Setting Sun And Its Satellites by The Firebird Band
37. I’ve Been Riding With The Ghost by Songs: Ohia
36. Don’t Haunt This Place by The Rural Alberta Advantage
35. Honestly? by American Football
34. Dodge Dart by Kind Of Like Spitting
33. Muddy Hymnal by Iron & Wine
32. Teeth Like God’s Shoeshine by Modest Mouse
31. Absolutely Cuckoo by The Magnetic Fields
30. Mimi by The Long Winters
29. Breakfast of Champions by Rainer Maria
28. Queen Bitch by David Bowie
27. E. Texas Ave. by The Promise Ring
26. You’ll Be In The Air by The Microphones
White Flag
November 19, 2009
So I am slowly realizing that this covers project could take well over a year to complete. I know that people have noticed that there hasn’t been a new song up in a few weeks, and at this pace… jeez. With as busy as I’ve been lately it has been nearly impossible to get any recording done. Each cover takes several hours to complete and I can never get that much time to work at once (stopping and starting doesn’t seem to be a good method of working for me either).
So I have been playing with an idea that I think is pretty good, I would really like some input from people though. I am thinking that I am going to post the rest of the list up to #25. I will then set about recording the top 25. The compromise that I hope exists in this is that if there are any songs on the list between 26-88 (“the unrecorded” as we’ll call them) that anyone really wants me to do I’ll do it. I know that some people were hoping to hear certain songs so you will still have a chance to… and I won’t feel as though I’ve completely bailed on the project.
Another reason that I’m feeling like I need to scale back on this thing is that as little time as I’ve had to record I’ve had even less time to work on my own music. With Project Dispatch up and running (plus the fact that I am really eager to get some new music out) it is really becoming imperative that I start getting together a new collection of songs.
So… what do you think?
Some Recent Obsessive Listening
November 2, 2009
Daaaaang, this blog is looking sparse. Surely some people have noticed that the flow of covers has slowed a bit (Starting next week I am going to do my best to catch up in a big way). I have been out of town/having a birthday/working on Project Dispatch stuff/getting ready to go out of town again later this week. BUT! as usual there are a handful of records that I feel especially compelled to mention… most would agree that it is something of an obligation to pass this stuff on when found. I am afraid that my schedule leaves me little more time than is necessary to just kind of make suggestions at the moment (no rambling blurbs today!)
Chain and the Gang is the newest project of the enigmatic Ian Svenonius (The Make Up, Nation of Ulysses)… or DC’s other Ian, as some affectionately know him. Kind of loungey, kind of 60’s, kind of political, and all awesome. Down With Liberty… Up With Chains! was released on K Records, and it’s worth mention that some K favorites sat in on this record. Karl Blau and Calvin Johnson to name a few.
Dawes’ North Hills is a beautiful, loose, acoustic driven record that is full of exceptional songwriting and wonderful performances. This is going to be a great winter record…
The Family Afloat by Bound Stems is one hell of a good rock album. I’ve been needing one of those. Bound Stems is regrettably no longer together… though they managed to put out one of the best albums of 2008 before they left.
mp3 – Interview With The Chain Gang by Chain and the Gang
Order Down With Liberty… Up With Chains!
mp3 – When My Time Comes by Dawes
Order North Hills
mp3 – Passing Bell by Bound Stems
Order The Family Afloat
Good day.
100 Covers: #89 – Lifetime Piling Up
October 29, 2009
#89 – Lifetime Piling Up by Talking Heads (from Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites, Sire Records 1992
So, first I have to apologize for the lack of posting here lately. Things have been pretty nuts lately. My birthday was last week and we went to NY for a few days to celebrate that. Now we are frantically getting ready for the Project Dispatch launch party tomorrow night… the event page is here (please come out if you can… it’s going to be a load of fun). These things leave little time to record, but my schedule will be lightening a bit soon so there will be a lot of time for catching up. I did manage to find a few free hours today so I thought that I should go ahead and get # 89 up here.
This is an incredible song that was included on the Sand in the Vaseline compilation. It’s really remarkable that this track didn’t make it to an album (I think that they recorded this while they were working on Naked?). I’m really glad it found a home on this compilation though, because I think that is absolutely one of their best songs. Enjoy!
100 Covers: #90 – Moment #72
October 19, 2009
#90 – Moment #72 by The Appleseed Cast (from End of the Ring Wars, Deep Elm 1998)
At the risk of sounding terribly melodramatic, this album was kind of one of those life changing ones for me. Records that really change the way you think about and hear music don’t come along too often, but when they do they hit pretty hard. I first heard this album when I was 17… it set me on a new path in terms of what I was listening to and what I was playing. I was floored then and I still am.
In the interest of full disclosure this is not exactly a new recording. I hope no one thinks that this is a cop out, but I recorded this cover about a year and a half ago. I have always really liked the way that it turned out and I wanted it to be the version that was posted here. If you have heard it before, I apologize.
100 Covers: #91 – Oh, You Are the Roots That Sleep Beneath My Feet and Hold the Earth in Place
October 15, 2009
#91 – Oh, You Are the Roots That Sleep Beneath My Feet and Hold the Earth in Place by Bright Eyes (from Oh Holy Fools: The Music of Son, Ambulance and Bright Eyes, Saddle Creek 2001)
mp3 – Oh, You Are The Roots That Sleep Beneath My Feet And Hold The Earth In Place
Whatever my more recent grievances with Conor Oberst happen to be (which I will refrain from delving into here), there is little hope of disputing that Letting Off the Happiness and Fevers and Mirrors are fantastic albums, and rather significant ones for me. Somewhere between Fevers and Mirrors and Lifted (for which a case can be made too… though, for me, things began to kind of go off the rails after that record) there appeared this wonderful split with Son, Ambulance. The first time I heard Oh, You Are the Roots That Sleep Beneath My Feet and Hold the Earth in Place was on the first mix tape that Chandi ever made for me (in 2002? wow), and I have associated it with her since then. That’s why it continues to be my favorite Bright Eyes song , and it’s the reason that this song is on the list. Enjoy.
Oh and I feel like I should point out something obvious… this is the tenth cover that I have posted. 1/10th of my task is completed. That makes me feel pretty alright.
100 Covers: #92 – Things Just Getting Good
October 14, 2009
#92 – Things Just Getting Good by The Promise Ring (from Very Emergency, Jade Tree 1999)
mp3 – Things Just Getting Good
I have always felt a very strong need to defend this record. So many people were down on it when it came out that I think it made me like it all the more. I took pride in my loyalty to The Promise Ring… which seems silly, but I feel like a lot of people missed out on a really great record. Don’t get me wrong, my heart truly belongs to their earlier stuff but there is plenty of room for Very Emergency (and Wood/Water for that matter). This song always stood out as a particular favorite. I hope you enjoy it.
Oh, I suppose I should mention this before anyone gets defensive: a lot of people I know came around to this record eventually; it just took a while. I think people (myself not excluded) were kind of hoping for another Nothing Feels Good… but come on, there will never be another Nothing Feels Good.
100 Covers: #93 – Mess With the Bulls
October 10, 2009
#93 – Mess With the Bulls by Piebald (from If It Weren’t For Venetian Blinds, It Would Be Curtains For Us All, Big Wheel Recreation 1999)
How amazing is this record? Jesus…
This one was super fun to do… hope you like it.
