Some Covers For Monday II

Hell, now that maybe one or two more people are reading this blog, a few more covers I thought I'd repost:

Foo Fighters -'Baker Street (Gerry Rafferty cover).' mp3

Placebo -'Running Up That Hill (Kate Bush cover).' mp3

Futureheads -'Let's Dance (David Bowie cover).' mp3

The Raincoats -'Lola (The Kinks cover).' mp3

Sonic Youth -' Superstar (The Carpenters cover).' mp3

Idlewild -'I Found That Essence Rare (Gang Of Four cover).' mp3

Ian Brown -'Billie Jean (Michael Jackson cover).' mp3

And one I haven't posted before...

The Fall -'A Day In The Life (The Beatles cover).' mp3

Enjoy. And as always, if you like what you hear, support the artists through your local independent record shop.

Gig review: Foo Fighters/Nine Inch Nails

Gig review: Foo Fighters/Nine Inch Nails

Edinburgh Meadowbank Stadium, August 21 2007

OK, so Stadium gigs can be deeply impersonal, full of people trying to get drunk who have no idea about the music other than they want to hear the hits...but you might actually have a chance of going rather than if they are playing a 'club' gig.

It's strange to think Nine Inch Nails emerged at the end of the eighties and are still with us. Once I've found somewhere to stand in the crowd and not get rubbish sound, the strength and diversity of their ideas starts to come through. It probably helps that they are playing in the early evening on an overcast day in Scotland, as watching them in blazing sunshine would be wrong. Whilst it was be great to hear some stuff off Pretty Hate Machine, Trent Reznor and his merrier-than-you-might-think men, pack a powerful punch, without descending to dreary self-loathing. A final blast of 'Wish' and they are gone.

Some bands can do stadiums with style, not so much in terms of an all-singing, all-dancing show but how they can work it. The Foo Fighters know how to work a crowd, and when Dave walks on by himself and launches into a gorgeous solo version of 'Everlong' joined by the band for the final chorus, it's a very good start to the night. Especially when the next songs are 'Monkey Wrench,' 'Times Like These,' 'My Hero' and 'Break Out'.

One of the most impressive songs of the night is the workout that 'Stacked Actors' gets. Solos, meeting the audience-and yet neverself-indulgent. Perhaps this is the key to the Foo fighters deservedly enduring success for more than a decade -they are crowd-pleasing band with an expanding back catalogue who still sound like they have not forgotten their roots. 'DOA' 'Generator' 'This Is a Call' -how many aces can one band hold up their collective sleeve? The live version of 'Best Of You' sounds achingly sad, far more moving than on record.

After a final encore of 'All My Life' we take our leave, and go out into the night. (...and I go into school and rub it into all the kids who couldn't get tickets... : )

*****

Some related tracks:

Nine Inch Nails -'Head Like A Hole.' mp3 (They didn't play this, I wish they had)

Foo Fighters -'Monkey Wrench.' mp3

Foo Fighters -'Everlong.' mp3

Enjoy...

Some Covers For Sunday

It's Sunday - and time for some more covers!

First up, these three came with a free CD with Q magazine last year. The Futureheads track was recorded exclusively for Q; the Camera Obscura and Placebo tracks had been available commercially. Try ebay or iTunes.

Camera Obscura -'Modern Girl (Sheena Easton cover).' mp3

Placebo -'Running Up That Hill (Kate Bush cover).' mp3

The Futureheads -'Let's Dance (David Bowie cover).' mp3

These next three tracks all appear on a compilation called 'If I Were A Carpenter' whihc was a tribute album, not to Tim Hardin but to The Carpenters. These are my favourite three tracks off the album.

Sonic Youth -'Superstar (Carpenters cover).' mp3

Shonen Knife -'Top Of The World (Carpenters cover).' mp3

Bettie Serveert -'For All We Know (Carpenters cover).' mp3

This track appears on the Raincoats' debut album, the sleevenotes for which were written by none other than Kurt Cobain. It also later turned up on the rather fine Rough Trade Shops Post-Punk 1 compilation. On the latter album, the sleevenotes (this time not by Kurt Cobain) note that one of the 100% endearing things about this version of The Kinks' classic is that it sounds like it is about to fall apart any second.

The Raincoats -'Lola (Kinks cover).' mp3

Finally, this cover of Gerry Rafferty's most famous song (though Stuck In The Middle With You probably is very close, thanks to its inclusion in Reservoir Dogs) was originally recorded for a compilation for EMI, and then turned up as one of the extra tracks on the 'My Hero' CD single.

Foo Fighters -'Baker Street (Gerry Rafferty cover).' mp3

Links removed May 27, 2007