9 Aug 2012 (part 1) - Karmin - Tonight (I'm Loving You) / Firework / Price Tag

Today, I decided I was going to feature one artist and a bunch of their covers.  In order to do that, I had to pick an artist that had more than one.  Well, this artist (who we featured yesterday on the other blog) got their career started with a YouTube following and a bunch of covers.  This was one of their earliest ones, a cover of an Enrique Iglesias hit, showcases the vocals, but not the hip-hop style, of the group.



Amy and Nick (together they are Karmin) also do an admirable job on this Katy Perry hit.  It's a lot quieter than the original, but Amy's really powerful vocals shine on this version.



Yesterday, I talked a lot about Amy's vocals.  Today, I want to make sure you noticed that Nick is multiinstrumental.  On this version of "Price Tag", he pulls out the TROMBONE, giving the song a Dixieland feel and a whole new dimension.  (And yes -we get Amy's hip-hoppery on this tune).


Now, eagle eyed fans will notice that all three of this songs were featured in their original form on our other blog, Wicked Guilty Pleasures (here, here, and here).  Yeah.  I did that on purpose.  More eagle eyed fans will notice the qualifier "(part 1)" on this post.  I did that on purpose, too.

8 August 2012 - Erasure - Take A Chance On Me

OK, I'm totally shooting blanks today after receiving a very "intimidating" note this morning from Tony that his post tomorrow will be EPIC. So instead of finding something clever to preemptively top him, I've decided to get this Abba cover stuck in your heads. Remember, IT'S ALL TONY'S FAULT!!!

7 August 2012 - Jedward - Under Pressure (live)

This might be one of the most clever covers I've ever seen.  Jedward were on the UK TV show X Factor.  Although Simon Cowell wasn't a fan, even he had to admit this unison version of Ice Ice Baby Under Pressure was really clever.  And, despite what you think of their talent, there is nothing about this version, which includes lyrics from a completely different song as well, that isn't fun.

In this live version of the song, Jedward are joined by none other than Rob Van Winkle, who interpolates his little early 90's hit that's a completely different song into the Under Pressure cover....



....which, of course, renders the statement made in this video clip invalid....

6 August 2012 - Florence Welch and Mark Ronson - Since U Been Gone

Well, this was a totally pleasant surprise. I was actually looking for a video of someone covering Florence and the Machine and instead found this video of Florence Welch (along with Mark Ronson) covering one of Kelly Clarkson's biggest (and best) hits.

3 August 2012 - No Doubt - Sailin' On

Here's No Doubt paying respect to hardcore legends Bad Brains...and it was for a good cause.

2 August 2012 - Juliana Hatfield and Tanya Donnelly - Josie and the Pussycats

Juliana Hatfield was the indie darling of the moment in the mid 90's, having been the lead vocalist of the effervescent Blake Babies and then having a moderately successful solo career.  (We've featured her before in this blog.) Tanya Donnelly, or, as I prefer to refer to her, Kristin Hersh's half sister, was the lead vocalist of Belly, after a short stint as a Breeder and a very long one as part of Throwing Muses (my favorite band, but that's a story for another day).

And Josie & the Pussycats was my favorite cartoon ever.

So, yeah, I pretty much love this song.

1 August 2012 - Paramore - Sweetness

I love going to a concert and a band that I love plays a random tune by another band that I love. If I was at this 2008 Paramore show in Brixton, I would have lost my mind as they played one of my favorite Jimmy Eat World tunes.