7 January 2021 - Blackstreet - Billie Jean

A cover of the Michael Jackson classic 1) was a B-side to "No Diggity" 2) heavily sampled the A-side.  Blackstreet turned the song into a slow jam, but it works.   

6 January 2020 - Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson - I Am The Cosmos

Let's get this out of the way right up front.  

Yeah.  It's that Scarlet Johansson.  

If you didn't know she could sing, well, aren't you in for a surprise!  Not only does she sing, but her voice (along with Pete Yorn's providing harmony) do great justice to the only single by the late Chris Bell of Big Star.  In its original release, it was the A side to "You And Your Sister", which we talked about just last week.  

5 January 2021 - Marmello - HandClap

Yesterday, we talked about Marmello in the context that they did an Ashlee Simpson cover.  

We felt like this Korean girl group that PLAYS INSTRUMENTS - this isn't common in the K-Pop genre, people - needed a little more attention than that.  Although they appear to have broken up in 2018, we still hope for a reunion.  

Watch them enjoy covering the biggest hit by Fitz and the Tantrums and, well, making your hands clap.  

4 January 2021 - Marmello - La La

Today, we celebrate the 9th anniversary of our sister blog, Wicked Guilty Pleasures.  That blog famously (ha!) opened with a tribute to Ashlee Simpson.  You'll see there's an Ashlee Simpson song there today, too.  

What better way to pay tribute than with a guilty pleasure in its own right, a K-Pop rock band?

1 January 2021 - This Mortal Coil - You and Your Sister

Let's kick off 2021 with an artist that isn't really an artist.

Rather, This Mortal Coil was the "house band" for 4AD Records.  Basically, it was a collective to allow artists to record music that was outside their genre.  There were three TMC albums released between 1983 and 1991.  

This interpretation of a song originally written and performed by Chris Bell (and released after his death) was recorded while Kim Deal (primary vocalist) and Tanya Donnelly (second vocalist, guitar) were working together on The Breeders.  It's a faithful cover that captures Bell's melancholy quite accurately.

31 December 2020 - A "Heroes" Special

For many people, this David Bowie classic is seen as his greatest song.  It is a song that is seen as a catalyst for the reunification of Germany in the late 1980's - as it was heard on both sides and enjoyed together as he performed it live in 1987. It's been heard a lot in 2020 as well, for obvious reasons.

The inspirational message and history of the song has made it a favorite of many musicians.  This is pioneering metal band Motörhead performing the song.  It was a longtime favorite of theirs, and they do a great and strong version.

Next up we have Canadian folk group and Wicked Guilty favorite The East Pointers.  They recorded this take on a day off in their native PEI.  Hearing this song with a banjo accompaniment is something to behold.

In a similar folky vein, here is New Zealand legend Neil Finn - of Crowded House - performing the Bowie classic in his daily show, where he takes requests on his periodic show Fangradio.  It's delightful, and he does Bowie proud here.

Our next stop is at a performance in France by Bloc Party. Kele, much like Bowie, is an underappreciated vocalist who does this song proud.  

I wanted this to be our final stop.  When I saw David Bowie in 1991, Adrian Belew was his guitarist (and in fact, they had a released single together at the time - "Pretty Pink Rose" - which was fabulous in its own right).  This duet with Martha Wainright (daughter of Loudon, sister of Rufus, excellent musician in her own right) is both an off-kilter and at the same time fitting tribute to what is arguably Bowie's most beautiful song.  

30 December 2020 - Ashen Ringlets - Ivo

This song was originally performed and written by British ethereal pop group the Cocteau Twins.  This is a band that is practically impossible to cover.  The song's unusually title is a nod to 4AD Records founder and occasional Cocteau Twins producer Ivo Watts-Russell - and is lyrical gymnastics that this artist easily matches.

I personally think this music would not be out of place on 4AD.  Please check out their YouTube channel, and consider supporting them on Patreon.  Few artists are still making this shoegaze music, and I'd like to see more from this one.