Archie and the Bunkers
Play the Damned EP
scum stats: my copy on black, apparently there’s a limited quantity on black with red and yellow splatter
If middle fingers on the front cover didn’t piss me off or have me rolling my eyes, then that’s saying something.
What can I say, I’m a sucker for younger folks playing rock and roll. The drums/organ, big brother/little brother duo of Archie and the Bunkers are good. Their heads seem on straight, they’re influenced by all the right shit from the past. And I honestly think that if they keep at it, they will make something GREAT.
As for Damned covers, they dug a little below the surface, ignoring the obvious covers like “New Rose” or “Neat Neat Neat” and I have to give ‘em credit for that. I never spent much time with the Damned, really just a little bit with the first album. So besides the lead-off track, these songs are all kinda fresh to me.
I think the band is still figuring things out and I predict in another year, two tops, they will put out a masterpiece. Until then, this record (and the rest of their increasingly-expanding catalog) serve as moderate placeholders.
In my never-ending quest to keep you weirdos engaged, post in the comments about your favorite releases where one artist covers exclusively another artist. Don’t just LIST something, convince me as to why it is important. Can be Pussy Galore doing Exile, Sonic Youth doing the Fall, Dylan (or Willie) doing Sinatra, whatever. Maybe turn me on to something I’m unaware of? Anyway, most enlightening comment (as determined by me) gets an original Sub Pop pressing of the White Stripes covering the songs of Captain Beefheart. See the connection there? Deadline is a week from today, so get your shit in here already.
Nirvana doing The Clash, The Stooges, Naked Raygun, or Duran Duran
Jon Spencer Blues “Try a little tenderness”
Melvins “I am the Owl”
Hi Ben ,
I think every single Ramones albums as been covered by a single artist , but my favorite one is Rocket to Russia by The Queers . For me , it’s the version with the most authentic Punk vibe and attitude , it’S pretty close to the original but still can easily recognize The Queers.
My friends are supposed to open for them on September 13 (Quebec , Qc , Canada)
will they come to the show ? Always this big mystery flying around…
That’s a though one… choosing a cover excluding Jolene by The White Stripes or Where Did You Sleep Last Night by Nirvana, or even some strange yet lovely things such as I Will (from the Beatles) by Adam Green (on ukelele). Ok, here’s my unlikely to win yet honest shot. One of the main reasons why music (specially rock) is so deeply rooted in my nervous system is found in the Beatles (not original, I know). As a teenager I discovered them. Or should I say, I discovered the “wild” Hamburg version of the band (leather outfits, rockabilly hair, sunglasses and that mapleglo rickenbacker). Hence, although it is not fully true to the contest, I will list ‘The Beatles – 1960-1962’ (also known as ‘Silver Beatles’). This glorious three-vinyl album features an early version of the band (still with Pete Best) playing (in a caothic fashion most of the time) a bunch of good old rock’n’roll: there is not a single Lennon/McCartney or Harrison song, but all covers (Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, Ray Charles, Leiber & Stoller). The album is phenomenal, it was one of my first bootleg vinyls and remains one of my favourite ones.
Senor Coconut’s “Balle Alemon” – the cocktail/lounge/latin covers of Kraftwerk. It’s amazing how you can make Kraftwerk work as sombas, cha-chas, etc.
Ryan Adams doing 1989 was pretty cool. it could have easily been shit on and ridiculed but wasn’t.
It gave that album a different dynamic and really made it more special.
A personal recent(ish) favourite is a nice twist on the cover version. British singer/guitarist Gemma Ray released ‘Gemma Ray Sings Sparks (With Sparks)’ single (a fairly self-explanatory title) wherein she covered ‘How Do I Get To Carnegie Hall?’ and ‘Eaten By The Monster of Love’, which were then taken away and tinkered with by the Mael brothers themselves. ‘… Carnegie Hall’ is stylistically similar to the original but Gemma brings some great harmonies and manages to extract some real emotion from the chorus (“still there is no sign of you”), but ‘…Monster of Love’ is a complete stylistic refit, stripping the track of Sparks’ early ‘80s new wave strut and creating a complete refit somewhere between torch song and glam stomp. Both songs show that, beneath the kookiness, humour and presentation, there has always been genuine humanity and sentiment in Sparks’ music. Two great songs, two great interpretations and two wonderful but under-appreciated artists. About as much good stuff as you squeeze onto a 7" piece of plastic, basically.
Oh, I have a better answer than the one I posted the other day. I was geeking out with my sister and we remembered Me First and the Gimme Gimmes putting out an EP with a couple of John Denver covers on it! “Country Roads” and “Leaving On A Jet Plane” were a two of our dad’s favorite lame songs and he didn’t like (but could appreciate) the mid-90s punk treatment. I’d love to pontificate on the details of the songs, but that vinyl has been long lost since I grabbed it in high school 20blah years ago. I can still hear both songs bouncing in my brain, however. They reside with me more clearly than any of their original music from that era. 90s bands in the Sub Pop lane were covering blues and the like, but this was different. It was John Effing Denver. Folk music is meant to be covered and passed on to a new generation. John Denver has never interested me, but these Me First covers did. There wasn’t anything wrong with the original songs, I just couldn’t connect with John Denver. I hate to see a song die. I love to see a song reborn in a new and unexpected way. The fact that my sister and I both remember a couple of cover songs in our bottomless pits of musical memories says a lot. If any of you get your hands on a copy, you’re in for a treat! I don’t have any idea what that EP was called, but it must have been early. I’m thinking mid-90s (‘94 maybe?).
I like how the melvins cover another artist. For example: yesterday I bought the ozma record and the bullhead record. I was blown away when I spun those records. So I was looking through the discography espacilly the single output. I saw that the Jon spencer blues explosion AND the melvins cover the same song – Rams Heads Black Betty. I’ve found both versions on YouTube and was very lucky about that. It’s incredible how the two bands managed the song. Especially the melvins.
Being called a “cover band” is a typical way to dismiss a group, but the best lean into that label hard. One of my favorites is Beatallica. As the name indicates, they are a mash up of Metallica and the Beatles. Usually their hair and makeup are styled after Kill ‘em All/Ride the Lightning era Metallica, and they wear clothing akin the Sgt Peppers. The titles usually cleverly let you know which songs are being featured such as “The Thing That Should Not Let It Be” “…and Justice For All My Loving” “Leper Madonna” “Blackened the U.S.S.R.” and “All You Need Is Blood.” This last one has been recorded in several different languages. They originally released their material for free online to avoid legal disputes, but were eventually sent a cease and desist order from Sony, holder of rights to the Beatles catalog. But, they were helped by Lars Ulrich who used Metallica’s lawyers to assist them. And now their releases are for sale on itunes and other outlets.
@padawanguru Frog brigade is an extremely solid selection, I saw that tour and it was a monster. Well done