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.
Laibach covering the Let It Be album has always made me wonder if that is what the Beatles would have sounded like if the Germans won WWII. Is it an “important” album? I think most say no but I find is fascinating. They also do a good cover of Sympathy For The Devil.
Every time I listen to this song just kills me. Then when I watch the surprise visit on YouTube is absolutely “enlightening “. Kane Brown – Three Wooden Crosses by Randy Travis that’s the best hands down of any cover. I’m not even a huge country fan these days. With where Randy Travis’s life was and is today, to have artist covering his music is amazing. Check this out Mr. Blackwell, be enlightened.
I will have to say that my new favorite is from a local record label in my town. Soul of Cash by Brian Owens. A whole new spin on cash tunes. Brian brings an amazing sound to the Johnny Cash favorites by adding a spin of soul music. Definitely a great way to fall in love with these tunes all over again. Another newer but, in my opinion, an instance classic was Old Crow doing Dylan’s entire Blonde on Blonde album. That tour was fierce also. OCMS brings such energy to anything they play and the live shows cannot be missed.
Les Claypool’s Frog Brigade covering Pink Floyd’s “Animals”. Nothing earth-shattering, but two of my all time favorites coming together like that truly is unforgettable. “Animals” has always been my favorite Floyd album, and I’ve never seemed to be able to talk any of my friends into looking past “Dark Side”, “Wish You Were Here”, or “The Wall”, so it was quite nice to feel that extra connection with Les and company.
I loved the Dirty Projector’s whole album cover of Black Flag’s Damaged. Maybe it worked so well because they didn’t allow themselves to re-listen to the original. Bravely they limited themselves to what of the original had sunk deep into memory (the template was an empty cassette). My favorite track was Depression; such tension between the jerky emotions pulling the singer forward and the consoling voices that want to lift him out of the conflict.
I know and love The Party of Special Things to Do; I must hear any other Stripes Beefheart covers.
Ben, I don’t think I could turn you on to anything new or enlighten anyone. But, 1st cover that comes to mind; Johnny Cash’s version of Hurt by Nine Inch Nails. I guess, having grown up hanging around his son and going over to their house, I got to see the decline after June died. It was just chilling, because, unlike Trent, he wasn’t trying to shock people, Johnny Meant it when he sang it. And that, was just shocking to us all. He knew he was fixing to go. Other than that, (Zeppelin of course) and the one song that turned me on to WS, Dylan’s “One More Cup of Coffee”. Still love that dang song.
A few people can cover Daniel Johnston, Kathy McCarthy’s version of “Living Life” is epic. Beck covered three of Johnston songs “Devil Town” “Don’t play cards with Satan” and the hauntingly beautiful “True love will find you in the end” . I don’t think anyone captures the emotion of Daniel Johnston like Beck does in his version of “True love…”.
Xiu Xiu covering twin peaks specifically the track Sycamore Tree originally performed by Jimmy Scott will always be one of my favorite covers. The atmosphere Xiu Xiu add to this song is incredible. The song odd song with it’s sparse instrumentation and eccentric vocal delivery is turned creepy by Jamie Stewarts fragile vocals, the even sparser instrumentation mostly made up of piano and the violent bursts of drumand hammering keys that are so jarring you can’t help but be taken aback by it. It takes respect to take a song and make it your own and to this day I haven’t heard an artist do so elaborately as Xiu Xiu.
I rcently purchased a Jack White 12”from TMR and was AMAZED the way Jack put his style into a U2 song I always felt was too long and too slow.. He made an impression from the song and made his own entirely, something rare these days. A song I never liked it became one of my favorite tracks this month, LOVE IS BLINDNESS… i had heard Jacks version before on Aplle Music but didnt click until I listened it on my turntable.. simply put, spectacular..
Somebody’s probably already mentioned this example, so I’ll just say that Coltrane’s cover of My Favorite Things seems to me the gold standard of covers. When I first heard it, it was a revelation that a visionary musician could completely subvert genre in meaningful ways. (See also Beefheart.)