FP Top 5: Covers Albums

(Our Weekly Wednesday Countdown)

Since its incipient days, rock music (and later hip-hop and electronic music) has thrived on the juxtaposition of the innovative with the familiar.  In no instance is this more apparent than that of the cover song, that guiltiest of pleasures.  A re-working of a timeless tune allows a band to pay tribute to its idols while simultaneously discovering something new in the dusty depths of musical memory.  

It should be no surprise, then, that on numerous occasions bands have devoted entire LPs to the music of their predecessors, often with spectacular results.  Today we bring you our top 5 cover albums from the last 10 years.  Because we like to keep things contemporary, you'll find no Fakebook or Mermaid Avenue here, although you should certainly try finding them at your local record store.  And, because we limit ourselves to the genres mentioned in the opening, you will not find perhaps the greatest cover album of the last 10 years, David S. Ware's and Matthew Shipp's rendering of Sonny Rollins' hard-bop classic Freedom Suite.   Still, we think you'll find plenty here to please the ear.

5. Phosphorescent - To Willie (2007)
With the possible exception of Johnny Cash, no country-western songsmith embodies the spirit of rock n' roll more than Willie Nelson.  It stands to reason, then, that a generation of indie kids might be drawn to the occasional wonders of country music through the songs of the Red-Headed Stranger.  Athens, Georgia's Matthew Houck, aka Phosphorescent was once one of these indie kids, and his record of Nelson covers is the sincerest form of flattery.

Phosphorescent - Too Sick To Pray (Willie Nelson Cover)

4. Beck, St. Vincent, Liars, and Os Mutantes - Kick (2010)
This is not really an album, but then again this is not really a pipe, so, you know, think about that.  In August 2009, famous Scientologist Beck Hansen decided to get a group of friends together and cover several classic albums track by track.  While his early attempts (The Velvet Underground and Nico, Songs of Leonardo Cohen, Oar) were perhaps a bit too ambitious, INXS' prom-night classic Kicks is the perfect type of record for re-interpretation: beloved but not taken too seriously.  We have posted entries from this series previously, and the album can be viewed in its entirety at the Beck Record Club website.  Below, one of our favorites:

3. Easy Star All-Stars - Dub Side of the Moon/Radiodread (2003/2006)
You're probably thinking the same thing we were on learning of the existence of full-on reggae revisions of Dark Side of the Moon and OK Computer.  You're thinking, "if I saw this in the 99-cent bin at Wal-Mart, I would laugh, turn away, and start wondering what I was doing in Wal-Mart."  But, if you place your faith in Frontier Psychiatrist and give these records a listen, you'll be thinking, "wait...awesome."

Toots & The Maytals - Let Down (Radiohead Cover)


Morgan Heritage - Electioneering (Radiohead Cover)


Gary "Nesta" Pine & Dollarman - Money (Pink Floyd Cover)

2. Various Artists - I'm Not There (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2007)
A double album composed entirely of Bob Dylan covers that somehow we have yet to discuss.  The best way to describe it is: imagine if every good band covered Bob Dylan on one record.  Sold?


Iron & Wine with Calexico - Dark Eyes (Bob Dylan Cover)


Yo La Tengo - I Wanna Be Your Lover (Bob Dylan Cover)

1. Dirty Projectors - Rise Above (2007)
Dave Longstreth's Dirty Projectors became indie royalty with the 2009 release of Bitte Orca,  but this re-imagining of Black Flag's seminal hardcore record Damaged remains the band's finest work.  This is a covers album in the loosest sense imaginable; with the exception of the lyrics, Henry Rollins' and Greg Ginn's initial songs are rendered unrecognizable.  And yet, even the most dedicated Black Flag purist would have difficulty finding fault with this record.  The Projectors have captured the true spirit of popular music: familiarity mixed with innovation.

Dirty Projectors - Rise Above (Black Flag Cover)


Dirty Projectors - Thirsty And Miserable (Black Flag Cover)


That's it for cover albums!  Coming next week: album covers.

FP Top 5: Covers Albums

Frontier Archaeology, vol. 5: Double Your Pleasure

[FP's weekly column on music before 1990 appears on Sundays]

Bonus Top 5!

As the music and arts press have made abundantly clear, a new deluxe issue of the Rolling Stones' 1972 double-LP Exile On Main Street hit shelves earlier this week.  Like a handful of other great records (Pet Sounds, Blonde on Blonde, The Beatles), there is nothing to be left written about Exile (although Mr. I-Write-For-The-New-York-Times might disagree).

Rather than opine at length about a bunch of records the greatness of which is already established, let's listen to some music.  Later this week, in honor of the Stones great double album, we'll be offering up our top 5 contemporary double albums.  But, in the spirit of double-ness, we offer an equivalent archaeological top 5 for the weekend.  Every record below was so nice, they did it twice.  We bring you songs from each and, as a double double bonus, we give you some re-workings of these songs by contemporary acts.

5. The Rolling Stones - Exile On Main Street (1972)
 Ooooohhhh.....just said that there was nothing to be written about this one.  Kind of backed myself into a corner there.






The Rolling Stones - Rocks Off


Spoon - Rocks Off (Live, Rolling Stones Cover)

4. Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band - Trout Mask Replica (1969)
Well...if you like your music to be listenable, this record might not be for you.  But, if you don't mind a bit of adventure (and if you have any interest in the history of rock music), you should give TMR a chance.  It opened new doors for the blues, permitting a cerebral, experimental element to enter while simultaneously putting the word "primitive" in every critic's lexicon.  Worth listening to, and worth reading about.

Captain Beefheart - China Pig


The White Stripes - China Pig (Captain Beefheart Cover)

3. The Beatles - The Beatles (1968)
Oops...according to the opening, nothing to be said about this one either.  Suffice it to say that because of this record we now have Blue Albums, Brown Albums, and Black Albums.




The Beatles - Happiness is a Warm Gun


The Breeders - Happiness is a Warm Gun (Beatles Cover)

2. The Clash - London Calling (1979)
What Captain Beefheart did for the blues, The Clash did for punk with this record.  As a bonus, it has one of the top 5 album covers of all time (future column alert!).




The Clash - Clampdown


The Strokes - Clampdown (Clash Cover)

1. Bob Dylan - Blonde On Blonde (1966)
 Please refer to paragraph one.  Easiest column I ever sort-of wrote.







Bob Dylan - Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands


Phoenix - Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands (Bob Dylan Cover)

Frontier Archaeology, vol. 5: Double Your Pleasure

Chickens in Love: Bawk Bawk

The combo of pop musicians and children's entertainment is nothing new. Sesame Street has hosted everyone from Johnny Cash to Justin Timberlake. The 1980 record (and FP childhood favorite) In Harmony featured James Taylor, Carly Simon, and the Doobie Brothers. Thanks, hippie parents. The anthology For Our Children had Paul McCartney, Sting, and Bob Dylan's version of This Old Man. And in the 90s, indie rockers like Blind Melon and Pavement recorded Schoolhouse Rocks Rocks!, new versions of hits from the classic television show.

The latest in the genre is Chickens in Love, written by kids in Los Angeles in workshops with John Dragonetti and Blake Hazard of The Submarines and recorded by indie musicians, including Fiona Apple, Cold War Kids, and She and Him. The album is "coming soon," but for now you can listen to all 12 songs on 826 LA's Chickens In Love Facebook Page.

826 Los Angeles is a branch of 826 National, author Dave Eggers' network of tutoring centers and writing workshops for kids ages 6-18. The original 826 Valencia opened in San Francisco in 2002; the organization now has chapters in 8 cities, including Brooklyn, Chicago, and Seattle.

The songs on Chickens in Love drip with irreverence and exuberance. The title track, performed by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, has the chorus: “Chickens in Love/Bawk Bawk.” The bleepy tune “Am I Going Crazy” by Tim and Eric begins: “I think I saw the ghost of Michael Jackson/He was reading a book and eating fruit." Our favorite track, “So Sleepy” starts as a lullaby with Fiona Apple's growl and Chris Thile's mandolin. Then the Punch Brothers and Jon Brion enter and the song becomes a rowdy call to staying up all night.

More broadly, the album testifies to the continuing influence and work ethic of Dave Eggers. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (2000), his memoir of raising his brother after his parents' death, spawned a decade of literary autobiography and anticipated the explosion of blogging culture. His satirical magazine McSweeney’s has more hipster imitators than we can count. And recently, Eggers has gone Hollywood, co-writing the screenplays for Where the Wild Things Are and Away We Go. Meanwhile, the guy has a social conscience. Besides the 826 tutoring centers, his novel What is The What (2007) tells the story of a Sudanese boy and his journey to America; Zeitoun (2009) follows a Syrian-American father in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

If there's a theme to the Eggers empire, it's a fascination with the energy, creativity, and resilience of youth. A former wunderkind now in his 40s, Eggers seems to want to pass the torch to the next generation of writers, musicians, and artists.

Chickens in Love: Bawk Bawk

Frontier Archaeology, vol. 3: No Direction Home

[FP's weekly column on music before 1990 appears on Sundays]

On this day 45 years ago, the great Robert Allen Zimmeran, a.k.a. Bob Dylan, played the first of two legendary shows at London's Royal Albert Hall.  In the audience that night were numerous mid-60s cultural luminaries, including the poet Allen Ginsberg and all four members of The Beatles (the first time the legendary Liverpudlians had seen BD live).  This was, of course, a transitional period for Dylan; while the set-list for the concert included such folk standards as "The Times They Are a-Changin'" and "Mr. Tambourine Man," Dylan was two months away from unleashing "Like a Rolling Stone" on the world and forever changing popular music.   Since this time, few figures have had the singular influence of Dylan, an influence that continues into the present.  By way of proof, we provide you with a few covers of Dylan songs by modern indie figures, as well as one cover more properly considered archaeological:

Andrew Bird - Oh, Sister (Bob Dylan Cover)


Yo La Tengo - I Threw It All Away (Bob Dylan Cover)


Antony and the Johnsons - Knockin' On Heaven's Door (Bob Dylan Cover)


Jimi Hendrix - Like a Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan Cover)

Frontier Archaeology, vol. 3: No Direction Home

D.A. Pennebaker To Film The National

This morning, I had breakfast with my grandmother. As usual, she told stories about her childhood in Brooklyn: her father's barbershop quartet; her grandmother's job as a taxi dispatcher when cabs were still pulled by horses; the outer-borough cemeteries where our family is buried. And today I learned that my late grandfather once lived on Bedford Avenue, back in the days before irony. He did, however, have a penchant for plaid shirts, skinny pants, and porkpie hats. Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. Or in the words of my great-grandmother: There are no new tricks.

Meanwhile, another lively character in his 80s, D.A. Pennebaker, is off to Brooklyn. On May 15, the legendary director (and his wife Chris Hegedus) are filming The National at BAM. The performance will be webcast on Youtube.

Pennebaker is the godfather of music documentarians, best known for Don’t Look Back, Monterey Pop, and Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars. (He and Hegedus also collaborated on The War Room, a look at Bill Clinton's rise to the presidency). His films include some of the most iconic moments in pop music history, from Dylan's flipping cards with the lyrics to 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' to Jimi Hendrix making sweet love to his amplifier then lighting his guitar on fire.

Bob Dylan -Subterranean Homesick Blues


Jimi Hendrix - Wild Thing (performance starts at 2:40)


Having filmed so many musical legends from previous generations, Pennebaker has done well to partner with The National. While they're not quite a household name, few indie acts have more stature and credibility, thanks to a decade of touring and recording and critical acclaim. The band recently performed on Jimmy Fallon and got the royal treatment in a New York Times profile. And their sixth record, High Violet, drops next week, and can be streamed now on NPR. It's been on repeat here at FP.

The show at BAM benefits the Red Hot Organization, which raises money to fight AIDS. Over the last decade, RHO has released twenty compilation albums, from the Cole Porter tribute Red Hot + Blue (1999) to the indie anthology Dark Was the Night (2009), produced by none other than the National's Aaron and Bryce Dessner.

With the Red Hot-Pennebaker combo, it's a decent assumption that other Dark Was The Night artists will join the National on stage. You might even start a pool with your pals. Think Kentucky Derby, but with the Dirty Projectors and Grizzly Bear instead of horses.

Meanwhile, Pennebaker is busy. His latest film Kings of Pastry, opens at the Film Forum in September. And in 2011, he and Hegedus will get the retrospective treatment at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria. May we all rock so hard in our old age.

D.A. Pennebaker To Film The National