cover: Jessica Lea Mayfield "Words of Love"

"Hold Me Close & Tell Me How You Feel"
(Photo by Kaoru-h)
On foggy mornings of late Jessica Lea Mayfield has been a stereo go-to. While I've been enjoying her bitterly sad and introspective debut With Blasphemy So Heartfelt, her cover of Buddy Holly's "Words of Love" is the song I return to more often than not. The song appears on a Starbucks Valentines Day compilation, which, on paper, looks like it could OK (Dept. of Eagles, She & Him, Bed Bridwell from Band of Horses) but, in the end, falls short of mediocrity, the exceptions being A.C. Newman's un-ironic cover of A-Ha's "Take On Me" and Mayfield's woozy take on the Buddy Holly staple.

Mayfield sings "Words of Love" as if she's sang it a thousand times, usually alone, slow dancing in the mirror, romanticizing (dreaming) new love. Of course, there's an ominous, somewhat bittersweet undertone, courtesy of a reverberating whammy bar and accentuated by an eerie yet whistful xylophone line, which makes the song feel like it should be playing on the jukebox at a restaurant-bar in a '50s noir, right before you find out the femme fatale is into some deep shit. Take a listen below. Also, be sure to watch (listen) to Buddy Holly's super lo-fi demo of "Words of Love" from sometime around March 12th 1957. WAVVES ain't got shit on Holly's tape scuzz.

Jessica Lea Mayfield- Words of Love (Buddy Holly cover)


Buddy Holly "Words of Love" (demo 1957)

cover: Shop Assistants do the Beatles

"I Know What It's Like To Be Dead"

Elusively titled "One More Time", the b-side to the Shop Assistants Big E Power 7" is actually a cover of the Beatles "She Said She Said." Whether or not this was a deliberate attempt to circumnavigate paying royalties to Apple Records (or Jacko) is beyond me, however, it certainly seems as if the reclusive Edinburgh band was going for obscurity with the lack of Lennon-cred. "She Said" was written after a rugged acid trip in Southern California, which included Peter Fonda, who had recently injured himself with a shotgun blast, showing Lennon his fresh wound, and saying "I know what it's like to be dead." Lennon was thoroughly tweaked. Clearly Fonda made an impression and when Lennon arrived back in the UK, he wrote the tune, one of my Revolver favorites. Released in 1990, the heyday of ecstasy/rave culture in the UK, Big E Power is an appropriate, albeit forward, title for the Shop Assistants single, considering its b-side's place in pantheon of drug history. Not a life changing cover, but definitely worth a listen for fans of the Fab Four and the c86 aesthetic.

Shop Assistants- One More Time (aka "She Said She Said")

cover: Comet Gain do The Clean

"He's a Rabbi and He's a Guru and He's a Beatnik"
Comet Gain turn up the fuzz box on this classic cover of The Clean's pogo foot stomper "Beatnik." Infectious, snarky and in yr face, "Beatnik" is prototypical art-punk, bridging the gap between the rebels, the absurdists and the kids who can barely play instruments but don't care because they just want to have fun in their basement. A few chords, some two-finger keyboard playing and an alienated college kid attitude are all you need to cover "Beatnik", which would be right at home on a karaoke machine at the Market Hotel. In fact, maybe it should be some sort of indicator as to whether or not your loft pop band is allowed to exist, based on your cover of "Beatnik." Just throwing it out there. Comet Gain will make an increasingly rare appearence in the states this spring and will play Music Hall of Williamsburg on April 12th, Easter Sunday.

Comet Gain- Beatnik
The Clean- Beatnik

mp3: White Antelope "It Ain't Me Babe"

"You Say Your Looking For Someone"
(photo by grandchildren)
He's done it again, this time covering Bob Dylan's classic "It Ain't Me Babe." As expected, absolutely majestic, most notably the doubled vocals, which give it a sort of campfire deep inside a cave sing-a-long vibe. Apparently this was on the White Antelope MySpace page, although it seems to have been removed. Oh well, you can snag an mp3 below. Thanks to Peenko for the heads up.

White Antelope- It Ain't Me Babe

cover: Dent May does Prince

"I'm Over Being Sober"

Dent May, aka Mississippi's most talented ukulele player, takes on "When You Were Mine" from the Purple One's third record Dirty Mind. Handclaps, uke, some squeeze box, a pleasant Casio synth riff and some sweet vocal harmonization make this an irresistible companion to The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele, which, coincidentally, came out today on Paw Tracks. Snag Dent's Prince cover below.

(Also, if you find yourself at the record store, or on Insound, you should probably pick up the Pains of Being Pure at Heart's debut, which also came out today, on Slumberland.)

Dent May- When You Were Mine (Prince cover)

covers: Marissa Nadler

"Dragon Clouds So High Above"

Marissa Nadler just posted a cover of one of my all-time favorite Zimmerman tracks on her blog. Just another lo-fi home recording to keep you from getting restless while waiting for Little Hells to arrive. She's also serving up some new demo's and a Roy Orbison cover as well. I recommend subscribing (via RSS) to her blog, as she's been very good about updating it with fresh goods.

Marissa Nadler- Your Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Bob Dylan cover)

new: Marissa Nadler

"I Was Dreaming Of The Past"

In keeping with our "highlighting albums we're really excited about" posts for the week, Marissa Nadler upped a few goodies just after the New Year, a sort of "non-denominational holiday gift" of covers, remixes and demos. Like she said before, her new record, Little Hells (3/7/09 Kemado Records) "will not be heard till it is released, at all", but that's just fine considering she's been posting a steady stream of videos and unreleased material on her blog. It's also worth mentioning that Mexican Summer, the vinyl only subscription record label, named after a Nadler song, recently reissued her debut Ballads of Living and Dying. Oh yeah, and if that isn't enough, Marissa will be gracing our lovely neighborhood with her presence on February 27th, when she, along with MV & EE, will play the Lutheran Church of the Messiah located right down the street from Bobka HQ. So yeah, we're pretty excited about that one. 'Til then, stay warm with some of these unreleased gems.

If you happen to be in Paris, you can catch Marissa tonight at Au Presbytère de Saint Eustache.

Marissa Nadler- So Long Theresa
Marissa Nadler- Jealous Guy (John Lennon cover)

Covers: Galaxie 500

"All Over Town"

Listen, the snow is falling o'er town,
Listen the snow is falling ev'rywhere.
Between Empire State building
And between Trafalgar square.
Listen, the snow is falling o'er town.

Listen, the snow is falling o'er town,
Listen the snow is falling ev'rywhere.
Between your bed and mine,
Between your head and my mind.
Listen, the snow is falling o'er town.

Between Tokyo and Paris,
Between London and Dallas,
Between your love and mine.
Listen, the snow is falling ev'rywhere.

Snowfling, snowfall, snowfall,
Listen, listen,
Listen, baby,
Listen.

Galaxie 500- Listen, The Snow is Falling

cover: Tallest Man on Earth "These Days"

"I've Stopped My Rambling"

(Photo by Karl Gunnarsson)
We've discussed "These Days" before and probably don't need to go into details about a song that is adored by nearly everyone whose ears are lucky enough to hear it. However, last week, The Tallest Man on Earth helped revive a song that, while still very much adored, has sort of become ubiquitous in the post-Royal Tenenbaums world. The Tallest Man on Earth's version is true to the original. To be honest, I can't really note any real difference between his cover and the many that have been recorded over the past 30+ years. Regardless, his version was quite moving, and a lovely segue into a magical set from Bon Iver. I enjoyed it so much that I picked up The Tallest Man on Earth's Shallow Grave after the show and it's proving to be a great mid-December album, perfect for the looming transition into Winter. Plus, it really compliments the smell of Nova Scotian pine (ie. the Canadian Christmas tree in my living room). Peep Hooves on the Turf's video of his performance below.

Tallest Man on Earth: These Days (cover) from hoovesontheturf.

Just A Reminder

"1,2,3,4"


So Feist's new record, The Reminder, finally hits stores (physical and digital) today. Last week I featured her song "My Moon My Man" twice on the Knuckles McGregor podcast , so I figured I might as well throw the absolutely drunk Boyz Noise remix up for grabs. If you don't love the deep synth'd out vocoder intro, then swallow a handful of Mitsubishi pressed E-bombs and let the serotonin leak freely.

But first things first, if you haven't seen the videos for "1,2,3,4" and "My Moon My Man" do yourself a favor and scroll down. After watching you will have the strange urge start wearing multi-colored spandex leotards and recreating the synchronized choreography of "1,2,3,4" at slumber parties (post pizza, pre-pillow fight). You may notice a common theme among the videos, Feist sure loves dancing (Broadway?). Did I mention that I have a large (and growing) crush on Mrs. Leslie Feist?

The Reminder is also on sale at Amazon for a mind blowing $7.99.

Coincidently, while writing this post, STV SLV from THE HOOD INTERNET hit me up notifing me about a brand new Feist vs. Lloyd mash up they just posted. These guys are on fire, so of course, I had to throw it in in the mix. Feist vs. Lloyd- My Moon My Shawty

If you enjoy Ms. Feist's sweet voice, you may be interested in these tracks she cut with Norway's version of Simon & Garfunkel, the Kings of Convenience. Feist and K.o.C have collaborated alot in the past, both in the studio and on tour, and this live in-studio performance from KEXP in Seattle is a fine example of the lush, tranquil sounds they create together. "Know How," "Live Long" and "The Build Up" are Kings of Convenience songs, while "The Water" and "Mushaboom" are both off Feist's 2003 album, Let it Die.

Kings of Convenience w/ Feist- Know How
Kings of Convenience w/ Feist- Live Long
Feist w/ Kings of Convenience- The Water
Feist w/ Kings of Convenience- Mushaboom
Kings of Convenience & Feist- The Build Up
Feist- My Moon My Man (Boys Noize Remix)




"1,2,3,4"


"My Moon My Man"