Leave it to the Flaming Lips to take Elvis’s great comeback single and transform it into a strip down dream pop like track. One of my favorite karaoke tracks, Suspicious Minds has also been covered by musicians ranging from Glasvegas to Clay Aitkens to Dwight Yoakim. I decided to show you the Flaming Lips version because well, it’s the Flaming Lips and they are awesome.
34 Years ago today, seminal indie blues-wave rock artist Elvis Presley passed away, leaving a gaping hole in Americana. Unlike current rock star martyrs, who prefer a swift and speedy exit, Elvis’s decline had been slow and painful and by the time he had perished, the singer was a shell of his former self. Regardless, his influence on music today is undeniable and as a result, we will take some time today to post some random covers of the King.
The first cover we’ll be writing about might be the most famous. English reggae band UB40 covered Elvis hit (I Can’t Help) Falling in Love for the supposed Sharon Stone thriller Silver, a movie that tried to take advantage of Sharon Stone’s popularity by having her masturbate in the bath while the other Baldwin brother (William) watches her from some sort of Big Brother station. The movie bombed. The cover, which took the traditional more romantic slower song and added horns and a beat, was a massive success. This track was pretty much a #1 hit all over the world.
UB40 will be playing the beer festival or casinorama at some point in the near future, if they haven’t already.
Maxville – Los Angeles’s singer/songwriter/producer Mayer Hawthorne recently released a free EP consisting of covers, which could be found here. On this EP is a cover of one of my favorite Chromeo tracks, a stripped down lounge version of “Don’t Turn the Lights On.” This track does all the things a good interpretative cover should do, which is add elements of the current artist’s sound while retaining some essence of the original artist’s work. Check it out while drinking a rusty nail (I know its only 12:30, but it is Friday :p)
Toronto – I first heard this cover of Men Without Hat’s The Safety Dance on an episode of Gossip Girl a few months ago. I made a mental note and now in the middle of July, that mental note has now manifested itself in the form of this post. The cover of this classic 80s synth pop song is done by Danish band The Asteroids Galaxy Tour, an up and coming band that just released an EP called The Golden Age. This cover replaces the synthesizers of the original with horns and brass. Throw in Mette Lindberg’s unique helium balloonesque voice and you have a totally unique take on the original that still retains the quality that made the first song so famous. Check it out.
The Asteroids Galaxy Tour Live dates:
9/23: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil @ Rock in Rio
10/01: Albany, NY @ Jillian’s
10/04: New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
10/05: Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern
10/07: Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex (Filter Culture Collide Festival)
10/09: Los Angeles, CA @ Block Party (Filter Culture Collide Festival)
