30 Days 30 Covers

I've been neglecting this here blog for a while now.

Mostly as a challenge to myself, I've started a project on Facebook and YouTube called 30 Days 30 Covers (#30days30covers on Twitter) in which every day for 30 days I'll post a new video of myself covering a song.

You can watch all of them right here:

Cover Song: Stacy Dupree, Jeremy Larson, & Darren King cover Fleetwood Mac

Stacy Dupree (Eisley), Jeremy Larson, and Darren King (MuteMath) cover Fleetwood Mac’s “Silver Spring”. I love this.

Cover Song for the Week of Halloween: Ben Gibbard - "Thriller"

MP3 via Stereogum

Free Legal MP3 of the Week - Eric Coomer covers Michael Jackson

I'm not sure why, but at 2 am Sunday night I decided I wanted to record Michael Jackson's "Human Nature" from his legendary Thriller album.

I recorded it in one take using the internal microphone of a laptop. So, sorry for the distortion in the track. One day I'll record it properly.

Hope you enjoy. Oh and enjoy the ridiculous picture as well.

MP3 (Right click to save)

Bill Withers Punks USC Football Team

I am a huuuge fan of Bill Withers and thought this was great.

Someone involved in the University of Southern California's football team posted a video on YouTube of the team singing a rowdy and fun version of Withers' classic "Lean On Me". The video has received over 64,000 views and apparently one of the viewers was Withers himself.

Check out this newer video with a surprise appearance from Bill Withers.



Via Spinner.

Cover Song of the Week - The Fray Covers Kanye (Video)

The Fray's version of Kanye's "Heartless" was my first post in this series. Here's an excellent fon Vimeo for the studio version of the song. What I wouldn't give for someone to do a video of this quality for a KNAPSACKHEROES! song.

Cover Song of the Week - Coldplay covers Beastie Boys and Michael Jackson

Coldplay from the All Points West festival. Two thoughts: 1. We can only hope they release recordings of these one day. 2. Who knew Chris Martin could sing as low as he does on the last two notes of "Fight For Your Right To Party".

Cover Song(s) of the Week - Bat For Lashes covers Kings of Leon

I love her music. I love their music. Here she is covering their music.

Via Stereogum

Cover Song of the Week - Chris Mann covers Kanye's "Heartless"

This is the second cover of this song I've listed. (Here's the first by The Fray.) Can't help it. This is too good.

Cover Song of the Week - Little Boots Covers Kid Cudi

Oops. Forgot to put one up this week. Here's Little Boots doing Kid Cudi's "Day N Nite" at South By Southwest last week.

MP3

I posted the video for the original here a couple weeks ago. Apparently Cudi has announced his retirement. Even Jay Z waited until he had some records under his belt before "retiring". Cudi's debut hasn't eved released yet! Then he did shows at SXSW. Who knows?

Cover Song of the Week - Dolly Parton covers Collective Soul's "Shine"

The video for Dolly's version features a who's who of today's best bluegrass artists including Jerry Douglas and Nickel Creek's Sara Watkins and Chris Thile.

Cover Song of the Week - Petra Haden Covers Beach Boys

There are a lot of acapella groups who do cover songs. It's always fun to hear an instrumentless breakdown of a rock song normally full of guitar solos and booming drums. In the past some groups took it to another level by adding some rythm by beat boxing.

The thing I like about violinist Petra Haden's acapella renditions of popular songs is that she also uses her voice to imitate things we all remember from the originals: the double guitar solo from Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" for instance.

Listen to the version of The Beach Boys' "God Only Knows" Haden was kind enough to post at her website.

MP3

Cover Song of the Week - Glen Hansard Covers Justin Timberlake

You know Glen from the movie Once. His cover of Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me A River" tinges with sadness in the light of his break-up from his Once co-star Marketa Irglova. At least it does until the funny bit at the end.

MP3

Cover Song of the Week - Patti Smith Covers Nirvana

Patti Smith covering Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit".

Get it here.

Cover Song of the Week - Kay Pettigrew Covers Fresh Prince

Download the MP3 here or here.

Cover Song of the Week - The Fray Covers Kanye

Here's a new feature to the blog...and yes, I really will try to post a new one every Thursday.

Our first cover is The Fray covering Kanye West's "Heartless". I found it on Kanye's blog. Created the graphic myself though...in case anyone's wondering.

Click here to visit a site where you can listen to and/or download the MP3.

The Covers Project

This is a really cool idea. Say you love a song and want to know if someone else has done it? Maybe you hear a song that sounds incredibly familiar and you're just sure it must be a cover song. Maybe you love a band and would like to know if anyone has covered one of their songs or if they have done any covers of other bands. Or possibly you're in a band that wants to do a cover song that no one has already re-done.

Check out The Covers Project, a database of songs that have been re-recorded by other artists.

Free Legal MP3 of the Week - The Innocence Mission - What A Wonderful World

I searched for about three hours for an adequate MP3. I thought about songs of hope and strength. I thought of a ton of Waterdeep songs, a ton of Nichole Nordeman songs (like We Build from her latest album). I thought about New Orleans jazz. I thought about Louis Armstrong, Wynton Marsalis, Harry Connick Jr. I couldn't find anything.

Then, I stumbled upon this gem (a cover of a Louis Armstrong classic no less) by one of my favorite groups, The Innocence Mission. As I listened to it, with the images of CNN in the background, I began to weep. So I share this song with you.

Oh God, may we remember to see the beauty in your world--even in times such as this. Amen.