Jeff totally made my week by pointing me to this My Old Kentucky Blog post that links to MP3s of 25 cover versions of Joy Division‘s most well-known song, “Love Will Tear Us Apart”. Which was I most stoked to see? Uh…the Fall Out Boy version. Um, I’m not kidding.
The Raconteurs Podcast
Check out The Raconteurs podcast on AOL Music. Jack is wearing a blue tshirt and the band is described as being “Detroit Raconteurs City”. Oops. Too bad they are from Nashville.
DOWNLOAD: The Raconteurs for AOL Music
Great Podcasts to Check Out
A little known fact is that if you see me walking down the street with my headphones on and my thumb hovering over the wheel of my iPod I’m most likely listening to a talk/radio podcast, not music.
I don’t spend a lot of time reading tons of magazines, and lord knows that I’m hardly ever near a radio (the only radio station I listen to is 1010 Wins in the morning while getting ready for work), so I get a lot of my news about business, music, and entertainment through podcasts.
I was inspired by Daniel’s list of top podcasts, so here are a handful of my absolute favorite programs to download and listen to:
THE TIMES ONLINE MUSIC PODCAST
Nope, not the New York Times, but rather The Times (UK). It was only a week ago that I discovered their excellent music interview podcast, and I look forward to every new instalment. Basically it’s a simple recording of 30-40 minutes of a Times editor having a chat with a musical group.
The reason I love it so much is that I only read a handful of interviews with bands each month, so I miss out on learning about bands I’m not 100% interested in. I’ve found listening to this podcast to be really informative and allowed me the chance to learn more about bands I might not necessarily have read a written piece on–and also learned some cool things about some of my favorite bands and artists. Past guests include the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Editors, Ryan Adams, and Embrace.
Oh, want to hear my favorite joke of the week? My friend Karen said, “Have you heard the new Embrace album? It’s SO GOOD!” I replied, “Chris Martin must be so psyched to rip it off.”
Learn more/ subscribe: Times Online Music Podcast
KCRW: MUSIC EXCHANGE
Who wouldn’t love a short podcast done by leading indie radio DJs Steve Lamacq (BBC Radio 1) and Nic Harcourt (KCRW)? It’s usually under 10 minutes long, but it’s a great bite-sized way to learn about the latest and greatest emerging bands.
Learn more/ subscribe: KCRW: Music Exchange Podcast
DIGG NATION
I’m not a super-tech geek but perhaps I have a secret desire to be one. Digg Nation is my way of keeping up with the most popular web/ gaming/ technology stories that are gaining buzz on the internet each week on the social news site Digg.com. It’s done by two dudes, Alex and Kevin, and they are very funny, use the term “smokin’,” and love beer. Oh and it doesn’t hurt that Kevin Rose has pretty good taste in music.
Learn more/ subscribe: Digg Nation
NPR: WAIT, WAIT, DON’T TELL ME
It’s NPR’s hour-long quiz show program that focuses on the latest news stories hosted by Peter Sagal. Every humor-filled episode features three guest panelists, a celebrity guest contestant and call-in contestants. It’s always a hoot and you can accidentally learn something about current events that doesn’t involve Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, or Paris Hilton…most of the time.
Learn more/ subscribe: NPR: Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me
These are only a few of the 30-something (yup!) podcasts I subscribe to. What are some of your favorite programs?
MUSIC OF THE MOMENT: Anything by Fall Out Boy; “Boys of Summer,” The Ataris; Broken Boy Soldiers, The Raconteurs
Listen to the Beats Podcast
Check out the downloadable podcast created by Mikey Skinner‘s record label, The Beats. The first episode is called “Casting Down Your Pod.” It features new raps by Beats artists like the Mitchell Brothers and Professor Green.
The Pope Gets an iPod Nano
Oh yes. The Nano has reached the Pope. I hear he downloads illegally ripped German death metal.
A group of Vatican Radio employees gave Pope Benedict XVI a brand new iPod nano loaded with special Vatican Radio programming and classical music.
To honor the pope’s first visit to the radio’s broadcasting headquarters, the radio’s technical staff decided the pencil-thin, state-of-the-art audio player would make the perfect gift.
Jack Johnson Covers White Stripes
Yes, Jack Johnson covered the White Stripes song “My Doorbell” on Jo Whiley’s Live Lounge last week. Next week Dave Matthews Band covers Wolfmother.
DOWNLOAD: “My Doorbell” by Jack Johnson (cover of White Stripes)
Sugababes Take Pop Retaliation on Monkeys for Covering Girls Aloud?
Oh my GOODNESS! Check out the most unlikely cover version of…this week. British pop phenomeons Sugababes have covered Arctic Monkeys‘ “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor.” It’s included as the B-side for their upcoming single “Red Dress” which drops on March 6. Some may think of it as a united popstar response to the Monkeys covering Girls Aloud‘s “Love Machine” on Jo Whiley‘s show on Radio 1 last month.
Seems like the girls are being good sports about the fact that the Monkeys knocked their song “Push the Button” out of the top spot of the UK singles chart. Said the S-babes: “We loved it even though it knocked us off number one. When our bosses asked us to think of covers for the B-side we knew which song we’d all love to do.”
Niiice. Now for the goodies:
DOWNLOAD: “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor” by The Sugababes
(Source)
Why are the Yeah Yeah Yeahs Doing Nursery Rhyme Covers?
Can anyone explain to me why the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs song “Dudley” sounds like “Hush Little Baby Don’t Say a Word“?
Karen Elson for Woman of the Year
Seriously, I don’t know how Karen Elson does it. She puts up with Jack White‘s mad crazy genius antics, she’s an established singer and cabaret performer, she’s got that “supermodel” gig going for her, she’s going to be a mommy, and now on top of that she’s had the nerves of steel to stomach doing a collaboration with the unpredictable Cat Power.
Check out Karen and Chan‘s lovely (but slightly less orgasmic-sounding) version English-language version of the 1969 Serge Gainsbourg (featuring Jane Birkin) classic, “Je T’aime…Moi Non Plus” right here:
DOWNLOAD: “I Love You…Me Neither” by Cat Power and Karen Elson
It comes off of the Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited cover album featuring other top-name acts like Franz Ferdinand, Placebo (DOWNLOAD: “Ballad of Melody Nelson”), and The Kills. It comes out on the 27th of Feb on French label Barclay Records.
(Source: Pardon My Freedom and LKR_42 via You Know Who You Are)
He Shoots, He Misses…Sorta
Ah, the Daily Show is going to have a field day with this one: Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot another man while on a quail hunting expedition in South Texas yesterday.
In honor of this event, I would strongly advise you to download the following live version of a song by Brakes called “Cheney.” The 10-second diddy goes like this: “Cheney, Cheney, Cheney, Cheney, Cheney/ Cheney, Cheney/ Stop being such a dick”