Remember when Brittany made her come back? no, not that one, the other one, to the left, no MY left... Okay, the comeback with Toxic. That was a good song that could get stuck in even a pop haters head. I will freely admit to that. Well her is a video by the band "Static Lullaby." I'm not here to talk about them though, but a great new CD that has just come out last month: Punk goes Pop (vol.2) which is full of great songs being covered by punk, rock, and metal bands. My Grade 10 Social Studies teacher once said: "I like the song Toxic, I just wish it wasn't Brittany Spears singing..." I'm sure he would enjoy this version much better.
It has been awhile since I have posted, but fear not, for I have returned with many new songs and bands to share with you all. Today I bring you Powerglove. I have always been looking for a band that plays videogame music professionally like these guys. There are many bands that play this sort of music,but only a few songs unfortunately. Meanwhile, Powerglove already has two CD's out with nothing but metal covers of Tetris, Sonic, Power Rangers, and so on. I hope you enjoy the nerd-metal styling of Powerglove:
So for today's post I am not so much posting a band, but a compilation CD. I recently (by recently I mean almost a year ago) got my hands on a CD called Metaliska. In short it has many Ska bands doing covers of 80's metal and rock songs. Here is my favorite from the CD. It has a ska/reggae feel to it but still feels true to the techno/rock song Final countdown was. Enjoy, and find the CD if your into ska, 80's rock, covers, or whatever.
Yes, another video game cover from Jeff. But this one is a bit different. If you haven't heard of the Black Mages, they are a band put together by Nobuo Uematsu, the man who has written almost every song for the Final Fantasy Series since the 8-bit FF1. He put together the Black Mages to showcase his best works, and to not have them simply titled as "Video Game Music." The bands song list is mostly taken from older Final Fantasy soundtracks and re-worked, but they have a few original songs as well, there is usually one or two on each CD. The song that I have picked is taken from Final Fantasy 8. To be honest, I had trouble picking which song to post, as I like many of them. In the end I chose this one because it has a great flow of energy, always stimulating, and a great guitar solo (which I am always a sucker for). I hope you enjoy.
More nerdy/metal stuff from me. Ryashon is an up and coming metal band, and by band I mean 2 guys. They have been turning out their own tunes for a short while, and are getting ready to release their first CD before the end of the year. This song in particular is a metal cover Ryu's theme from Street Fighter 2 (don't ask me how excited for Street Fighter 4 I am, the answer is usually Hadoken). Their music involves a few covers that they have released on the internet, usually from video games (and a hilarious one of Chocolate Rain). But their CD will include almost all original music by them. Being only two members strong, they are very focused on perfecting their instruments,so there is few vocals (if any) and all talent. They have been described as not only metal, or techno ( a few of their songs), but Melodic as well. So listen up, in the meantime I shall keep checking their blog until the CD is out.
I love song covers. I love the creativity involved in re-making an already good song into something new and interesting. I love it when the cover takes the song in a completely new direction, a la Matt Weddle's 'Hey Ya', where the boisterous Outkast song is turned into a soulful guitar ballad.
Another thing I love is appropriating so-called 'gangsta' language into my own vocabulary (see below video). People who know me well can often hear be refer to my friends as my 'bitches' or 'hos', as well as bidding adieu with a well placed peace out'.
Ben Folds' cover of Dr.Dre's 'Bitches Ain't Shit' combines both of these things I love. Beyond being an interesting, innovative cover, it has alot of inherent value, and it's a good song. The haunting chord progression and his clear, honest voice really relate the sadness of the song -- a sadness that is lost among the aggressive beats of the original.
(WARNING: If you have any problem with swearing, do not watch this video. It's also not safe to listen to if you're at work, or anywhere else where people will judge you if a stream of soft-sung profanities starts pouring out of your speakers) (Also, ignore the lame video -- Ben Folds never made an official video, all the live versions are shite, so this is the most non-lame of the lame homemade videos people posted)
(For more on the amazing interplay between white people and hip-hip references see: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/08/18/107-self-aware-hip-hop-references/) (And for another really interesting rap song cover, check out the cover of Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" by a band called Framing Hanley)
Ok so this has to be the best cover of Bob Dylan's ( No this song is NOT a Jimmy Hendrix song) All Along the Watchtower ever! What makes it even better is one of my favorite tv shows BSG ( Battlestar Gallactica ) did the cover ^^
I love these guys, they do punk covers of most anything: Classical, '80s and '90s top hits, They got a CD of all showtunes, and another called "Ruin Johnny's Bar Mitzvah" (so you can imagine what that's like). This is the first song I heard by 'em, and still one of my favorites, but you should check out some of their other stuff, like "I believe I can Fly" and "Rocket Man"
Posts
