Five people, One guitar.

By now you know that I love really good or unique covers, and you also know that I (like everyone else) love the dangerously addictive, popular-as-hell Gotye song, "Somebody That I Used to Know". So when I noticed that there was an-almost-as-popular cover navigating Youtube, I got excited...

The cover is very faithful to the original, and a situation like this typically begs the question of "What's the point?" I mean really, who cares if someone else can sing like Gotye if they're going to just mimic the song he wrote and not add their own flair? But this particular case is interesting because the appeal of both versions of the song lies partially in the visual component. While the original music video is artful and symbolic, the video above shows five musicians playing a single guitar, three of them providing lead vocals, and all singing back-up. While Gotye's voice is as smooth as the paint that slowly covers his naked body, the voice of the center singer in this video has some rougher edges, adding to the depth of the emotion that the song attempts to convey. The new version is artful, masterful, and symbolic in its own way, and makes  me wonder what else Walk Off the Earth is capable of.

-a.d.

José González's Covers

Sometimes you discover an artist and cannot believe they haven't been with you for the past few years. Such is the case with José González, whose music would have perfectly suited many personal moments since he released his debut LP, Veneer, in 2003 (though it didn't come stateside until a few years after).

And, sometimes you become so familiar with a particular song that you cannot believe it when you discover it's a cover...or, a song you love takes on an entirely different meaning when placed in the hands and voice of another musician. Therein lies some of José González's magic (side-note, he also sings for the band Junip, though it's his Elliott Smith-esque solo work that really strikes something deep). Somehow, José -- who is Argentinian but grew up in Sweden -- can take electronica tunes and soften their sharp edges, while still retaining their potency. On Veneer, he transformed fellow Swedish band The Knife's oh-so catchy "Heartbeats," and on his second solo album, In Our Nature, he took on Massive Attack's most well-known tune: the moody and sensual "Teardrop."

I am already a bit obsessed with good cover songs, which are actually pretty hard to come by, and I only wish I'd known José González when I made this list of best covers in 2010. The wonderful thing about his versions of "Heartbeats" and "Teardrop" is that they are in no way comparable to the originals, so both versions can exist separately, in harmony. It's as if he swallowed these songs, digested them for awhile, and then spat them out acoustic-style with parts of his musical soul firmly attached. And that voice...oh what a voice.

Another new discovery is José's song "Down the Line" from In Our Nature...a song which I had actually attributed to The Gutter Twins, as it appears on their first album, Adorata. But how wrong I was! Here, The Gutter Twins covered José, and while they certainly worked their own hard-rock magic on the track, the original version wins the beauty contest.

So now, compare...and then do the same with "Teardrop":

-a.d.

What do you do with two cellos?

Thanks to my friend Aaron for sharing 2CELLOS' rendition of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" with me, I am now sucked into this Croatian duo, who creatively cover classic songs by way of kicking major ass on the cello. I just love the way they're so into it, rocking out as if they were shredding on guitars rather than orchestral instruments. Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser have been perfecting their musical craft for years, and together they take on Nirvana, Guns N Roses, Michael Jackson, and more --- dueling it out in perfect time, performing o so endearing head bangs, and putting their own spin on these classic songs. Love it!

Book Cover Bliss

We all know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but that doesn't mean a good cover isn't important. Just like album cover art, book covers will eventually fizzle out by way of Kindles and e-Books, but nothing will ever change the fact that the book cover is an art form, and one which I absolutely wish I could delve into (anyone want to hire me to design their books? I'm cheap!). 

I recently discovered a website just as enraptured by good book covers as I am...well, maybe even more. It's The Book Cover Archive, edited and maintained by Ben Pieratt of General Projects and Eric Jacobsen of Whisky Van Gogh Go, and it's quite a site indeed. Click "Randomize" (or "Rzdmeiano," etc.) and book cover images will magically reveal themselves. You can also search by designer, publisher, genre, year, art director, author...even typeface! Truly a site for book design freaks! Also check out the Blog, which has some interesting photographs. 

In my various Random searches lately, I've come upon some truly fantastic covers that absolutely make me want to read the book in question (which seems like part of the point, other than to represent key images or themes)...so here are some of those covers from books I have not read (though In This Way I Was Saved is on my bookshelf, all ready for my eyes; I didn't actually see that one on this site. Talk about an example of an actual "oooh look at this cover, I want to read this!" moment in a three-dimensional, real-life bookstore).

I have a thing for water-related covers!

-a.dupcak.