Cover Song: The Cure (Joy Division)- Love Will Tear Us Apart

Over the past few weeks I’ve been on a mini kick of listening to The Cure. Mainly I’ve been listening/watching live shows from different eras. While on this journey, I came across a show of theirs from 2000 in Australia. The recording of The Cure’s version of “Love Will Tear Us Apart” was recorded backstage. This version is very much more aligned to The Cure’s structure without losing the integrity of Joy Division’s original. There are only a handful of bands that can do Joy Division justice, The Cure being one of them (Nine Inch Nails is an obvious other one). Robert Smith channels Ian Curtis in a way that is hauntingly beautiful and very much Robert.

The Cure (Joy Divison)- Love Will Tear Us Apart:

Cover Song: Placebo (Tears For Fears)- Shout

This is actually pretty funny in my own mind. For years I’ve been talking about how Placebo should do a cover of a Tears For Fears song (my go to for the longest time when discussing this idea was “Everybody Wants To Rule The World). Then a few months back this idea actually came to fruition in that Placebo did cover a Tears For Fears song and they chose “Shout,” and it’s actually really good. I love that not only Brian Molko sings on it but Stefan Olsdal does as well and his voice is the one that sounds best on the track. No to take away from what Brian does but, getting to hear Stefan out in the forefront is awesome. Also, if you haven’t heard Placebo’s latest album, Never Let Me Go, you should check that out too. It’s quite good and reminds me a bit of Sleeping With Ghosts meets Loud Like Love.

Placebo- Shout:

Placebo- Never Let Me Go:

Cover Song: Faith No More (Portishead)- Glory Box

Faith No More was never a band to play it safe and that is one of the things I’ve always loved about them. Throughout their history, especially when Mike Patton joined, Faith No More was always a band that pushed limits and tried new things whether they worked or not. Back in 1995, there were a few times while on tour when Faith No More would add a cover to their set and this cover happened to be “Glory Box” by the one and only Portishead. It’s a solid cover and Mike adds his touch to it which makes it all that much more enjoyable. I personally would love to hear Mike cover a couple other Portishead songs as I think he’d do them justice!

Faith No More (Portishead)- Glory Box:

Cover Song: SOM (Depeche Mode)- Enjoy The Silence

When I saw the band SOM live with Holy Fawn last year, I was totally awestruck. Their set that evening is still replaying in my mind. Their most recent album The Shape Of Everything, is outstanding and has been in constant rotation since. Now, the gents in SOM have announced a tribute EP to Depeche Mode entitled, Faith (out May 26th). The four track EP features the songs “Enjoy The Silence,” “Personal Jesus,” “Policy Of Truth,” and “Never Let Me Down Again.” The first track released is their version of “Enjoy The Silence,” and it’s a very solid cover. Speaking on the tribute EP vocalist/guitarist Will Benoit said of their version of “Enjoy The Silence” “It was daunting to take this song on because it really does have a life of its own outside of Depeche Mode. So we worked pretty hard to find a delicate balance of homage, but we also really wanted to ‘own it’ and infuse as much weight and density as possible. Working on the arrangement felt like a lesson in how to write a great song, and it was a special feeling to get to really live inside of this piece of music for a while.”

SOM- Enjoy The Silence:

Cover Song: Nirvana (The Velvet Underground)- Here She Comes Now

I keep finding myself going on these artist catalog deep dives and finding things I’ve forgotten about. I love when that happens. Recently in the past few days, I wound up going on a Nirvana deep dive. I’m not quite sure how I wound up here but, while going through all sorts of their songs, albums, demos, etc, I remembered that they did a cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Here She Comes Now.” When I listen back to the Nirvana version, it’s kind of interesting that at moments, Kurt really does sound like Lou Reed. The cover is a pretty solid and good version. As a huge fan of both The Velvet Underground and Lou Reed, I can get behind this version. Plus it gives me an excuse to take a break from my Nirvana deep dive and go listen to The Velvet Underground!

Nirvana (The Velvet Underground)- Here She Comes Now:

Nirvana- Here She Comes Now (Live 1991):

The Velvet Underground- Here She Comes Now (from the album White Light/White Heat):

Soundtrack Only Songs: Filter- One from The X-Files

What would the 1990’s be like without The X-Files? It was one of the best shows of the 90’s without a doubt. The popularity of the show grew by leaps and bounds and in 1998 there was a feature length film to accompany the series. The movie while decent produced a pretty damn good soundtrack featuring Filter, Foo Fighters, The Cure, Bjork, Noel Gallagher and more. The album’s producer, David Was, intended to match the film’s tone rather than using the songs as content, leading to several of the artists involved contributing material which would seem “uncharacteristically eerie” compared to their usual work. Many of the songs that appear on the soundtrack are cover versions like Filter covering Harry Nillsson’s “One.” This one in particular was deliberately constructed by Was once he realized that Duchovny had ad-libbed the song’s opening line during one of the film’s scenes. Filter’s version of “One” is striking and fits the vibe of the the film.

Filter (Harry Nillsson)- One:

New Release: Royal Thunder- The Knife

This is exciting! Royal Thunder is back with one hell of a roar! After time away, Atlanta’s Royal Thunder have returned with their first new track since the release of 2017’s Wick. The trio of Mlny Parsonz (vocals, bass), Josh Weaver (guitar), and Evan Diprima (drums) have dropped a new single/video for their song “The Knife.” This song is stunning and a much welcome return. I can’t believe it’s been 5 years since we’ve had new music from Royal Thunder and I couldn’t be more stoked! “The Knife” is one hell of a song and I have to mention this, I’ve missed hearing Mlny Parsonz voice. It’s so real, rich, pure and honest. Wish more singers had this approach! Anyways, Royal Thunder’s new song “The Knife,” check it out!!!

Royal Thunder- The Knife:

And Just Because This Is SO DAMN GOOD… Here’s Mlny joined by the Two Minutes To Late Night Crew covering Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball.”:

Memorable Live Performances: Stone Temple Pilots- Dancing Days on Howard Stern

Yesterday I had a Stone Temple Pilots song stuck in my head (it was “Trippin On A Hole In A Paper Heart” in case you were wondering). While I had that song replaying in my mind, I found myself delving into the very underrated and unsung masterpiece album that is Tiny Music… From The Vatican Gift Shop (which I will get into on another day because that album is truly great). During that time in 1996, while out promoting the album, Stone Temple Pilots stopped by the Howard Stern show for an interview and performance. Howard, who you can tell is a fan of the band and had them on the show throughout their career, as well as just Scott Weiland, mentioned that he loved their recent cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Dancing Days,” and low and behold, STP would go on to perform it that day on the show (they also performed “Seven Caged Tigers” as well). I truly think this cover is spectacular. I don’t know how many times I’ve listened to this version over the years but, it’s definitely up there. I just love the honest and pure approach STP had to their music and time together. It’s performances like this that make me miss Scott Weiland. What a talent and voice! You are missed Scott!

Stone Temple Pilots (Led Zeppelin)- Dancing Days on Howard Stern:

Cover Comparison: Professional Murder Music VS The Smashing Pumpkins (The Cure)- A Night Like This

The other day I had a song stuck in my head and after about 10 minutes I remembered who the band was and I went and put it on. The band was Professional Murder Music, who you might remember from the early 2000’s and their inclusion on the End Of Days soundtrack with their song “Slow.” While listening to their album, I remembered their very great cover of The Cure’s “A Night Like This.” While listening to that I thought, I should listen to another cover of the song by The Smashing Pumpkins. The pumpkins version is sung by James Iha so it has a different vibe than you’d normally get as we are so used to Billy/William as the singer. So I spent some time with both and I have my favorite of the two. Which one do you prefer?

Professional Murder Music- A Night Like This:

The Smashing Pumpkins (James Iha on Vocals)- A Night Like This:

Cover Songs: Covert Stations (Modern English)- I Melt With You

I have a list of 80’s songs that I have fond appreciation for. One of those songs is Modern English’s “I Melt With You.” I remember hearing it when I was a little kid and really thinking it was a fun song and would sing along to it. Even to this day if I’m flipping through the radio and I come across this song, I always stop to listen and sing along. And now it gets even better as one of my new favorite projects, Covert Stations, have released their version of this classic. The Covert Stations version adds a playful and fun sensibility to the already “cruise in the car with the windows down” vibe the song has. It’s quite fun to revisit these songs with a different perspective and I can’t wait for the next one in this series. And shoutout to my friend Craig and all involved in this project. You guys are on a roll!!!

Covert Stations (Modern English)- I Melt With You: