These United States cover this Bob Dylan :: “To Ramona”

The marvelously raw and literate These United States recently recorded a cover for a French compilation called Dylan Mania (which also features Magnet’s version of “Lay Lady Lay,” and Antony and the Johnsons knocking on heaven’s door alongside many French bands).

Where Dylan’s original of “To Ramona” waltzed and lilted in courteous measured style, These United States keel off into the hayloft as we hasten the jamboree. The thrumming and playfully creative drumbeat (courtesy of mohawked Robby) builds and drives the song along, while Jesse’s voice earnestly cracks exactly where you hope it will. There’s also some pedal steel bringin’ the lonesome, and a particularly nice clattery-taptastic breakdown towards the end.

Ramona come closer, shut softly your watery eyes
The pangs of your sadness will pass as your senses will rise
For the flowers of the city though breathlike get deathlike sometime
And there’s no use in trying to deal with the dying
Though I cannot explain that in lines.

To Ramona (Dylan cover) – These United States

One reviewer said that TUS plays their folk “the way it was meant to be played: hard, fast, big, slow, long, loud, loose, and at last unburdened. They play it like they mean it.” Personally they describe their music as cumulonimbus wordpop for the jangly railyard dreamer — I really like that.

Their 3rd full-length release in 18 months Everything Touches Everything (oooh!) is out September 1st; I think last year’s excellent Crimes was underrated and overlooked.

They have more live shows than anyone you’ve ever met, so go see ‘em. They put on one of the best live shows I’ve seen in a long time; we adored them at SXSW and our Hillbilly Prom they played.

For completists, here’s the original and a cover that David Gray did on his 2007 cover album A Thousand Miles Behind. And as David says at the beginning of the recording, “I absolutely loved this one from the first time I heard it…”

Oh, me too.

To Ramona – Bob Dylan
To Ramona (Dylan cover) – David Gray

I’d forever talk to you but soon my words
would turn into a meaningless ring
for deep in my heart I know there’s no help I can bring
Everything passes, everything changes
just do what you think you should do
And someday maybe, who knows baby
I’ll come and be crying to you

[photo taken in a sweaty bar at SXSW by one Todd Roeth]

I want to hold you in the bible-black predawn

I saw modern Chicago soul group JC Brooks And The Uptown Sound at the Numero Group’s Eccentric Soul Revue in April, and these young guys added a fiery verve of new sound amongst the vanguards and legends performing that night. I thought they had immense charisma live.

The Chicago Tribune recently called these guys “the real deal,” and the band says by means of self-description: “For us, it’s a little like, ‘What would it sound like if Otis Redding fronted the Stooges?‘”

A friend sent me this incredible cover from a few weeks ago at the Do Division Street Fest in Chicago, where the Uptown Sound played the mainstage alongside acts like Viva Voce, Handsome Furs, and White Rabbits.

All infused with shiny horns and a groove where I never thought I’d hear one, this song makes a freaking fantastic barnburning soul tune.

[via]

I really don’t understand what’s so complicated about the whole situation…

“…like, it seems pretty cut and dried. It’s just this guy, and he just… doesn’t like her very much.”

Complicated (Avril Lavigne cover) – Ben Gibbard

“…I don’t know if that was a good idea or a bad idea to play that.”

[song via, my pic above from the Obama/DNC party last summer]

Justin Townes Earle can’t hardly wait

Man, something about these warm summery weeks, or maybe an aural hangover from my driving journey through West Texas, but lately all kinds of down-home music is grabbing me. Something about the authenticity of a good campfire sad song, or a mandolin + fiddle. I mean, sure I’m still going to dance my ass off at Ghostland Observatory this Saturday, but for today, this is hitting the right notes:

Justin Townes Earle (whose name I just learned how to pronounce correctly, because I am retarded) is Steve Earle’s son and a proper heir to that surname. Named partly after Dad’s friend Townes Van Zandt, 27-year-old Justin infuses his brand of Americana with a vibrant, organic streak of youth.

He does a surprisingly great cover of The Replacements’ 1987 classic “Can’t Hardly Wait.” It amazes me how this song is from an album typically thought of as all sloppy punk, but has these sterling country-road roots that Justin brings out so well. Justin’s also got strong strokes of that same off-kilter howl that Westerberg trademarked. Hearing this has made me smile.

Can’t Hardly Wait (Replacements cover, live 9/28/08) – Justin Townes Earle

I’ll write you a letter tomorrow
Tonight I can’t hold a pen
Someone’s got a stamp that I can borrow
I promise not to blow the address again

Lights that flash in the evening,
Through a hole in the drapes
I’ll be home when I’m sleeping
I can’t hardly wait

Can’t Hardly Wait – The Replacements

Listen to the rest of this show over on the Live Music Archive, for a fine sampling of Justin’s original songs interspersed with classic covers of Woody Guthrie, Mississippi John Hurt, dad Steve Earle, Blind Blake, Townes Van Zandt, and Lightnin’ Hopkins.

JTE’s Midnight At The Movies is out now on Bloodshot Records, and he’s massively on tour this summer.

Also — check out the recent Aquarium Drunkard feature of Justin Townes Earle and Jason Isbell (of the Drive-By Truckers) interviewing each other. Nice.

Love vigilantes and iron and wine

Fresh off his Colorado stop, Sam Beam swung by Jimmy Fallon last night to perform the stunning unreleased “Godless Brother In Love” (which you can see here).

As a bonus, he also sang this lovely version of New Order’s “Love Vigilantes,” featured on his new double album Around The Well:

I’ve also been listening to Voxtrot‘s cover over the last few days — I’ve had them on the brain because Love Language makes me think of Voxtrot. Get it? No.

Love Vigilantes (live at Magnetic Field) – Voxtrot

…Or Laura Cantrell‘s burnished bluegrass take on it earlier this year:

Love Vigilantes – Laura Cantrell

Also, for your “garden-party-with-an-edge”:

Love Vigilantes (instrumental) – String Quartet Tribute to New Order and Joy Division

And….the 1985 original that never gets old.

Love Vigilantes – New Order

[thanks for the vid, Dainon!]

I look out of the window for the girl I knew yesterday

Knowing my interest in dabbling in all things related to Euro-pop and cover songs, one of my Spanish readers far across the Atlantic let me know that musician Antonio Vega Tallés died early this morning in Madrid.

Tallés wrote the 1980 pop song “Chica De Ayer” (featured on this comp of Spanish pop that looks pretty fun), and was also covered by Gigolo Aunts a decade later. Listen to both below -

Chica de Ayer – Nacha Pop

U2: “Jesus Christ” (Woody Guthrie)

For a bunch of Irishmen, U2 has always been capable of throwing down a pretty darn soulful gospel jaunt in my book. Rattle and Hum is one of my favorite U2 eras (along with Achtung Baby. And maybe, oddly, Pop. I like Pop).

My friend John just brought this 20-year-old U2 cover of Woody Guthrie’s “Jesus Christ” to my attention, an mp3 I had in my iTunes library but had let settle to the bottom of the unlistened pile. Today is a grey and drizzly Saturday in Colorado, after a very long and difficult week, and this bit of handclapping, foot-stomping folk gospel is just the right medicine.

U2 originally recorded this in 1988 for the Woody Guthrie tribute album Folkways: A Vision Shared along with a pretty formidable collection of other artists. If this jubilant cut sounds reminiscent of Rattle and Hum, it’s for good reason — it was recorded during the same sessions.

The vinyl single of “Jesus Christ” was released as a promotional single in the Netherlands only.

Jesus Christ (Woody Guthrie cover) – U2

The original Woody Guthrie recording of this song was first captured on tape as part of the 1940 Library of Congress Recordings by Alan Lomax — the first recordings of Woody Guthrie ever, that I am aware of. When I was trawling around in the Library of Congress audio archives last May (talkin’ to rad people) I remember seeing these in the  American Folklife Listening Room. I could have gotten permanently lost there, happily.

Jesus Christ (ripped from vinyl) – Woody Guthrie

[release info via U2wanderer]

shake the dust off of your wings, and the sleep out of your eyes

Yesterday felt like full-on summer crouching outside my door. I even went for a run so hard and lovely that I almost threw up. Awesome. Today is grey and rain just started falling on my office window, little rivulets gathering speed by the minute. I am wishing I didn’t wear open-toed shoes.

But the good thing about this weather is that it needs some pensive tunes to go with it, and I have just the one — the perfect song for this and all grey days. As I previously mentioned, Steve Earle is releasing a full album of covers of songs written by his friend Townes Van Zandt. Townes may be one of the greatest songwriters of the last generation, with so many hidden gems that I am still uncovering.

How about this one?

To Live Is To Fly (Townes Van Zandt) – Steve Earle

We got the sky to talk about
And the earth to lie upon

Well, to live is to fly
Low and high
So shake the dust off of your wings
And the sleep out of your eyes

The album features appearances from Allison Moorer (she must provide the lovely harmonies on this track), guitarist Tom Morello (of Rage Against the Machine and recent folkier project The Nightwatchman), and for the first time on one of his dad’s records, Justin Townes Earle. Considering his name, this is a fitting album for Justin to be featured on.

Townes is out May 12th on New West, with a preview EP available now.

Angelenos take on Sir McCartney

My pal Justin over at Aquarium Drunkard is always doing cool stuff. In addition to, you know, the record label, the book he’s written, and the 826LA lecture this week, Justin’s managed in his spare time to gather a bunch of his favorite artists from his neighborhood to record a free album covering Paul McCartney’s 1971 solo album RAM.

The delightfully anachronistic result will be free to download come Monday, with a donation requested for No More Landmines. Win win.

Justin writes:

Los Angeles: huge, sprawling, and eclectic, has been likened to microcosm of the country as whole — truly a melting pot of various cultures, ethnicities, tastes and influences. So is her music. With various scenes and sub-scenes, rarely has there been a defining “sound” that marks the overall zeitgeist of what is happening in the city at any one time. In 2008 I set out to create a compilation of a dozen or so L.A. based artists that I felt were creating something both unique and diverse. After some thought I decided that there needed to be a running theme, something to tie the artists together into a cohesive whole, a common bond.

As records tend to do, a revisited appreciation of Paul McCartney’s 1971 solo album, RAM, had begun to see a resurgence of sorts within a number of local Eastside artists, coming up in conversations and on the turntables of various house parties.

The theme was found. Over the course of the second half of 2008 eleven Angeleno artists individually went in to various studios, rehearsal spaces and apartments to record their take on what is my favorite, and arguably, McCartney’s best solo work…. the end result is RAM On L.A.

Listen to one of the covers, from Merge Records’ Broken West. Other contributing artists include folks like Frankel, Travel By Sea, Le Switch and Earlimart.

Eat At Home – Broken West

NB: Denverites, Broken West is at the Hi-Dive next Wednesday (March 11) with Blind Pilot, a band that I just can’t get enough of lately (I bought their actual physical CD on Thursday night! Like whoa).

Should be most excellent; I shall see you there.

The glory days of the Avett Brothers

The Avett Brothers contributed recently to the marvelous series Hangin’ On E Street, where young rockers discuss Bruce’s influence on them and their music, and cover one of his songs. Wherever they piled all four of them to do this harmonica-laced cover (looks like backstage, or a warehouse), I want to be sitting right in the middle.

Glory Days (Springsteen cover) – The Avett Brothers

In addition to the current panorama of artists whose contributions are already live on the site (Gaslight Anthem, Ted Leo, Juliana Hatfield, etc), we can look forward to clips coming from Josh Ritter (maybe this one?), Pete Yorn (maybe this one?), and Birdmonster.

You know, I always thought this was a really sad song, and wondered how that gets overlooked.