Six Pack of the Week - Covers (Vol. II)

Ah, it's covers. I love covers. I'm not sure why I have such a fascination with one band playing another's music, but it always has (and always will) intrigue me. Sometimes they bring something new to the song or emphasize it in a way you never thought of it. Sometimes it's just really, really shitty. We'll try to avoid those ones. To start things off, I (Kraig) will take you out to Africa for my selections.

Mysterious Ways - Angelique Kidjo (originally by U2)

Both of the tracks I'm posting come from the album In the Name of Love, which is more or less a tribute to U2. All of the tracks on the album are U2 songs performed by African bands/artists. As you can imagine, these often take off in directions you wouldn't normally find in your "typical" cover.

I'm not going to pretend to be all knowing when it comes to the music you'll find on the album, but I recommend picking it up if you're into covers and/or if you're into U2. You'll certainly dig it if you listen to a bit of "world" music (whatever that means today).

Anyways, this first track caught my ear and got my interest in the album. You'll recognize it as a cover, but it takes off with some different beats and splits out of English during the verses.

[mp3] Mysterious Ways

Buy her music online: Amazon | iTunes
Visit her online: Official | Myspace

Pride (In the Name of Love) - Soweto Gospel Choir (originally by U2)

...and here we have another take on a U2 classic. Not much in the instrumental department, but it probably delivers the message at the heart of the song better than Bono could with his mates.

[mp3] Pride (In the Name of Love)

Buy some of their music online: Amazon | iTunes
Visit them online: Official | Myspace

Hard Sun - Eddie Vedder (Originally by Indio)

I'm sure you all heard this blaring through sunroofs and fancy cars with tops down last summer/fall. It's still a regular on my playlists. I highly recommend listening to this one in headphones if you haven't yet.

[mp3] Hard Sun

Buy some Pearl Jam online: Amazon | iTunes
Visit PJ/Eddie online: Official | Myspace


Back to the album - I recommend picking it up if for nothing else than to expose yourself to some music you wouldn't normally listen to. Since it's a cover album it's a bit easier to step into the "world" music genre because you'll already know the songs. Check it out here on Amazon, visit the official page (with streams) here.

Stu's:

Africa - Howie Day (Toto cover)(Live)

Speaking of Africa...Howie Day does a pretty awesome cover of Africa. This version is from his 4-21-01 show, and you should probably go pick up the whole show for FREE from archive.org. You can't argue with free!

[mp3] Howie Day - Africa

All Along the Watchtower - Howie Day (Bob Dylan cover)(Live)

Back in the days before Stop All The World Now, it used to be a pretty popular thing to go to Howie Day shows and yell, "FORTY-ONE!!!" at him. I'm not sure why, I've heard his cover of #41 (originally by the Dave Matthews Band) and it never really jumped out at me. At least it didn't jump out at me like this cover of a cover (supposedly Howie covers this like DMB covers it, therefore cover-of-a-cover). Truth be told, this is the first Howie Day song I ever heard. It's an interesting first song to hear, mostly because you aren't expecting the raw emotion and passion (or the excellent screaming). This one's from his 7-20-99 show, which is also free at archive.org.

[mp3] Howie Day - All Along the Watchtower

Buy some Howie Day: Amazon | iTunes
Visit him online: Official | Myspace | theHDTB

Splendid Isolation - Pete Yorn (Warren Zevon cover)

This cover comes straight from Petey's most recent album, Nightcrawler. Originally by Warren Zevon, Pete's take on Splendid Isolation is very well done (I'm a fan of the harmonica work myself). Incidentally, splendid isolation is also a foreign policy pursued by Britain during the late 19th century. So ya, now you know that.

[mp3] Pete Yorn - Splendid Isolation

Buy some Pete Yorn: Amazon | iTunes
Visit him online: Official | Myspace

No picks from Brock this week kiddies, he's internet-less right now (hence the lack of Brockness lately). Hopefully he'll get that resolved soon. We're missing a certain dash of Lurp 'round these parts...

A little more Howie Day...

I like how I posted earlier this week about Nine Inch Nails and now I'm giving you some Howie Day. It's good, I dig - it should keep all of y'all on your toes. That's right, I just said y'all. Or is it ya'll? Hmmm....food for thought there. How does one spell y'all? It's not giving me the red squiggles for that spelling so I'm stickin' to it. Now, back to the post:

I've gotten my dirty little hands on a few more demos from Howie's forthcoming release - hooray for me! As you may remember, I'm a bit hesitant about any new recordings from Howie in the post-Australia era but these two songs seem to bring things a bit closer to the Howie Day I know and love. They're certainly a step up from the song I posted previously, "Everyone Loves to Love a Lie".

The first is called "Be There". I'm not sure how much of an improvement this is from some of the work Howie has done recently - it just reminds me of Collide a bit too much. I get the feeling that he's reaching for another hit with this one. He may have it, the hook is catchy and the song moves along in a poppy enough fashion. That's what the kids like these days, right? It could probably slide right into any episode of Grey's Anatomy without a problem. I wouldn't say that's a good thing but I suppose it is for Howie...

[mp3] Be There

The second is called Sound the Alarm. I've got to admit, I'm a little excited about this track - it's got the old school Howie vibe to it. The guitar work has quite a bit more edge to it when compared to basically everything on Stop All the World Now which I think is necessary for Howie if he wants to bring things back to his roots. A nice buildup towards the end too.

[mp3] Sound the Alarm

All in all it's a step in the right direction. No news on a release date yet but these sound pretty polished - especially "Sound the Alarm". Hopefully that means it's getting close? We'll see. He's on tour now (and using the pedals again) so check him out if he's coming close to your town, you won't regret it.

Buy some Howie Day: Amazon | iTunes
Visit him online: Official | Myspace

Six Pack of the Week - Bonus Tracks!

Sometimes 12 songs just isn't enough. Sometimes, you're just listening along to a new cd, and that last song ends, but it doesn't end. Or sometimes it'll just be an extra track thrown your way, as a very special thank you for buying the cd. You'd better buckle up, because you've entered the realm of bonus tracks, baby. I (Brock) will go first this time around.

The Damnwells - Air Stereo

Air Stereo is hands down one of my favorite albums. "Accidental Man," "I've Got You," and "I Am a Leaver," just to name a few incredible tracks. Why they chose the title track as a bonus track is beyond me, but I'm more than willing to accept an odd decision with such a good album.

[mp3] The Damnwells - Air Stereo

Buy some Damnwells: iTunes | Amazon

Visit the site: Official | Myspace

Jack's Mannequin - Into the Airwaves

Everything in Transit is the (so far) only album from the former frontman for Something Corporate, and it's a great record. It "ends" with a song called "M.F.E.O./You Can Breathe" that is a giant run-on sentence of beautiful pop-punk-piano songwriting. Then there's a little spoken thing about the end of the record, and how there won't be another record for a while because of laziness. Then "Into the Airwaves" starts up, right out of nowhere.

[mp3] Jack's Mannequin - Into the Airwaves

Buy some Jack's Mannequin: iTunes | Amazon

Visit the websites: Official | Myspace

Kraig's Picks

Counting Crows - Sunday Morning L.A.

Brock and I recently reviewed Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings, Counting Crows' latest release. While we were slightly disappointed with the album itself, we didn't directly address the bonus tracks that came with an iTunes purchase of the album.

Strangely enough, Counting Crows followed in the footsteps they themselves set in This Desert Life by keeping some of the best work off of the proper album, instead saving it for a bonus track. Similar to "Kid Things" from This Desert Life, "Sunday Morning L.A." is a very strong track - which further boggles my mind as to why it couldn't make the cut over some of the other duds that did.

[mp3] Sunday Morning L.A.

Buy some Counting Crows: Amazon | iTunes
Visit them online: Official | Myspace

Howie Day - So, Goodbye

As I discussed in a previous post, Howie Day's post Australia career has left me wanting a bit more. Stop All The Wold Now was a fair album (on a good day) with a few strong tracks and a lot of songs that were trying too hard to hit top 40 radio. It seemed almost like Howie was trying to distance himself from the sound he created on Australia.

That, in itself, was probably the reason I fell hard for the bonus tracks that popped up in the Special Edition releases and on the Japanese release. These tracks had more passion and depth then the rest of the album - it was Howie, not some cheap TRL clone! Not surprisingly, my favorite cuts from the album ended up being "bonus tracks". Most were included after-the-fact on import or special editions, including this one, "So, Goodbye".

[mp3] So, Goodbye

Buy some Howie Day: Amazon | iTunes
Visit Howie online: Official | Myspace

Stu's Two

First, I just want to say that Brock stole one of my bonus tracks, that dirty sneak! But I will echo his sentiments on The Damnwells - Air Stereo; most days I feel like this is the best song on the album. Usually on those days Kraig calls me an idiot, but I shall continue to stick to my crazy notions and opinions!

Pete Yorn - Go With It

Back when Pete released Nightcrawler either his label, his management or the man himself decided that, in order to better promote the record, they should throw out a bunch 'o bonus tracks that were "exclusive" to different stores. This meant that you got different bonus tracks if you bought Nightcrawler from Circuit City rather than from Best Buy or iTunes, and vice versa. (Pete talks about it in an old interview with BrooklynVegan)

On one hand, it was nice that all these new Pete Yorn tracks were being released. On the other, it made the couple days after the album was released quite hectic while we were trying to round up all the bonus tracks. (Check out these old posts from Heather and Bryce for most of 'em). Go With It is the most rockin' of the bonus tracks, and probably should've been put in the meaty part of the CD instead of being an iTunes-only song.

[mp3] Pete Yorn - Go With It

Buy some Pete Yorn: Amazon | iTunes
Visit him online: Official | Myspace

Sense Field - The Horse Is Alive

So I think the story goes that one day Kraig was browsing around in our local independent music store (which, sadly, no longer exists), and randomly found Sense Field's Living Outside and picked it up on a whim. I managed to get a hold of it ('cause that's what happens when you live with a dude), and it didn't leave my grasp for quite a while.

It makes me sad that these guys broke up, Living Outside was downright awesome. Powerful vocals, great keys, nice drummin' and strummin'; it's very good stuff! And The Horse Is Alive is one of the best types of bonus tracks: the hidden ones. I hate when they call a song a "bonus track" when it's got its own track break. That's too easy! Your bonus should come after much hard work and due diligence (like fast forwarding for like a minute 'til you're at the exact right moment where the bonus track starts). Yeah, that's what it should be. Anyway, I figure most of you don't want to fast forward through a bunch of silence, so I cut the bonus track out of the nearly 11 minute final track. Hopefully you enjoy it as much as I.

[mp3] Sense Field - The Horse Is Alive

Buy some Sense Field: Amazon | iTunes
Visit them online: Myspace (tribute page)

Bonus Tracks: Now what would a six-pack about bonus tracks be without some bonus tracks? Unless you pre-ordered the deluxe version of Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings, you probably didn't get these songs. I don't think that's terribly fair, so here are two bonus bonus tracks (along with my apologies for the delayed post [Brock's fault]):

[mp3] Counting Crows - There Goes Everything

[mp3] Counting Crows - Come Around (Acoustic)

Howie Day - Everyone Loves to Love a Lie

At this point I'm not really sure whether I should be "excited" for another Howie Day record or if I should just run and hide from it right now. Before I get much further I should point out some facts here:

• About 5 years ago Howie Day would have been one of my top 5 favorite artists if you asked me, no hesitation.
• I still count Australia, Howie's first release, as one of my favorite albums.
  
• Howie put on one of the best shows I've ever seen in only 15 minutes time. Yes, he is was that good.

I was a bit disappointed with Howie's second record, Stop All The World Now. It sounded a little overdone and a bit to "ready" to be whored around on top 40 radio. Looking back at my premature evaluation, I can't say I'm pleased with being right in this case.

Despite the ho-hum second outing, I still gave Howie the benefit of the doubt. His live performances were absolutely breath-taking. His vocal presence was captivating and the use of his looping pedals brought the live show to a completely different level than any solo performer I've ever seen besides Joseph Arthur.

Of course, the rest is pretty much history at this point:

• Collide is released and gets featured in a number of TV shows making Howie Day a one-hit wonder. Teenage girls swoon.
• Howie starts touring with a band rather than solo. Teenage girls swoon.
• Two female fans accuse Howie Day of sexually assaulting them in his trailer where he breaks their cell phone when they refuse his advances.
• Howie gets drunk on an airplane and harrases a flight attendant and others on the plane.
• Howie is sentenced to rehab, where he meets Britney Spears and starts a relationship.

After this things get a little murky. I remember reading something about Howie and Britney going on binges together, which I'm sure was partially responsible for her losing custody of her children. The good news is, Howie is out of rehab and no longer with Britney. The bad news is, the new music sounds like he's trying a bit too hard to reach for another big hit.

Howie is on tour now with Jay Clifford. Jay helped co-write a number of songs from Stop All the World Now so I can't say I'm thrilled about more collaberation between the two, but it's no full band so it may be worth checking out. Rumor has it that Howie is back to using his pedals. If that's the case, I may be ready to give him a second chance. Everyone deserves a second chance, right?

With no further ado, here's the newest Howie Day song. It's called Everyone Loves to Love a Lie and no, it's not about Britney Spears. Sorry for the low bitrate, it came to me via Myspace so it's nothing I could really control.

[mp3] Everyone Loves to Love a Lie

No real details on his next full release. I'm still not sure how excited I should be about the new track - it's fair, though a bit overdone at times. It could easily co-exist with the rest of the tracks from Stop All the World Now. I much prefer his live shows or Australia. I've included a few of my favorite tracks for those of you not familiar with Howie outside of Collide.

[mp3] Sorry, So Sorry (live)

This was recorded 4/28/02. It should give a good idea of how fantastic Howie can be live.  The use of the delay and looping pedals to go along with his vocal strength was always what made Howie so special.  This song is basically Howie at his best.

[mp3] Secret

This may be my favorite track from Australia. It's a nice little pop song with a bit of an edge to it. Australia is full of these little gems, I highly recommend picking it up if you haven't already.

[mp3] Standing in the Sun

Not surprisingly, the only song I'm really attached to from Howie's second album was a track that didn't even make the cut. This was later included as a b-side, then on a deluxe addition. It doesn't feel as overdone as the rest of the album and I love the keys in this one.

Buy some Howie Day:  Amazon | iTunes

Visit Howie on the web:  Official | Myspace

Howie Day allows the taping and distribution of his live shows.  If you're interested in hearing more live music from Howie Day then I recommend visiting The Live Music Archive.  It also contains a LOT of other bands who allow taping & distribution.