Call Me Maybe Made Moody

Great cover songs don’t just change the vocalist, they change the mood and meaning of the song itself.

On paper, it would be hard to imagine how Carly Rae Jepsen’s sugary pop hit could be haunting.  Yet with a version nearly as addictive as the original, Ben Howard finds a way to take a song that is all sunshine and turn it into a track meant for midnight.

Call Me Maybe (Carly Rae Jepsen cover), Ben Howard

About a year ago, Jeff Tweedy took on an equally daunting challenge.  He sought to instill The Black Eyed Peas with some self-awareness.  Hilarity ensues.

I’ve Got a Feeling (Black Eyed Peas cover), Jeff Tweedy

 

 

 

And the Grammy Goes to… a Free Record?

With the Grammy’s just a matter of hours away, the music world faces a bit of dilemma.  Two of the best records of the year were distributed free of charge.  They weren’t pirated, they weren’t illegally leaked, and China had nothing to do with either of them.  Nope, the truth is that two of the best records of last year were, in fact, mixtapes.

For those of you who are a little less musically-engaged, the mixtape is essentially a self-recorded album that unsigned artists create to try and get known, and well-known artists use as a more informal creative medium (as mixtapes are free from the meddling of both copyright attorneys and record execs).  Mixtapes have been a staple of hip-hop culture for years, but prior to the digital age the limits of physical distribution relegated them to niche awareness.

A well-made mixtape can make a nobody into a mogul in a matter of weeks.  And, with the democratization of production tools, mixtapes are no longer just rough-hewn peeks into the potential of an artist.  Free mixtapes now compete toe-to-toe with their commercially-polished brethren.  Though the theme of the Grammy’s is that “We’re All Fans,” in truth mixtapes mean that at any moment we’re all contenders.