NFT's Got You Covered - Favorite Covers of 2015!

Back from hiatus because I love lists and I can't resist talking about my favorite things of the year. So, to get the boulder that is list season rolling, here are some of my favorite cover songs of 2015!

Hot Chip - Dancing in the Dark from Dancing in the Dark EP

If you are like me, then you probably only know Hot Chip from the wacky music video for their 2010 single, "I Feel Better". Well, now I also know that they also do a pretty nerdy synthed-up version of "Dancing in the Dark" by Bruce Springsteen. This cover of one of my favorite Boss jams includes an Everything is Terrible-esque music video and a sprinkling of LCD Soundsystem's "All My Friends" towards the end. A lot of this cover plus the music video seems overplayed at times but I still enjoy it for what it is; tacky.

Tigers Jaw - In Between Days/Kevin Devine - Lovesong from Devinyl Splits No. 3


Two sincere Cure covers.

Girlpool - Cut Your Bangs from Chinatown

This cover of Radiator Hospital's "Cut Your Bangs" from last year frequently came on while I rode to work on my new bike this summer. Every time I was completely floored by how genuine it was. I personally like both tracks equally but I can't help but think that this version here is a bit more accessible to folks who can't stomach Radiator Hospital's unique vocals. Hell, I'm already seeing videos of people covering this version titled "Me covering Girpool's cover of Radiator Hospital". 

Somebody Kill Me Please - LVL UP from Faux Real II



Faux Real is a compilation of cover songs curated by Father/Daughter Records. The covers are that of fictional bands and singers from TV/films such as The Rutles, Sadgasm from the Simpsons, and The Blowholes from The Adventures of Pete and Pete. My favorite one of the batch this year comes from LVL UP and their rendition of "Somebody Kill Me" via the Wedding Singer. The original sung by Adam Sandler's character had been listening to a lot of The Cure at the time.

Tiny Rick (Let Me Out) - Sorority Noise from Tiny Rick (Rick and Morty Cover)



Another cover from pop culture. Didn't listen to a lot of Sorority Noise this year and I wished I watched more Rick and Morty. Smash this link to listen to the original.

Thou - Even in His Youth from Whatever Nevermind



Another year, another Nirvana tribute album. Out of this year's covers of Nevermind curated by Robotic Empire, I had to narrow it down to the bonus tracks by Thou, especially "Even in His Youth", as my favorites of the pack.

Went with because even with Thou's own signature mutilation, there is still some poppiness that bleeds out from time to time. Well, maybe not "pop" per se, but it does have a little groove to it for a Thou track.

Spazzin' to the Oldies - A Tribute to Spazz 



Probably my favorite tribute album this year, Spazzin' to the Oldies is a 26 song nail gun full of grindcore nails to the face. This is a tribute album for the one and only Spazz. Spazzin' to the Oldies features some damn good grindcore/powerviolence/spastic metal acts from today such as Purge, Godhole, God's America, Brainshit, Chinsniffer and OSK (to name a few that I recognize). If I had to pick a favorite here, I would have to go with OSK's cover of "Spazz vs. Mother Nature" because it includes the banjo outre (no mouth harp, though, but I'll still give credit where it's due).

Old Witch - Gallows from Keeper Split



Old Witch's interpretation of CocoRosie's macabre tale, "Gallows" is definitely my favorite kind of cover song. While there were plenty of true-to-the-original covers I heard this year on and off the internet, I always love a good rework of a song from a different genre or a song given new life. Isn't the whole point of a cover putting your own spin on someone else's work? Isn't playing a song exactly the way it was intended Karaoke?

I'm starting to digress here for a sec but I honestly wish I could list Weekend Nacho's cover of "Tired of Sex" by Weezer. Yes, Weekend Nachos covered Weezer this year. No, it was not the most violent retelling of Pinkerton's #1 hit known to mankind. Instead it was strictly "Tired of Sex" performed as Weekend Nachos playing Weezer. Well hey, there's also "In the Garage", maybe they were just joking around and this is the Weekend Nachos cover I was expecting. Nope. Whistling and all, it's a great cover, but it's no Weekend Nachos cover. Then again, maybe my opinion will change once I get a grip. Maybe I'm just mad they didn't cover "El Scorcho".

Honorary Mentions:

Screaming Females covering T. Swift's "Shake it Off" for the AV Club
Ironlung with Wizard of Ozz covering B. Sabbath's "Electric Funeral"
Leftover Crack covering B. Raum's "Left Legs"
Corrective Measure covering A. Front's "Discriminate Me" (gotta rep Maine Hardcore)
Holy Filth covering M. Otorhead's "Iron Fist" (gotta rep Maine Metal)
And a thanks to any bands that I saw this year cover stuff... a heard a lot of it and it was pretty good most of the time.


Also, I'm sure I missed something very dope.

Trace Mountains - Buttery Sprouts

Trace Mountains - Buttery Sprouts (2014)

Trace Mountains is one of a few side projects going from the folks in Spook Houses. Buttery Sprouts is a mix of previously unheard songs and three that I have previously talked about on here; "Salty/Sweet", "Everything Around Me", and Bey's "Halo". Bey as in Beyonce, of course.

Riddled with the monotone sadness that one may come to except from a Spook Houses project, Trace Mountains is an exploration of simple, yet melancholy, bedroom music. Buttery Sprouts features drum machines, singing saw, songs about Silver Jews, mix-masterer Mike Ditrio, and Elaiza Santos of Crying.

Check it out:



Double Double Whammy
Last.fm

NFT's Got You Covered with Phillip Miller!

Phillip Miller - Hecka Sad Chips (2013)

Phillip Miller plays guitar in the Sacremento band, Alan Heart of the Lion who play emo/screamo/passionately sad music. He also likes to make old-school video game soundtracks. Hecka Sad Chips is a combination of those two things: emotional music and video games; the result: chiptune emo. Well, sort of...

Hecka Sad Chips features 10 songs by relatively emo-y/screamo-y/melodic hardcore bands turned into 8bit video game-sounding gems. They don't really sound sad, but rather like they came straight from that Game Boy Color that you totally still have kicking around somewhere. You know what I mean.

The bands included in the chiptune transformation include some bands I'm pretty familiar with like CityCop, Comadre, Tiny Moving Parts, and Kidcrash along with a few other sweet new finds like Missive, Leer, Kite Runner, Place Called Home, and Phillip Miller's aforementioned band, Alan Heart of the Lion.


The cover of Hecka Sad Chips also features an old-school video game/pixel art transformation of Place Called Home's Eternal Sunshine (2012), CityCop's Family Tides/Labors of Love split w/Les Doux (2013), Tiny Moving Parts's This Line is Long & Full of Friendship (2013), and Missive's Not a Minute Goes By (2012) album artwork.

Enjoy!

Facebook (Alan Heart of the Lion)
Bandcamp
Last.fm

NFT's April Mix

NFT April Mx:

Enjoy! 

Secret Plot to Destroy the Universe - I Only Miss You When I Want To

Secret Plot to Destroy the Universe - I Only Miss You When I Want To (2012)

Man, this is just the album that I needed right now.

Emotional, gripping, aggressive yet somber, and all around riddled with sadness.

Secret Plot to Destroy the Universe is a post hardcore outfit residing in Pennsylvania. This is their release from 2012. I've already listened to it two times in the passed hour or so and have been listening to the title track, "I Only Miss You When I Want To" nonstop since I discovered it from The BIG Comp.

Track 4, "Aimless" features an amazing speech from the Charlie Chaplin talkie film, The Great Dictator (1940). This is the scene:

Other highlights: pretty much all the other songs not mentioned.



sad bastard

Facebook
Bandcamp
Last.fm

Monday XXXXXXXI

RIP Jason Molina

Black Mask. - Black Mask. (2012)

Finger licking good hardcore that falls right off the bones! From Pennsylvania.

At first I though this was another Black "something" band but then I saw the period.



Get mad.

Bandcamp
Last.fm

Scavenger - Cynical (2013)

Scavenger are a hardcore troupe from northern Maine that are quite reminiscent of early hardcore punk that requires a cassette player and big giant 80's speakers. Not bad, not bad.



Last.fm (#7)

Songs: Ohia - The Lioness (2000)

While clearly not as recognized as Magnolia Electric Co. or as truthfully and down right sad as Axxess & Ace (one of my favorite albums to play when I'm sad), The Lioness definitely has its moments of both sadness and glory that makes it stand out in my top three Jason Molina albums list.

Highlights include: "Lioness", "Being in Love", "Coxcomb Red", and "Nervous Bride"

Bonus:

Joe Beats's remix of "Coxcomb Red":

Last.fm

NFT's Got You Covered with Nick Stutsman

Nick Stutsman - Covers (2011)

Here are some sappy covers of other people's stuff by Nick Stutsman of Merchant Ships/Midwest Pen Pals/Park Jefferson fame.

The songs he covers include:

"Eskimo Snow" - Why?

"As Tall As Cliffs" -Margot and the Nuclear So & So's

"Maps" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

"(My) Backward Walk" - Frightened Rabbit

"You're the shit and I'm knee deep in it."

Enjoy.

Last.fm

Monday XXXI

Happy Emancipation Day, Washington, D.C.

How about some music..

Two Knights - Quilt Chamberlain (2011)

Two Knights are a twinkly math rock two piecer from Texas. Along with their super addictive tapping and fun for everyone drumming, the singer/guitarist has some splendid singing chops that I personally think are begging to be heard. You might disagree, I don't know. Whatever, it's what makes them stand out amongst the rest of the emo/twinkle toes playing around these days.

The members of Two Knights are also in a screamo band with a member of Innards. They are called Father Figure and are pretty swell as well.

Bandcamp
Last.fm

Crywank - Narcissist On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown (2012)

James Clayton himself tipped me off to his new album the other day and I couldn't have been more interested in hearing it (and more from him all together), especially since his last album was called, 'James Is Going To Die Soon'. Narcissist On The Verge OF A Nervous Breakdown is the name of the new release by James's moniker, Crywank and is very much a vehicle of coping with his sadness, hence the name - a play on the words of the expression 'tearjerker'. I'm not sure if I could ever say this release tops his last but that may in part be due to the number of short songs it holds. I have no problem with simple little songs, I just wish I could hear more out of them.

Soon after learning about Narcissist On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown, I found out about a little gem that James and his friend(s) recorded that not only features some early takes of tracks on Narcissist like "Thomas Saunders Lloyd Webber" and "Little Creepy" but also some silly covers and a goofy rendition of "Welcome To Castle Irwell" which is probably my favorite song by 'wank. The recordings I'm talking about are called, 'I Daren't Call This Stoner' and the genre of music is called "Gettin' blazed in Ric's Room". I can't say I condone such actions here but the results are pretty entertaining. It'll probably make its way on to NFT's Got You Covered some day. If I ever get my act together and stop forgetting to put up those posts.

Anyways, if you liked what you heard from Crywank last time I posted his work or even a little interested in this depressed singer-songwriter: download this one and give it a listen. It won't hurt and that's all he really wants anyways.

Tumblr
Last.fm

Isaïah - Ils Consomment, tuent et prient, mais ne pensent pas (2009)

A couple weeks back I posted about a band called Terraformer who where from Belgium, played math rock instrumental music and featured members from the screamo band, Isaïah. Well, this is Isaïah. They rock hard and are pretty brutal. They're also pretty epic. There's some epic bits here and there on this release that lead to spoken word. Presumably french spoken word. It's pretty, well... pretty. Fucking intense pretty.

Though Isaïah is from Belgium, they do speak French (or at least write their stuff with French) and therefore I would still consider them 'French screamo'.  I guess you could still call it Belgian screamo but who are we kidding... call it what it is: heavy-ass emotionally violent music!

From Belgium.

In French.

Bandcamp (free but probably not for long)
Last.fm

Rosetta - The Cleansing Undertones of Wake/Lift (2007)

I stumbled across this EP today while looking for things to post and remembered that I had forgotten about it. I forgot to remember that this was Rosetta's four track ambient noise piece that was released around the time of Wake/Lift. According to Wikipedia it is not meant to be synced up with its companion album despite what I have heard in the past. Either way though, Cleansing Undertones is still a really interesting listen and not just good for putting on right before bed to help you fall asleep. No, it actually has enough substance in it that you can actually sit down for a listen and it'll tell a story. What that story is... is up to you the listener.

Twelve minutes in we hear a male voice that comes in and out of the static that dares you to keep listening. Soon you start to wonder what will happen and where the music will take you. You try to hold on to the sound or that voice but it eventually dies out and all you are left with is a feeling of contentment and pressure. Once all noise has dissipated, the pressure is lifted. You are free.

You can also listen to The Cleansing Undertones of Wake/Lift in its interiority here on the youtubes.

I'm glad I remembered this one finally.

Enjoy.

Last.fm

I Hate Myself

I Hate Myself - 10 Songs (1997) (rereleased in 2000)

I Hate Myself were an emo band. They were not where emo (the phrase at least) that bled over into pop (mall) punk territory, sheltered itself in black clothes, and only aloud itself one eye to see out of. No, I Hate Myself is probably as real as it gets and more. Don't let the name fool you. I Hate Myself had the passion and emotion to convey true sadness to be ripped out of your body and then perfected the sing/scream technic that a thousand other bands that I want to throw broken pieces of their own tour vans' at them just butcher and make me cringe. Those other bands had no real emotion or message other than I hate myself and want to die. I Hate Myself said much more. Too much more. 

If only IHM knew that being depressed and artsy could be so.... 

Well... Emo.

Similar artists: The Pine, Indian Summer, I Would Set Myself On Fire For You, Kolya, You and I, and more post-hardcore type emo bands that don't suck and.. yeah that's it.

P.S. This albums called 10 songs but this one goes to 11!! Is that sick or what?!

Favorite track: "To a Husband at War"  the song that was originally on the band's 7'' split with Strikeforce Diablo but later added to 10 songs, thus giving the album 11 songs I believe. Please correct me if I'm wrong!

I tried to laugh but went back to my room and cried

I mean our room. I went back to our room and cried

Last.fm

No Idea Records

NFT's Got You Covered! With Carissa's Wierd

Carissa's Wierd - Scrapbook (2003)

While not completely a cover album, Carissa's Weird's, Scrapbook is a nice little look at some of CW's unreleased/demo/remixes/covers recorded between 1996 and 2003. The covers include (in order by appearance), "Asleep" by The Smiths (track 5), "Chelsea Hotel" by Leonard Cohen (track 6), "Gauze" by Red Red Meat (track 8), "Isolation" by Joy Division (track 9), and "Curtains" by John Frusciante (track 10).

Carissa's Wierd show off their deadly sadcore/slowcore style with the covers they picked on Scrapbook. To be straight, the album's not as good as I remembered it when I first discovered it but that's partly due to my lose of interest in the Mat Brooke (pre Band of Horses/Grand Archives) and Jenn Ghetto (pre S) starting point that is Carissa's Wierd. I still recommend these guys and their covers on Scrapbook even if you are not a fan of Band of Horses, Grand Archives or Carissa's Wierd (which is much different than those other too...) for that matter. This release is the reason "Asleep" is one of my favorite Smiths track (not to be confused with Fugazi's "I'm So Tired"), the reason I know about Red Red Meat and the reason Chelsea Hotel is one of my favorite songs to be covered and to hear covered.

Scrapbook also features the teary eyed wonder "Sympathy Bush" as well as a remix of said track along with three other unreleased tracks, a demo called "Ugly Valentine" which maybe the blueprint to "All Apologies and Smiles, Yours Truly, Ugly Valentine"from You Should Be At Home Here (2001) and a remix of Heather Rhodes from I Before E (2004).

My interst in Carissa's Wierd may be pretty low right now but I have a feeling that that might change and it'll bounce back up. When it does I'll be sure to post some of their other stuff. I will also explain this whole sadcore/slowcore business...

Last.fm
Profile on Hardly Art

Gregor Samsa & The Metamorphosis

Recently, I decided I wanted to catch up on some fine literature. I didn't want to read something too long, so I decided on a short story. I ended up reading Frank Kafka's 1915 novella, The Metamorphosis. A story about a man who wakes up to find his life flip-turned upside down. One day after school, while he was playing himself a nice little game of basketball, a group of troubled kids from neighboring hoods began to give him shit. He tried to stay back but also felt he should stand up to these hoodlums and scruff them up a bit just to show them a lesson or two. Unfortunately his mama got scared good by this and had no choice but to send him to his auntie's and uncle's in the lovely affluent residential communtiy in the hills of the westside of the city of Los Angeles, California to teach him class and etiquette. While there he grew content with his new life and family. That is until one morning he wakes up and finds himself to be a big ass fucking insect and can no longer go about his days fending for his family. It is not too long after that his friend and partner, Kay, has to go in from the outside of him (that's right! He get's eaten!) and blasts him away like the slimy, ugly, parasite he had become.

I wanted to listen to something as I read this, so I put on the only thing that would make sense and that's Gregor Samsa! Come on! That's the name of the main character in The Metamorphosis! It works perfectly though with the story as it is that kind of post rock that can be kept on in the backward. It is very somber, dark, and beautiful with all it's rhodes piano, bowed electric basses, and sparse male and female vocals here and there. And you don't have to choice from other bands that play a similar sound of post rock as Gregor Samsa do like Ef, The Ascent of Everest, Joy Wants Eternity, Bark Psychosis or Immanu El because their name is Gregor Samsa! It's as simple as that.

Gregor Samsa - 55:12 (2006)

Album of choice this time: 55:12.

Favorite track: Even Numbers

Last.fm
Official site

Monday XIII

Down with the sickness. It's monday.


Damascus - Salutations, Distant Satellite! (2011)

Sweet ass post metal. Sometimes it even sounds like post rock influenced by heavy metal. \m/

Last.fm

Shapes Like Dinosaurs - Cretaceous Calculus EP (2010)

They twinkle, they noodle, they experiment and they sound mega corky. Despite all this, it took me a little while to fully appreciate the music SLD have put out. I'm not sure if it'll be a grower for you (my humble audience) so I do still recommend these guys for any "Twinkle Daddies" or Math Rock fan.

Last.fm

Sibylle Baier - Colour Green (2006)

The official release of this fine gem may be '06 but the true roots of Colour Green stretches way back to the 70s when Sibylle Baier, an actress at this time, began writing and home recording beautifully sad folk songs starting with the first song she ever wrote, "Remember the Day". It wasn't until her son put all these songs together on a CD and began giving them away to friends and family that the world felt the wraith of Baier's super somber and natural tunes.

This is the kind of album you put on after a long night of partying when everyone has left but your best friend and they're helping you clean the vomit stains out of your carpet. This has never happened to me but I still think it would be fitting. I have listened to this album many times after parties though...

Colour Green is perfect for this time of the year as well with the cold weather and all that. This music may actually be for the depressed saps in all of us but I wouldn't really conceder Baier a sad lady. She just happened to make sad folk songs is all. Like Nick Drake. Except he was really sad, so.... well, you get the point.

She is really quite perplexed by all the attention that her album "Colour Green" has gotten. My father keeps telling her about all the pages and articles that are out there, but she, though smitten, prefers to hear about her accolades through the eyes and ears of her family. The web makes her dizzy, I think. - Her son, Robby from the official site

Last.fm
Official site

Guess I should start posting some Christmas music or THE BEST ALBUMS OF YEAR and jibba-jabba lists like that.

I'll get around to it... I mean Sant Clause has only been at the mall now since November... There's still time.