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New Micky Dolenz: Shiny Happy People

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Video: Micky Dolenz – “Shiny Happy People”

Directed by Micky Dolenz and Andrew Sandoval. From the Dolenz Sings R.E.M. EP, out November 3 on 7A.

Well at least it’s not “Everybody Hurts.” And actually, Dolenz’s cover of REM’s second-worst song is considerably less annoying than the original. The arrangement (by Mike Nesmith’s son Christian) isn’t as cloying and saccharine. It’s still a dumb song, but that’s alright; some of the best songs in rock and roll are dumb (e.g., “Louie Louie,” “Surfin’ Bird,” etc.). It works!

The other three songs on the upcoming EP are “Radio Free Europe,” “Man on the Moon,” and somewhat unexpectedly “Leaving New York,” a 2004 single that failed to chart on the Hot 100. Dolenz says, “Once again, this EP reaffirms my long-held conviction that a solid recording always begins with solid material. You don’t get much more solid than R.E.M. What a joy to sing these classics and honor a team of outstanding writers.”

Michael Stipe says, “Micky Dolenz covering R.E.M. Monkees style, I have died and gone to heaven. This is really something. Shiny Happy People sounds INCREDIBLE (never thought you or I would hear me say that!!!).” Peter Buck adds, “I’ve been listening to Micky’s singing since I was nine years old. It’s unreal to hear that very voice, adding new depth to songs we’ve written ourselves, and inhabiting them so completely.”

The video compiles footage pulled from Micky’s personal archives, which Monkee guru Andrew Sandoval has been excavating for a new book: I’m Told I Had A Good Time: The Micky Dolenz Archives, Vol. 1, available for pre-order now. It’s 500 pages of “photography, artwork, handwritten lyrics, scripts and assorted ephemera” from Dolenz’s collection, spanning 1945-1978 and containing more than 1200 images. Sounds incredible. I own The Monkees: The Day-By-Day Story from the same publisher and it’s worth every penny.

Micky Dolenz: web, bandcamp, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.
Shorties

New Lindsay Lou: I Can Help

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Video: Lindsay Lou – “I Can Help” (Billy Swan cover)

From Queen of Time, due September 29 on Kill Rock Stars.

I remember this song playing on the radio of my mom’s car when I was a little boy. It’s not cool. It’s always been goofy. But it made it all the way to #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and stayed on the chart for 18 weeks so somebody clearly liked it. And really, what’s not to like? Billy Swan’s original has that woozy ballpark organ riff that your Aunt Phyllis could probably play for you on that Grinnell in the hallway. Bill Swan had the charming, unfussy voice of a songwriter.

Lindsay Lou, a Michigan gal who relocated to Nashville a while back and recently signed to Kill Rock Stars, doesn’t recreate the organ part, and thankfully she doesn’t do the corny false ending either. She makes it her own and it’s…pretty good, actually. She puts some soul into her vocals. Her version is better than Elvis Presley’s, for sure.

A press release suggests she ingested some hallucinogens and saw “a literal manifestation of the sacred feminine” that led to a “spiritual journey of self-knowledge and healing.” And apparently inspired her to cover a 1974 one-hit wonder. Drugs can be unpredictable. Be careful out there.

Lindsay Lou: web, bandcamp, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.

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New Al Green: Perfect Day

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Video: Al Green – “Perfect Day” (Lou Reed cover)

Single out now on Fat Possum.

This is a little weird, right? I mean, it sounds perfect. But…

Have you heard those A.I. monstrosities that have Frank Sinatra singing Elliott Smith, or Hank Williams singing NWA, or Paul McCartney singing Badfinger (no, not that one)? This is like that, but it’s the real Al Green covering Lou Reed’s classic ode to nodding out. And it sounds good. But it’s a little weird.

I’m guessing a lot of folks were first exposed to the song, like I was, when it was used in the overdose scene in Trainspotting. Reed always denied that it was about heroin. “This guy’s vision of a perfect day was the girl, sangria in the park, and then you go home; a perfect day, real simple. I meant just what I said.” Then again, he’s never been the most reliable narrator.

Regardless, whether it was originally written as a love song to a woman or to narcotics doesn’t really matter. It’s a beautiful song. And songs outlive their author’s original intentions. And Al Green’s version is lovely.

But it’s a little weird.

Al Green: web, bandcamp, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.

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New Sparklehorse: Listening to the Higsons

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Video: Sparklehorse – “Listening to the Higsons”

From Bird Machine, out September 8 on Anti-.

In June 1982 Robyn Hitchcock recorded this b-side “on a portastudio in a barn in Sussex…on a full moon.” In the notes on the original seven-inch sleeve he wrote:

Your stereo may need a new needle but the vocal sound is intentional. At the beginning of the song I play a wok (Chinese cooking utensil) 1/3 full of water, tipped through an angle of 40 degrees to vary the pitching. Using my left forearm to cradle it against my chest, I struck it repeatedly with a wooden spoon.

It’s no surprise that Mark Linkous was drawn not only to Hitchcock’s song but to his recording methods as well. What seems a little surprising is that he recorded this cover with Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in 2009. Other than a couple of Daniel Johnson songs (“Hey Joe” on Good Morning Spider, “My Yoke Is Heavy” on the Distorted Ghost EP), Sparklehorse didn’t record many covers. It sounds like it was a blast to play though, and it’s nice to hear Linkous being a little silly and having fun.

Sparklehorse: web, bandcamp, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.

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New Juliana Hatfield: Can’t Get It Out of My Head

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Video: Juliana Hatfield – “Can’t Get It Out of My Head” (ELO cover)

Directed by David Doobinin. From Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO, out November 17 on American Laundromat.

After tribute albums dedicated to the songs of the Police and Olivia Newton-John, Juliana Hatfield has now tackled the works Jeff Lynne and his Electric Light Orchestra. In between these she’s also released albums of originals, Weird (2019) and Blood (2021). Plus she’s been on tour supporting her buddy Evan Dando as he celebrates thirty years of the Lemonheads’ classic It’s a Shame About Ray. She’s busy!

This new cover of ELO’s “Can’t Get It Out of My Head” is great. I like it better than the original, mainly because Hatfield’s voice doesn’t sound like a wimpier Robin Gibb. (Sorry, Jeff Lynne, you seem like a nice guy but the vocal on that song is not great.) Plus, it’s cool how Hatfield replaced the orchestral elements with guitars and stuff.

Hatfield says, “Overall, I stuck pretty close to the originals’ structures while figuring out new ways to express or reference the unique and beloved ELO string arrangements. An orchestra would have been difficult or impossible for me to manage to record, nor did I think there was any point in trying to copy those parts as they originally were. Why not try to reimagine them within my zone of limitations?”

Good choice!

Juliana Hatfield: web, bandcamp, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.

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New Titus Andronicus video: We’re Coming Back

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Video: Titus Andronicus – “We’re Coming Back”

Directed by Ray Concepcion. Single out now on Merge.

Speaking of training montages, watch Patrick Stickles get himself back into fighting shape by trading his Modelos for smoothies, tuning up the van, and working out.

“I do not claim to be any kind of athlete,” Stickles says, “and after three intense days of shooting this video, I have been, and continue to be, more sore than ever before. It’s rough getting old, but I have never shied from suffering for my art, nor do I intend to pursue a path of such cowardice in the future.”

So what does the future hold for Titus Andronicus? Nobody’s saying anything definitive right now but this cover of the 1983 punk anthem is a not-particularly-subtle clue that we can expect new music and shows. Hopefully soon.

“All I can tell you right now is that Cock Sparrer gave us the most open-hearted and uplifting song in all of British punk’s second wave, perhaps even of any wave, foreign or domestic. I have wept to this song many times over the years, and it is a joy to share our version with the world.”

It’s a joy to hear it.

Don’t get worried, don’t get scared
We’re fighting to get there
Never doubt we’re gonna get through
We’re gonna run, we’re gonna crawl, kick down every wall
It won’t be long we’re coming back to you.

Titus Andronicus: web, bandcamp, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.

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New Cat Power video: A Pair Of Brown Eyes

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Video: Cat Power – “A Pair Of Brown Eyes”

Directed by Jim Jarmusch. From Covers, out now on Domino.

I originally heard the Pogues on tapes that a friend had dubbed for me. With no liner notes, I had no idea which songs were originals and which were traditional. I assumed most of the material was punked up versions of Irish standards. It was a thrill to find a Clancy Brothers record in the 99-cent bin, and their version of “Whiskey You’re the Devil” made great mixtape fodder, especially followed up by the Pogues’ “Streams of Whiskey” (a Shane MacGowan original, it turns out).

MacGowan has always written material that sounds like it’s been around forever, like he’s plucked timeless material out of the ether. Chan Marshall has a similar ability to make her covers her own and to write original songs that seem like they could be interpretations of classics.

And now beloved indie filmmaker Jim Jarmusch has directed the video for Cat Power’s latest single.

Jarmusch says, “As someone who deeply loves Cat Power’s music, getting to collaborate with Chan on this video was like a dream come true. She’s so inspiring to me, of course as an artist, but she’s also just such an extraordinary person.”

Cat Power: web, twitter, bandcamp, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.

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Ghost Musicians in the Cloud

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In 1948 Stan Jones, who had received a master’s degree in zoology from University of California-Berkeley, a rodeo competitor, actor, singer, songwriter, and one-time National Park Service employee in Death Valley, wrote a cowboy song about ghost riders in the sky. He and his Death Valley Rangers recorded “Riders in the Sky,” which was then covered by an array of other musicians.

For example, there was Burl Ives, whose version spent six weeks on the Billboard chart in 1949, peaking at 21.

There was another recording, this by Vaughn Monroe and the Moon Men. (Evidently this had nothing to do with Outer Space; Monroe’s signature tune was “Racing With the Moon,” which was released in 1941 and became a million seller—by 1952. Monroe, who was a big band leader, also performed with the Moonmaids, from ’46 to ’52.)

Bing Crosby recorded “Riders in the Sky.” His version made it to 14 on the Billboard charts.

Miss Peggy Lee recorded the song.

In the cases of Ives, Monroe, Crosby and Lee these songs were all recorded in the Spring of 1949. This means that within a year Jones’s original was released then covered multiple times and those multiples were all vying for airplay at approximately the same time.

Lawrence Welk and His Orchestra recorded an instrumental version of “Riders” in 1961, the same year The Ramrods released its instrumental version that includes various cowpoke-related overdubs. (The Ramrods was formed in 1956 by sister and brother Claire and Rich Litke; Claire played drums for the band. Meg White wasn’t born until 1974.)

Johnny Cash took up the reins in 1979. Cash added the “Ghost” to the title and his version was on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart for 16 weeks; it made it to number 2.

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(Un)faithful: Coldplay, Catalogues and Covers

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Here’s an interesting development vis-à-vis the existence of a band, a perennial theme in this space (about which Henry Melrose tells me, “You’re not beating a dead horse because you’ve been at it so long that all that’s left are the shoes”).

Chris Martin of Coldplay said in an interview on BBC Radio 2 last week regarding the group, “Our last proper record will come out in 2025 and after that I think we will only tour.”

He added, “Maybe we’ll do some collaborative things but the Coldplay catalogue, as it were, finishes then.”

And on the topic of said catalogue, Martin said to NME earlier this year, “We’re going to make 12 albums.”

Presumably “proper record” means “studio album.”

So, for those of you not counting, Coldplay’s first album, Parachutes, dropped in 2000. It was followed by A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002), X&Y (2005), Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008), Mylo Xyloto (2011), Ghost Stories (2014), A Head Full of Dreams (2015), Everyday Life (2019), and Music of the Spheres (2021).

Which is to say that there will need to be three more albums before they’re done. Given the cadence with which it had been putting out music, it is going to have to speed things up if the end is 2025.

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New Cat Power video: Pa Pa Power

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Video: Cat Power – “Pa Pa Power”

From Covers, out 14 on Domino.

Nobody covers a song like Chan Marshall. And she knows it. Covers will be the third Cat Power collection of cover songs after The Covers Record (2000) and Jukebox (2008). Having two albums in your discography named The Covers Record and Covers may suggest a lack of creativity or imagination, but the originality of the performances and the eclecticism of the song selections more than make up for it.

This time around she’s taking on a tune by an Oscar-nominated actor’s side project band. “Pa Pa Power” was originally written by Ryan Gosling and his pal Zach Shields and recorded with a children’s choir. As laughable as this concept sounds in theory, it received good reviews and is actually pretty cool sounding. Way better than Johnny Depp’s band.

Marshall says: “I started playing this solo in 2012 (originally more dissonant and trance-y), when the Occupy Wall street protests were going on. Occupy was bunkering down and saying, ‘This shit’s fucking fucked up.’ And helping citizens be a voice in their local government. They got a lot of good things done, but the American media killed the movement. I felt like this song was relative to that. The American media has always penalized any sort of social progressiveness and is always the first to express conservative rhetoric against something that is beneficial to the nation. I’d open with this song on the 2013 China tour. ‘Burn the streets, burn the cars.’”

Cat Power: web, twitter, bandcamp, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.

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