Cover Me: Golden Brown

Watch Alex Kapranos and Julian Corrie of Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand tackled the Stranglers classic Golden Brown for an acoustic session on French radio OÜI FM, recorded on July 3, 2026.

» franzferdinand.com

Laurie Anderson: Tiny Desk Concert

Watch Laurie Anderson perform five songs, including a slowed down cover of Dirty Blvd. by her late husband Lou Reed, for a NPR Tiny Desk Concert. She played electronics and violin, with Martha Mooke (viola, electronics) and Doug Wieselman (guitar, clarinet).

Setlist:

1. Let X=X
2. The Letter
3. Dirty Blvd.
4. The Reason I Love the Stars (excerpt from "Another Day in America")
5. Dog Show"

» laurieanderson.com

Neko Case: "Cool Boys" for Record Store Day

American singer-songwriter Neko Case has a cool cover out for Record Store Day (April 18) on a light blue 7": her take of the Flat Out Jets song Cool Boys. The B-side is Winchester Mansion of Sound, a track from her latest album Neon Grey Midnight Green. 2500 copies worldwide.

» nekocase.com

Kronos Quartet: Tiny Desk Concert

Watch the current incarnation of the Kronos Quartet perform four songs for a NPR Tiny Desk Concert. David Harrington (violin), Gabriela Diaz (violin), Ayane Kozasa (viola) and Paul Wiancko (cello) let their instruments speak about the worldwide clusterfuck with these rearranged covers.

Setlist:

1. Neil Young (arr. Wiancko) - Ohio
2. Nicole Lizée - Another Living Soul
3. Abel Meeropol (arr. Garchik) - Strange Fruit
4. Peni Candra Rini (arr. Garchik) - Hujan (from Segara Gunung)

» kronosquartet.org

Cover Me: Caribbean Sunset

In 2013 Luxury Liners, American singer Carter Tanton's one-man band, covers John Cale's Caribbean Sunset on his They're Flowers album. A plan to release a full album filled with Cale covers fails to materialize.

» cartertanton.bandcamp.com
» Covering John Cale

Cover Me: Amsterdam

Watch Karla Manzur and Alejandro Escovedo performing John Cale's Amsterdam during a show at the Moody Theater on January 12, 2013, with Ephraim Owens and Elias Haslanger on horns and Brian Standefer, Susan Voelz and Bobby Daniel on strings. Alejandro Escovedo recorded a studio version for his Bourbonitis Blues album, released in 1999.

» alejandroescovedo.com
» Covering John Cale

Cover Me: Only Time Will Tell

In 2015 Eyelids, an American band featuring former and current members of Guided By Voices, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, The Decemberists, Camper Van Beethoven, and Boston Spaceships, covered John Cale's Only Time Will Tell on their self-titled EP.

» Eyelids on Facebook
» Covering John Cale

Cover Me: Andalucia

In 2020 American multi-instrumentalist and singer Andrew Bird covered John Cale's Andalucia on his Hark! album. Abigail Portner created the animated video.

» andrewbird.net
» Covering John Cale

Swansea Sound: All Is Calm

Welsh poppy punk quintet Swansea Sound decided to have a bit of fun and join the flurry of seasonal releases with a tongue-in-cheek Christmas mini-album. On All Is Calm they poke fun at first world problems (Not My Order, Click It And Pay (Walking In The Air)) and ask the imaginary bearded guy to safe from misery and ennui (Santa Bail Me Out).

Last year's single (I Wanna Wear A) Mirrored Hat Like Slade plus it accusing B-side Dreamland - nope, not everyone can spend a shit load of money on presents - are included, which will please all those who missed out on that one. It may seem a bit weird for an indie band to wrap up the proceedings with a cover of Cheap Trick's rather cheesy Merry Christmas Darlings, but it turned out pretty good, giving it an edge that was missing from the original.

Carley's Wreck and Ruin: In My Time of Dying

Carley's Wreck and Ruin, a side project from English old school vaudeville blues trio Jo Carley And The Old Dry Skulls members Jo Carley (vocals, mandolin, washboard, percussion, keys) and Tim Carley (battered archtop guitar, rattlin' shoe, kick drum, distorted vintage amps, backing vocals), serves as an outlet for playing the tunes that inspired them to become musicians.

Lead single In My Time of Dying, originally a gospel song by blues artist Blind Willie Johnson, is a succint summation of their craft, getting the job done in two-and-a-half minutes, a far cry from the Led Zeppelin live versions, which tended to stretch it to ten minutes plus most of the time. The duo goes for an upbeat, almost joyous approach, that will be embraced by the dance types at their live shows.

Thurston Moore: Temptation Inside Your Heart

Singer and guitarist Thurston Moore did a fine job with his take on The Velvet Underground's Temptation Inside Your Heart, allowing himself plenty of leeway with a prolonged instrumental part. Fingers crossed he will play it with his band at Oslo Hackney in London on September 13.

» thurstonmoore.com

Icarus Phoenix: I Should Have Known the Things You Never Said (Deluxe Edition)

When Drew Danburry shared his hurt about his divorce on the Icarus Phoenix album I Should Have Known the Things You Never Said last year, it was a pretty intense journey. Those ten songs, including the Mother Lights cover In The Blood, were only the tip of the iceberg. In a flurry of creativity the band recorded 40 (!) songs in three days, with producer Jed Jones as a true ally to keep the the momentum going. The subsequent single releases culled from those sessions were proof that maybe that way too many darlings were killed when assembling the original, so Danburry did a 180° and decided to release 37 songs in all for an expanded deluxe edition, using the order in which they were recorded.

Heartbreak is a source for mixed emotions: hurt, anger, grief, and even relief. The latter comes to the fore in the upbeat Solitude. Drewbury keeps his lyrics pretty straightforward mostly, honouring the folk adage that simple words can tell a great story, but he is not afraid to go the opposite route by comparing the break-up as a conflict between Tachykinin vs. Habenula, which will have most listeners reaching for a medical handbook. Self-deprecating humour is also part of the equation, with Poor Sad Indie Everything, Not Misunderstanding Litotes, and the stop-start approach for Live. Give. Lose. Grow., with the music taking short pauses as well, a highlight from the original album.

Cover Me: Anesthetize

Colin Everall tackled the sprawling Porcupine Tree song Anesthetize on piano. Top shelf arranging skills too.

» Colin Everall on Instagram

Alien Boys: Live at Rain City Recorders

Vancouver based punk quintet Alien Boys honoured the one-take and be damned approach when they captured the four tracks for their Live at Rain City Recorders EP. They played fast, they played loud, shouting at the heavens about night life, rampant capitalism and drugs.

Only slowing down for a cover of PJ Harvey's Down by the Water, they prove that the riot grrrl and hardcore genres are alive and well. Dead Kennedys fans will love them. Sometimes, musical mayhem on steroids might be just what the doctor ordered.

Kristóf Hajós & Bad Nomad: Here Comes The Rain Again

Dutch-Hungarian singer Kristóf Hajós and Bad Nomad teamed up for a slow, melancholic cover of the Eurythmics, classic Here Comes The Rain Again. They stripped down the song to its core, making it quite intense.

Heavenly: Portland Town

What if a cult band releases something new after 29 years? Will it suck and put a stain on their reputation? Or, fingers crossed, can it be great and a worthy addition to their discography. Jangly indie pop band Heavenly called it quits in 1996, shortly after drummer Mathew Fletcher had taken his own life. Their reputation survived and their albums, on the legendary Sarah Records label, became collectors items.

Fast forward to September 2022 when the announcement was made that all four studio albums would reissued. It put the band in the spotlights again, among the cognoscenti that is, and now there is actually some new music, a lovely single called Portland Town, inspired by the American city in Oregon, that has become shorthand for anything cool and eco-friendly, a safe haven in a country that is becoming more of a mess each day.

Crossword Smiles: Puppets

Detroit indie pop duo Crossword Smiles tried their hand at covering Depeche Mode's Puppets. For an outfit with an optimistic outlook on life, this must have been quite challenge. It shouldn't have worked, but it did. Their power pop take on the tale of a rather scary guy being in control turned the song into twisted love song. It would be cool if they play it as a surprise at the record release show for their Consequences & Detours album.

Courtney Barnett: two songs on KCRW

Australian singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett stopped by American radio station KCRW in Santa Monica to perform Neil Young's Lotta Love and her own original Before You Gotta Go. The studio version of the former can be found on the Heart Of Gold: The Songs of Neil Young Vol. 1 album.

» courtneybarnett.com.au

Catherine Campbell: Outline

Chattanooga, TN based folk singer Catherine Campbell is not very prolific, but once she is happy about a song she wrote, it is well worth the wait. The tracks on her Outline EP came together bit by bit, with Too Late from 2023 as the stand-out track, beating her latest single Long Hair with a nose-length.

Her search for a significant other, preferably one who ticks all the boxes, has been an uphill battle so far, so it is no wonder that she decided to include a cover of the Beach Boys classic In My Room as both a source of inspiration and comfort.

Ex Norwegian and Friends: Sing Wistle Tunes

Roger Houdaille of neo-psychedelic pop outlet Ex Norwegian got in touch with his friends to pay tribute to the songs of John Entwistle. The Who's bassist dark sense of humour and knack for passive-aggressive putdown tracks got the back on Earth as Peter Townshend was reaching for the stars. The Ox's solo albums never sold in bucket loads, but each one of them contains a few memorable compositions. Sing Wistle Tunes shines a light of gems like Apron Strings, When I Was A Boy, and Doctor Doctor.

It is the melody that is taking centre stage on this labour of love. That's a wise choice, as it points to Entwistle arranging skills. He also played Frecch horn and piano, which allowed to break out the range of the bass. It is quite easy to label Entwistle's lyrics as a tad misogynistic, but dig a little deeper to appreciate his sense for melody. As a bass player, he was never about solely providing a basic rhythm, plus his use of tapping enabled him to become a force nature, especially when playing live.