Michael Jackson is the most pervasive artist of our generation, and to prove it, we looked to see what sort of crazy covers of his songs we could find. And boy, we weren’t disappointed.
1. Our first interpretation is “Beat It” by Inactive Messiah, a Greek melodic death metal band. The intro is very graceful, but our favorite part is when singer Xristos starts growling.
2. It’s too easy for us to put Alien Ant Farm’s cover of “Smooth Criminal” here. So we put this loose electronica-by-way-of-jazz interpretation by J.Viewz (remixed by S.T.Louder) here instead.
3. Willie Nelson has a history of bizarre cover choices, unrivaled by any country crooner except Johnny Cash. But did Cash ever cover Michael Jackson’s “She’s Out of My Life”? We think not. (Nelson’s version still makes us cry. :( )
4. Only Michael Jackson could be covered sensibly in both death metal and Bossanova-leaning smooth jazz styles. The guy guilty of this “Man in the Mirror” cover is Brazilian crooner Paulinho Loureiro.
5. We totally saved the best/worst for last. Five words: “Black or White,” polka-style. Blame Texingtal Musikanten. source
Q1: In 15 words or less, describe your band’s sound: Loud, punchy, auditory experience of life. Guaranteed to get you moving.
Q2: Name three influences that inspire you, with three words each on why they’re awesome:
Kerouac: On the road
Whiskey: Fuels the fire
Marijuana: Um, we forget
Q3: What’s a recent song you’ve been digging? Write ten words explaining why:
Downsiid – “Pole Dancer”: Epitome of Texas Crunk, keeps heads and asses in motion
Q4: In 140 characters or less, how do you use social networking to get the word out: We’re charming bastards when we want to be. Social networks let us share our charm with the world, connect with the old and find the new.
Q5: In 15 words or less, what’s next for you guys? Tour sell tour sell tour sell tour sell tour sell sell tour, across the universe.source
1. We saw Future Islands earlier this week in D.C. We mentioned to a friend, lovingly, that their style was akin to Tom Waits singing “She’s a Maniac.” With songs like “Follow Me,” we could totally see this Wham City-tied band finding a much larger audience.
2. Tune-Yards, a.k.a. Merrill Garbus, specializes in a world-music-influenced low-fi. On “Sunlight,” the drums and bass and her wispy vocals mesh well with the settings.
3. Unsung psychedelic heroes, the United States of America (the band, not the country) had a delicate touch to their space-rock sound, as seen on “Coming Down.”
4. Fun fact: Before T.Rex became glam icons, they sounded just like Devendra Banhart does now. Glam ballad “Cosmic Dancer” is the bridge between their two incarnations.
5. Earlier this year, Serge Gainsbourg’s “Histoire de Melody Nelson” became one of just a handful of albums to get the hallowed 10.0 rating on Pitchfork. It deserved it: Songs like “Ballade de Melody Nelson” nail a cinematic heft perfectly.source