A look at the art of the perfect cover and some impactful pairings with visual mediums

By Bekah Touma

The first few notes sound oh so familiar…you may start to hum or sing along but soon realize something seems to be slightly off.  Ah yes, this must be a cover.  After racking your brain for the original the cover starts sinks in.  Here is where I decide if I love it or hate it.

Get to the good stuff after the jump »

After catching their killer show at Spaceland a few months ago with Solid Gold, I just had to learn more about East LA band, Marvelous Toy. One thing led to another and soon I was in touch with Jordan Hudock, the braintrust of the band. I caught up with him for a couple tasty beers at El Prado to chat about his mixtape “WAKE UP!” and got some local tips along the way…

Get to the good stuff after the jump »

by Mitch Campbell

Cadillac Ranch outside Amarillo, TX

Most of us can still remember those days when we were young tots (tadpoles!) buckling up for the seven-hour nightmare of a drive with our family and any mysterious body odors they chose to bring along with them.  Sure, road trips can be miserable…  if you want them to.  But that was not the case in my recent criss-crossing of this country from LA to NYC.  I strapped on an optimistic, eager attitude towards some good-ol’-Lewis-and-Clark-style exploration and packed up my VW Jetta (she’s my lil’ Sacagawea) with one personal challenge in mind:  to conquer the southern United States by simply driving through it.  Ambitious, I know, but that’s how old-school explorers operate.  So without further ado, I hereby claim this Tadpole Audio guest mixtape mine in the name of music-loving travelers everywhere!

Get to the good stuff after the jump »

Yesterday EW.com posted an exclusive full stream of True Blood: Music From The Series Vol. 2, and here’s what I have to say about it.

If I could describe True Blood in three words they would be: dirty, sexy and voodoo. Produced by Gary Calamar (music supervisor, KCRW DJ and author) the soundtrack definitely fits the same description, combining gritty tracks from Jace Everett & CC Adcock, M.Ward (all performing covers of Howlin’ Wolf songs), Beck and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, with a dash of sex from the likes of Robbie Robertson and Chuck Prophet and an eerily awesome remix by Thievery Corporation. There’s a great combination of new and old stuff – a Jr. Walker and The All Stars track from 1965, then “Fresh Blood” from last years Eels album – which melds together incredibly well.

While the overall flow works, the soundtrack’s strengths are definitely those songs when the gritty and the sexy come together for that great hot, bayou feel. The kind that make you feel like you should be dancing in the moonlight on a sweaty summer night, perhaps some fireflies still hanging around…ok, I’ll stop now, you get my point. While a Lucinda Williams and Elvis Costello collaboration is cool and it is a good song – I just wanted to go back to the swamp.

Check out the tracklist below – my favorites are in red, naturally.  And you can stream the whole thing here.

1. “Howlin’ For My Baby” – M. Ward
2. “Evil (Is Going On)” – Jace Everett & CC Adcock*
3. “Bad Blood” – Beck
4. “How To Become Clairvoyant” – Robbie Robertson
5. “Shake And Fingerpop” – Jr. Walker and The All Stars
6. “Frenzy” – Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
7. “Kiss Like Your Kiss” – Lucinda Williams with Elvis Costello
8. “Gasoline And Matches” – Buddy & Julie Miller
9. “You Did (Bomp Shooby Dooby Bomp)” – Chuck Prophet
10. “You’re Gonna Miss Me” – The 13th Floor Elevators
11. “Fresh Blood” – Eels
12. “The Forgotten People (Bon Temps Remix)” – Thievery Corporation
13. “New World In My View” – King Britt & Sister Gertrude Morgan
14. “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’” – Bob Dylan

And digital only downloads…

15. “Bad Things (Acoustic)” – Jace Everett
16. “Ain’t No Invisible Man” – Jakob Dylan
17. “You Can’t Drive Me Away” – Stone Temple Pilots
18. “Dig” – Headbone featuring Bubba Kendall

*Featuring background vocals from Calamar’s daughter and friends!