School of Rock Music Blog

Cover Corner: January 18 - February 20, 2012

  

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February 20--

HERE’S YOUR CLUE FROM OUR FACEBOOK PAGE: Today's cover corner features a title track from an English musician, actor, record producer who rose to fame in the '70s as rock's chameleon of style. He is know for his intellectual depth and the artistic eclecticism of his work.The song suggests the title of a 1949 science fiction novella and the lyrics have been compared to the horror fantasy work of H.P. Lovecraft. The band paying tribute to this rock icon are iconic in their own right, and their frontman became the somewhat unwilling voice of a generation for the '90s. Can you name the original artist, song and cover band?

AND HERE’S YOUR ANSWER: “THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD” is a song by DAVID BOWIE. It is the title track of his third album, released in the U.S. in November 1970 and in the UK in April 1971. The song has been covered by a number of other artists, notably by Lulu in 1974, and NIRVANA in 1993. "The Man Who Sold the World" appears as a B-side on the American single releases for the songs "Space Oddity" (1972) and "Life on Mars?" (1973).The song's title is similar to that of Robert A. Heinlein's 1949 science fiction novella The Man Who Sold the Moon, with which Bowie was familiar. In common with a number of tracks on the "The Man Who Sold the World" album, the song's themes have been compared to the horror-fantasy works of H. P. Lovecraft. The lyrics are also cited as reflecting Bowie's concerns with splintered or multiple personalities, and are believed to have been partially inspired by the poem "Antigonish" by William Hughes Mearns:

In his journals, Kurt Cobain of the American grunge band Nirvana ranked the album The Man Who Sold the World at number 45 in his top 50 favourite albums. A live rendition of the song was recorded by the band in 1993 during their MTV Unplugged appearance, and it was released on their MTV Unplugged in New York album the following year. The song was also released as a promotional single for the album and received considerable airplay on alternative rock radio stations. It was also thrown into heavy rotation on music video stations such as MTV. Nirvana regularly covered the song during live sets after their memorable acoustic performance up until lead singer Cobain's death in 1994.

Februrary 14--

HERE’S YOUR CLUE FROM OUR FACEBOOK PAGE: This song, originally done in 1980 by an American R&B influenced blues rock band that formed in 1967 is a fun rant against unrequited love co-written by its charasmatic lead singer and frontman who was known for his fast-talking quips and "pole-vaulting" with the microphone stand. The cover artist is the hard driving front woman and songwriter for her own successful hard rock/punk rock band and was inducted into The Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006, as well as nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. But she first got our attention as the rhythm guitarist for a groundbreaking American all-girl hard rock band that recorded and performed in the second half of the 1970s and was a big hit in Japan. In 1980, she became the first female rock recording artist to become founder of her own record label, which she named after her current band.

AND HERE’S YOUR ANSWER:  It's JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS covering the J. GEILS BAND’S LOVE STINKS. Love Stinks is the title of the eleventh album by American rock band The J. Geils Band, released in 1980. The band played R&B-influenced blues-rock in the 1970s before moving towards a more pop-influenced sound in the 1980s.The album's title song is a rant against unrequited love. It has been covered by industrial metal band Bile, by Andru Branch in the film Love Stinks, Joan Jett in the film Mr. Wrong and Adam Sandler in the movie The Wedding Singer. Peter Wolf, the J. Geils Band's lead singer,  toured in 2008 with Kid Rock and Rev. Run on The Rock N Roll Revival Tour where he performed "Love Stinks" solo with Kid Rock's band. As of late July 2009, "Love Stinks" is heard in a series of Swiffer commercials.

February 10--

AND HERE’S YOUR ANSWER: “ROLLING IN THE DEEP” is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter ADELE for her second studio album, 21. The song was written by Paul Epworth and Adele, who described it as a "dark blues-y gospel disco tune." It is considered to be a crossover hit, the biggest in the United States from the past 25 years, gaining airplay from many different radio formats. It was first released on November 29, 2010 as the lead single of the album. The lyrics describe the emotions of a scorned lover. "Rolling in the Deep" was acclaimed by music critics and represented a commercial breakthrough for Adele, propelling her to international success. The song reached number one in 11 countries and the top five in many more regions. It was Adele's first number-one song in the United States, reaching the top spot on many Billboard charts, including the Billboard Hot 100 where it was number one for seven weeks. By January 2012, "Rolling in the Deep" had sold over 6 million copies in the United States, making it the overall best-selling single of 2011 in the U.S. and Adele's best-selling single outside her native country, topping her previous best-selling "Chasing Pavements." Worldwide, it was the fifth best selling digital single of 2011 with sales of 8.2 million copies. In July, the video was nominated for seven MTV Video Music Awards nominations, making it the most nominated music video of the year. The video won three awards: Best Editing, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. "Rolling in the Deep" was also the Billboard Year End Hot 100 Number One Single of 2011. On 30 November 2011, "Rolling in the Deep" received three Grammy Award nominations for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Short Form Music Video. Critics and music publications ranked the song highly on their end-of-year lists.

The cover is by LINKIN PARK, a band that also is something of a crossover act, combining the alternative metal, nu metal, and rap rock sound with influences and elements from hip-hop, alt rock and electronica, utilizing programming and synthesizers. The vocal interplay between Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda (today's birthday boy) plays a major part in defining Linkin Park's distinctive sound, with Bennington being the lead vocalist and Shinoda as the rapping vocalist

February 2--

HERE’S YOUR CLUE FROM OUR FACEBOOK PAGE: This is a traditional English folk song brought to America by emigrants and rewritten to fit a New Orleans location. It became the signature tune of a 1960s British bluesy rock band that was known in the U.S. for being part of the British Invasion. The more recent cover is by a new prog, alternative rock band, also from Britain, that first gained wide-spread attention in the U.S. when its music was featured in the “Twilight” movie series. Can you name the song, original band, and the cover band? Your answer, and this week’s video, are here: 

AND HERE’S YOUR ANSWER: "The House of the Rising Sun" is a traditional folk song from the United States. Also called "House of the Rising Sun" or occasionally "Rising Sun Blues", it tells of a life gone wrong in New Orleans. The most successful commercial version was recorded by the English rock group The Animals in 1964, which was a number one hit in the United Kingdom, United States, Sweden, Finland and Canada. The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s known for their gritty, bluesy sound and deep-voiced frontman Eric Burdon, as exemplified by their number one signature song "The House of the Rising Sun" as well as by hits such as "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," "It's My Life,", and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood". The band balanced tough, rock-edged pop singles against rhythm and blues-oriented album material. They were known in the U.S. as part of the British Invasion. Alan Price of The Animals has pointed out that the song was originally a sixteenth-century English folk song about a Soho brothel, and that English emigrants took the song to America where it was adapted to its later New Orleans setting. The song is in chromatic-minor.

MUSE are an alternative rock English rock band from Teignmouth, Devon. The band was formed by three school friends in 1994: Matthew Bellamy (lead vocals, guitars, piano, keyboards, keytar), Christopher Wolstenholme (bass, vocals, keyboards, guitars, harmonica) and Dominic Howard (drums, percussion, synthesizers, sampling, harmtar). Since the release of their 2006 album “Black Holes and Revelations,” keyboardist and percussionist Morgan Nicholls has performed live with the band. Muse are known for their energetic and extravagant live performances and their fusion of many music genres, including space rock, progressive rock, alternative rock, electronica, rock opera, heavy metal, and classical music. Many Muse songs are recognizable by lead vocalist Matthew Bellamy's use of falsetto and vibrato, influenced primarily by Jeff Buckley.

January 29 [special Sunday edition]--

HERE'S YOUR CLUE FROM OUR FACEBOOK PAGE: Here's a homegrown contribution to our Cover Corner feature from The School of Rock Mexico. The song they are covering was originally done by a politically righteous post-punk rock band that grew into arena rock heroes. Two of their members have since tackled the Broadway musical. The song describes the horror felt by an observer of the troubles in Northern Ireland. Can you name the song and the band? Click here to listen to our amazing kids do it justice!

http://soundcloud.com/schoolofrockmx/sunday-bloody-sunday-u2-cover#new-timed-comment-at-60720

AND HERE'S YOUR ANSWER: "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is the opening track from U2's 1983 album, "War." The song was released as the album's third single on 11 March 1983 in Germany and the Netherlands ^]"Sunday Bloody Sunday" is noted for its militaristic drumbeat, harsh guitar, and melodic harmonies. One of U2's most overtly political songs, its lyrics describe the horror felt by an observer of the troubles in Northern Ireland, mainly focusing on the "Bloody Sunday" incident in Derry where British troops shot and killed unarmed civil rights protesters and bystanders. Along with "New Year's Day," the song helped U2 reach a wider listening audience. It was generally well-received by critics on the album's release.

The song has remained a staple of U2's live concerts. During its earliest performances, the song created controversy. Bonoreasserted the song's anti-sectarian-violence message to his audience for many years. Today, it is considered one of U2's  signature songs, being one of the band's most performed songs. Critics rate it among the best political protest songs, and it has been covered by over a dozen artists. It was named the 272nd greatest song by Rolling Stone Magazine on their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time." 

January 26--

HERE'S YOUR CLUE FROM OUR FACEBOOK PAGE: This is a song written by a tragic rock figure (and originally recorded by his grunge band) that addressed the people outside the underground music scene who just didn't get his message. The cover artist is a singer/songwriter (playing along with one of his many band incarnations) best known for his early success in a late 80s metal hair band and now known as a highly-regarded pop producer whose been instrumental in the careers of Pink, Avril Lavinge and Fall Out Boy. Can you name the song, the original band, and the cover artist?

AND HERE'S YOUR ANSWER: "In Bloom" is a song by the American grunge band NIRVANA. Written by frontman KURT COBAIN, the song addresses people outside of the underground music community who did not understand the band's message. Nirvana made its first music video for an early version of "In Bloom" in 1990; however the song did not appear on a commercial release until the release of the group's second album, "Nevermind," in 1991. "In Bloom" became the fourth and final single from the album in late 1992. It was accompanied by a new music video which parodied musical performances of 1960s variety shows.

BUTCH WALKER is an artist, songwriter, and record producer who had early success as the lead guitarist for the metal band SOUTHGANG in the late 80s to early 90s as well as the lead vocalist and guitarist for the rock band MARVELOUS 3 from 1997 until 2001. Many of Walker's songs have been hits for other artists, including AVRIL LAVIGNE, SEVENDUST, INJECTED, THE DONNAS, HOT HOT HEAT, AMERICAN HI-FI, DEFAULT, GOB, MIDTOWNS, PUFFY AMI YUMI, PETE YORN, FALL OUT BOY, QUIETDRIVE, ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS, SR-17, THE ACADEMY IS..., and recently THE CAB, SAOSIN, NEVER SHOUT NEVER, WEEZER, DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL and ALL TIME LOW.

January 18--

We're introducing a new feature from the School of Rock website's blog. Every Thursday, COVER CORNER will feature videos of bands doing other bands, and hopefully we'll unearth some pretty cool surprises along the way.

HERE'S YOUR CLUE FROM OUR FACEBOOK PAGE: Today's cover is by an English rock band formed in 1976 and lead by "pop culture's unkempt poster child of doom and gloom," covering a 1968 #1 hit love song by an American rock band, named for an Aldous Huxley book, and led by an iconic singer (and poetic) front man.

AND HERE'S YOUR ANSWER: Here's The Doors' song "Hello, I Love You" as done by THE CURE. The Doors recorded it on their 1968 album Waiting For The Sun. It was released as a single that same year, reaching number one in the United States and selling over a million copies in the U.S. alone. In Canada, it hit number one as well. It was also one of the six songs performed by The Doors on the demo for Aura Records in 1965. 

The new wave/post-punk band known for their hits "Just Like Heaven" and "Lovesong" aren't the only famous artists to put their own twist on this classic tune. The song has also been covered by Oleander, Buddy Rich, Missing Persons, Eurythmics, Simple Minds, Neil Young, Adam Ant, Adam Freeland, and Siouxsie Sioux. Sound off in the comments -- who does it best?