The Dead Weather, “Treat Me Like Your Mother” [Diplo Remix]
Has Jack White heard this yet? And does he even like remixes? The whole thing seems antithetical to what we like to call “essential Jack-ness.” We’d like to think a Jack White version of a remix is simply setting his turntable to the wrong speed. Diplo completely reconfigures this Dead Weather track, reducing it to a handful of shrieks and groans over some particularly menacing keyboard lines.
Melanie Fiona, “Cupid” [Sam Cooke Cover]
For every half-baked, flash-in-the-pan R&B star, there’s a Musinah or a Kissey Asplund or a Melanie Fiona who’s at least ten times as worthy of the attention. Covering Sam Cooke is usually about as good an idea as a bacon cheeseburger and Windex milkshake or casting Rob Schneider as a romantic lead, but Melanie Fiona does it right, keeping it spare and aching and minimal.
Jordan Galland, “Hungy Like the Wolf” [Duran Duran Cover]
New York filmmaker/musician Jordan Galland reimagines this Duran Duran classic as a jazzy two-step, the doot-doot-dooting sounding more like scatting than singing. Can we propose a video featuring leisure-suited, cigarette-puffing dapper dans cavorting in exotic locations?
The Gossip, “Love Lockdown” [Live Kanye West Cover]
Beth Ditto is gradually emerging as one of our finest R&B singers, and while this version of Kanye’s heartbreak ballad could be a bit tighter, her laser-beam pipes maintain a strong center even when the rest of the performance seems to be coming every so slightly unglued.
Coldplay, Viva La Vida Demos [Unreleased Demos]
This batch of nine early voice-and-piano versions of songs that ended up on Viva La Vida provide a fascinating glimpse into the creative process for the rabid Coldplay fan. (Chris Martin screws up more than few times on “Lovers in Japan,” which is c...
Article Source: Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily