Tag Archives: covers

whenever I fall

26 Jan

Hi friends. Hi internet. I will make no excuses for not posting in the past several months or proclamations of better ongoing maintenance and a 2016 resurgence of the TUATI blog, because, enough. Instead a really good song. From 2010. Easing back into the music world slowly…

Fall at Your Feet / Boy & Bear

‘let it go / I’ll be there when you call’

It’s fitting I am sharing a Fall at Your Feet cover given that I first heard the song, many, many moons ago when I was in high school, as another cover. James Blunt shared his take during a riveting, and particularly emotional (weren’t they all?) episode of The OC. My poor television choices aside, the song and Blunt’s take on Fall at Your Feet struck and stuck with me the last 10 years, so I was surprised and delighted to stumble upon another re-imagined version from Boy & Bear, an indie-folk-rock group from Australia, on a recently gifted playlist from a friend (thanks Joan!)

A steady strum, strong harmonies, keys and strings for days and just the right amount of twang leading into a triumphant finale, met with my teenage nostalgia — this has all the makings of a TUATI classic. If you like what you hear but want to get back to the modern era, Boy & Bear recently released their newest album, Limit of Love, available on iTunes. #indie

 

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your sunshine

24 Feb

A heat wave has washed over the Bay Area for the past few days, and being trapt indoors during 70 degree weather in February is torture. A sun soaked untz and Friday to the rescue…  and a long lunch in the park.

Today’s Indie: Call Your Boyfriend / Noah and the Whale (Robyn cover)

‘don’t you tell him how I give you something that you never even knew you missed / don’t you even try and explain how it’s so different when we kiss’

A playful little twist on Robyn’s Call Your Girlfriend, English indie popsters Noah and the Whale flip the table and tell us how to politely call our boyfriends and let them know they have been traded in for new flames. While this sounds like the nicest way to go about such a conversation, the whole uptempo spin on NATW’s cover has a smug little grin behind it that Robyn’s original version doesn’t have — she sincerely sounds a little sad and sorry for the chick, like she’s been there too (ahem Be Mine). I guess boys will be boys… but I like it. #indie

Today’s Untz: Sunshine / Picture Book (Justin Faust remix)

‘I feel like the summer inside’

Here is a can’t help but smile electro popsicle of a track, aptly titled Sunshine and perfect for melting you into the weekend. Syrupy sweet in lyrics and sound, it might be advisable to consume in moderation to avoid a tummy ache, but I had it on repeat all Thursday afternoon. Picture Book is comprised of two brothers who were born stateside but grew up in the UK, and Sunshine is the first release of their first official EP, At Last, out in January. German DJ/producer Justin Faust washes a dreamy wave over the single in his remix, and it is in a word, nom. #untz

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young and naive

15 Feb

I hope everyone is nursing their chocolate and heart shaped meatloaf and champagne (or whiskey) hangovers from Valentines Day with some strong black coffee and some solid midweek music. Here are a couple tracks to get you started.

Today’s Indie: Into the Black  / Chromatics (Neil Young cover)

‘it’s better to burn out / than to fade away’

As I get older, I am finding my dad has had more of a musical influence on me than I ever expected. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, Neil Young played on near constant loop throughout my childhood amidst a lot of rolled eyes and sighs from my sisters and I. To my chagrin, now the old songs that I complained about with such vehemence in my youth have come back to visit like an old friend you never realized you liked in the first place but are happy to see again. There is familiarity and comfort woven throughout so many of them, so when I came across this cover of Into the Black the other day I was instantly struck by it.

While I have posted some funky dream wavvy covers of Harvest Moon, lo-fi Oregonians Chromatics spin a darker, more subdued web around Neil’s song that is settling into me in just the right way. I don’t know if I will ever show such allegiance as to post classic Neil (maybe on your birthday dad) but I will admit to embracing him with newfound respect. Rock and roll is here to stay. #indie

Today’s Untz: Naive / The Kooks (Jean Tonique remix)

‘so how could this be done / by such a smiling sweetheart / you’re so naive’

A quick change of pace: put on your roller skates and turn on a disco ball, it is time for a Wednesday afternoon old school Kooks dance party around the office. I have heard Naive and a dozen remixes of it more than I can count, but I am loving the pacing of Jean Tonique’s take here… turning it up.  #untz

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final holiday

24 Dec

I should be wrapping presents and grabbing a couple last minute gifts, but music can’t wait for Santa tonight. These cookies can though, with a side of milk. Happiest of holidays.

Today’s Emo: Holiday / Capital Cities (Madonna cover)

‘we’re gonna have a celebration / all across the world / in every nation’

Capital Cities are two heavily bearded guys from Los Angeles who know how to command a crowd and stole my heart with their single Safe and Sound earlier this year. I saw them open for Wait What over at Public Works during the fall and they turned the room in the matter of a song or two, transforming a peaceful upstairs who had never heard of them into a sweaty epic dance party. No better way to spend a Thursday.

Here is the boys’ new take on Madonna’s classic, a toasty warm track that is a great listen for anyone taking the week off of work for stretches of white sand and margaritas or douglas firs, stockings and spiked cider around the fire. Holiday. Celebrate. Merry #emo

Today’s Untz: F.A.R.E.W.E.L.L / Final DJS

I found this gem on one of my favorite blogs, LA’s Binary, and have been playing it on repeat since I arrived home to Oregon for the holidays, much to the chagrin of my family who just doesn’t get “the untz” (pronounced in all different fashions).

F.A.R.E..W.E.L.L starts strong and keeps it up, with unexpected twists and turns carved along the way while still driving you straight forward throughout. Perhaps it is unfitting to start the day with a song about farewells, but this is the kind of music I want to listen to nestled up in bed on a quiet Sunday morning, awake but unwilling to fully wake and leave the warm comforts of bed, sleepily letting its pieces sink in. Merry #untz-mas

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turn down the love

18 Nov

I am heading down to Monterey for the weekend to run the Big Sur half on Sunday morning, and have been spending the end of the week gathering all my best untz and flashiest indie pop to make an epic playlist to get me through the 13.1. Definitely not a purist who believes running should be silently focused on concentration and meditation… since the whole thing will be OVER by 9:30am, dishing out the loud stuff that keeps my feet off the ground.

Today’s Emo: You Got the Love / the xx (Florence + the Machine cover)

‘sooner or later in life, the things you love you lose / but you’ve got the love I need to see me through’

While my need for new Florence + the Machine has been satiated with the release of Ceremonials, the lack of any new xx has me revisiting old favorites. Florence’s signature harp cut with the Romy and Oliver’s soft yet smoldering vocals and tossed with playful beats is the perfect soundtrack to start your Friday. After all this time it still falls fresh on my ears… but hurry up guys. #emo

Today’s Untz: Turn it Down / Kaskade (Le Castle Vania remix)

‘look before you make your beat loud / can you turn it down’

There is nothing about this song that makes me want to turn it down–it is exactly the kind of sound that will be fueling me through Sunday. Everyone has been talking about how great Kaskade’s new album is and I can’t help but hop on the bandwagon. While I love her, it is refreshing to hear one of Kaskade’s tracks laced with vocals from someone other than Haley, and Le Castle Vania spins a nice little number on the whole thing. The release of Fire and Ice makes me thankful once again that Ryan Raddon forfeited Mormonism for the church of #untz

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pirate doves

16 Nov

Little time for music this week as I have started reading this little series you may have heard of called The Hunger Games, and suddenly am totally unable to pry myself away from hundreds of pages of young adult fiction… some hybrid of Twilight minus the vampires, Harry Potter minus the magic, and Survivor except with teenagers as the contestants who are fighting till the death a la Lord of the Flys. God help me.

Today’s Emo: Wicked Games / Coeur De Pirate (The Weeknd cover)

‘bring your love / baby I can bring my shame / bring the drugs / baby I can bring my pain’

Coeur de Pirate (French for Pirate Heart) is a Canadian born singer named Beatrice Martin. Beatrice hails from Quebec and sings mostly in French (check out Les Amoures Devouees, delightful gibberish to my ears), but she puts her dirty pirate mouth to work on this cover of The Weeknd’s Wicked Games in Ingles. It is brilliant to hear such a gentle, soft voice emitting such gritty language, and while I imagine her singing it with a smirk on her face, she carries the somber tune with sincerity until the very end, when we catch a glimmer of giggles. #emo

Today’s Untz: Mother Protect / Niki & the Doves (Goldroom remix)

‘I used to follow you, follow you for days / I slept beside you, just shadows away’

I have been lusting over this song on Hypem all week only to discover yesterday that the remix artist Goldroom is the main writer for my new blog crush, Binary. New as in I have only just become acquainted and started devouring its content new, the blog has been around for some time now. Highly recommend, as with this track. #untz

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rebellion in the air

21 Oct

Right when I was slipping into mourning that Treasure Island was over (approximately 10:55 pm Sunday night) I remembered the Bridge School Benefit Concert is this Saturday. The parentals have flown in from Oregon and we are heading down to South Bay this afternoon with my sister in tow. Excited to see my dad lose his shit over Neil Young (again), hear Mumford and Sons and Arcade Fire stripped down to acoustics, and, however shameful to admit, for my first ever Dave Matthews experience (teenage dream?)

 Today’s Emo: Rebellion (Lies) / Sophie Ellis-Bextor (Arcade Fire cover)

‘sleeping is giving in / no matter what the time is / sleeping is giving in / so lift those heavy eyelids’

In tribute to Saturday’s lineup, a pleasant female take on an Arcade Fire classic. Nothing crazy or novel here, just a chill, steady cover of one of my favorite songs. This is the first I have heard of Sophie Ellis-Bextor, but the tune appears to be a departure from her typical flare as a ‘cult discopopstar,’ crafted in contribution to a charity album.  I get a lot of flack from my friends for playing hard and then consistently crashing early, but this song always gets me stirring to dance all night… until I close my eyes. #emo

Today’s Untz: In the Air / Morgan Page (Mord Fustang remix)

I’m feeling a / feeling a change / in the air’

Playtime. Estonian producer and product of the 90’s Mord Fustang rattles Morgan Page’s In the Air into something inescapably dance inducing. The lyrics are emo and longing laced, but the steady builds and beats have my feet off the ground. Great work from such a youngster.  Happy weekend. #untz

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it feels good to be poolside

15 Aug

Outside Lands: amazing music, backdrop, and company. Completely tuckered out in the best kind of way. Two tropical sounding tracks to ease back into regular life, slowly, carefully…

Today’s Emo: Harvest Moon / Poolside (Neil Young cover)

‘when we were strangers I watched you from afar / when we were lovers I loved you with all my heart’

A couple months ago I posted Teen Daze’s take of Neil’s Harvest Moon. This cover takes a similar angle, with playful, trickling  synth, a clap along feel, and hazy, soft vocals. Still, totally digging this jazzed up spin of the classic. LA electro duo Poolside self identifies as daytime disco, and this feels like the perfect track to accompany my feel good summer feelings of this weekend and three days outside in the sun and fog. #emo

Today’s Untz: It Feels Good to Be Around You / Air France

Going to continue to ride the chillwave right into my untz today with this breezy gem from another electro duo, Air France. Layers upon layers of whispy, echoed vocals, soft beats, and a hint of the theme from Koopa Beach intertwine in the Swedes’ new release. It Feels Good to be Around You is the cutest song name I have come across in a while, perfectly embodying that first little sigh when you realize you might be smitten, and it feels good. More please. #untz

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a-team miracle

27 Jul

My co-rec soccer team, the Fiyah Balls, suffered a tough play off loss Monday night after deciding to channel the US’ PK scoring abilities against Japan. I may have been involved in one of the fatal shots… no Brandi Chastiain moment for me. On the bright side, getting eliminated early in the evening gave me the chance to sit down and finally catch up on music blogs sans distraction for the first time in what feels like weeks. The result: the two solid covers below. And we still have our championship shirts from last season…

Today’s Emo: The A-Team / Birdy (Ed Sheeran cover)

‘but lately her face seems slowly sinking, wasting / crumbling like pastries’

The original version of this song is beyond emo, and Birdy takes her cover up a notch to the point where it stings. The tragic figure in the track is addicted to crack, works as a prostitute to pay rent, and is slowly crumbling like a pastry… a surprisingly poignant analogy, causing me to picture straggling crumbs at the bottom of a bag, hopeless.

All of this is being reworked by this talented fourteen year old British songstress who keeps cranking out breathtaking covers. However beautiful and believable, I hope she has little to relate to in this one. #emo

Today’s Untz: Miracle / The Dirty Tees ft. Natasha Bedingfield (Fragma cover)

Guilty pleasure music Wednesday… time to dance around the bedroom before hump day. Once I got past the shudder of hearing Natasha Bedingfield’s voice (memories of Pocket Full of Sunshine on endless loop in my head) and got into the layers of untz wrapped around this cover, everything fell into place and it seems like the only appropriate response. Enjoy. #untz

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make pressure

3 Jun

I saw The Head and the Heart for a record breaking 4th time Wednesday night at the Warfield when they opened for Iron and Wine, and they just keep getting better. It was interesting seeing the same band perform mostly the same songs for so many shows within a six month period of time. You start to anticipate little movements on the stage before they happen – well timed foot stomps, band members moving together for mic sharing during harmonies, Charity drinking from a mug before her part in Winter Song. The group was hydrating more than usual and without brews, so I wonder if they were recovering from a big night… or just thirsty.

Even with all the foresight, everything still sounded fresh and cool and delicious instead of repetitive, felt comfortable instead of routine. That is the magic in seeing a favorite band time after time… they become an old friend. And I had the best company.

Today’s Emo: I Can’t Make You Love Me / Bon Iver

‘turn down the lights / turn down the bed / turn down these voices inside my head’

OK. One more Bon Iver track and then I promise to litter more variety back into the emo part of TUATE. It is just that I can’t help but buckle when Vernon sings Bonnie Raitt’s ballad, taking on an untouchable classic and making it his own. Stunning. What a falsetto, what a performance (youtube it) on Jimmy Kimmel Live of all places. Seeing Bon Iver live has become a priority, and I am rendered terribly impatient that he is not visiting California on his tour. Hello – most populated state?!

Anyway, beyond delighted with the album and this cover he has graced us with in the past few weeks. More smitten than ever. I will be here waiting. #emo

Today’s Untz: Pressure / Alex Kenji, Starkillers, Nadia Ali (Alesso remix)

‘turn around /  feel the sound / oh you make my heart pound’
This is just the kind of untz I was drinking up at the pool parties last weekend in Vegas… sassy female vocals, nice and steady build, magical trickles of beats that make my heart pound… it has that trashy but who cares I like it feel, just like Sin City. First I have heard of DJ Alesso, and I am digging slipping into this and into le weekend. #untz

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