We Love Covers

Remixes or covers? I would pick covers anytime. Remixes are seriously getting out of hands nowadays, most popular tracks on Hype Machine have been remixes. They are literally everwhere that I really need to put on some ear plugs.

I came across some interesting covers lately. You know how a band with some indie credentials cover a pop song, and the guilty pleasure instantly becomes non-guilty? That's the case with the three covers below.

The Maccabees - Boom Boom Pow (Black Eyed Peas cover)
This one is nothing short of brilliance. Add on their signature buzzy guitars and Orlando Weeks' unique vocal, I got that boom boom pow, I like The Maccabees' style.

Maxïmo Park - Just Dance (Lady Gaga cover)
I have never been a fan of Lady Gaga, in fact I am repelled by her self-claimed originality whereas everything about her has been done before , she just put them all together like a patchwork, somehow it works for her, well at least the masses buy it. Now I can listen to this version complete with Paul Smith's alluring voice, I would be more put off when I hear the original on radio again.

Franz Ferdinand - Womanizer (Britney Spears)
Well I prefer the All American Rejects cover of this song, but everyone has probably heard that version already. Alex Kapranos did the song justice, but it seemed like he was struggling to be on keys. To begin with it was a well-written pop song, this is a pretty decent cover.

Franztastic Covers

"It's been the best song out in the last few months." said Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos. The band has joined in the fun in playing the most covered track of the year, Britney Spears' "Womanizer". The performance, together with their latest single "No You Girls", was recorded for BBC's Live Lounge.

Franz Ferdinand created a version with a sound of their own - Brit-pop synths, funky vibe and Kapranos’ trademark vocal. And they actually bridge into one of their earlier track "Shopping for Blood" after the midpoint of the song, which is surprisingly fitting. A rather enjoyable cover.


Franz Ferdinand - Womanizer (Britney Spears Cover)

In addition, Franz Ferdinand also injects some sexy brilliance into Blondie's "Call Me”. The track, featured off Warchild: Heroes, a charity album devoted to the War Child charity's aid efforts in war-stricken areas, showcases a job well done of covering one of Blondie’s signature tune. It’s easily a major highlight of this album, which consists of 15 exclusive and breath-taking cover versions of many classic tracks. So, go buy them here.

Franz Ferdinand - Call Me (Blondie Cover)

Twilight Omens

A fresh leak from the much anticipated Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, this track opens with a lightweight riff, before leaping into a groovy rhythm tinged with ska influence. It's a shame that this track is quite forgettable at first listen, but it could well be a grower. Now where is the full album?

Franz Ferdinand - Twilight Omens

Don’t You Wanna Be Relevant?

Wakefield trio, The Cribs have released a double A-side single from their Kapranos produced album 'Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever'. Coupled with album opener 'Our Bovine Public', the new track 'Don’t You Wanna Be Relevant?’ is a classic Cribs' track with a familiar arsenal of jangly guitar riffs, new-waved drumbeats and sing-along chorus. The Jarman brothers aren't strikingly original, but yet, they are definitely masters in making infectious indie-rock music. Being their most listenable work yet, 'Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever' is no doubt a Brit-punk gem with ridiculously catchy melody.

The Cribs - Our Bovine Public
The Cribs - Don’t You Wanna Be Relevant?

Radio 1 Established 1967

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of BBC Radio 1, a new compilation album entitled Radio 1. Established 1967, gathers together a collection of 40 cover versions of the classic tracks from the last five decades, each one taken from one of the forty years Radio 1 has been on air. It is always interesting to hear cover version of a track, and now we have 40!

Disc 1: 1967 - 1986

01. 1967 Kaiser Chiefs - Flowers In The Rain (The Move)
02. 1968 The Fratellis - All Along The Watchtower (The Jimi Hendrix Experience)
03. 1969 Amy Winehouse - Cupid (Johnny Nash)
04. 1970 Robbie Williams - Lola (The Kinks)
05. 1971 The Streets - Your Song (Elton John)
06. 1972 Sugababes - Betcha By Golly, Wow (The Stylistics)
07. 1973 The Feeling - You're So Vain (Carly Simon)
08. 1974 Foo Fighters - Band On The Run (Paul McCartney & Wings)
09. 1975 Kylie Minogue - Love Is The Drug (Roxy Music)
10. 1976 KT Tunstall - Let's Stick Together (Bryan Ferry)
11. 1977 Franz Ferdinand - Sound & Vision (David Bowie)
12. 1978 The Raconteurs - Teenage Kicks (The Undertones)
13. 1979 Mika vs Armand Van Helden - Can't Stand Losing You (The Police)
14. 1980 Kasabian - Too Much Too Young (The Specials)
15. 1981 Keane - Under Pressure (Queen & David Bowie)
16. 1982 McFly - A Town Called Malice (The Jam)
17. 1983 James Morrison - Come Back & Stay (Paul Young)
18. 1984 Gossip - Careless Whisper (George Michael)
19. 1985 The Pigeon Detectives - The Power Of Love (Huey Lewis & The News)
20. 1986 Lily Allen - Don't Get Me Wrong (The Pretenders)

Disc 2: 1987 - 2006

01. 1987 Stereophonics - You Sexy Thing (Hot Chocolate)
02. 1988 Mutya Buena - Fast Car (Tracy Chapman)
03. 1989 Editors - Lullaby (The Cure)
04. 1990 Razorlight - Englishman In New York (Sting)
05. 1991 Groove Armada - Crazy For You (Madonna)
06. 1992 Paolo Nutini - It Must Be Love (Madness)
07. 1993 The Kooks - All That She Wants (Ace Of Bass)
08. 1994 Mark Ronson - You're All I Need To Get By (Mary J Blige)
09. 1995 Calvin Harris - Stillness In Time (Jamiroquai)
10. 1996 Klaxons - No Diggity (Blackstreet)
11. 1997 Just Jack - Lovefool (The Cardigans)
12. 1998 Natasha Bedingfield - Ray Of Light (Madonna)
13. 1999 The Twang - Drinking In LA (Bran Van 3000)
14. 2000 The Fray - The Great Beyond (REM)
15. 2001 Girls Aloud - Teenage Dirtbag (Wheatus)
16. 2002 Maximo Park - Like I Love You (Justin Timberlake)
17. 2003 The View - Don't Look Back Into The Sun (The Libertines)
18. 2004 Hard-Fi - Toxic (Britney Spears)
19. 2005 The Enemy - Father & Son (Yusef & Ronan Keating)
20. 2006 Corine Bailey Rae - Steady As She Goes (The Raconteurs)

Let's Eat Cake

Belle & Sebastian has compiled an album of children songs "The Colours Are Brighter" which is set to be released in October, with all proceeds going to Save The Children. Looking at the star-studded list of featured bands, I can't wait to hear all the tracks.

Tracklisting:
Four Tet featuring Princess Watermelon - Go Go Ninja Dinosaur
Rasputina - A Skeleton Bang
Franz Ferdinand - Jackie Jackson
Snow Patrol - I Am An Astronaut
The Divine Comedy - Three Cheers For Pooh, Cottleston Pie, Piglet Ho
The Kooks - The King & I
Half Man Half Biscuit - David Wainwright's Feet
The Barcelona Pavilion - Tidy Up Tidy Up
Jonathan Richman - Out Dog Is Getting Older Now
Ivor Cutler Trio - Mud
The Flaming Lips - The Big Ol' Bug Is The New Baby Now
Belle & Sebastian - The Monkeys are Breaking Out Of The Zoo
Kathryn Williams - Night Baking

I've heard Jackie Jackson by Franz Ferdinand. It is about a boy who eats loads of cakes. Check out the deliciously weird song here.

More on Franz

Picture taken by Gregory Leow for The Electric New Paper.

Picture taken by Amy Louise Dixon for MTV Asia.

I was there! Can you spot me?
**Hint** I was wearing a red shirt.

More pics taken by me:

Shit. The food party invitation was true after all. According to a Singapore press, 150 fans turned up at Intercontinental Hotel after the show, some even brought fruits and fast food with them, but were politely declined by the Franz boys. Still the fans got the chance to get close with the band. They signed autographs, took pictures and even hugged some fans.
Hell, I should've gone there, instead of having fried beef hor fun, ikan bakar, singapore laksa, oyster omelette and shrimp paste fried chicken for supper at Geylang. Sigh. Anyway still appreciate my cousin for the meal.

Franznatic in Singapore

Headed south to catch the Fantastisch Franz live yesterday. Forked out 100 bucks for bus fare to get to Singapore. Once reached there at 3pm, did some wash-up and grabbed a quick meal, me and sis took a cab straight to the stadium. Took 10 minutes to get there, and there was already a small crowd, approximately 40-50 fans queuing up at the premier entrance. Shit, I thought I was early.

While waiting, took a glance at the merchandise stall. Planned to get the tour shirt which costs S$35 after show.

7pm - gate opened. The security there was so much stricter than any concert I have been back in home. They scanned through every pocket, nevertheless, I still managed to smuggle in my camera. The moshpit was fully packed, I was lucky enough to be in the fifth row from the stage.

Around 8:20pm, all lights went off, the crowd started screaming, jumping, and pushing. A dude in bright floral printed shirt with striped skinny pants hit the stage. It was Alex Kapranos, followed by the rest of the Franz boys! They kicked off the show with the snappy 'This Boy'. The crowd went crazy, and I ended up being pushed to the first row, brilliant! Lost sight of my sis, but who cares? Expectedly, they played almost every track from both albums, including hit singles like 'Do You Want To', 'Take Me Out', 'Darts of Pleasure', etc. The energy in the house was so high, everyone was singing along to the catchy choruses and waving their arms in the air.

One of the many highlights of the night is 'The Fallen' when Alex introduced his mates. It was kinda hilarious as he described Bob as angel; Nick as heartbreaker; Paul as pizza creature (???); Andy Knowles, former touring drummer of the Fiery Furnaces, as golden angel. In turn, Nick introduced Alex as the lead who will break all of your (pointing to crowd) hearts. With their heavy scottish accents, I just caught a bit here and there of what they were saying. Another funny part was when Alex made comments about Singapore's warm hospitality and nice food. He even named his hotel and joked about inviting the fans for a food party. I couldn't catch the hotel's name (Intercontinental??), anyway, I guess he was just bullshitting.

During 'Walk Away', Paul took over the lead guitarist position, with Andy at the drums and Alex switched to acoustic. Awesome! Nick also showed his multi-talent by contributing vocal in 'Tell Her Tonight' and keyboard in 'Eleanor Put Your Boots On'. Another notable moment was when 'Outsiders' was played, Paul was joined by Andy and an unknown crew at drums. Paul even hit the drums with tambourine instead of sticks. My breathe was taken away by the raw drum beats, while Alex and Nick were seen doing some poseur moves, poor Bob was hiding at the obscured corner doing his own thing. =(

Encore part. They came back to the stage with 'Jacqueline'. When Alex hammed it up from the opening strum, the crowd got excited again. Other songs played were '40 ft', 'You Could Have It So Much Better' and 'Outsiders'. The climatic 'This Fire' was the closing piece where everyone practically went wild and screamed their lungs out. The show ended off with the band bowing to the crowd, followed by Alex jumping off the stage and shaking hands with fans (hell, the other side of the stage where i wasn't standing!). Also, Paul came in front of me and threw his stick, luck was not by my side, the fat biatch besides me got it! I tried to snatch it from her, but she was holding it so tight to her boobs, so can't help it. Argghh......

Exhausted and soaked in sweat, yet thrilled. Overall, the concert was brilliant, money was well spent. Only disappointment was couldn't get any souvenir (no drumstick and tour shirt sold out).

The setlist ran:

'This Boy'

'Come On Home'

'Do You Want To'

'I'm Your Villain'

'Tell Her Tonight'

'Auf Achse'

'What You Meant'

'The Dark of The Matinee'

'The Fallen'

'Walk Away'

'Eleanor Put Your Boots On'

'Take Me out'

'Darts of Pleasure'

'Evil and A Heathen'

'Michael'

'Jacqueline'

'40ft'

'You Could Have It So Much Better'

'Outsiders'

'This Fire'

**Clearly proven that Franz Ferdinand's music really makes girls dance, the crowd was mostly young girls, some even with banners with cheesy 'I *heart* Alex' messages, eww......

Was hoping them to play this:

Franz Ferdinand - What You Waiting For? (Gwen Stefani Cover)

Do you want to?

Just got the ticket this afternoon. Luckylucky... i'm so lucky... yeah!

Three Kings of COOL

From left to right: the skinny geek who topped the uk single chart through the spread of mouth by an army of internet disciples, another skinny bloke who claimed he makes music just for girls to dance, and a not-so-skinny dude who half sings, half sneers through all his songs, yet no one ever sounded so cool. Respectively in 2005, 04 & 01, these three young hotties arrived in their own style of 'cool'ness and made rock music so much better. Alex Turner from Arctic Monkeys, Alex Kapranos from Franz Ferdinand, and Julian Casablancas from The Strokes were seen mingling with each other in this picture. How cool is that? In 2006, hopefully we will see more of them with the Arctic Monkeys debut album coming out soon, Franz Ferdinand touring for their sophomore album, You Could Have It So Much Better (Heck, they skip Malaysia for Singapore... as usual!), and the release of The Strokes' third album, First Impressions Of Earth.

29 Nov 05 - the Franz boys enjoyed a Strokes concert at the University Of London Union, while the following night 30 Nov 05 - the New Yorkers caught Franz Ferdinand's gig at Alexandra Palace. Here is a backstage pic of Albert, Cat from The Pierces and Fab with the Franz boys after the FF gig.

Apparently, The Strokes and Franz Ferdinand got on so well when they met and planned on forming a supergroup. "They are talking about forming some kind of supergroup. Exactly how and when is yet to be decided. But they are all keen to collaborate on some recording and a live show."- According to a source

Whoa, The Strokes + Franz Ferdinand = Kings of COOLEST!