The Black Keys | Thought on Tracks

Aug

Video List: IndyMcGrath’s Top Cover Songs of 2011

Love them or hate them, people are always talking about them. I have yet to notice anyone else make a 2k11 list covering covers. My selections for the best songs from previous recordings are as follows:

13 Real Estate – Barely Legal (The Strokes)

I could not be any more pumped up for the upcoming Strokes cover album Stroked. If the rest of the disc stacks up to the first single from Real Estate, we are all in for a real treat. Congrats, Real Estate, on making this song your own–no small task.

12 The Black Keys – Dearest (Buddy Holly)

The Black Keys work wonders on their take on this Buddy Holly classic. Short, sweet and fantastic. The Keys at their simplest, which is always a good thing.

11 Morning Benders – Lovefool (The Cardigans)

Hand claps, acoustic guitar and three part harmonies. Rarely do I say that a cover surpasses the original, but this sure as hell comes close. A helluva rendition of the classic guilty pleasure from Swedish rockers The Cardigans.

10 Friendly Fires – I’m Good, I’m Gone (Lykkie Li)

What better way to add buzz to their latest release, Pala, than to put out of cover of a song that people can’t hate. These guys have a formula and it is continuing to work.

9 She & Him – Oh Boy (Buddy Holly)

When I heard that a tribute album to Buddy Holly was going to be dropped this year I thought “Oh Boy”! Unsure of what to expect I found exactly what I was looking for with this track.

8 Fitz and the Tantrums – Arthur’s Theme (Christopher Cross)

This is a silly cover from a silly movie by a band getting a lot of buzz this year. I love it.

7 Hooray for Earth – Lewis Takes Action (Owen Pallet Cover)

This band has caused me to take a step back ever since I started listening to them. No Love, True Loves, and Sails make their full-length debut stand strong. This cover makes me think they are going to be around a while.

6 Bat for Lashes – Strangelove (Depeche Mode)

Natasha Khan continues to be the mark for indie innovation. This pairing just makes sense to me.

5 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. – Higher Love (Steve Winwood)

After Dodge posted the video of them covering this at the White Cabaret in Indianapolis I was extremely jealous for being out of town. If this does not win you over, I am not quite sure what will. Their cover of The Beach Boys “God Only Knows” deserves to be on this list as well.

4 James Blake – A Case of You (Joni Mitchell)

James Blake and the Dub-step movement has been one of the hottest topics of 2k11. This song makes me believe there is some legitimacy to it.

3 Mr. Little Jeans – Suburbs (Arcade Fire)

Sometimes groups get popular after they have maxed out on buzz via a cover (i.e. First Aid Kit – Tiger Mountain Peasant Song). I thought it would be impossible to cover anything off this album. I was wrong.

2 Bon Iver – I Can Make You Love Me / Nick of Time (Bonnie Raitt)

Justin Vernon’s release this year deserves to be album of the year, win a Grammy, and be talked about for the rest of eternity. Opting to play this to national audiences instead of a track on his latest release tells you how good he thinks this is and I would have to agree.

1 Dum Dum Girls – There is a Light That Never Goes Out (Smiths)

This beats out Bon Iver because of the happiness it brings to the table. This cover has given me a newfound respect these four Californian garage poppers. This is number one because I do not think of it just as a cover, I consider it one of my favorite songs of the year.

Written by Brett McGrath

Jun

Thoughts on The Black Keys: Indianapolis: The Lawn at White River

Observing a band that you have watched grow from infancy get embraced by the masses can be a strange experience. The feeling is similar to purchasing a new t-shirt, only to be later informed that you must share it with all of your friends. It can be disconcerting, to say the least.

It seems like just yesterday that The Black Keys were playing at The Vogue for $20 a head. Watching the ticket prices to a sold-out show at The Lawn at White River soar to above $80 on Stubhub was rather surreal. These guys have made it. Much to my own surprise, I am happy about it.

Rather than harbor resentment for the yuppies that only know The Keys from their most recent work Brothers, I choose instead to embrace it. This is the music that I want America to listen to. This is the music that I want the radio stations to play. Not Gaga, Young Jeezy or Coldplay. This. Shit. Right. Here. Mannnnn.

I arrived at The Lawn to Booker T Jones and the MG’s performing their version of Albert King’s “Born Under a Bad Sign.” For the next several tracks, Booker T hopped out from behind his Hammond B-3 organ to riff on rhythm guitars. Al Green’s “Take Me to the River” went missing halfway through the song when the drummer doubled as hype man/freestyle rapper. For me, the highlight of the set was the closer “Time is Tight,” a song I’ll forever associate with The Blues Brothers film.

Here come the boys.

The Black Keys came on stage around 9:30 to a packed house undeterred by a lousy weather forecast. “Thickfreakness” kicked things off. I am beginning to wonder whether they ever open with anything else. They continued to shower the crowd with older songs, with five tracks from The Big Come Up and my personal favorite, Rubber Factory.

As far as I’m concerned, the night could have ended six songs deep with The Keys’ rendition of The Kinks classic “Act Nice and Gentle.” I would have left satisfied with a permagrin til Tuesday. Then, the giant disco ball dropped and a bassist and keyboard player joined the boys for a slew of cuts from Brothers.

Hardly my first Keys show, I still find myself fascinated by drummer Patrick Carney’s play. This gangly goof of a man wails away like some psychotic, spewing sweat on everyone in the first six rows. Magic! Carney’s play reaffirms what bandmate Dan Auerbach must have known ten years ago when the duo began jamming in that Akron, Ohio basement: this is all I need.

Though the set only lasted for an hour and ten minutes, no one left short changed. The Keys rifled through 18 songs, playing a sensational mix of new and old. “Strange Times” from the Danger Mouse produced Attack and Release served as one of the show’s second half highlights.

Booker T came back on stage for a solid version of “I’ll be Your Man.” I was bummed that The Keys missed out on an opportunity to let the legend solo. If there was a chance for an extended jam, this was it.

Chanting fans brought The Keys back on stage for a two-song encore: “Sinister Kid” followed by “Your Touch.” I wouldn’t have traded places with anyone last night. I am happy that everyone is finally on board, now go brush up on some of their older shit.

Jun