JENNY OWEN YOUNGS
If you know me, you know I love covers. And as fellow cover-lovers know, there's a few gold standards: Ted Leo's "Since U Been Gone"; Hot Club de Paris's "You Can Call Me Al"; Death Cab for Cutie's "World Shut Your Mouth." Add one more to that list: Jenny Owen Youngs' glorious take on "Hot in Herre." It's smart, it's sassy and it knows exactly when to hew to Nelly's original and when to take his words and see how far they'll stretch.
But this folksy Jersey girl is far more than that one triumph. Check out her lilting, interesting takes on melancholy in "Fuck Was I" and "Drinking Song." Yup, Youngs is no one-hit wonder. And -- as the song I literally cannot stop playing this week can attest to -- she's pretty great when she ups the tempo, too. Enjoy "Led to the Sea":
THESE UNITED STATES
I discovered these twangy Iowans totally by chance last summer. I found their CD on the subway, and when it went unclaimed from Grand Central to Union Square, I loaded it onto my computer. It wasn't until this morning that I finally decided to give Crimes (which turns out to actually be their sophomore album) a listen. It was worth the wholly unnecessary wait I made for myself. 12 hours later, I've only really explored one song, but I can't stop raving about it.
"Honor Amongst Thieves" is quirky without being needlessly twee, erudite but not pretentious, repetitive but never boring. It sounds like one of those O Brother, Where Art Thou '20s jigs, like the earlier work of the Ditty Bops without coming across as quite so consciously self-aware. Give it a try. It's weird, but it's wonderful.
Also, what luck! I just realized that both Jenny and These United States are performing at Bowery Ballroom on May 27. I think I'll be there -- will you?
THESE UNITED STATES
I discovered these twangy Iowans totally by chance last summer. I found their CD on the subway, and when it went unclaimed from Grand Central to Union Square, I loaded it onto my computer. It wasn't until this morning that I finally decided to give Crimes (which turns out to actually be their sophomore album) a listen. It was worth the wholly unnecessary wait I made for myself. 12 hours later, I've only really explored one song, but I can't stop raving about it.
"Honor Amongst Thieves" is quirky without being needlessly twee, erudite but not pretentious, repetitive but never boring. It sounds like one of those O Brother, Where Art Thou '20s jigs, like the earlier work of the Ditty Bops without coming across as quite so consciously self-aware. Give it a try. It's weird, but it's wonderful.
Also, what luck! I just realized that both Jenny and These United States are performing at Bowery Ballroom on May 27. I think I'll be there -- will you?
1 comment:
Excellent as usual, except for one thing.
A "greatest covers ever" list that does not include Rogue Wave's "Everyday" is a travesty. For shame, sir.
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