Adem's cover of Jeff Buckley's "Mojo Pin"

What we have below is somewhat of a good way for me to get out of writing too much about this track. Bottom line: I love this cover. Normally, you can count on a thumbs down on a cover from me. Especially since this Buckley cover is so similar to the original I'm almost like: "Why did you bother?" But in the end, I'm glad Adem preserved the feel and structure of the song and I find myself choosing to play it, as opposed to not minding when it comes up on shuffle. Give it a swirl!

A word from Adem about the cover:
Buckley.
So I was recently asked if I would like to submit a cover version of any track by either of the Buckleys, Tim or Jeff, for an upcoming release called Dream Brother. Naturally I agreed straight away, not quite realising what I had done. I immediately started thinking of Tim Buckley songs - I thought I'd score a couple of cool points in my knowledge of the less popular of the two. I thought maybe I could do a great cosmic version of Chase the Blues Away, or maybe try to take Song to the Siren (my favourite Tim Buckley track), and extend the story of the track beyond the brilliant This Mortal Coil version. But then I began to wonder whether I was doing the right thing. I had listened to Jeff Buckley a lot when I was younger, before I knew that his father existed and as such I had the greatest connection with Grace and all that followed. Was I being fake by going for the 'cooler' option? I was forced in the right direction by the record company, who called to request that I do a Jeff Buckley track. I felt secretly relieved at first - I knew that that was the right choice. Then it dawned on me - I was about to try to cover a Jeff Buckley track. If you think about the production, his musical prowess and of course THAT voice, it becomes a little worrying, and then there is the intense emotional attachments that millions of people have made to his tracks. It suddenly became a hugely daunting task. I decided I definitely wanted a song written by Jeff Buckley - although a lot of his best work was made when covering other peoples songs, I thought it would be best to do a version of a completely original track. I decided that a less well known track would relieve some of the intense pressure of providing for the fans. There is a gorgeous track called 'Jewel Box' which is found toward the end of the second cd of Sketches... I started work and it was sounding good, but that feeling crept over me again. I asked myself: Which of all these tracks means most to you. Which track would you like to do, no holds barred. Once I had voiced this question, (which sounds obvious but wasn't), I knew I had to try to cover Mojo Pin.
I tried so many different ways of making the track work with my production, my sounds, my voice. I made versions with strange instruments played together in weird ways. I made versions with layered voices being the music. I made all sorts of things yet I found myself going back to a little demo I did at the very beginning of attempting this song, just one mike recording a live take of me playing guitar and singing the track. It was made just to test out the format and the pitch and whatnot. But there was something about it. Something honest and heartfelt and even passionate (! - unusual for me, eh?), that felt like it worked with the song just right. There were mistakes peppered throughout it - a wrong note here, a bit of bad singing there, but overall it just clicked for me. I decided to submit that version, warts and all. It sounds like a demo, or an outtake, but I feel it rests easy with Jeff Buckley's attitude and approach to playing and working with music.

Other notables from this compilation:
Tunng - No Man Can Find The War
Matthew Herbert + Dani Siciliano - Everybody Here Wants You

CP: Alliance Bakery, Chicago

Colleen and Brian admiring the fancy cakes.

The Replacements' "Answering Machine"

Just vocals and sometimes a standard answering machine loop over a distorted delayed guitar until the end when a tambourine comes in and replaces the vocals... it's the perfect way to convey the song's lyrics.

Try to breathe some life into a letter / Losing hope, never gonna be together / My courage is at it's peak / You know what I mean / How do say you're O.K. to an answering machine? / How do you say good night to an answering machine?

Big town's got its losers / Small town's got its vices / A handful of friends / One needs a match, one needs some ice / Call-waiting phone in another time zone / How do you say I miss you to an answering machine? / How do say good night to an answering machine?

I get enough of that

Try to free a slave of ignorance / Try and teach a whore about romance

How do you say I miss you to an answering machine?
How do you say good night to an answering machine?
How do you say I'm lonely to an answering machine?
The message is very plain
Oh, I hate your answering machine
I hate your answering machine
I hate your answering machine...

On an end note... could it be that I've finally decided that I like "Tim" better than "Let It Be?" Don't close the voting polls just yet.

In Living Colour's "Glamour Boys"

In case you were wondering what happened to IN LIVING COLOUR* and where they went wrong, this is why and how. It is true, they still get included in those Vh1 Most Metal Ever Ever Ever countdowns - but they NEVER mention this song. And for good reason!

Did you know they are STILL a band? With the ORIGINAL line-up? Fucking crazy right? They also were awarded two Grammys, an MTV moonman, and were amongst VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Bands! How could they go with "Cult of Personality" as their debut and fucking bomb with their next single as "Glamour Boys"?! It was (is?) almost insulting the intelligence and musical taste of their fans.

I didn't even associate the two songs with each other. I didn't even remember the same band did this song! I understand that "Glamour Boys" is supposed to be sarcastic and a jab at those trendies/yuppies out there - but the fact of the matter is that this song REEKS.

*not to be confused with Fox TV's In Living Color, a sketch comedy show by the Wayans.