Covered: Guilt By Association + New Found Glory

GUILT BY ASSOCIATION

Popular songs, stripped off from its production gloss, redone in indie style. That's the main statement of this compilation of covers that are deemed 'guilty pleasure'. It's a project 3 years in the making, in fact, The Concretes' version of Take That's US crossover only-hit 'Back For Good' still featured the vocals of Victoria Bergsman, pre-Young-Folks-and-Taken-By-Trees-fame. It's best to be listened to with a grain of salt. There's something for everyone here, and if you like the originals, you'll probably find these covers from passable to entertainingly enjoyable. The quasi-acappella cover of Journey's Don't Stop Believin' is by far the stunner here, however, there are plenty of other highlights, too, like a Mariah Carey fuck-you song to the industry turned into a synth ballad, a Spice Girls' ballad turned into troubadour folk, or a sickly sweet Disney anthem turned into standard indie rock (admit it, you'd like to try that one, if for the innocence lost after the x-rated skanky nude pics of an allegedly underage Vanessa Hudgens circulating in the past 2 weeks...yep, traffic's been slow, Google work your magic!).
Overall, a collection that cover fanatics shouldn't miss. View the tracklist below, and listen to some tunes.

1. Petra Haden ”Don't Stop Believin” (Journey)
2. Devendra Banhart ”Don't Look Back In Anger” (Oasis)
3. Mark Mulcahy ”From This Moment On” (Shania Twain)
4. Luna ”Straight Up” (Paula Abdul)
5. The Concretes ”Back For Good” (Take That)
6. Jim O'Rourke ”Viva Forever” (Spice Girls)
7. Goat ”Sugar We're Going Down” (Fall Out Boy)
8. Will Oldham/Bonnie "Prince" Billy ”Can't Take That Away” (Mariah Carey)
9. Woody Jackson Orchestra ft Money Mark
”Love's Theme (Love Unlimited Orchestra)”
10. Porter Block ”Breaking Free” (High School Musical)
11. Mooney Suzuki ”Just Like Jesse James” (Cher)
12. Geoff Farina ”Two Tickets To Paradise” (Eddie Money)
13. Casey Shea ”Chop Suey” (System of a Down)
14. Superchunk ”Say My Name” (Destiny's Child)
15. Mike Watt ”Burning For You” (Blue Oyster Cult)

MySpace/Buy it on Amazon


NEW FOUND GLORY - FROM THE SCREEN TO YOUR STEREO PART II
I'm not a fan of these guys, to be frank. But when I heard there's a cover album coming out this week, I just had to check it out. It's a full-length sequel to an EP of the same name. The mission: covering songs from movies, punk pop style. The idea's all but fresh now, but some of the covers are actually quite listenable. They even had Lisa Loeb to contribute background vocals to their cover of 'Stay'. Overall, if you're a fan of the first cd, then give it a listen, or you just want some novelty, nostalgic fun. Three choice cuts with tracklist attached.

1. Kiss Me originally by Sixpence None the Richer, from She's All That
2. It Ain't Me Babe (featuring Sherri Gilbert of Eisley) originally by Johnny Cash, from Walk the Line
3. The Promise (featuring Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional) originally by When In Rome, from Napolean Dynamite
4. King of Wishful Thinking (featuring Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy) originally by Go West, from Pretty Woman
5. Stay (featuring Lisa Loeb) originally by Lisa Loeb, from Reality Bites
6. Lovefool (featuring Adam Lazarra of Taking Back Sunday and Stacy Dupree of Eisley) originally by The Cardigans, from Romeo and Juliet
7. Iris (featuring Will Pugh of Cartel) originally by The Goo Goo Dolls, from City of Angels
8. Don't You Forget About Me orignally by Simple Minds, from The Breakfast Club
9. Intro (Amelie J'y Suis Jamais Alle) from Amelie
10. Crazy for You (featuring Max Bemis of Say Anything) originally by Madonna, from Vision Quest
11. Head Over Heals originally by Tears for Fears, from Donnie Darko

MySpace (you can stream the entire album)/Buy it on iTunes