keep your hand in my hand, your heart on your sleeve

(Let’s just pretend like this isn’t late, okay?)

I love the cover mix for August, I do, but I’m especially amazed by Gillian Welch doing a Radiohead song, Pady Casey with the Dublin Gospel Choir doing a Bill Withers cover that goes effortlessly into a Blackstreet track and, not to be outdone, the Gaslight Anthem kill a Kelly Clarkson tune. And just as important as the stuff on the mix are the things that were left off — for time, for space, for mood. For instance, I opted for Luna doing Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up” rather than Petra Haden’s cover of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” from the same Guilt by Association compilation and I couldn’t find room for Ben Lee’s cover of MGMT’s “Kids” because Elliot Smith’s version of John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy” was so much better. (I know that Bat for Lashes’ cover of “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon is everywhere right now because of their re-issue of Two Suns, but it’s such a great version.)

As always, I had some moments of excitement when I could work in someone returning the cover favor (like the aforementioned Gaslight Anthem doing “I Don’t Hook Up” followed by Miss Clarkson doing a Ray Lamontagne tune — which was taken from a Hurricane Katrina Benefit that broadcast on MTV in 2005). For other examples, see the Edwyn Collins/Clash sequence as well as the New Frontiers/Gillian Welch turn. One day, I’d like to do a whole mix in that way.

And speaking of enthusiastic, I’ve been trying to avoid the last track on this installment, I’ve been desperately trying to avoid it as I despise Coldplay. As much as any U2 albums after Zooropa. No, even more. Call it what you will — hate, antagonism, revulsion, whatever — and I wish Chris Martin and the rest of the band well, but they produce mediocre pap for music without any real joy and that breaks my heart. I think Chuck Klosterman said it best in his book of essays, Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs:

[Coldplay is] a British pop group whose success derives from their ability to write melodramatic alt-rock songs about fake love. It does not matter that Coldplay is the shittiest fucking band I’ve ever heard in my entire fucking life, or that they sound like a mediocre photocopy of Travis (who sounds like a mediocre photocopy of Radiohead), or that their greatest fucking artistic achievement is a video where the blandly attractive frontman walks on a beach on a cloudy afternoon. None of that matters. What matters is that Coldplay manufactures fake love as frenetically as the Ford fucking Motor Company manufactures Mustangs. . . “For you I bleed myself dry,” sang the blockhead vocalist, brilliantly informing us that stars in the sky are, in fact, yellow.

Regardless, I think that Jem’s version of “Yellow” is the best track off the three Sweetheart Valentine’s albums. And it’s a Coldplay cover. Enjoy.

The photo is provided by flowers & machinery (via Flickr).

1. Elvis Costello – Sleepless Nights (Gram Parsons cover)
2. Paddy Casey featuring Dublin Gospel Choir – Grandma’s Hand / No Diggity (Bill Withers / Blackstreet cover)
3. the Shins – Strange Powers (Magnetic Fields cover)
4. Elliott Smith – Jealous Guy (John Lennon cover)
5. Jamie T – Hoover Street (Rancid cover)
6. Bat for Lashes – Use Somebody (Kings of Leon cover)
7. Turin Brakes – Moonlight Mile (the Rolling Stones cover)
8. Death Cab for Cutie – Kicked In (Superchunk cover)
9. Swati – I’m On Fire (Bruce Springsteen cover)
10. Smashing Pumpkins – Landslide (Fleetwood Mac cover)
11. the Gaslight Anthem – I Do Not Hook Up (Kelly Clarkson cover)
12. Kelly Clarkson – Shelter (Ray Lamontagne cover)
13. Billie the Vision and the Dancers – I am a Chukoo (Belle & Sebastian cover)
14. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Sheena Is A Punk Rocker (Ramones cover)
15. the Clash – I Fought The Law (the Crickets cover)
16. Edwyn Collins – 1977 (the Clash cover)
17. Luna – Straight Up (Paula Abdul cover)
18. the New Frontiers – Look at Miss Ohio (Gillian Welch cover)
19. Gillian Welch – Black Star (Radiohead cover)
20. Neko Case – Christmas Card From A Hooker In in Minneapolis (Tom Waits cover)
21. Jem – Yellow (Coldplay cover)

This mixtape — yes, I still call ‘em tapes — will be hosted until I post a new one so get it while you can. All copyrights remain with respective writers, publishers, etc. If you like what you hear, support the artists and creatives however you can.

Bonus Track: Mon Amour – Don’t You (Forget About Me) (Simple Minds cover)

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