Why listen to a classic song when a brave/foolhardy indie artist will repackage it for you? Today, Totally Wired brings you three covers, including Lavender Diamond doing Madonna’s “Like a Prayer,” Camera Obscura taking on Jim Reeves' “The Blizzard,” plus Parenthetical Girls and Xiu Xiu reinventing Morrissey, proving that everything old is new again (at least on Stereogum).Released two years late as part of 2007’s Through The Wilderness Madonna cover comp, Lavender Diamond’s take on “Like A Prayer” is ethereal and classic, offset by a quirky video that holds no comparison to the original.
Just in time for Christmas, Scottish sob outfit Camera Obscura reinvent Jim Reeves’ 1964 folk song “The Blizzard.” It’s a melancholy holiday treat — perfect for those who prefer to experience the season by staring out their window.
Xiu Xiu deliver a punishing assault on Morrissey’s “I Am Hated For Loving” while Portland’s Parenthetical Girls reconfigure “You Handsome Devil” as a mangy punk breakdown (seriously the “let me get my hands on your mammary glands” coda has never sounded so brutal) over on their MySpace. Both songs are part of the same split seven inch; their pain is their own.
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