Yuna Covers Nirvana's 'Come As You Are' - Listen

After listening to Miley Cyrus' awful cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit", I went on and found Yuna's cover of "Come As You Are".  First impressions?  Christ, it's beautiful!

It's not your regular-Joe cover.  It's a re-creation/sample/rebirth/whatever-you-prefer-to-call-it song.  Yuna changes this grunge song into a sweet, heart-felt pop song.  But a good pop song.  And Kurt always wanted to make "simple pop songs", so I feel he'd approve.  Take a listen.  It's a real feel-good track.  Thumbs up from me!

What do you think?  It's been getting a good response from Nirvana fans because although it is pop, it isn't bubble-gum, fake/poser pop (you know what and who I'm talking about).

Personally, I think It's beautiful.  Yuna's voice is truly captivating, taking you to a different planet. What a glorious cover!  If only pop music sounded this good all the time...

The Placebo Effect

Everyone goes through one of those phases where you can't stop listening to one album or one artist for a week, month or even months.  I go through that phase all the time, (which is preventing me from finding new music to write about here) and lately, my album crush is Placebo's 5th studio album "Meds".  Released in 2006, the album peaked at #5 on the World Charts, after being leaked on the Internet two months prior to its official release.  This album will go down as one of my all time favourite albums.  It kicks-off with "Meds", featuring Alison Mosshart, one of my heroins.  It's an amazing song with soft elements showing clear influences of their heroes such as The Smashing Pumpkins and David Bowie but keeping the harshness of Placebo.

The album wouldn't be complete without "Infa-red", one of my favourite songs.  It starts off sounding like a mesh between Bowie and Depeche Mode and then dives into the bridge and chorus which has an easy listening pop-rock melody, which has close relations to sounding like the Pixies.

Placebo wouldn't be Placebo without their absurd, eccentric lyrics.  It adds a twisted element to their music.  "Post Blue" shows all signs of this.  It starts off very Bowie-esque mirroring the song "The Man Who Sold the World" but has Placebo's personal touch with lyrics such as "...its in the water baby, its in the special way we fuck.."

I'm not saying Placebo are a more fucked up version of David Bowie, but he definitely has strong influences on them.  But its not anywhere near as pop-like as any Bowie record.  

Placebo outdo themselves with this album.  Music is more trashy, more spaced out harmonies, and even more fucked up lyrics!  You can tell they spent a lot of time around electronics rather than basic instruments with the New Wave feel from the record.  "Meds" is a treat featuring artists Alison Mosshart (The Kills, The Dead Weather) and  Michael Stripe (R.E.M.).  The album is a treasure.  And I cannot wait to hear their next album due to release late 2012/early 2013.

Track Listing:

1. Meds
2. Infa-red
3. Drag
4. Follow the Cops Back Home
5. Post Blue
6. Because I Want You
7. Blind
8. Pierrot the Clown
9. Broken Promise
10. One of a Kind
11. In the Cold Light of Morning
12. Song to Say Goodbye

Bonus Tracks: 

Lazarus

UNEEDMEMORETHANINEEDU

Running up that Hill

Summer? No I Think It's Called Festivals

Summer is a season well and truly forgotten about.  It is officially renamed Festival Season.  Well, officially in the world of music.  The list of music festivals is truly endless; suiting every persons need.  2012 may be the year for rock music, but it ain't my year.  I won't be going to a music festival at all this Festival Season... *Sigh*

But just for you I've picked out the ones worth going to this year!

UK

Isle of Wight Festival, Isle of Wight

Sonisphere, Knebworth

Reading and Leeds Festivals, Reading, Leeds

T in the Park, Kinross

Download Festival, Castle Donington

BELGIUM

Pukkelpop, Hasselt

Tomorrowland, Boom

GERMANY

Rock am Ring and Rock im Park

Hurricane Festival, Scheeßel

Oktoberfest

NETHERLANDS

Pinkpop, Landgraaf

SERBIA

EXIT, Novi Sad

PORTUGAL

Rock in Rio, Lisbon

USA

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Coachella Valley, California

Lollapalooza, Chicago, Illinois

Warped Tour

South by Southwest, Austin, Texas

Voodoo Music Experience, New Orleans, Louisiana

BRAZIL

Rock in Rio, Rio de Janeiro

That really is naming a few of the greats.  Usually Glastonbury Festival in the UK would be a huge hit only it is not going ahead for 2012 due to it being the fields fallow year, and we have Oxegen in Ireland, but that too has been cancelled for 2012 for unknown reasons.

Going to a festival during Festival Season?  Let me know who you're excited to see!