LISTEN
"Under the Covers" again with Sweet, Hoffs
Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs could very well be the America's Sweehearts of bright, jangly guitar-driven pop. In 2006, the '90s solo star and Bangles' cover girl joined forces for "Under the Covers, Vol. 1," a collection of familiar and obscure pop and folk covers from the 1960s, including Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," the Beatles' "And Your Bird Can Sing" and the Beach Boys "Warmth of the Sun."
On Tuesday, the duo returns with -- you guessed it -- "Under the Covers, Vol 2," this time mining gold from the AM airwaves of the super '70s. On this go-round, the covers are a little more mainstream, including their interpretations of the Raspberries' "Go All the Way," Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" and Rod Stewart's "Maggie May." Gorgeous harmonies abound, and it's clearly evident that Sweet and Hoffs respect and love the material.
So drop the top, cruise the coast and dig these songs from the past with a newly added sheen courtesy of Sweet and Hoffs. Now, if they only released an 8-track version ....
"Under the Covers" again with Sweet, Hoffs
Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs could very well be the America's Sweehearts of bright, jangly guitar-driven pop. In 2006, the '90s solo star and Bangles' cover girl joined forces for "Under the Covers, Vol. 1," a collection of familiar and obscure pop and folk covers from the 1960s, including Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," the Beatles' "And Your Bird Can Sing" and the Beach Boys "Warmth of the Sun."
On Tuesday, the duo returns with -- you guessed it -- "Under the Covers, Vol 2," this time mining gold from the AM airwaves of the super '70s. On this go-round, the covers are a little more mainstream, including their interpretations of the Raspberries' "Go All the Way," Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" and Rod Stewart's "Maggie May." Gorgeous harmonies abound, and it's clearly evident that Sweet and Hoffs respect and love the material.
So drop the top, cruise the coast and dig these songs from the past with a newly added sheen courtesy of Sweet and Hoffs. Now, if they only released an 8-track version ....
WATCH
Garrison Keillor lets cameras into Lake Wobegon
Garrison Keillor is the sort of raconteur who could use the word "raconteur" in one of his stories and make you feel like it's not such a snooty word after all.
On "A Prairie Home Companion," his live weekly public radio program, Keillor uses mere talk to create the fictional yet oh-so-true-to-life small town known as Lake Wobegon. In the process, Keillor has become our nation's most treasured raconteur (that is, "a person skilled at telling stories or anecdotes.")
But Keillor recently decided to let the cameras in. "Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio in the Red Shoes" is a new documentary now out on DVD.
It's a behind-the-scenes look at a man whose stories don't just entertain us -- they remind us what it means to be human.
LISTEN
Petra pleases with mouthy pop
Petra Haden is a singer, violinist and daughter of renowned jazz bassist Charlie Haden. She's also a Foo Fighter collaborator, and the artist who remade "Let Your Love Flow," that 1976 country-pop hit by the Bellamy Brothers, for a Prius TV commercial.
And she's also the artist who re-did the Who's "The Who Sell Out" -- in an entirely a cappella version.
It's Haden's voice-only versions of various pop hits that make her Myspace page a guilty pleasure. There she recasts the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows," Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" -- the latter replete with Haden putting her mouth-music hammerlock on that song's spinning-out-of-control guitar lick.
Check it out at myspace.com/petrahaden.
Garrison Keillor lets cameras into Lake Wobegon
Garrison Keillor is the sort of raconteur who could use the word "raconteur" in one of his stories and make you feel like it's not such a snooty word after all.
On "A Prairie Home Companion," his live weekly public radio program, Keillor uses mere talk to create the fictional yet oh-so-true-to-life small town known as Lake Wobegon. In the process, Keillor has become our nation's most treasured raconteur (that is, "a person skilled at telling stories or anecdotes.")
But Keillor recently decided to let the cameras in. "Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio in the Red Shoes" is a new documentary now out on DVD.
It's a behind-the-scenes look at a man whose stories don't just entertain us -- they remind us what it means to be human.
LISTEN
Petra pleases with mouthy pop
Petra Haden is a singer, violinist and daughter of renowned jazz bassist Charlie Haden. She's also a Foo Fighter collaborator, and the artist who remade "Let Your Love Flow," that 1976 country-pop hit by the Bellamy Brothers, for a Prius TV commercial.
And she's also the artist who re-did the Who's "The Who Sell Out" -- in an entirely a cappella version.
It's Haden's voice-only versions of various pop hits that make her Myspace page a guilty pleasure. There she recasts the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows," Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" -- the latter replete with Haden putting her mouth-music hammerlock on that song's spinning-out-of-control guitar lick.
Check it out at myspace.com/petrahaden.
