On the glory afternoons in June I need you...

I know, I know, I haven't posted in aaages. Blame... me. I'm lazy.

Anyways, the epic Summer playlist-making continues as blissful June weather makes having a job a painful experience.

Basement Jaxx - Raindrops [7digital]

The brand-new single from dance geniuses Basement Jaxx echoes through my head all day at work until I can get in my car and blast it out. The lyrics are probably hopelessly prophetic for the wash-out that the British Summer often turns out to be, but this track is a top contender for THE song of Summer 2009 (helped by the fact that the Jaxx KILLED IT when performing at my graduation ball!). The track can be streamed from Basement Jaxx's website, and is out now for just 50p from 7digital.com.

Passion Pit - Sleepyhead [youtube]
Passion Pit continue to be the blog darlings of 2009, remaining all over hypem et al. This song is actually one of their older ones - the more observant of you will have noticed that it made my best of 2008 list. Yet the sunny weather has made me realise how utterly perfect it is. For the hungover mornings I prefer the Landau 'Wake Up' Mix (available as part of their Chunk of Change EP)- a bit less squeaky, but still as feel-good. Their debut album, Manners, is out now, and actually lives up to the hype, get it now from wherever you buy music from.

[Artwork courtesy of jspad on flickr.com]

Cover Me in Roses

So it's not the most original idea for a post, but I was listening to my iPod on shuffle the other day, and I realised just how many cover versions of songs I have. On my old radio show we used to do a feature where we would get the listeners to vote between two versions of the same song, and I always used to struggle to think of cover versions. However, now I'm not doing the radio show, I can, of course, think of many.

This may become a regular post on Tricks, but I'm reluctant to post cover versions unless they're something really special. A good cover can totally transform a song, taking it in a new direction, exposing something different about the song. It's pretty standard indie fare to cover a well known song in an acoustic fashion, highlighting the 'meaning' behind a pop song, singing it in a conciously detached, ironic sense. While the best of these can be great, others remind you that, actually, production can make a track.



One of my favourite covers of the moment is the Flaming Lips' version of Borderline, originally by Madonna. The zany Lips take what was a decent 80s pop tune and turn it into an indie epic, with fuzzy bass lines, organs, and a soaring, pulsing guitar solo. along with an underlying sense of dread. It was for the Covered: A Revolution in Sound compliation that Warner Bros have put together to celebrate 50 years in the business. I have a feeling that the Michelle Branch version of A Case of You, also on the record, won't be making this post, however, if the compliation proves to be as good as this Flaming Lips cover, then I shall eat my words. You can watch the psychedelic video here, and listen to the track on hypem here.

[Artwork courtesy of Papa Goiba on flickr.]