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S.O.S.The Fire Apes16 February 2006 |
The Fire Apes
OK, I'll admit it. I am a total sucker for a good cover song. So much so, I think I'm going to try and make sure that one out of the five songs I send out each week is a cover. I find cover songs particularly interesting because they offer a unique insight into the personality and taste of the band that you don't necessarily glean from the music they've written themselves. A band's choice of cover song allows you to realize, “Oh cool, they like that song too.” or “Wow, it makes perfect sense for them to cover that song because...” It's like every time I see the Scottish band Travis (3x now) I keep waiting for them to pop back on stage for an encore and cover any song by Slade. Why? Because Travis has punky-glam tendencies lurking beneath the surface whenever they play live. Because they're “children of the '70's” when that kind of music was huge in Great Britain — and there's no way they could completely skirt it's influence. Because they also know that there is a very respectable niche for glam in the pantheon of rock n' roll, and acknowledging that niche by covering Slade would bring them closer n touch with certain segments of their audience on some level. I know some people believe that if they buy a CD or pay to see a band, they don't want to shell out their hard-earned cash to hear the band play someone else's tunes. I disagree. I like the surprise that comes with that choice, and I like to think about the discussion that went into making it. Why that song and not a song by_________? Why not a different song by ___________? Does it make sense with regards to the rest of the music being performed? Is that influence apparent? And so on. For me, whenever I hear a good cover, it just adds an extra dimension to the band and their own music.
Today's Happy Medium Song of the Day comes from The Fire Apes, a terrific band from Charleston, South Carolina that I hope to see playing Druid Drive this summer. Currently they have two excellent CD's out. A few of us have also had the good fortune to hear a few tracks from their forthcoming release. Both A Perfect Day for Bananafish and Central Park Carousel are “a truly spectacular, classic slab of pure, clean n' sweet power pop. The Fire Apes understand what the British pop invasion was about and yet transcend the past and merge it beautifully with the future.” They also take the time to acknowledge one of the truly sweetest power pop groups of all time--Abba—with a fabulous version of “S.O.S.” (Please use the comments box to share your thoughts.)
Today's Happy Medium Song of the Day comes from The Fire Apes, a terrific band from Charleston, South Carolina that I hope to see playing Druid Drive this summer. Currently they have two excellent CD's out. A few of us have also had the good fortune to hear a few tracks from their forthcoming release. Both A Perfect Day for Bananafish and Central Park Carousel are “a truly spectacular, classic slab of pure, clean n' sweet power pop. The Fire Apes understand what the British pop invasion was about and yet transcend the past and merge it beautifully with the future.” They also take the time to acknowledge one of the truly sweetest power pop groups of all time--Abba—with a fabulous version of “S.O.S.” (Please use the comments box to share your thoughts.)
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