Thursday, July 14, 2011

Cover Thursdays - Stripped Down edition

Coming attcha live from the beautiful Lake District in Cumbria, where I am soon to be attending a wedding, here's a little something to whet your appetite before I resume proper posting. It's just gone midnight, so we're technically good to go for an overdue Cover Thursdays.

Our first number might be prefaced by me saying that I've never really held any high hopes of someone successfully covering a Sigur Rós song. However, this little gem may just have done the trick: We Are Scientists take on "Hoppípolla". I won't make promises on the correctness of their Icelandic pronunciation, but those harmonies and falsettos are bang on. Very good work, indeed.



Second, here's a little something that I heard on the radio whilst driving up from Pembrokshire in Wales (which was also splendid -- thanks for asking). Jasmine Van den Bogaerde won the national talent contest, Open Mic UK in 2008. Since then, and under her stage name of Birdy, she's been making something of a career based on emotive, piano-driven covers... But give the girl a break; she's still only 15. Here she offers her version of "Shelter", originally by The xx:



Hope you enjoy those two. In other news, I should be able to get something more profound (read: lengthier) up in the next couple of days. Or perhaps not. My GF's family have gone wedding befok[*] and have pre- and post-wedding festivities planned each day, before and after the main event on Saturday. I've been bumped up to chief usher after the bride's brother has been forced to pull out because his own wife has just given birth. Shame, timing's a bit unfortunate, but I promise to do my best in his place. With great power, comes great responsibility...

[*] I'm guessing that translates fairly easily from Afrikaans, but I really mean it in the nicest way possible. I'm all up for celebratory atmospheres, and am more trying to convey that I may be busy the next little while... in case my poor posting efforts continues, that is.

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