Jeans Cover is a great new comp from Sweden's Groover Recordings*. It's fifteen new tracks by fifteen bands, covers of fifteen songs by fifteen other bands. There are Swedes and Americans, Scots and more. The covered artists are pleasingly diverse, from Depeche Mode to Probot, Jonathan Richman to Hall & Oates, Kelis to Wham. Better yet - most of the covers are good.

So here's two.

The Flu - "Hate to Say I Told You So". Swedes covering Swedes, popsters The Flu versus The Hives' growling punch-and-shove original. I say "popsters" mostly because they're Swedish. This cover isn't jangly-jangly, instead it's slightly country, slightly cross-eyed, everything a little bendy in the knees. Lots of voices knocking together, off-kilter next to the wobbly electric guitar and the back-and-forth bumpty-bump bass. There are hand-claps, of course. The lead vox are just a bit thick with drink, swayingly so, which is the perfect escort of the light shouting of the finale, the harmonica blaring, drunks in a cozy room, wearing themselves out. Happily.

Hello Saferide - "Teen Line". It's such a pleasure to hear from Hello Saferide again, this time in the service of a song originally by The Shivvers. These are the american New Wave Shivvers, not the Bloc Party/Futureheads-supporting UK Shivvers. Sadly, I'm unfamiliar with the original "Teen Line", but Annika (aka Hello Saferide) says that it was "probably one of the best pop songs ever made". She also says that the lyrics were nearly impossible to make out, but she tried all the same. So here we are, carefree and simple, acoustic guitar and a squeezy pop voice, an organ and a bit of melodica, a strutting strum forward. A sunny day song, sure ("as long as you love me, nothing really matters at all"), but let's be more adventurous with our imaginings. Tonight we'll say it's an afterdark stroll through that creepy square downtown, the one outside the subway (T-line) stop, the one filled with drunks and ragamuffins, but your hair is swinging and you're listening to the song and no one can touch you, no-way, cuz, well, you're loved.

[buy]

* Groover is also the scandinavian label for the greatest unsigned band in america, Bishop Allen.

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I know I'm late to the party, but the much-ballyhooed Imogen Heap tune, "Hide and Seek", is really terrific. Vocoder blooming with just enough vocal beats coming in at the end. Even J liked it, and he hates the vocoder. I'm still ruminating over the rest of Speak for Yourself, trying to decide if there's something else worth bringing to your attention. The Annie-meets-Natalie Merchant/Postal Service-meets-Daft Punk's Discovery is a pretty interesting vibe (and certainly way better than Frou Frou).

Hopping on the podcast-subscribing boat. Anyone have any hot tips? (other than cbc radio 3!!!)

Also: If anyone knows anyone at mp3blogs.org, can you please tell them to update their freakin' saidthegramophone bookmark!