If It's Too Loud...

Deer Tick are no strangers to cover songs. The Providence, RI band used to play Nirvana cover sets as Deervana, and have long sprinkled cover songs throughout their live shows. They just released a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark," and it's just one of those covers that make perfect sense. I can't think of a band more perfectly suited to taking on one of The Boss' most iconic songs. It's a very faithful, with Deer Tick's version including a little more fuzz and twang in the guitars. It's one of the best everyman anthems ever made, and Ian O'Neill nails it brilliantly. Ian O'Neill says of "Dancing in the Dark": "For me, 'Dancing in the Dark' isn't a song about romance, but instead a desperate plea to break out of some degraded, stagnant situation. The narrator is filled with angst, self doubt, and the only way out is to the sheer force of unwavering will power. Bruce really shows us who he is on t...

Normally Bill Janovitz covering a Bruce Springsteen classic would be a reason to celebrate, but that doesn't feel appropriate for this one, despite it being a fantastic cover. Janovitz has released a cover of "Thunder Road," and while the cover is absolutely fantastic, the reason he recorded this particular song from the Boss is a tragedy. Janovitz explains on his Bandcamp: "A friend of ours recently lost her husband, and her two boys lost their father. We lost a friend. Cancer. Mike battled hard. He made sure that the first song each of the boys heard in their lives, on the way back from the hospital after being born, was 'Thunder Road.' Sue asked if I would record it for his memorial, which accompanied a heartrending slide show. I wanted to share this recording for a charity that has helped this family. All proceeds will be passed along to the Marjorie E. Korff Parenting At a Challenging Time [PACT] Program, which has been 'a life raft during the most d...

Photo via Facebook This is a weird, weird day. I can't imagine anyone out there doesn't have some level of anxiety, and posting about something like music seems really trivial. But I think we could all use some distraction and happiness today, so I'll be bringing you some cover songs today, since they're something that brings me joy. Earlier this year we became smitten with Answering Machine, a Brooklyn band featuring two school teachers that play a grown up version of pop punk. They've released a cover of Bruce Springsteen's 1978 song "The Promised Land." I've been a late convert to the music of Springsteen, and I haven't made it to Darkness on the Edge of Town yet, but the first surprising thing about Answering Machine's cover is how faithful it is to the original. For a band that doesn't typically use harmonica, theirs is spot on to Bruce's original. The main difference between the two is Answering Machine's is filled with jo...

Ever since Lucy Dacus announced her 2019 holiday singles project, I've been waiting for one of her more interesting holidays: Bruce Springsteen's birthday. I came to Springsteen later in life, and I can't say I'm fully on board, but I now get it. To celebrate Bruce's birthday on September 23, she's released a cover of "Dancing in the Dark." At first the song starts out like a typical Lucy Dacus song: In that world between folk and indie rock, almost haunting. But the song slowly starts picking up (which is also a Lucy Dacus trait), but in a more traditional, straightforward rock way. Like a Springsteen song. Dacus pulls off the rare cover that stays true to the original while making it her own song, which is impressive since her music isn't close to Bruce's. You can listen to Lucy Dacus take on "Dancing in the Dark" below. There are still forthcoming songs for Halloween and Christmas. For more on Lucy Dacus, check out her website ...

I've had a longstanding complicated relationship with Bruce Springsteen. I spent most of my life hating his music and dismissing it as overblown stadium rock. Then I discovered Nebraska  and became obsessed. With Nebraska. I've expanded a bit with albums like Greetings from Asbury Park , but most of his work I just can't get into. I prefer Springsteen the folk troubadour and not Springsteen the stadium rocker. This is why Born to Uke may be perfect for me. Born to Run  is the epitome of Springsteen the stadium rocker, but Born to Uke has various artists limiting their versions of the songs from Born to Run with only ukulele, bass, vocals, and percussion. The first up is The Weepies with their take on "Backstreets." They strip it down to just vocals and ukulele, and the result is exactly what I want with my Springsteen. It's a down to absolute basics folk song without even a shred of pomp or huge rock star. This I can get into. You can listen to The Weepi...

Photo via Facebook As any regular reader of If It's Too Loud would know, we love cover songs here. This was one of those sneaky covers that I didn't recognize until about halfway through. Mark Lavengood also plays with Lindsay Lou & The Flatbellies, but has a solo album coming out next month. I tend to like Springsteen covers more than I tend to like Springsteen (although my 40 year odyssey of appreciating The Boss has me actually kinda getting into him in the past year), and I have a huge love of folk and bluegrass covers of his songs, which makes sense since I like Bruce the Folk Singer more than Bruce the Rock God. Lavengood's cover of "Hungry Heart" is a great bluegrass version of the Springsteen classic. It's as faithful a cover as a genre switch can be, and exists in both worlds of traditional bluegrass and more modern nu-grass. If I'm being completely honest, I loved the instrumentation at first, but almost balked at Lavengood's voice. I...

Photo via Facebook Pretty much anything Kathleen Hanna does musically will get mentioned here, and when she does a cover song, it will definitely get mentioned. For the upcoming soundtrack for Maggie's Plan , Kathleen Hanna covers Springsteen's iconic "Dancing in the Dark." First of all, who knew soundtrack albums were still a thing? Second, this cover is interesting. Since Hanna makes a cameo in the film, and since she's joined by actor Tommy Buck who also appears in the film, I'm pretty sure this is a 100% Kathleen Hanna cover. Listening to the track, it seems more like it's their characters that are performing the song. Hanna doesn't really sound like she normally does when she sings, and Buck's voice seems fairly affected. Plus, it ends with a group of people singing along and clapping at the end. But, hey, it's still Kathleen Hanna singing Springsteen! You can listen to Kathleen Hanna and Tom Buck's version of "Dancing in th...

I've never really gotten the whole Springsteen thing. I really like Nebraska , but pretty much everything else I hear is just over the top, arena rock, which I pretty much universally loathe. The worst of all of this is the album loved by everyone in America but me Born in the U.S.A.  This is why I'm so intrigued by the upcoming tribute album Dead Man's Town. It features more country twinged/folky acts covering the album Born in the U.S.A.  The first, and title, track is the one I'm most interested, featuring husband/wife duo Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires. Their version is downright haunting and minimalist, featuring little more than Isbell's vocals and Shires' fiddle. The result is beautiful and unsettling, much closer to the actual lyrics and the song's subject matter than Springsteen's album version. Dead Man's Town  will be released on September 16 on Lightning Rod Records . It will also feature Justin Townes Earle, Joe Pug, Holly Williams...