If It's Too Loud...

Friday is always a good day to bring you a cover, and this week one is provided by Saint Avangeline. The Atlanta based artist has released a cover of Madonna's 1998 hit "Frozen." It's a reworking of Madonna's song, but it keeps enough of the original intact so that it remains recognizable. The original was already quite chill, but Saint Avangeline's version is even more laid back. "Frozen" is from Madonna's late 90's techo centered period. The cover stays electronic based, but it's more for the chill room than the rave itself. It's unique to hear a cover song that changes up the tone of the original while staying this faithful, but that's part of the magic of Saint Avangeline's artistry. Saint Avangeline says of her latest single: “ A classic from a legend! I think this is one of Madonna's most gorgeous pieces, and I wanted to pay tribute to her and her monumental impact on the music industry. She has influenced so many ar...

Photo via Facebook Wet Leg have released a grand total of four songs so far, and I've listened to those four songs at least once a day for more days than I care to admit to. However, for them to truly work their way into my heart they'd need to release a cover song. Apparently they read the blog and know that, because here they are covering Madonna's "Material Girl!" Wet Leg's take on "Material Girl" is a sonic clusterfuck in the best possible way. It's like if The Melvins decided to record shoegaze. It's almost unbearably sludgy, although Rhian Teasdale's vocals keep the original's upbeat pop sound. The closest Madonna cover comparison I can make is Sonic Youth's version of "Into the Groove," aka "Into the Groove(y)." You can listen to Wet Leg's take on "Material Girl" below. The song was recorded as part of SiriusXMU Sessions. For more on Wet Leg, check out the band's website .

Someday I'll have time to do more than just new releases. With that said, here are some new releases! Will Butler - Policy : Will Butler is a guitarist for Arcade Fire, and this is, technically, his debut album, but it's really more a collection of songs he did for a project with The Guardian . It's not a coherent piece on a whole in that regard, but the sum of its parts is pretty good, with some decent songs interspersed within. Definitely a must for Arcade Fire fans, not a waste of time for the rest of us. Fences - Lesser Oceans : I looked this one up mostly due to the fact that I liked their first album, especially "Girls With Accents." This second album, well, I don't know. It's a little all over the place, there's a Macklemore guest spot, and there's not really a song that jumps out at me here. I'm not really sure, but this might be something to skip. Joe Pug - Windfall : It's always fun when Ken sends albums over that I wa...

Maybe there was a time when Madonna was cool or relevant. I guess I have some respect for her early period, maybe. I mean, Sonic Youth covered her  and wrote a song about her and Sean Penn . She even handpicked The Stooges to perform her songs when she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But lately, she's just been embarrassing herself with trying to stay relevant. This cover of Elliott Smith's particularly gorgeous "Between the Bars" might be the nail in her proverbial cool coffin, because, well, yikes. It's awful. It takes all the beauty and pain of the original and just bastardizes it. Sure, it's supposed to be a protest of the prison system, but it still sucks.