If It's Too Loud...

John Denver has never exactly been my jam, but we've been loving Mountain Man here for years, so when Mountain Man announced they were releasing a two song single of John Denver covers, I had to at least check it out. (We do love covers...) As the band announced on Facebook: " WE love John Denver so much we gave Alex his haircut, and recorded a few of his legendary tunes too. Have a listen! They are so sooooothing, we promise." The songs definitely are soothing, but to me they feel more Mountain Man than John Denver (I think?). "Take Me Home, Country Roads" is exactly what we love about Mountain Man: quiet, almost delicate, perfect folk with beautiful harmonies. "Around and Around" is more of the same, and both songs have me debating if I'm really a non-fan of John Denver. Probably not, but let's not take any chances here... You can listen to Mountain Man's take on "Take Me Home, Country Roads" below. You can order your vinyl ...

When I think of John Denver covers, J Mascis doesn't exactly come to mind. Nevertheless, here is a video for his track off the John Denver tribute album, The Music Is You: A Tribute to John Denver. I expected this to fall into his more acoustic work, but it's a plugged in version that would fit right in on a J Mascis and the Fog album. Sharon von Etten provides backing vocals, and of course there are multiple guitar solos that would melt the glasses off John Denver's face. The video features Aimee Mann and Jon Wurster as Denver fans that find love on a John Denver dating website. And puppets, because why the hell not, right? "Prisoners" by J Mascis and Sharon Van Etten from Aimee Mann