If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Shervin Iainez Melissa Ferrick is a legendary singer/songwriter based out of Boston. They are a Berklee trained musician who is currently a Professor of the Practice at Northeastern University and a former Associate Professor of Songwriting at Berklee College of Music. Ferrick isn't an obvious choice for a Sleater-Kinney cover, but they've recorded a version of "You're No Rock N' Roll Fun" as part of Kill Rock Stars' thirtieth anniversary covers series Stars Rock Kill (Rock Stars). While I said they weren't an obvious choice to cover Sleater-Kinney, now that you know it exists it is kind of a dream cover, isn't it? Ferrick takes more of a traditional folk/rock look at the Sleater-Kinney classic, but since it is Ferrick it does have their non-traditional take on the standard classic singer/songwriter thing. Both Melissa Ferrick and Sleater-Kinney are wonderfully unique artists, and this cover reflects that. You can listen to Melissa Ferrick...

Hallelujah the Hills can be a pretty weird band when they want to be, but for the most part they're a fairly straightforward indie rock/folk band, albeit with weirdo tendencies. When they were asked to take part in Kill Rock Stars' Stars Rock Kill (Rock Stars) , they chose to cover Marnie Stern's 2013 song "Year of the Glad." It's an interesting selection, as the original is an electronic sounding hyperenergetic oddball of a song. Hallelujah the Hills' version remains quite true to the original despite slowing down the tempo and making it quite a bit more folky sounding. They replaced the looped vocalizing that defines the song and used instrumentation to recreate that part. It's an absolutely gorgeous cover and truly showcases Hallelujah the Hills' uniqueness, which is rare to find in a cover. You can listen to Hallelujah the Hills' version of "Year of the Glad" below. The song is available on Stars Rock Kill (Rock Stars) , which cel...

Last year Kill Rock Stars had artists cover songs from Elliott Smith's eponymous album for its twenty fifth anniversary. This year is their thirtieth, so they're having artists cover songs from their entire thirty year history! The first one is going to grab us immediately. Any time Mary Lou Lord covers Elliott Smith, we're going to gleefully pay attention. (Just check out her version of "I Figured You Out" to see why.) But then add Mikaela Davis into the mix, and it's impossible not to check this out and love it! The duo's version of "Some Song" is a more fleshed out version of Smith's bare bones original, but any time you can blend Smith's biting words and Lord's lovely vocals, it's a win for all involved.  Mary Lou Lord says of the song: " I first heard 'Some Song' among the many early Elliott songs. I am from Salem, MA, and Halloween has always been a big deal in my hometown. I chose “Some Song” because it’s so ha...