Uminski : Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

Philippe Uminski is a French artist who I don't know much about.  There's nothing in Wikipedia to help me out and precious little on his last.fm page.  But that's okay.  We're really here to talk about his cover of Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger".

Considering that the awesomeness of the original lies primarily in its jazzed up funk based on Edwin Birdsong's killer riff and use of vocodered vocals as the main instrument, this rock cover should fail.  It has no funk, and there's nothing jazzy about it, instead opting for a straight-ahead four-on-the-floor hard rock riff straight out of a 60's garage, with power chords that would make Pete Townshend weep with joy.  There's clearly no synthed-up vocals, or synths of any kind.  Instead the lyrics are shouted with a ferocity and intensity that turns them into a punk rock call to arms.  Plus there's those background "Wooooooo!" vocals that can't help but make you smile.  At the halfway point, there's a bit of a reprieve with a little Deliverance sample and a tasty funk intermission, but then it's right back into the fray, non-stop to the very end.

It really shouldn't work, but it really does.  This awesome cover can be found on Uminski's 2005 release, Sain & Sauf.  I have no idea where you could buy it from.

[You can listen to Uminski's cover of Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" by navigating to the post "Song093" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]

---

Lindsay Mac : Use Me

Lindsay Mac is a cellist with a bit of a unique streak.  She wants to be a singer-songwriter and has taken to playing her cello standing up, strapped like a guitar over her shoulder, so she can sing more easily.  That uniqueness comes across in spades in this cover of Bill Withers' classic tune "Use Me".  This is no dainty string quartet.  This is a full-on cello-fueled piece of electrified funk.  Normally, takes on this song turn me off because the original is just so... so... so damn awesome.  "Use Me" is a song that expertly combines both joy and despair, hope and hopelessness, and just plain raw lust, into a simmering cauldron of deep funk.  Lindsay does not forget this.

She manages to keep the power of the slow funk while updating the song with a bit of electronic studio play and, of course, cello.  She's got a real drummer driving the back beat behind her while she tears up the bass lines on her favorite instrument.  That's all accentuated with a little bit of scratching and of course she sings.  It's a little bare, but I think that's it.  There are couple of flourishes here and there, but I think those are primarily overdubbed, electronically-processed cello.

She also does really great trick where somehow her own vocals are scratched.  I'm not sure if she recorded them to vinyl first or if it's a studio trick, but it's damn cool.  Especially effective is the start of the second verse, where she hollers 'My brother!' and the DJ totally breaks it down.  It's ass-kicking-ness of the first power.  It got me thinking that it would be a completely awesome move if, in her live shows, she only played the cello part and really did let a DJ play her vocals off a record.  Even cooler if she somehow managed to switch back and forth between live and recorded vocals.

Anyway, the song is an amazing version of an amazing song.  Extremely well done, and it really does what a cover should do, which is to give you a familiar touchstone while still presenting everything an artist has to offer.  It makes me want to buy the album, which, by the way, is called Small Revolution.

[You can listen to Lindsay Mac's "Use Me" by navigating to the post "Song052" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]

---

Ben Vaughn : Avanti

Ben Vaughn has been writing and recording since the mid 80's, and is probably best know for his theme to 3rd Rock from the Sun. He's been in a rock band, as well as dabbled in songwriting, soundtracks, production and, of course, his own projects. He is apparently well-known for being able to faithfully recreate the sound of past decades in his recordings.

"Avanti" is a throwback to the go-go easy listening sound that the big bands took up in the early 60's in order to keep themselves "hip" with the burgeoning rock & roll consumers. They never quite got it, but created some beautiful bastardizations while trying. Stay tuned for some of those in the future. Meanwhile, Ben has captured that era in all its groovy glory. There's the swinging backbeat, the trademark Vincent Bell guitar sound, the funky Hammond, and of course the female chorale 'doo-be-doo'ing their way through the wordless vocals. It sounds like something that would be right at home in a 60's soft porn or exploitation flick. In fact, it sounds a bit like something Piero Umiliani might have written (you remember "Mah Nà Mah Nà", right?).

Anyway, "Avanti" and other pseudo-soundtrack gems can be found on Ben's 2005 release, Designs in Music. It's a solid album and a fun listen.

[You can listen to Ben Vaughn's "Avanti" by navigating to the post "Song032" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]

---