Mark Ronson

Great song for you all today. It's an instrumental-which I really don't think I post enough of on this blog. It is a cover of Coldplay's "God Put A Smile Upon Your Face," from their sophomore album A Rush Of Blood To The Head. The instrumental is by Mark Ronson- who is known for his producing and guitar prowess. The cover sounds really amazing-putting more of a jazzy/dancehall spin on the track.

What really sets this track apart is the totally raw sound of the horns that really pull it all together. They add a flavor to the track that we really don't hear a lot of these days-horns seemed so rarely used in popular music, which is just too bad because they can really make some songs much more complex and add depth. Ronson uses the same guitar effects that he really takes advantage of on the entire CD- Version. There are a lot of great covers on the album, but for some reason this track really sets itself apart from the others. However I will also post his "Toxic" cover, which is of equal value, but not one of my favorite songs as far as composition goes. Enjoy!

"God Put A Smile Upon Your Face" covered by Mark Ronson from Version (2007)

"Toxic" covered by Mark Ronson ft. Tiggers & ODB from Version (2007)

-S

Can You Feel It?

I LOVE MUSICAL REFERENCES!

And "Believe" by The Dirty Heads is chock-full of them. From singing/rapping about bands such as Naughty by Nature and lifting a few riffs off of Sublime's "What I Got," "Believe" ends up being a total jam.

If you feel like you've heard them before, don't be surprised, they sound eerily similar to Sublime. Of all the songs I've heard by them so far, "Believe" takes the cake, but they also have a great softer cover of "Viva La Vida" of Coldplay fame. Also, not sure why the line about 'givin a little kick' whenever a Hendrix riff came on really is just superb, where have the song writers like Jared Watson and Duddy Bushnell gone?

I'm a huge believer in hard-core lyricism and just great word play. Anyway this is a great song, and, not sure why I'm feeling in the mood for great driving music, maybe its the spring air but it's that time of year, "Believe" is no exception.

— S