Project 12: Return of the Playlist
It's back. The classic playlist cover challenge that started it all.
Each contributor creates a playlists of 5 songs via Spotify or YouTube or something that enables other people to hear it. Submit your 5 song playlist by August 28
Each person who wants to cover something, chooses a song or songs from the playlists submitted. The only constraint being that the song or songs you cover can't come from your own playlist.
People submit their songs as they complete them, and I post all songs to the site at once the evening of Sunday, September 26.
Final day to submit covers will be Sunday, September 26
Download all of the songs here
Grant Eull covers 100% by Sonic Youth and Gates of Steel by DEVO.
After a bit of FOMO from this project I decided to see what I could accomplish in a day. It really feels great to have learned so much about my recording gear that I can sketch out a couple covers in less than a day. Feels super satisfying. I know the one synth line on the DEVO song is "off", but I couldn't resist giving it a go as it's an all time favorite!. I loved the list of submissions from everyone and had a very hard time choosing songs to attempt.
I continue to be honored to be part of this super talented group.
Jeff Esterby covers Angus Desire by Sparks
Sorry for the last minute entry again - also totally blew it on submitting a playlist this round so I really broke every rule in the book on this one. Cuff me.
Sparks is a huge influence on me and one of my favorite bands ever so as soon as I saw this one I started recording it and it was really hard. So hard in fact that I just sat on it forever and then just sort of pitched and distorted it until I eventually gave up on it. Enjoy the mess.
Also great work, everyone!
Barrett Haroldson covers All I Need by Radiohead
With creativity, sometimes when I get stuck I try to not overthink it but let experimentation and chance bring something new. I had recreated All I Need into something that sounded more like a movie score with some swelling synths, distorted horns and was about to work on a final mix. While I was doing that YouTube played the next video which was the vocals to True Love Waits. Somehow the 2 really worked together so I felt that was far more interesting. It may be sacrilege to diehard Radiohead fans but was fun to make.
Andrew Charon covers I Didn’t Change My Number by Billie Eilish
I waited until the final day of the deadline to start to record…the deadline is always good inspiration. It was between this song and “Country Death Song” by the Violent Femmes. I wanted more experience recording vocals and guitar and thought this one would be a fun exercise since I feel like my singing is a bit weak. Though my initial thought was to make the transition at the end of the song more psychedelic metal I think it worked out pretty ok. Lots of learnings with this one on my end but I had a blast recording it.
Randy “Devetron” Dever covers Games Without Frontiers by Peter Gabriel
Decisions were made. Some real ham-fisted, blunt-force edits here.
I used my bass, a telephone handset mic, Elektron Digitakt, Yamaha SU-700 and Korg Poly-61.
Jeff Kearns covers Viet Nam by the Minutemen
war is not funny. masculinity sometimes is. I pulled a rib muscle singing this fucker.
Dale “Tooth” Flattom covers Everybody Wants to Rule The World by Tears for Fears
1984? 1985? / Big Brother was watching / MTV / The way the verse walks into the bridge / These dudes knew what they were doing / BANNED even / another mope-a-dope cover / slow it down and make it sad.
Tom Stromsodt’s Project 12 Songs
Mr Crowley
I learned and recorded the beginning of this song within 30 minutes of Neil posting it (Andrew’s playlist). It was the clearest decision I’ve ever made.
Jay plays the second solo and channeled Randy better than I could have imagined.
Sundown
Fast facts:
1. This song was the #1 song in the land during my first month on earth is the year of our lord, 1974
2. This song is about Cathy Smith, Gord’s ex-girlfriend. Smith was a backup singer, drug dealer, and legal secretary who later went on to inject John Belushi with a lethal speedball. She died of Covid last year.
3. Gordon Lightfoot is a Canadian treasure.
Jay provided focused, modal blues melodicising on the electric guitar and sweet chorus harmonies.
Noah Warren covers
I Didn’t Change My Number by Billie Eilish
So I had zero-point-zero time to do the kinks project and I didn’t meet the deadline. I felt bad so I pushed myself to finish something this round. Turns out I had even less time, (ah sweet irony). I guess the lesson learned is that my perception of time is a fickle mistress, if that makes any sense, (eat your heart out Christopher Nolan).
I was pleased as punch to see Neil include a Billie Eilish song on his playlist. I really like how she and FINNEAS work- incorporating real world sounds and whatnot. Nice to see Eililsh return to her Reggae roots in this record. ;)
I still haven’t seen her documentary, (zero-point-zero time, dammit!), but doing this cover was interesting. I thought it would be easy to sing in her key. Boy was I wrong. Hats off to Billie for being able to pull off her sound in an authentic manner.
Had fun, Had no time, but had fun. Here it is! Good to be back and thanks for listening!
Mark Schumacher’s cover of
Tour de France by Kraftwerk
Jacob Sharff’s cover of
Viet Nam by the Minutemen
When required to do the math, I realize that Double Nickels on the
Dime has been on regular rotation in my music collection for well over
30 years now. What is more amazing is that I’ve never gotten tired of
it. There aren’t very many albums I can say that about. The
Minutemen, perhaps more than any other band I can think of, completely
defined the idea of what I thought punk rock was supposed to be. They
were a band that made me want to immediately go buy shitty gear and
start my own band. Strangely, I don’t think the idea of covering a
Minutemen song has ever even occurred to me. Perhaps it was just too
sacred. Off-limits. I don’t know. But after spending way too much
time learning the keyboard part for Borderline and trying to figure
out an interesting way to cover Madonna, I abandoned that idea and
decided I would wade into the sacred waters and take a stab at Viet
Nam.
My initial idea for the song was to do something counter-intuitive and
to attempt to be ironic by slowing it down. I do realize this is
probably one of the most obvious choices one could make when doing a
cover. But also, I’m not gonna pretend for a second that I can play
as fast as any of those dudes, so that’s the default direction I took
with this one. After pulling out Ballot Result, the 1987 posthumous
release of live recordings, and realizing (to my surprise) that there
is no live version of Viet Nam on that record, I decided it would also
be fun to make a cover that sounded like it was recorded live. For
whatever it’s worth, I think I made an effort to channel some D. Boon
energy in there somewhere, and while in the process of making this, I
may or may not have also been secretly fantasizing that I was
recreating a long lost bootleg version of the song, recorded in a
small, dirty bar somewhere south of San Pedro….
Eric “Czahr” Scott’s Project 12 Songs
What Deaner was Talking About by Ween
Ween. Always a problematic band in one way or another, yet always near and dear to my heart. My first exposure to Ween was from my parent's answering machine. Let me explain. My high school friend had just gotten GodWeenSatan and was so excited to share the absurdity with me, he called when nobody was home and instead of leaving a message he played "Got a Weasel" in its near entirety with no message. My parents naturally assumed it was for me, and I in turn naturally assumed it was from the person who had left it (some of you know Mat Sanborn, heheh).
Anyway, Deaner. I've always loved this song. It's a breezy and easy chaser after gorging on the buffet of Chocolate and Cheese. It's one of their "normal" songs. I've never tried covering it before, and was delighted to find that it's super easy. School just started, and I'm gearing up to return to the office after 18 months away, so I needed something easy. I needed Ween. They're always there for me.
Technical stuff...eh, acoustic guitar, a drum pad, a moog app, all hastily fed into the sausage grinder of Garage Band. It's not my most careful recording, and it's fairly straightforward, but there it is.
The Rake’s Song by The Decemberists
I've always had a weird relationship with the Decemberists. I love the lyrics, I love the melodies, I have no problems with the musicianship and I really enjoy some of their albums, but I always end up feeling that what I'm hearing sounds a little too sterile. Their stories and melodies beg for a dirtier, less refined sound. Ditch the bathing and deodorant, let it stink. They’re Neutral Water Condo.
Anyway, it's back to school season so a song about murdering your kids seemed fun. I thought it would lend a little weight to it if I tried for a slower, more Tom Waitsy sort of style. I did a couple takes where I actually tried singing in a Tom Waits voice, but it sounded like someone with a cold failing their Muppets audition so I quickly deleted those. Enjoy.
Bill Fricke’s Project 12 Songs
M.E. by Gary Numan
When I was in like 9th or 10th grade or so, a friend of mine was really into Gary Numan and we used to go to Roger Dodger Music on Lake Street and play with the synthesizers for hours until we got kicked out. We later recorded a bunch of Gary Numan songs with a small mixer and two tape decks. I played drums and guitar, he did keyboards and vocals. It was a horrendous noise. We never recorded M.E., but it was always one of the songs l liked.
First thought was to go small chamber ensemble with strings and woodwinds. And that’s what happened. I’m super fond of Numan’s melodies and his signature interval jumps and I’m pleasantly surprised at how well they translated to a string treatment.
Again, done with GarageBand orchestral sounds, strings, oboe, flute clarinet, bassoon, etc.
Sundown and Shilo
I had to cover these to honor my mom. She loved Gordon Lightfoot and Neil Diamond. I highly recommend the documentary “If You Could Read My Mind” about him on streaming. It gave me a whole new respect for his songwriting. I had forgotten how amazing his voice is.
Sundown is pretty much a straight forward cover. A little bit slower and more electric guitars, perhaps a little more countryish.
Shilo is just acoustic guitar and vocals. Done very quickly, but it has it’s charm. I almost started crying while singing because the song hits home for me, being the kid who felt left out and turning to music to be my friend.
Neil Fasen’s Project 12 Songs
Do You Love Me Now by the Breeders
This songs conjures up very palpable memories of High School. I listened to Last Splash a ton back then. I saw the Breeders at First Ave, and I also saw them open for Nirvana at Roy Wilkins. I loved them. Tom and Matt helped me with this one.
Shilo by Neil Diamond
My plan was to strip everything natural from this song, the smokey vocals, the acoustic guitars and tambourines, and instead try to do my best Cher “Do You Believe” impression.
Mark Schumacher’s Playlist
Passion Fruit by Drake
At Last I am Free by Robert Wyatt
My Jamaican Guy by Grace Jones
(You Caught Me) Smilin' by Sly & The Family Stone
Hi a Skoellyas LIV a Dhagrow by Gwenno
Link to Mark’s playlist on Spotify
Randy Dever’s Playlist
Cisco Kid by War
Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft by Carpenters
Gold by John Stewart
Shilo by Neil Diamond
The Breakup Song by Greg Kinh Band
Link to Randy’s playlist of Youtube
Link to Randy’s playlist on Spotify
Jacob Sharff’s Playlist
Gates of Steel by DEVO
Rub ‘Til It Bleeds by PJ Harvey
Honesty Is No Excuse by Thin Lizzy
Bummer in the Summer by Love
Baby Bitch by Ween
Link to Jacob’s playlist on Spotify
Noah Warren’s Playlist
Murder By Playlist
1. John Wayne Gacy, Jr- Sufjan Stevens
2. Down in the Willow Garden - cover performed by Billie Joe Armstrong and Norah Jones
3. The Rake’s Song- The Decemberists
4. Country Death Song- The Violent Femmes
5. Where did you sleep last night- cover performed by Sleigh Bells
Yikes! Country folk are spooky.
Link to Noah’s playlist
Jeff Kearns Playlist
Love is a Losing Game by Amy Winehouse
Truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden
Borderline by Madonna
The Sign by Ace of Base
Too Involved by Teenage Fanclub
Link to Jeff’s playlist on YouTube
Brian Eveslage’s Playlist
Hold Your Head Up by Argent
M.E. by Gary Numan
Sea of Love by Phil Philips
Rhythm Nation by Janet Jackson
Saved By Zero by The Fixx
Link to Brian’s playlist on Spotify
Jeff Mooridian Jr.’s Playlist
Forget Marie by Lee Hazelwood
Tour de France by Kraftwerk
Psychedelic Woman by Honey and the Bees Band
Angus Desire by Sparks
Banshee by Santigold
Link to Jeff’s playlist on Spotify
Barrett’s Playlist
Little Girl In Bloom by Thin Lizzy
Never My Love by The Association
Mockingbirds by Grant Lee Buffalo
I Lied by Lord Huron, Allison Ponthier
Joy Inside My Tears by Stevie Wonder
Link to Barrett’s playlist on Spotify
Chris Danforth’s Playlist
Stutter by Elastica
Sundown by Gordon Lightfoot
Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears For Fears
The Sweetest Taboo by Sade
Kiss You All Over by Exile
Link to Danforth’s playlist on YouTube
Colby Heston’s Playlist
Poledo by Dinosaur Jr.
What Deaner Was Talkin’ About by Ween
Starlight by the Superman Lovers
Take Off Your Cool by Outkast (feat Norah Jones)
Do You Love Me Now? by the Breeders
Link to Colby’s playlist at YouTube
Eric “Czahr” Scott’s Playlist
I Found Out by John Lennon
Viet Nam by the Minutemen
Dragon Attack by Queen
Music Jail, Pt. 1 and 2 by They Might Be Giants
Dawn by Kikagaku
Link to Czahr’s playlist on Spotify
Bill Fricke’s Playlist
Uncertain Smile by The The
Moon Palace by Luna
Ocean Rain by Echo and the Bunnymen
Games Without Frontiers by Peter Gabriel
Rattlesnakes by Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
Link to Bill’s playlist on Spotify
Matt Rahaim’s Playlist
These Dreams by Heart
Because the Night by Patti Smith
Eternal Flame by The Bangles
We Belong by Pat Benetar
The Day the World Turned Day-Glo by X-Ray Spex
Link to Matt’s playlist on YouTube
Andrew Charon’s Playlist
100% by Sonic Youth
Careful With That Axe, Eugene by Pink Floyd
Mr. Crowley (live) by Ozzy Osbourne
Sway by the Rolling Stones
For The Turnstiles by Neil Young
Link to Andrew’s playlist on YouTube
Tom Stromsodt’s Playlist
No Myth by Michael Penn
Lovemachine by Supermax
The Wind Will Carry Them By by The Rokes
My Uncle Used to Love Me by Roger Miller
Brokedown Place by the Grateful Dead
Link to Tom’s playlist on Spotify
Neil Fasen’s Playlist
Caustic Acrostic by Fugazi
Mandinka by Sinéad O’Conner
I Didn’t Change My Number by Billie Eilish
All I Need by Radiohead
Ballad of a Thin Man by Bob Dylan
Link to Neil’s playlist on Spotify
Grant Eull’s Playlist
Bye Bye Love by the Cars
I’ll Be You by the Replacements
Think About You by Guns N’ Roses
Is There Something I Should Know? by Duran Duran
The Ocean by Led Zeppelin