Skye - Morcheeba

Here's some more cover music. This is an example of a artist taking a song and transforming it into something different that is their own. "Reinterpreted" as Nic Harcourt puts it. From KCRW's Music Exchange, Skye performs a very cool live cover of Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc. Available in iTunes or on KCRW's web site. If you want to skip right to the song it's about 4 minutes into the podcast.

Skye, aka Skye Edwards, is the frontwoman for the trip hop/electronic band Mocheeba. Morcheeba is a band from London formed in the mid-90s. They have a cool, laid-back sound that I think readers of this humble blog will like. I like Tricky but he can be so laid-back that he sends me to sleepytime. And I never really ventured into trip hop beyond Tricky and Massive Attack. Skye has a light, sweet voice that keeps you engaged just enough.

In 2003, Skye left the band and she has just released a solo album last month. It's called "Mind How You Go" and has the same chill sound. Here's a track from it:

Skye - Love Show

Check out more from Skye on her website, including a couple of tracks in the media section. Morcheeba also has a website and you can watch some of their music videos on youtube as well. Here's the song Otherwise from the album Charango.

Where the Streets Have No Name

What a great song, so it should come as no surprise that there are tons of covers out there. I've compiled a small collection of ones that I like/find tolerable/interesting (don't worry, I skipped out on the elevator versions).

U2 - Where the Streets Have No Name
Original [non-live] version, duh. I highly doubt anyone doesn't have it but the link is there anyway. Afterall it's the "title track" of this post :)

Chris Tomlin - Where the Streets Have No Name
I think most of you know who he is. This version is pretty much a carbon copy of the original, give or take (at least it's in a different key). That said, you can't really go too wrong, and Tomlin's voice pulls it off pretty decently. This track is off the album "In The Name Of Love: Artists United For Africa", a compilation of U2 covers by Christian artists.

Kane - Where the Streets Have No Name
Kane is a Dutch rock band that I've never heard of until I ran across this track. Off their cover album "With Or Without You", this live recording also stays fairly faithful to the original except they add their own bit of flare to the vocals here and there (37 pieces perhaps?).

Silverbeam with Ann Louise - Where the Streets Have No Name
Not really sure who Silverbeam or Ann Louise are, and a half-hearted search on them yielded pretty minimal results. I guess you can call this the [dreaded] dance version but the vocals are pretty decent.

Pet Shop Boys - Where the Streets Have No Name (Can't Take My Eyes Off You)
I'm ashamed to admit this, but this particular version is my first exposure to the song. The saving grace (if you can call it such) is that I knew from the beginning that it was a U2 song from reading the liner notes (which I was planning on posting but I can't find my CD). This is the overall most deviant rendition of the bunch, as they tacked on the chorus of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Frankie Valli. Being a synthpop fan, I thought the guitar translated rather nicely into a driving synth bass line.

Vanessa Carlton - Streets Have No Name
A hard-to-find track that was only available as an mp3 download or on the Japanese version of the piano-playing pop singer's latest album "Harmonium". A great cover thanks to her vocals and amazing piano skills used with stunning effect. Enjoy.

debt AIDS trade africa

To finish the thought on U2- Bono is known not only as the rock star front man of the Irish band, but also as the rock star social and political activist for the restoration of Africa. He helped convince some of the world's richest nations to cancel billions in debt and help poorer countries begin to break the never-ending cycle of debt as part of the Jubilee 2000 campaign.

In 2002, he founded DATA (debt AIDS trade africa). It's an organization that works to increase awareness of the top issues plaguing many countries in Africa- unpayable debt, AIDS, and unfair trade rules that hurt the poor. For more information, check out the DATA website: http://www.data.org/whyafrica/

Earlier this May, Bono had an interview with NBC news in Africa. In this 35 minute show, he talks about what's going on in Africa and what are the things that need to change. It's available as a free purchase on the iTunes Store. The updated store now has bigger 640x480 shows. (You don't need to wait for the download to finish, you can start watching right away.)

You can also find out more from his 2002 appearance on Oprah, or in this 2002 Time magazine cover story.

September 11, 2001

After the tragic attack of September 11, five years ago Monday, U2 considered cancelling the last US leg of their Elevation tour. Many other performers and entertainers at the time sought appropriate responses in the wake of the attack. U2 decided to continue and they finished the tour at the end of the year.

After finishing off the tour, U2 capped it with a memorable tribute to the victims of 9/11 at the XXXVI Super Bowl halftime show in New Orleans.

Super Bowl halftime show (Part 1)

The show begins in true Bono style as the personable front man strides up to the stage. He's right where he's most comfortable- in the midst of thousands of screaming fans.

Super Bowl halftime show (Part 2)

In second half of the show, the Irish rockers show their solidarity with the people of the United States with a medley of "MLK" and "Where The Streets Have No Name". A gigantic projection of the names of those who died scroll above them as they play. The songs are meaningful and touching without being cheesy or overdone. In fact, they rock pretty hard.

This show is a testament to why Bono and U2 are such huge rock stars. Even more than that, it shows that they realize there are things even bigger than they are.

MLK - Where The Streets Have No Name

Sleep
Sleep tonight
And may your dreams
Be realized
If the thundercloud
Passes rain
So let it rain
Let it rain
Rain on me

O Lord, open my lips and my mouth shall forth Thy praise. (Psalm 51:15)

I wanna run
I want to hide
I wanna tear down the walls
That hold me inside
I wanna reach out
And touch the flame
Where the streets have no name
I want to feel
Sunlight on my face
I see the dust cloud disappear
Without a trace
I want to take shelter from the poison rain (I want to dance in the Louisiana rain)
Where the streets have no name

Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name
We're still building
Then burning down love
Burning down love
And when I go there
I go there with you
It's all I can do

The city's aflood
And our love turns to rust
We're beaten and blown by the wind
Trampled in dust
I'll show you a place
High on a desert plain (Where there's no sorrow or pain)
Where the streets have no name

Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name
We're still building
Then burning down love
Burning down love
And when I go there
I go there with you
It's all I can do

Love, love, love
Love, love, love