The Rosebuds Cover Sade

Anyone who knows me knows I have a major soft spot for Sade.  

Sade's ultra-chill, smoothed-out R&B struck a chord with me very early in life.  Back in 1985, I would bob and sing along to "Smooth Operator" from the child booster seat in my parents' van.

So, when I heard that indie-rock act, The Rosebuds had covered her 1992 album, Love Deluxe, in its entirety - and released it for free -  I was delightfully curious to say the least.   

One listen to the opening track, "No Ordinary Love", and I realized what a beautiful tribute this is.  To cover an entire album so effortlessly, and with the depth of emotion found here must truly be an act of love and respect from the artists.

According to The Rosebuds' bandcamp page, they covered the album to commemorate its 20th anniversary:

"To say this album is a constant influence to The Rosebuds and the records we've made over the years would be an understatement. We’ve always been fans. Ivan’s been covering Sade songs since I’ve known him--he sings them in the house, he sings them while driving, he sings them with or without a guitar in hand, he sings them when he doesn’t even realize he’s singing aloud. It’s the language he hears music in."

You can download The Rosebuds' LOVE DELUXE below, and I whole-heartedly encourage you to do so.

Wild Nothing - 'Paradise'

Eighties college radio lives on in Wild Nothing's 'Paradise.'  Atmospheric stoicism rules the day on this track, with colorful synth effects interacting quite wonderfully with Jack Tatum's vocal production.  Listen to this one on headphones if you want to catch all the sonic nuances.

Stream 'Paradise' below:

Alt-J - 'Fitzpleasure'

Dub-popsters Alt-J have produced a dynamically raucous tune of a song in 'Fitzpleasure.'  This is one of those singles you just can't quite put your finger on, as it spans many different genres in a short four minutes.  Nevertheless, the final product is rich and inspiring.

Stream the video to 'Fitzpleasure' below:

Pinback - 'Proceed to Memory'

Dirge rockers Pinback are back with a solid single, 'Proceed to Memory.'  This is one of those songs that builds up kind of slow but smoothly morphs into a likeable head-nodder.

Stream 'Proceed to Memory' in the SoundCloud player below:

Juxtaposition: Glenn Frey vs. Taylor Dayne

Maybe it's just me, but is Taylor Dayne's "Tell It To My Heart" a dance club reincarnation of Glenn Frey's "The One You Love"?

I know that sounds like the most absurd hypothesis ever, but humor me for a second...  

Several years back, I was on a caffeine-fueled roadtrip in the middle of the night and heard "The One You Love" on a schmaltzy soft-rock FM station.  I remembered the song from my childhood, but couldn't remember the name of the song or the artist.  The melody rang tinny in the back of my conscious for nearly two years before I realized it was by former Eagles songsmith, Glenn Frey (say it with me now: The "H" is "O").

The only reason I held onto this smoother-than-smooth, yacht-rockin' heartbreaker for so long was because it reminded me eerily of Dayne's dancefloor megahit from the early '90s.

Even if you don't buy into my crackpot theory, give the videos a watch, because they are both pretty spectacular relics of their respective times.

Glenn Frey - "The One You Love"

Taylor Dayne - "Tell It To My Heart"