Another Great Cover by Fiona Apple: Elvis Costello’s “I Want You”

With our minds still blown by Fiona Apple’s phenomenal version of Paul McCartney’s “Let Me Roll It,” last week, a friend has turned our attention to another great cover by the wacky genius Fiona. Her version of Elvis Costello’s 1986 torch ballad “I Want You” (from the very underrated LP Blood and Chocolate.)


I’m not exactly sure where or when this was recorded but it looks to be some sort of VH1 special, somewhere around the time of her 2005 record Extraordinary Machine. I am apparently very late to the Fiona-does-Elvis party, since this clip has been viewed over two million times on YouTube. It features some powerful guitar work by Mr. Costello, a very underrated axeman.

The last time I saw this level of scary-intensity in someone’s eyes was in the fall of 1993whenKurt Cobain closed out the Nirvana Unplugged in New York show with his chills-inducing cover of Lead Belly’s “In the Pines” aka “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" 

Let's hope Fiona hangsaround a lot longer than Kurt did.

I picked up Fiona’s new record The Idler Wheel is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do the other day and am loving it - it is a spare confessional in the tradition of Laura Nyro or Nina Simone with a soupcon of Carole King. Not always an easy listen, but definitely a riveting, satisfying one. One of my favorite tracks so far is a despair-ridden neo-beatnik ditty called "Left Alone."





Buy on iTunes:
Fiona Apple’s The Idler Wheel is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do 
Elvis Costello’s Blood and Chocolate

Fiona Apple Rolls It To Paul McCartney On Jimmy Fallon's Show

Yes, Rock Turtleneck's 70th birthday tribute to Paul McCartney the other day was incredible, but it was nothing compared to Fiona Apple's.

The brilliant and eccentric Ms. Apple was on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon  this week to promote her new record The Idler Wheel is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do.

She ended the show with a cover of my favorite post-Beatles  Macca track "Let Me Roll It" (which appeared on 1975's Band on the Run), backed by Fallon's badass house band The Roots. At the end Fallon tells Fiona it was "phenomenal," and if anything that's an understatement.

(Rock Turtleneck's love of "Let Me Roll It" is well documented; we paid tribute to the tune on Paul's birthday way back in 2009 - you can read it here.)

Fiona's record just came out this week, her first since 2005's wonderful Extraordinary Machine. She takes her time between records, but they are always worth the wait. I haven't picked it up yet but you can be sure I will — and you should, too.

When the New York Times asked her why she named her record The Idler Wheel is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do, her second long titled record (the first was 1999's When the Pawn Hits the Conflicts He Thinks Like a King What He Knows Throws the Blows When He Goes to the Fight and He'll Win the Whole Thing 'Fore He Enters the Ring There's No Body to Batter When Your Mind Is Your Might So When You Go Solo, You Hold Your Own Hand and Remember That Depth Is the Greatest of Heights and If You Know Where You Stand, Then You Know Where to Land and If You Fall It Won't Matter, Cuz You'll Know That You're Right), she said “I put out another long title because that’s what the title’s supposed to be.” Good answer.

Here she is doing her new tune "Anything We Want" on Fallon.

And here's her interview on the show - Fiona is a goofy, charming Big Apple oddball (she now lives in LA), just like one might imagine, only with a less husky voice.

She reminds me of one of those people I've seen lining up at the vegan food truck that parks outside my office in NYC.

Buy The Idler Wheel is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do on iTunes here.

Happy 70th Birthday Paul McCartney

In addition to writing the most popular song of all time ("Yesterday") and perhaps the most mind-blowing song of all time ("A Day in the Life"), Paul McCartney, who turned 70 today, also wrote the greatest birthday song of all time, "Birthday." And while there are many ways to pay tribute to this bona fide genius and all around good egg on such a momentous occasion, sometimes you just have to go with the obvious way.

"Birthday" kicked off Side 3 of the White Album. (If you know the White Album as only two CDs or a single download, I pity you.)

It was a nonsense rocker that came about when the Fab Four took a break from recording at Abbey Road and headed over to Macca's flat down the street for a couple cups of tea and a screening of the 1956 film The Girl Can't Help It, which starred Jayne Mansfield plus a host of the greatest early rock performers, including Little Richard, Fats Domino, Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran.



The boys were so jazzed by the energy of the performances that they rushed back to the studio and banged out "Birthday" in a take or two. Many other rock artists have tried to usurp "Birthday" from its perch atop the birthday song heap, but none have succeeded. Perhaps the best thing to do is just cover the song, that's what Paul Weller of The Jam and solo fame did as a tribute today to his and our idol.



Happy Birthday Macca! Thanks for the music and here's to 70 more.

Let's go out with the aforementioned "Yesterday," which works just as well in a band arrangement as it did with a string quartet, as this performance from 1966 demonstrates. Oh yesterday came suddenly.

Happy Father's Day from Rock Turtleneck!

Elvis Presley, "Don't Cry Daddy"



Buy "Don't Cry Daddy" on iTunes here.

R.I.P. Herb Reed of the Platters: The Last of the Great Pretenders

While perusing the New York Times obituary section on the train this morning, I learned that the world had lost Herb Reed at the age of 83. I had never heard of Mr. Reed (seen on the left), but he was the last surviving member of The Platters, one of the earliest and most successful pop vocal groups. (You can read the NYT obit here.)

In general, I"m not a huge fan of this type of early rock, but I have always loved "The Great Pretender," which was the greatest of the Platters' many hits. My favorite part is the very end when Mr. Reed sings "stillll a-rrrrrouuuundddd."



The Platters were one of the first black groups to be marketed not as "race records" which was the early term for rhythm & blues, but just as a great record on its own terms.

Watching clips of The Platters on YouTube, I started wishing that Chrissie Hynde had covered the tune, given that she too is a great Pretender. I didn't see that, but I did find an appropriately over-the-top version by Queen's late great Freddie Mercury with a video that screams 1987.



R.I.P. Herb. And R.I.P. Freddie.

Buy the Best of the Platters on iTunes here.
Buy "The Great Pretender by Freddie Mercury here.

Video for National Donut Day: The Beastie Boys' "Sabotage"

National Donut Day was this past Friday, but Rock Turtleneck would be remiss if we let it pass without commentary. After racking my brain for several minutes, I could not think of a single song that mentioned donuts in their title.

But then as I happened to be watching my favorite video of all time, "Sabotage" by the late great Beastie Boys, there it was about 1:40 in, right at the time of MCA's fuzz-bass break: a fresh, delicious glazed donut.



It's no surprise that the "Sabotage" video contains a donut cameo. After all, it's a razor sharp satire of 70s cop shows directed by the brilliant Spike Jonze, and no one is in on the in-jokes like the Beasties.

Adam Yauch as MCA as Nathan Wind as Cochese

Watching the video, it's clear that, like me, Jonze and the Beasties were raised on a steady diet of The Streets of San Francisco (a Quinn Martin production), The Rookies and Starsky and Hutch. They know intuitively the tension between being a cop who plays by their own rules in order to get a perp, yet while also living on the edge of corruption themselves. It's a fine line to walk, and it's always helpful to have a few donuts around to take the edge off.

Get the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" on iTunes here.


And remember people, every day is donut day. Now let's be careful out there.