Kings of Leon: Use Somebody

I wish I wrote a song that other people wanted to cover. To me, there’s no other honor greater than having other artists cover your song. I could win a Grammy, of course… and that’d be nice, but let’s say that U2 decides to cover my song… or Springsteen calls me up and says, “Swap… I know I owe you $83, but whaddya say I cover one of your songs, put it on an album, and we call it even?”

I’d probably say yes. PROBABLY.

This is not to say that a Grammy isn’t a great thing to get, but having my heroes take a stab at my song would be the ultimate of ultimates in my book. [...]

Bat for Lashes: Daniel

Bat for Lashes (Natasha Khan) released her latest album, Two Suns, last month, and included on the album is a beautiful track, the album’s first single, “Daniel”. According to an interview with Khan, the song was based on a fictional character that she fell in love with as a teenager.

In celebration of the release of his debut LP, Crazy Power (released 5/12), Toronto based artist Josh Reichmann Oracle Band has made his cover of “Daniel” available for free download. [...]

The Most Important Music Links EVER on the Web (right now)

We’re always finding great articles, blog posts, and music out on the web, and so once again we wanted to share with you some of what caught our eye in the last few days with our The Most Important Music Links EVER On The Web (right now) list. Check out all the great sites below, grab some cool music, leave a comment or two, and tell ‘em Swap sent you.

Addicted to Vinyl has the second mix tape in their Monday Morning Mix series posted and available for download. The “Halfway To The Distant Sun” mix includes 14 songs [...]

Bruce Springsteen: I’m On Fire

2009 Grammy nominee Sara Bareilles is the latest artist to participate in the Hangin’ on E Street series, where artists influenced by Bruce Springsteen sit down to share how they’ve been influenced by him. Check out the video of Bareilles covering Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire” below. To watch video of her sharing her thoughts on and introduction to Springsteen’s music, visit Bruce’s site, where you can also watch interviews and performances from past participants.

“I’m on Fire” was the fourth single off of Bruce Springsteen’s “Mega-Star-Making” album Born in the U.S.A. It was released in 1985 and climbed all the way up to number six in the Billboard Hot 100 pop charts. [...]

Kings of Leon: Use Somebody (Bat for Lashes Cover)

“Use Somebody” is track number four off Kings of Leon’s 2008 hit album Only By The Night. Following the immense success of the album’s first single, “Sex on Fire,” which eventually took the grammy for “Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals,” “Use Somebody” was released as the second single on December 8th, 2008.

The song is currently at #1 on Billboard’s Hot Modern Rock Tracks list and has peaked at #64 on Billboard’s Hot 100, so it seems things are going quite well for the Followill boys. [...]

April New Releases: Bat for Lashes, The Felice Brothers, Death Cab for Cutie, Bill Callahan, Papercuts, and more

On April 7th, Bat For Lashes (aka Natasha Khan) returns with her second album, Two Suns. Listening to the album as I type this, I must say that Khan’s voice just pulls you in… simply gorgeous. It’s an album that is definitely worth checking out.

According to the press release, Two Suns “sees Natasha exploring her creative personas and the world around her in a very different way.” It features collaborations with Scott Walker and Yeasayer, and [...]