Here’s something to help pull you out of your Monday bunker - Calico Horse has done a lovely cover of Radiohead’s “Idioteque.” (Backed by only an acoustic guitar and a tambourine, lead singer Emily Neveu will make you wonder if an approaching ice age has ever sounded quite so delicate.) If you’re not yet familiar with Calico Horse, I’ve posted a bonus track from their forthcoming release, Mirror, for your listening pleasure!

MP3s:
Calico Horse - “Idioteque” (Radiohead Cover)
Calico Horse - “Father Feed Me”

Easily one of one of the most talked-about shows from this weekend’s Coachella was Prince’s centerpiece performance. One of the biggest surprises from the concert came during Prince’s big finale - a lyrically-adjusted cover of Radiohead’s “Creep.” Packed with a ripping guitar solo and extended falsetto crooning, this one song may have delivered the $4.8 million worth of Prince that festival goers and promoters were expecting. Check out the MP3 and video of the performance below.

MP3:
Prince - “Creep” (Radiohead Cover)

VIDEO:

Her Space Holiday has done an ace cover of Wolf Parade’s “I’ll Believe In Anything.” Remember Spencer Krug’s appeals for sunshine in the original version of Wolf Parade’s infectiously ragged anthem? Her Space Holiday has responded by parting the grey clouds and reworking the track into an upbeat singalong. It’s highly recommended for your listening pleasure, but be warned - it packs the earworm catchiness of the original and is just as likely to get stuck in your head on repeat!

MP3s:
Her Space Holiday - “I’ll Believe In Anything (Wolf Parade cover)”
Wolf Parade - “I’ll Believe In Anything”

For his debut recording as an artist, producer/engineer Robin Danar assembled a distinctive group of musicians (both known and emerging) to help him reimagine a set of mostly well-known songs. Inspired by rapidly blurring lines between musical genres and roles (i.e., fans creating their own re-mixes mash-ups), Danar is attempting to reinvent songs rather than just cover them on Altered States. For example, check out the surprising collaboration between Pete Yorn and Kinky doing an electro-rock reconstruction of Bill Withers’ funky “Use Me.”

MP3s:
Pete Yorn & Kinky - “Use Me”
Bill Withers - “Use Me”

Madonna was inducted into the Music Hall of Fame over the weekend with the bizarre assistance of Justin Timberlake and Iggy Pop. In his induction speech, Timberlake related how Madge personally gave him a B-12 shot while the pair were working on her forthcoming album Hard Candy. Madonna opted out of performing at the ceremony, instead asking Iggy Pop and The Stooges to perform on her behalf. The group obliged Madonna’s request with covers of two of her legendary singles - “Burning Up” and “Ray Of Light”. The induction of Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie was so strange, it’s almost easy to over look that this year’s inductions also included John Mellencamp, Leonard Cohen and the Dave Clark Five.

MP3:
Iggy Pop & The Stooges - “Burning Up / Ray of Light”

VIDEO:
Iggy Pop & The Stooges Perform “Burning Up” & “Ray of Light”