joanna gruesome – HELLO COME IN

First Listen: Joanna Gruesome, ‘Peanut Butter’

Joanna Gruesome's new album, Peanut Butter, is out May 19. (Pat Graham/Courtesy of the artist) — Joanna Gruesome’s new album, Peanut Butter, is out May 19. (Pat Graham/Courtesy of the artist)

Got another opportunity to write about one of my favorite new bands, Joanna Gruesome, for NPR Music’s First Listen series. The new record, Peanut Butter, is sweet and abrasive and loud. It’s great.

Joanna Gruesome, ‘Last Year’

Joanna Gruesome's new album, Peanut Butter, is out May 11. (Pat Graham/Courtesy of the artist) — Joanna Gruesome’s new album, Peanut Butter, is out May 11. (Pat Graham/Courtesy of the artist)

Wrote a short thing for NPR Music’s Songs We Love series about a new song by one of my favorite young bands, Joanna Gruesome. You can read that here.

Judging By The Cover: Six Great Cover Songs I Heard In Concert In 2013

All too often, bands you’re dying to check out — especially new ones — play shortened sets due to only having like ten songs to pull from — and you tend to walk away feeling a tad unsatisfied. I’ve always thought this is the perfect excuse to work up a cover song: It not only fleshes out the set, but, in many ways, introduces the audience to a band’s influences and own songs, and ultimately wins over fans. If a young band pulls out a great cover song, it actually makes me want to delve into its original music more. Go figure. So yeah, I love a well-chosen cover song, and especially one pulled off live in concert.

And this year, I was lucky enough to hear a bunch of them. Here’s a few:

Continue reading Judging By The Cover: Six Great Cover Songs I Heard In Concert In 2013