He's got you covered
December 14, 2018 10:15 PM   Subscribe

Greg Dulli (of The Afghan Whigs, The Twilight Singers and the Gutter Twins w/Mark Lanegan [who has also played with a few bands]) has released a cover of "Have Yourself a merry little Christmas". Dulli has been known to cover a song or two in his day, often times completely changing the arrangement. A few examples below the fold.

"A Crime" by Sharon Van Etten

Every little thing she does is magic by The Police

Modern Love by David Bowie

Love Crimes by Frank Ocean

The temple from JC Superstar

cs blues by the Rolling Stones

Let's throw in Gimme Shelter by the Stones, too.

See and Don't See
by Marie Queenie Lyons

Creep by TLC

Mr. Superlove
by Ass Ponys

Lost in the Supermarket
by The Clash

Superstition by Stevie Wonder

Havin' a Party by Sam Cooke
(ed note: I have a much higher quality version of the Whigs version. Memail if you want it.)

Dear Prudence by the Beatles.

(Dulli was also in the band for all the music in Backbeat along with some other names you have probably heard of.
)

Nightime by Big Star

Hey Ya by Outkast

When Doves Cry by Prince

More Prince

Be For Real by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes

If I only had a heart by a tin man.

A couple of songs by Diana Ross and the Supremes.

Dulli takes on Paper thin hotel by Leonard Cohen and breathes a second life into it.

We have only probably scratched the surface. But Dulli has us covered, by telling us to cover him (or Eddie Hinton) and going full meta by covering his own band.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd (11 comments total) 22 users marked this as a favorite
 
"A Merry Little Christmas" is the one song in all the world that makes me cry. So, thanks?

Greg Dulli is amazing: I love his version of Cloudbursting and Hyperballad
posted by blessedlyndie at 11:11 PM on December 14, 2018


A personal favourite: Twilight Singers cover MBV's When You Sleep
posted by anagrama at 1:41 AM on December 15, 2018 [1 favorite]


Oh man, Afghan Whigs is one of those bands that I am so grateful was able to reunite and put out music just as urgent and/or giddy as back in the 90s. Their cover of You Want Love that includes James Hall is also one you want to seek out.


posted by jacy at 1:44 AM on December 15, 2018




And Mary J. Blige's Real Love (og, remix, unplugged).
posted by box at 9:26 AM on December 15, 2018


Thank you for this wonderful post, I had no idea.

I played the golly gosh darn heck of Gentlemen in my late 20s and really must revisit it.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 11:13 AM on December 15, 2018 [1 favorite]


I wasn't deeply affected by the death of David Bowie, but after listening to the cover of Modern Love by Greg Dulli it made me pull out my guitar that I hadn't used for quite a few years. Dulli really knows how to distill a song down to its elements. I sang his version quite a few times.
posted by Quonab at 9:37 PM on December 15, 2018


So this is kind of scary to write down, but since this is at the tail end of a post the most people are going to pass over from now on, I am going to go ahead and talk. I'm a little bit younger than Greg Dulli. If you were to look at me, you would see that I am obviously a white guy. His music has been influential for me since I was in college.

Dulli didn't introduce me to the song 'Strange Fruit'. I had heard the classic Billie Holiday song before. It is beautiful and haunting. But for some reason, for me, the Twilight Singers version affects me more.
posted by Quonab at 9:37 AM on December 16, 2018 [1 favorite]


I guess it is a reflection of being catered to all my life, being a white male. Intellectually, I know that Billie Holiday has the obviously superior version of the song, and I like it a lot. However, for what its worth, the Twilight Singers version is more likely to make me cry.

It is the same with Hope Sandoval's Feeling of Gaze. I love the original, and listened to it a lot when it came out. But for whatever reason, the Twilight Singers version is the one I will sing along to.

Greg Dulli just has a knack for translating things from other experiences into something I can really enjoy. I kind of feel guilty about it. I am sure that he isn't singing his songs from a position of parody--He really loves the songs he sings. I am just susceptible to the late-nineties extrapolation he brings to the table.
posted by Quonab at 10:02 AM on December 16, 2018 [1 favorite]


Hey, Quonab, it's not just you. I'm a queer, brown woman and Billie Holliday's "Strange Fruit" always made me sad but Dulli's version on "She Loves You" was the first to make me cry. I think it's the minor key piano and guitar and the crushing drums.
posted by blessedlyndie at 11:34 PM on December 16, 2018


And I'm sure Dulli only covers songs that he loves: I saw him playing as Twilight Singers in Dallas and before they launched into "Cloudbursting" he declared it was his favorite song and then he said that he only covers songs that he loves.
posted by blessedlyndie at 11:44 PM on December 16, 2018


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