Tag Archives: Melvins cover songs

TOP FIVE MELVINS COVER TUNES — 2. “God of Thunder”

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The Melvins are quite familiar with doing things differently.  They’ve released all sorts of cover songs throughout their career, from their take on the “Love Theme from KISS” on 1989′s Ozma to digging up the Paul McCartney deep cut “Let Me Roll It” for their latest album, Freak Puke.  Through various split singles and bonus tracks, they’ve covered enough material to compile an album of cover songs, and there are plenty of other artists’ renditions that they’ve only played live.  While some of their takes are pretty true to the original, they usually tend to put their own spin on things.  Here are five of my favourite Melvins covers, counted down over the next five days.

5. “Sweet Young Thing Ain’t Sweet No More”

4. “My Generation”

3. “Interstellar Overdrive”

2. “God of Thunder”

There’s no question that the Melvins dudes are big KISS fans.  (What, did you think the Melvins Army was an original concept?)  They’ve paid tribute to their idols on a few occasions, including Hard to Believe: A Kiss Covers Compilation, an alt-rock tribute album released in ’92 that also featured Nirvana–and a bunch of other bands you probably never heard of.  Here they take arguably the most evil-sounding KISS song and turn the evilness up a notch with a heavier, sludgier riff soup, some effects-laden vocals on the second verse and a pulsating drum solo that comes right outta leftfield.  All that’s missing are the voices of Bob Ezrin’s kids.

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TOP FIVE MELVINS COVER TUNES — 3. “Interstellar Overdrive”

Posted by gruesomegreg on

The Melvins are quite familiar with doing things differently.  They’ve released all sorts of cover songs throughout their career, from their take on the “Love Theme from KISS” on 1989′s Ozma to digging up the Paul McCartney deep cut “Let Me Roll It” for their latest album, Freak Puke.  Through various split singles and bonus tracks, they’ve covered enough material to compile an album of cover songs, and there are plenty of other artists’ renditions that they’ve only played live.  While some of their takes are pretty true to the original, they usually tend to put their own spin on things.  Here are five of my favourite Melvins covers, counted down over the next five days.

5. “Sweet Young Thing Ain’t Sweet No More”

4. “My Generation”

3. “Interstellar Overdrive”

Remember when Man’s Ruin used to do those EPs where they’d get a pretty well-known band to throw together some odds ‘n sods, covers and such, and put it out on their label?  I’ve got the Entombed one (Black Juju), but I never managed to get my hands on Electroretard, the Melvins record they released not long before closing up shop in ’01.  Along with a few re-recorded tunes, Electroretard contained a trio of covers in the Wipers’ “Youth of America” (perhaps the first 10-minute punk song), “Missing” from AmRep noise rockers Cows and “Interstellar Overdrive,” a trippy 10-minute Pink Floyd instrumental from the Syd Barrett era.  Though this version isn’t any longer than the original, they take the Floyd’s psychedelic 60′s sounds and apply an eerie, post-millennial touch that sounds something like Hawkwind gliding through a Sergio Leone spaghetti western.  Even trippier than the Floyd, if you ask me!

TOP FIVE MELVINS COVER TUNES — 4. “My Generation”

Posted by gruesomegreg on

The Melvins are quite familiar with doing things differently.  They’ve released all sorts of cover songs throughout their career, from their take on the “Love Theme from KISS” on 1989′s Ozma to digging up the Paul McCartney deep cut “Let Me Roll It” for their latest album, Freak Puke.  Through various split singles and bonus tracks, they’ve covered enough material to compile an album of cover songs, and there are plenty of other artists’ renditions that they’ve only played live.  While some of their takes are pretty true to the original, they usually tend to put their own spin on things.  Here are five of my favourite Melvins covers, counted down over the next five days.

5. “Sweet Young Thing Ain’t Sweet No More”

4. “My Generation”

Several artists have come up with shitty covers of The Who’s original anthem to teenage rebellion, from Hillary Duff changing the classic line to “Hope I don’t die before I get old” to Limp Bizkit…  Oh wait, I guess that wasn’t cover.  Anyways, the Melvins offered a rather distinctive take on the tune on their 2010 album The Bride Screamed Murder.  The slowed-down, stretched-out, seven-minute, 41-second version sounds more like Black Sabbath than The Who, the slow jams kinda reminiscent of “War Pigs,” for instance.  In fact, if one didn’t recognize the lyrics as being penned by Pete Townsend, you’d almost assume it was an original.  Here, check it out:

TOP FIVE MELVINS COVER TUNES — 5. “Sweet Young Thing Ain’t Sweet No More”

Posted by gruesomegreg on

The Melvins’ Canadian tour kicks off tonite in Rochester, which Ontarians know as part of Lower Canada, the unofficial 11th province.  (Hey, their stores take Canadian money!)  The 15-date tour will wind its way across the country, from Montreal to Vancouver, before heading down the West Coast to San Fran on July 20th.  There are no less than four Ontario dates on the docket this week, with stops in Ottawa, Toronto, London and even Hamilton–the band hits the Opera House in TO on Thursday.  But this isn’t your typical Melvins tour; it’s something slightly different.  Billed as Melvins Lite, this lineup features just one drummer (Dale Crover, natch) and includes Trevor Dunn from Mr. Bungle on stand-up bass.

Of course, the Melvins are quite familiar with doing things differently.  They’ve released all sorts of cover songs throughout their career, from their take on the “Love Theme from KISS” on 1989′s Ozma to digging up the Paul McCartney deep cut “Let Me Roll It” for their latest album, Freak Puke.  Through various split singles and bonus tracks, they’ve covered enough material to compile an album of cover songs, and there are plenty of other artists’ renditions that they’ve only played live.  While some of their takes are pretty true to the original, they usually tend to put their own spin on things.  Here are five of my favourite Melvins covers, counted down over the next five days.

5. “Sweet Young Thing Ain’t Sweet No More”

In 1989, the Melvins recorded a split seven-inch single with their Boner Records label-mates Steel Pole Bathtub, with each band covering a tune from another band in the Seattle scene.  SPB took on Sonic Youth’s “I Dreamed, I Dream” on the B Side, while Side A saw the Melvins put their spin on this classic Mudhoney track, adding another layer of doom-and-gloom with some rougher garage-rock production.  This is probably my favourite Mudhoney song, but I think the Melvins version is just as good–if not better–than the original.  Here, have a listen: