Cover Band Alert!

 Sometimes at work I sit in front of Youtube and find new music.  When you're only exposed to K Pop and pop/club songs, I sometimes yearn to find something new and original, and catch up on the music scene I left behind at home.

I was sitting in a waffle cafe the other day and I hear this song that reminds me of a hard rock song I know, and as I strained to hear the song and maintaining my conversation with my friends that I hadn't seen since before I went on vacation, I realized I was indeed listening to a French remake of "This is not a Love Song" originally done by PIL (Public Image Ltd), but I knew it as the cover done by Kerbdog.  Upon doing some google-ing and some youtube-ing, I've realized I've fallen in love with these guys.
Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux round up this French music collective and very much like Michael Buble, they cover songs in their own unique way.  Their name comes from a play on words of French new wave and Brazilian bossa nova, and I fell in love with Bossa Nova when I learned about it a couple of years ago but haven't found anything that I really liked.

In this age of music that lacks creativity and is reduced to covering songs with no originality, Nouvelle Vague is like a breath of fresh air.  Their ability to strip songs back to their acoustic arrangements and gather singers from around the world make all their songs unique and their own.  They've covered everyone from The Clash to Blondie to The Dead Kennedys and their albums are loaded with famous musicians. 

And then, in line with Bob Marley's birthday, I came across Playing for Change.  I thought the concept was amazing- you gather musicians from around the world and have them collaborate to popular songs.   Their soul, passion, and uniqueness draws you in, and I always find things more mesmerizing to watch/listen when you add incorporate world music to the mix.
From the website www.playingforchange.com (because I couldn't say it better):

The idea for this project arose from a common belief that music has the power to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people. No matter whether people come from different geographic, political, economic, spiritual or ideological backgrounds, music has the universal power to transcend and unite us as one human race. And with this truth firmly fixed in our minds, we set out to share it with the world.

 The wonderful thing about this Not for Profit Organization is that they have opened up music schools in Africa and India, and in 2009 they released a documentary "Peace Through Music" as directors Mark Johnson and Jonathan Walls traveled and recorded clips of musicians from various places around the globe.  Yes, this is a major plug, but I only support causes that I believe really stand for something.

I've fallen in love with both these concepts.