Don't Push Me Out

A couple of weekends ago, my wife and I made our last trip to Borders.  I have to say I was sad to see it go.  As I was mourning the loss of the book store on Facebook, a friend threw out the line "click and order is the new brick and mortar."  Call me old school, but I've always preferred the experience of tactile browsing to clicking and scrolling.  I think I'll always choose a good paperback over a matte digital screen.  Just as I'll probably always prefer purchasing something with liner notes to downloading mp3s.  So as a little goodbye to a place where I've spent many hours throughout my life browsing and relaxing, here are the Avett Brothers performing "Laundry Room" to start their set recorded live at Borders.

Avett Brothers - Laundry Room

Pulling Up The Covers: The Civil Wars

I've decided to start a series of posts highlighting some great covers.  I'd like to start by pointing the spotlight at The Civil Wars.

The simplicity of the Civil Wars' performances (just the duo on stage with nothing more than a guitar and sometimes a piano to hide behind) lays their songs bare.  They take an approach to their covers that strips them down to the core and presents the songs in a completely reimagined way.  It is easy to tell that this isn't done just for the sake of saying, "hey everybody, look what we can do!"  John Paul and Joy project a reverence for the music they are playing and treat the songs they cover with great care.  See for yourself:

The Civil Wars - Disarm (cover)



The Civil Wars - I Want You Back (cover)