We all have a few shameful musical indulgences that, as the cred-upping vanguard of indie-authentic righteousness, we'd rather not let others know about. For instance, on occasion I will pop on my headphones and cue up Céline Dion's portentous schlock-pop masterpiece "It's All Coming Back to Me Now": I then picture myself in an opulent Italian manor house be-draped in silk finery and bathed in the aroma of jasmine and sandalwood wafting off the candles that line the foyer. All of a sudden, a firm but knowing grasp on my shoulder '' I turn and there stands a Fabio-esque, muscular Narcissus, shaking his long blond locks and revving up his motorcycle, beckoning for me to ... Ah, hm, yes, well, you catch my drift, no?
Anyway, in the spirit of indulging our guilty pleasures, 16 of indie music's biggest international superstars have recorded some of their favorite pop tracks for Engine Room Recording's Guilt By Association compilation, hitting stores September 4. Some of the more shocking covers include Jim O'Rourke's take on the Spice Girls' "Viva Forever" and Porter Block's version of "Breaking Free" from High School Musical. Cop-outs include Devendra Banhart's cover of Oasis' "Don't Look Back in Anger" and Mike Watt's cover of Blue yster Cult's "Burning for You" (See, Oasis' earlier stuff is generally acceptable in most hipster circles, and though "Burning" is their poppiest track, BÃÃC rock no matter how you spin it).
For a fan-made, label-approved video of some of the tracks, click here, here and here. Full tracklist:
1. Petra Haden - Don't Stop Believin (Journey)
2. Devendra Banhart - Don't Look Back In Anger (Oasis)
3. Mark Mulcahy - From This Moment On (Shania Twain)
4. Luna - Straight Up (Paula Abdul)
5. The Concretes - Back For Good (Take That)
6. Jim O'Rourke - Viva Forever (Spice Girls)
7. Goat - Sugar We're Going Down (Fall Out Boy)
8. Will Oldham - Can't Take That Away (Mariah Carey)
9. Woody Jackson Orchestra ft Money Mark - Love's Theme (Love Unlimited Orchestra)
10. Porter Block - Breaking Free (High School Musical)
11. Mooney Suzuki - Just Like Jesse James (Cher)
12. Geoff Farina - Two Tickets To Paradise (Eddie Money)
13. Casey Shea - Chop Suey (System of a Down)
14. Superchunk - Say My Name (Destiny's Child)
15. Mike Watt - Burning For You (Blue Oyster Cult)
Engine Room will also be hosting a number of Guilt by Association launch parties; here's the full schedule:
Aug. 21: Pianos Launch Party. 7pm New York, NY
Aug. 23: The Bottletree Cafe. 8pm Birmingham, AL
Aug. 24: Canes Bar and Grill. 9pm San Diego, CA
Aug. 25: Rogue Bar. 10pm Scottsdale, AZ
Aug. 27: TT the Bear's. Place 7:30pm Boston, MA
Aug. 28: 710 Beach Club. 6pm San Diego, CA
Aug. 28: World Cafe Live. 7pm Philadelphia, PA
Aug. 30: The High Dive. 7pm Seattle, WA
Aug. 31: 111 Minna Gallery. 7pm San Francisco, CA
Aug. 31: DC9. 8pm Washington DC
Sept. 4: Mars Café. 7pm Des Moines, IA
Sept. 4: Spider House. 7pm Austin, TX
Sept. 5: aliveONE. 8pm Chicago, IL
Sept. 5: Cafe Nine. 8pm New Haven, CT
Sept. 5: West End Wine Bar. 8pm Chapel Hill, NC
Sept. 6: Broadway Bar. 8pm Los Angeles, CA
Sept. 7th: Big Official Launch Show at Joe's Pub with Petra Haden & Geoff Farina. 7pm New York, NY
On MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/guiltbyassociation
Label website: http://www.engineroomrecordings.com"