Spin Douses Teh Internets With "Purplish Rain"

My sister got a subscription to Spin for Christmas a few years ago. After she moved out a few months ago, she never got the address changed and she never picks up the issues when she stops by. Which is great for me, because Blender closed it's physical publishing doors about the same time and they didn't send me a replacement magazine to fill in the remainder of my subscription.

This month's issue features a cover story on the 25th anniversary of Prince's seminal 1980s soundtrack album, Purple Rain. We didn't listen to pop music like Prince when I was a child, so my familiarity with the soundtrack is limited to the hits, "When Doves Cry", "I Would Die 4 U", "Let's Go Crazy" and the title song. In addition to the article, Spin's website features a download of an all new covers collection of all the songs on the album entitled Purplish Rain.

You have to have an email address and a copy of the magazine to download the collection, but if you just wikipedia a certain member of The Time you'll be able to answer the question and get the zip file. Just a tip, from me to you...

Anyway, a few of these songs are unfamiliar to me so I can't really say how they stack up in comparison to Prince's originals. But The Twilight Singers' version of "When Doves Cry" is actually quite magical, the arrangement creates a moody and tense slow-building reading that I think Prince would approve of. Of course, Apollonia provides guest vocals so Prince would have to approve! Riverboat Gamblers' "Let's Go Crazy" is useless, the genre switch does nothing to improve the song and they don't try anything new with the melody. But Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings tackle "Take Me With U" and really work the song into their retro-pop sound. I don't want a purple boot smashed into my face, but they may have improve the song. Of Montreal provide an instrumental take on "Computer Blue" and it's a valiant effort. While I don't know that the world needed an Mariachi version of "I Would Die 4 U", Mariachi El Bronx give it all they got and it's a bit of fluffy fun. I would totally play it at a summer picnic, it's bright and summery. Of course, "Purple Rain" is almost untouchable. But Lavender Diamond's Becky Stark just kills the vocals, and the 80s inspired synths are a great touch. A real beautiful tribute to the source material.

Basically, if it wasn't free I'd only purchase Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and The Twilight Singers variations on a purple theme. But since it is free, give it a spin. Download here.

Music News: M.I.A. To Wed, New J.Hud, Prince v. Radiohead

Music news outlets are reporting that brilliant Sri Lankan rapper/singer/designer M.I.A. is engaged to Benjamin Brewer of The Exit, and son of Warner Music Group CEO Edgar Brewer Jr. She previously had a long-term relationship with her producer/collaborator Diplo. My best wishes to Maya and Benjamin!

She's an Oscar-winner for Dreamgirls and co-stars in the new Sex And The City movie, so you may be forgiven for forgetting that Jennifer Hudson is a singer, too. The American Idol cast-off's debut CD drops this fall, the first single will be available to download on iTunes next week. The single, "Spotlight" is available for a listen here. It has an Alicia Keys vibe, but a little slicker. Very bouncy mid-tempo pop with an R&B edge, I think it should do well at Adult Contemporary and Adult Pop radio, I don't know if it will be the mainstream Top 40 radio hit our girl deserves. I've listened to it several times now, I really enjoy it.

You may recall I posted the video of Prince covering Radiohead's "Creep" at Coachella on Pictures & Conversations a few months ago. It was an amazing and sexy cover, not unlike his version of Foo Fighters' "Best of You" at the Super Bowl. Little did I know it would be yanked from YouTube following threatened legal action from the Purple One. Several media outlets have reported Radiohead were not pleased, they can't even see the footage themselves. Personally, I know that Prince has the right to take the videos down, but it is kind of a dick move, especially since the songwriters haven't objected. Nobody is making money off of the videos, and you would think he'd like to keep his profile as a master musician up, since his albums keep tanking. Rude!

Insanity! Prince Covers Radiohead @ Coachella

I'm not a huge Prince fan; but, like anyone who loves music, I do enjoy many of his songs. And I'm not a huge Radiohead fan, either, but I do like "Just" and "Creep." But Prince covering "Creep" at the Coachella festival is, as one eager fan shouted at the end, epic. The video quality is shite, but listen: