Artists and bands alike have been doing covers of Galaxie 500’s songs in celebration of the release of their album which came out yesterday (Saturday 8/29). Mercury Rev released a stripped-back version of Galaxie 500’s “Snowstorm.” The bands album release will be the first of three Record Store Day drops.
Grasshopper from Mercury Rev comments on why they chose this specific song to cover off of Galaxie 500’s album On Fire. According to the Brooklyn Vegan Grasshopper said, “I moved to NYC in 1989 and the 2 cds that were a soundtrack to my first year on Avenue B were Don Cherry’s Art Deco and Galaxie 500’s On Fire. I ended up seeing both Don Cherry and Galaxie 500 play several times in 1989/1990/1991, pure magic every time. I truly love On Fire as a whole, but ’Snowstorm’ has always been my favorite. Growing up outside of Buffalo NY, the lyrics and music have a special childlike resonance for me.”
The cover of the song is very stripped down with only guitars used to back the music. A good majority of the song is guitar just on its own. The lead singer, sits on a stool with a guitar and has two additional guitars to back up his ethereal vocals that guide the singing portions of the song.
Other artists like Dylan Carlson and Mark Lanegan teamed up to do a cover of Galaxie 500’s song “Summertime.” Real Estate did cover of the aforementioned named bands song “Plastic Bird,” while Circuit Des Yeux covered “Pictures.” While these are all covers, Mercury Rev last released an original album in February 2019 titled The Delta Sweete Revisited, long before the life of the Coronavirus took over and shut down shows.
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