Caroline Klibanoff

– Caroline Klibanoff

History repeats itself, we know. So much so, that it appears these weird sets of doppelgangers have occurred, in a weird fluke of time travel, probably. I mean, there’s no way that stately Hamiltonian smirk– the one that made the 10 dollar bill famous– can exist in two separate individuals (and they’re both from New York?). Plus, William Fitzsimmons’ “I Don’t Feel It Anymore” is equally desolate as, say, a damp, drizzly November in the soul. And have you ever seen Andrew Bird and Ralph Waldo Emerson in the same place at the same time? What about Noah Webster and Jeff Tweedy? Hmm? …Didn’t think so.

Andre 3000, “All Together Now” (The Beatles)

Andre 3000 is genre-defying, another thing just makes him cooler than you, along with his super style and well-established hip-hop empire. His songs are expansive and experimental, he chooses great samples and he’s a hometown hero for Atlanta. All of which makes him qualified to cover the Beatles – a significant feat given how easy it would be to potentially ruin a great pop song. But Andre knows pop, and he makes “All Together Now” raucous, wild, and plucky. Take a listen below:

01 All Together Now by a1589758

– Caroline Klibanoff

Gucci Mane
Mr. Zone 6 (mixtape)
5/10

Let me give you a layout of my city.

I am sorry to say that Tom Wolfe gets pretty close, in the somewhat unflattering A Man in Full, to an accurate social map of Atlanta, and it’s a good read if you ever want to understand the city. But beyond literature, the physical police zones are pretty important too, in the way they divide up ATL. So important, in fact, that Gucci Mane named his latest mixtape after his home, Zone 6, declaring himself king of the district – a an appropriate and well-deserved title which few will fight, and here’s why.

Zone 6 is a police zone in East ATL where Mr. Mane resides. For reference, T.I. lives in Zone 1, Jeezy and Lil Scrappy live in Zone 3, Lil Jon, Outkast, Luda, Ciara, and Yung Joc no doubt get together for block parties and bbqs in Zone 4, and Zone 5 is central downtown and is for tourists and DJ Unk, only. Nobody lives in Zone 2 except residents and some NBA players. So in declaring himself “Mr. Zone 6,” Gucci is laying a claim to a title that nobody else even wants, except for him. It’s like saying you’re the boss of your house: great for his hometown pride and sense of his roots, but sort of unnecessary.

It’s not that Zone 6 is any worse than the others – it’s just that there was never any competition to own the turf, in terms of rap sales and fame. This is an apt metaphor for Gucci’s entire career and as of late, his success on Top 40 radio. He collaborates on killer tracks more often than he makes them himself; he rides on exceeding low expectations and benefits from the lack of hype. In fact, while a solid effort, Mr. Zone 6 will get positive attention if only for the fact that it was hardly hyped at all, especially compared to the typical anticipation that surrounds the releases of similar artists like Jeezy and T.I.

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A.A. Bondy, “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” (Hank Williams)
John McCauley, “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive” (Hank Williams)

This one time, I played a Hank Williams III song on my radio show, and forty-five seconds in, had lost all 12 of my dedicated listeners. Every. Single. One. It wasn’t pretty, to say the least. Not that 12 is a whole lot of listeners, but things went from bad to worse in the short span of a few countrified, twangy guitar licks. The WGTB listenership doesn’t have too much respect for honky-tonk country, it seems, but maybe there’s more tolerance for the work of grandaddy the O.G. Hank Williams– an intriguing, legendary character in American lore and the patriarch of a talented country dynasty. Read More »

Dear Greg,

When we heard the news last night that you were chosen to join the Detroit Pistons in big-time Detroit Rock City, home of the Temptations and Smokey Robinson and a pretty good NBA team, we have to admit we were happy for you. Even though in the spring, your initial decision to go pro left us feeling Heartbroken and Jaded, our campus Hero leaving us in the lurch, destined for bigger and better things while your classmates and friends watch from far away– well, Hey, that’s No Way To Say Goodbye. Read More »

by Caroline Klibanoff

Bob Dylan is immensely coverable, one of the most covered-artists ever, in part due to his prolific catalog but also due to the nature of his songs, which are easily melded into a new arrangement (even by Dylan himself). Though I am ceaselessly faithful, approaching Weberman-like levels, in my loyalty to Dylan’s original work (because even sometimes the President of the United States must have to stand naked) I also think there is room for more voices in a way that only adds to his initial creation (because he not busy being born- and reborn- is busy dying). Some of his covers have become more well-known than the originals, like Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower” or The Byrds’ “Mr. Tambourine Man.”

I love Joseph Gordon-Levitt like most people love Zoe Deschanel: shamelessly and with abandon. So naturally when I came across this gem, a casual home-recorded (yeah right… only because there’s obviously a fully equipped studio in his home) version of Tom Waits’ “Blind Love” off the quintessential 1985 album Rain Dogs, I was elated. But then came the fear. What if it was bad? What if he couldn’t sing, or didn’t get Waits’ whole thing, and butchered the song like some other actors I could name? This could be tragic. Read More »