Monster Movie

When Slowdive broke up in 1995, most members went on to form Mojave 3 and change their approach to writing from Shoegaze/Dream Pop to a more songwriter style ala Leonard Copeland. While Halstead, Goswell, and McCutcheon were off doing their thing, Christian Savill and her friend Sean Hewson were collaborating on their new band called Monster Movie.

With not nearly as much publicity around them as Mojave 3 (they were almost immediately signed to 4AD), it makes sense that Monster Movie is not a well-known group outside of the circle of Slowdive fans. That said, they write more in the vein of the later Slowdive material while adding a bit more pop and solid song structure. They also create beautiful ambient soundscapes ala Slowdive, but there's something very different about their sound. Their music just feels a lot different. It's less haunting and much more structured. Not to say one is better than the other -- it's totally dependent on your mood. If you want to just space out and loose yourself, put on a Slowdive album. If you want something a little more simple and sweet, put on some Monster Movie.

Here are some tracks from Monster Movie's 2004 To The Moon album:

1. Sweet Lemonade
2. Dream About You
3. Beautiful Arctic Star
4. From a Distance

Of these four songs, Sweet Lemondade and Beautiful Arctic Star are my favorite. All of Monster Movie's releases are solid, so if you pick one up, you know what to expect.

Enjoy.

Cover: New Order Versus Keith Hudson

A few years ago I picked up New Order's first album on vinyl. The eBay seller also included the first New Order Peele Sessions 12" as a bonus. The performance on the Peele Sessions is great. One of the tracks is a cover of Keith Hudson's Turn the Heater On. At that point I had never heard Hudson's version, but I instantly fell for the New Order version. Although it's much faster and lacks the groove of Hudson's, it's more modern approach via electric drums and keyboards is very fitting.

I've been trying to figure out which version is better. I know some people say that it's impossible to perform a cover better than the original artist. Those people have obviously never listened to Bob Dylan before.

Listen to both of these. Which do you like better? Why?

• Keith Hudson Turn the Heater On
• New Order Turn the Heater On

While I really like some of the instrumentation on the New Order version, the vocals in the Hudson version are much nicer and sincere. So, I lean that way.