Sunday

ARMS - BACKWARDS RECORD

A collection of other people's songs, played and recorded by ARMS.

September 2nd, 2014

Covering other people's songs is a funny undertaking. Everyone has their own barometer for this sort of thing—for one guy, a song might seem completely off-limits, a violent absurdity, while for someone else it hits that little sweet-spot, where it almost seems self-evident as a perfect song to cover. Who knows what guides these preferences? Somewhere between personal taste, a feeling of kinship with the emotions expressed, a sense of identification with a given songwriter's craft... 

Either way, the songs on Backwards Record all felt just right to me, tapping into this magical continuum of songwriting that vibrates in my echo chamber at just the right frequency. I recorded these song over the last ten years or so, inspired by in-the-moment feelings—a rediscovery of the (still underrated) songs of They Might Be Giants; a strange and wonderful correspondence with Susan Lane, widow of the Faces' Ronnie Lane; the tragic death of Broadcast's Trish Keenan—and as such their aspirations were just to see what would happen if I recorded them.

Backwards Record is a collection of songs that have made me get all feel-something-y over the years and I hope that my appreciation comes across in this humble mess of internet doodaddery. Enjoy it with my compliments.

- tg

Ooh La La (The Faces)

Flashdance... What A Feeling

The Best Of The 70's (seventies)

Lovely Day

Bang: The Bert Berns Story (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Baby, Please Don't Go (feat. Van Morrison)

Fetenkult -Oktoberfest Hits 2007

Jailhouse Rock

Mama's Gun

Bag Lady

Live As It Gets

Papa Was A Rolling Stone

Jailhouse Rock

Elvis Presley

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