covering the mouse

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Overture - DeVotchKa

I hope all you Canadians had a great Thanksgiving! I know I did and I sure enjoyed the day off of work! But now I'm back and it's time to dish out some more covers!

What I missed telling you yesterday due to the holiday is that October 13 is The Nightmare Before Christmas' 15th anniversary. A few week ago Disney released NIGHTMARE REVISITED, a compilation album of hard rock and indie rock bands covering all the songs, including the score, of the movie's soundtrack. The result is a wonderful surprise and this week I'll be sharing with you four of the track off that album.

The opening song is the Overture which actually doesn't appear in the film, but is included as the first track on the official soundtrack. It is a really well-written piece by Danny Elfman which encompasses all the major themes of the movie and strings them all together in a beautiful medley.

Covering the Overture is the Denver indie rock band DEVOTCHKA. This quartet formed in 1997 and their musical style is comprised of Romani, Greek, Slavic, Bolero, Mariachi music with American punk and folk roots. This, coupled with their unique instrumental make up, which includes accordion, sousaphone, bouzouki and theramin, make them a delight to listen to.

If you have never heard of DeVotchKa before, I would suggest checking them out. You may have already heard some of their work as they wrote and recorded the score to the indie film Little Miss Sunshine.