So, I was sitting around today, trying to figure out who to write about when it suddenly struck me! Sam Durant! She had completely slipped my mind but I'm glad I remembered her. I came across her a couple years ago doing a cover of Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box". Nirvana has been one of my greatest influences the past few years and being a left handed guitar player myself, Kurt Cobain has been quite the inspiration (alongside the other major left handed players: Jimi Hendrix and Paul McCartney). Anyways, let's get back to Sam Durant...
Strangely, I only found out Sam's name today, since her Youtube channel goes by the name "sameestripes", which you should be rushing to subscribe to right now. She's got a Facebook page, where she's got some cool stuff, but I do wish she'd update it more frequently. Looking at it right now, it looks quite flat, which is so unlike her deep, intriguing covers on Youtube. Check out the first cover of hers I came across, "Heart Shaped Box" by Nirvana!
Beautifully done. I really admire the fact that she doesn't try to add to the simplicity of the song, or give it some deep, mysterious meaning. It's simple, it sounds good and the Marshall amp behind her looks great too. I'm a Marshall user myself, so that's a personal plus. However, I do think she is right handed, looking at her other videos. The video must have flipped on her or something. But, just to be clear, I have nothing against right handed guitar players. They just have a greater variety of guitars to choose from, so I envy them.
Anyways, moving on to another fantastic cover by Sam. Quite recently, she uploaded a cover of Cat Power's "Sea Of Love", which I love, though I believe it was originally recorded by Phil Phillips (not Phillip Phillips, last year's American Idol winner). Her cover is really sweet, short and simple. No extravagant guitar playing, singing or any other form of showing off. It reminds me of the sort of attitude present in the punk and grunge movement, though so much more relaxed. Forget all the fancy techniques and tricks, let's bring it back to basics. Check out this stunningly relaxing cover.
Great cover. There's something so intriguing about Sam herself, who seems so distant from the songs she sings. You'd think that look would kill the mystery, but it only seems to enhance it. More than her covers, I have fallen for the mystery of Sam's originals. Although I love all of the, the one that I'm going to share with you is called "Jesus Was A Dinosaur". If you like that one, I urge you to check out her other originals too. Although Sam's Facebook says she is "Acoustic/Folk", she sounds incredibly alternative to me. Ever so interesting lyrics spill out of her mouth. It's almost reminiscent of the way in which Michael Stipe sings. What are your thoughts? I think she's great and I urge you to buy her album! There's information on it under each of her videos. Check back tomorrow for another fantastic artist.
Alex Hamel
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