Prince's Girl Groups: Apollonia 6 and Vanity 6

Let's appreciate some extraordinarily bad music. In the 1984 Prince-vehicle and bonafide cult classic Purple Rain, Prince's love interest is played by Patricia "Apollonia" Kotero. Apollonia, a virtual unknown at the time, was brought in to replace Denise "Vanity" Matthews—a nude model, Canadian B-movie star, and former Prince girlfriend who resigned from the role at the last minute. Apollonia and Vanity's duties—both on and off screen—were to lead an all-female pop trio created by Prince. Prince's initial idea was to call the group the Hookers, dress them in lingerie, and have Matthews go by the stage name "Vagina." While the names didn't stick, the lingerie did.

Prince returns triumphantly via OK Go

Prince put out his first good record since the 80s last month in the form of OK Go's Of The Blue Colour of the Sky. From a band that was previously best known for its use of viral marketing via a snazzy treadmill dance routine, the record is surprising in its near-relentless attention-grabbing construction. The synthesizer—a very of-the-moment instrument—has been adopted here, but it melds easily and never feels forced with the band's unapologetically poppy and sharp style.

OK Go - "This Too Shall Pass" (from Of The Blue Colour of the Sky)

Mariachi El Bronx - "Cell Mates"

Mariachi El Bronx were recently featured on Spin's Purple Rain tribute album covering the classic Prince track "I Would Die 4 U." It was easily one of the album's most entertaining renditions. It turns out Mariachi El Bronx is the mariachi version of the Los Angeles hardcore punk band El Bronx. And their softer side isn't half bad. Watch the group's hilarious video for "Cell Mates" off their recently released debut and make sure to wait for the end when the musicians' jackets all start lighting up.

Mariachi El Bronx - "Cell Mates" (from Mariachi El Bronx)

Digging For Covers: The Eels folkify Prince

After Bob Dylan, the most covered artist in my iTunes is Prince. While not nearly as prolific as Mr. Zimmerman, Prince has written his fair share of hits and one of my favorites is the riff-filled, acoustic version of "I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man" by the Eels. Ditching the original recording's distorted guitars and drum set, E and his band turn the low-fidelity Prince rocker into an earthy, foot-stomping folk classic. Check out the live 2005 performance of the song with the Eels donning full pajamas.

The Eels - "I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man"

Tribute: Spin celebrates the 25th anniversary of Purple Rain

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Prince's breakthrough album and film debut Purple Rain, Spin magazine enlisted nine artists to cover the nine tracks from the soundtrack.

There are a few fun interpretations (Mariachi El Bronx's "I Would Die 4 U") and a couple misses (Riverboat Gamblers' "Let's Go Crazy"), but the sharpest take is from reliable funktress Sharon Jones and her soul swinging Dap Kings. "Take Me With U"—Purple Rain's final single, sung with costar Apollonia Kotero—is nearly unrecognizable here as a gritty, hip-shaking, vintage piece of funk.

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - "Take Me With U" (from Spin's Purplish Rain)

Prince - "Take Me With U" (from Purple Rain)

Digging For Covers: The Guide

The Beatles

• Al Green - "I Want To Hold Your Hand"

Bob Dylan

• The History of Cocaine Blues
• Bruce Springsteen - "I Want You"

Bruce Springsteen

• Camera Obscura - "Tougher Than The Rest"

The Cure

• Grant Lee Phillips - "Boys Don't Cry"
• The Get Up Kids - "Close To Me"
• The Postmarks - "Six Different Ways"
• The Soft Pack - "Grinding Halt"
• Mystery Jets & Esser - "In Between Days"
• The Watson Twins - "Just Like Heaven"

David Bowie

• TV On The Radio - "Heroes"
• Magnetic Fields - "Heroes"

Harry Nilsson

• Dawn Landes - "Lifeline"

INXS

• The Fruit Bats - "Never Tear Us Apart"
  

Jimmy Cliff

• Harry Nilsson - "Many Rivers To Cross"

Johnny Cash

• My Morning Jacket - "Lead Me Father"

Kinks

• Elliot Smith - "Waterloo Sunset"

Leonard Cohen

• Johnny Cash - "Bird On A Wire"
• Serena Ryder - "Sisters of Mercy"
• Nina Simone - "Suzanne"
• Vandaveer - "Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye
• Rufus Wainwright - "Chelsea Hotel, No. 2"
• Walkmen - "Passing By"

Oasis

• Elliot Smith - "Supersonic"

Prince

• The Eels - "I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man"
• Sharon Jones - "Take Me With U"

The Smiths

• She & Him - "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want"
• The Stars - "This Charming Man"

The Velvet Underground

• David Bowie - "White Light/White Heat"
• M. Ward - "Pale Blue Eyes"
• REM - "Pale Blues Eyes"
• Alejandro Escovedo - "Pale Blue Eyes"

Various

• Deer Tick covers Sean Kingston - "Beautiful Girls"
• Jack Johnson and G. Love cover Madonna - "Holiday"
• The Jags cover Cat Stevens - "Here Comes My Baby"
• Jim James covers George Harrison - "Behind That Locked Door"
• Miles Fisher covers The Talking Heads - "This Must Be The Place"
• Redbird covers REM - "You Are The Everything"
• Sharon Jones covers Kenny Rogers - "What Condition My Condition Was In"
• The Soft Pack covers Phoenix - "Fences"
• Vetiver cover Bobby Charles - "I Must Be In A Good Place Now"
• Clem Snide covers Ritchie Valens - "Donna"

Photo by Cherry Pickens