Singles from the album included Paul McCartney and Wings’ “Let Me Roll It,” INXS’ “Need You Tonight,” and Lana Del Rey’s “Video Games.”
Today, Low Cut Connie released Tough Cookies: The Best of The Quarantine Broadcasts, the album of cover songs pulled from Adam Weiner and guitarist Will Donnelly's twice-weekly "Tough Cookies" livestream show recorded out of Weiner's South Philadelphia home. The 23-track album includes songs by Prince, Cardi B, Madonna, David Bowie, Bill Withers, and many more. The album is available digitally and on vinyl through the band's website.
"I never expected to spend a year sitting in my house playing songs in my underwear into a cell phone," says Weiner. "But it turns out, it's probably the thing I'm most proud of that I've ever done."
Low Cut Connie announced the special record release in March to commemorate the 1-year anniversary of the first "Tough Cookies" episode which aired at the onset of the pandemic. The show has since been raved by the likes of NPR's All Things Considered who said, "[Weiner's] hitting new levels of superstardom with these shows... he makes it feel like you're at Madison Square Garden," and the New Yorker who dubbed Low Cut Connie "Pandemic Person of the Year."
Singles from the album included Paul McCartney and Wings' "Let Me Roll It," INXS' "Need You Tonight," and Lana Del Rey's "Video Games", which Consequence praised its "impromptu feel of someone sitting down at a party and busting into a song the whole room can sing along with, and for that it's a warm and pleasant rendition." The record has also received excitement from Rolling Stone, JamBase, WFPK, Glide Magazine, and more, including Psychology Today, who spoke with Weiner on The Hardcore Humanism Podcast.
To date, Weiner has interviewed artists and personalities on "Tough Cookies" such as Nancy Wilson, Sly & the Family Stone, Big Freedia, Tune-Yards, Mike Nesmith, and Dion, as well as local Pennsylvania politicians John Fetterman and Malcolm Kenyatta.
Low Cut Connie released Private Lives last year to rave reviews, ultimately earning its place at #34 on Rolling Stone's "50 best Albums of 2020" list, #4 on Fresh Air's Ken Tucker's ten best albums of the year, and #1 on PopMatters' "25 Best Americana Albums of 2020" list. Capping off the year, The New Yorker dubbed Adam Weiner "Pandemic Person of the Year." The album's last single, the title track "Private Lives," was also one of "Public Radio's Most Popular Songs Of 2020." They were also invited to perform the Private Lives track "Help Me" for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert's #PlayAtHome series.
Low Cut Connie will be taping a couple of "Tough Cookies" shows in front of a live audience this month which have already sold out, and recently announced a batch of east coast tour dates for the Fall. See details below.
5/22 - Doylestown, PA - Distance Picnic on Pine (Tough Cookies live)
6/5 - Wilmington, DE - Arden Gild Hall (Tough Cookies live)
6/6 - Redbank, NJ - 90.5 The Night member event (solo show)
9/25 - Franklin, TN - Pilgrimage Music and Cultural Festival
10/8 - Jersey City, NJ - White Eagle Hall
10/9 - Amagansett, NY - The Stephen Talkhouse
10/13 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
10/14 - Philadelphia, PA - The Fillmore
10/28 - Columbus, OH - A&R Music Hall
10/29 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall
12/9 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
12/10 - Asbury Park, NJ - The Stone Pony
1. West End Blues (Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five)
2. Doing It to Death (James Brown with Fred Wesley and the J.B's)
3. Let Me Roll It (Paul McCartney and Wings)
4. Little Red Corvette (Prince)
5. Helpless (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)
6. Need You Tonight (INXS)
7. Bang (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)
8. Ain't No Sunshine (Bill Withers)
9. Dress You Up (Madonna)
10. Heroes (David Bowie)
11. The Good The Bad and The Ugly (Ennio Morricone)
12. American Skin (Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band)
13. Everyday People (Sly & the Family Stone)
14. Be Careful (Cardi B)
15. Le Freak (Chic)
16. Bad Girls (Donna Summer)
17. The Message (Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five)
18. It's Raining Men (The Weather Girls)
19. Kaddish
20. I Shall Be Released (Bob Dylan)
21. Video Games (Lana Del Rey)
22. Do Your Thing, Behave Yourself (Tim Maia)
23. We'll Meet Again (Vera Lynn)
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