Thom Yorke/Atoms For Peace - Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division cover)

thom yorke // atoms for peace - LOVE WILL TEAR US APART (Joy Division Cover || Live 4.15.10)

It’s been a week since everyone got their Radiohead fix, so here’s a little Joy Division cover from Thom Yorke and his other boys, Atoms for Peace - recorded at the Fox Theatre, in Oakland last April. This is the best quality recording of that i’ve heard yet. It might be soundboard. Whatever the case, it’s Thom Yorke covering Joy Division and that’s never bad.

Bat For Lashes - Strangelove (Depeche Mode cover)

bat for lashes - STRANGELOVE (Depeche Mode Cover)

This is exactly what you’d expect from a Bat For Lashes cover of a Depeche Mode song. Dark and sexy and loaded with all sorts of atmosphere. That being said, I kind of wish she was covering something from “Violator”, “Ultra” or “Songs of Faith and Devotion” (the darker shit), but i digress.  Natasha Khan is pretty much excellent at all times, so this is a win-win for me.

(mp3 @ Disco Naivete)

Tegan and Sara - I Don't Wanna Be (Gavin DeGraw cover)

tegan and sara - I DON’T WANNA BE (Gavin DeGraw Cover)

I’d hoped to never have to post anything ever having to do with Gavin DeGraw on this blog, but fuck it. Apparently a bunch of different artists are covering his hit “I Don’t Wanna Be” for the openings of “One Tree Hill” (that’s still on?) and Tegan and Sara turned in a little version that’s pretty damn good. It’s less than a minute long so you’re not likely to get infected with terrible DeGraw-ness, so just enjoy the sisters Quinn doing what they do best. Catchy as fuck indie pop from adorable sisters.

John Vanderslice (feat. The Magik Magik Orchestra) - Walkabout (Atlas Sound Cover)

john vanderslice (feat the magik*magik orchestra) - WALKABOUT (Atlas Sound Cover)

John Vanderslice recently put together an album with the Magik Magik Orchestra and through those sessions, a cover of the absolutely fantastic Atlas Sound jam “Walkabout” was born. It’s certainly missing the buoyancy and energy of the original, and of course you always sacrifice something when you lose Noah Lennox’s sweet voice, but it’s a cool cover. Nice and solid in it’s choir re-arrangement. If you like the Atlas Sound / Panda Bear version, this is certainly worth a listen.

The National - Pretty In Pink

the national - PRETTY IN PINK (Psychedelic Furs cover // Daytrotter Session)

A session from a long while back. Not much new and exciting to post, so why not bring out the fun old toys that don’t get much play time these days. This was recorded back in the summer of 2007 during The National’s stop to promote their near perfect album, “Boxer”. Its exactly what you’d expect from the National covering a Psychedelic Furs track, which is to say you should have already heard it by now and if you haven’t - why the fuck aren’t you pressing play?

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - The love I'm searching for (The Rentals cover)

yeah yeah yeahs - THE LOVE I’M SEARCHING FOR (The Rentals Cover)

This is a truncated version of one the Rentals best tracks. It doesn’t matter. Somehow Karen O and the boys manage to extract all of the longing and loss from the original and put it to great use here.. I do seriously believe that the original is one of the all time great lost love songs. It’s fucking epic and wonderful and beautiful and everything that great pop songs should be. Seek out the acoustic version that original Matt Sharp recorded. It will blow your mind.

Small Black - 

small black - THE SUN WAS HIGH (SO WAS I) (Best Coast Cover)

One of my favorite new bands covering a band that i really like on occasion. It didn’t go wrong. Small Black’s new-new-wavey goodness continues to make me love them more and more (even if i’m still waiting for another track as fucking perfect as “Despicable Dogs”) and combined with Best Coast’s knack for writing sweet melodies, this is a winner. Give the man his prize. Hint: His prize is a chicken dinner.

Vampire Weekend - Fight for this Love (Cheryl Cole Cover)

vampire weekend - FIGHT FOR THIS LOVE (Cheryl Cole Cover)

Looks like Vampire Weekend broke out the horn section on Radio 1’s Live Lounge to do a cover of Cheryl Cole’s pop hit, “Fight for this Love”. Not a bad song in the least. Not that I’m a big Cheryl Cole fan, but it’s a catchy track to begin with and the Vampire Weekend boys know their way around a hook or two.

The Decemberists - Row Jimmy

the decemberists - ROW JIMMY

Well here are the Decemberists with a faithfully twangy cover of the Grateful Dead track “Row Jimmy”. This is the b-side to their new single “January Hymn”. Both tracks are pretty solid but I’ll be honest and say that i think that i prefer a stripped bare sound like this to their recent output. Maybe I’m in the minority here, but i was not a fan of “Hazards of Love”. Here’s hoping this is a sign of what to look forward to on their forthcoming album, “The King Is Dead”.

Sin Fang - The Only Living Boy In New York

sin fang - THE ONLY LIVING BOY IN NEW YORK

I recently posted a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” by Sindri Már Sigfusson of the band Seabear (here, using his alias Sin Fang). Here is the B-side to that single. It’s a freak folk (remember that genre?) type cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s classic, “The Only Living Boy In New York” (dig out your Garden State soundtracks if you’re not versed in their back catalog). It’s got more of a campfire drunken singalong vibe than the “Landslide” cover, but i really like this track all the same.

Sin Fang - Landslide

sin fang - LANDSLIDE

Here’s a pretty little deconstructed cover of Fleetwood Mac’s classic “Landslide” performed by Sindri Már Sigfusson of the band Seabear. His solo material goes under the name Sin Fang. Keep an eye on him. It’s pretty and sparse like some of Antony & the Johnson’s softer moments.

Dum Dum Girls - Play With Fire

dum dum girls - PLAY WITH FIRE (Rolling Stones Cover)

Now this is a dark and sexy cover of an already dark and sexy song. Dum Dum Girls somehow have managed to up both the menace and sexiness to 11 just by slowing the delivery and adding some droning, reverbed guitars. Adding a grungy shoegaze/garage layer really brought it all out.

So yeah. One of my all time favorite Stones jams just got an amazing update and i couldn’t be happier.

Frightened Rabbit (Feat. Craig Finn) - Don't Go Breaking My Heart

frightened rabbit (feat. craig finn) - DON’T GO BREAKING MY HEART

Here goes the studio version of the Elton John and Kiki Dee cover that’s been making the rounds as of late because of a live video from NYC’s Terminal 5 show that found the Hold Steady’s Finn jump up on stage to tackle this bouncy little cover with the Frightened Rabbit boys.

This version comes from the single for ‘The Loneliness & The Scream”.