Under The Cover

Ben Gibbard probably has one of the best ears for picking cover songs more than any other musician.  His interpretation of "Thriller" turned the zombie dance number into something heart breaking and just as good or better than the original version.

Now he's taken his Zooey Dechannel loving hands and used them to rework, well really just slow down, Matthew Sweet's "Sick of Myself."  Keep up the good work Benjamin.

Oh, and you can go here to listen to several covers by him and Death Cab For Cutie.  His version of Avril Lavigne's "Complicated" is a must listen.

MP3:  Ben Gibbard - Sick of Myself (Matthew Sweet Cover)

Under Cover

I really think Ben Gibbard needs to get out of my head.  This year I've heard three fantastic covers he or Death Cab have done.  The latest one is "I Wanna Be Adored" by The Stone Roses.  Yep, I be lovin' the Roses and this is definitely one of my favorite songs of theirs.  But, since the Roses only released two albums, pretty much all of their songs are great.

This cover is pretty faithful to the original, but ya know, with the Gibbard/Death Cab voicey thing going on.  It's a bootleg, so, it's sound is pretty decent.  One thing I like about it is the one guy who "woos" at the beginning of the song.  It seems that he's pretty much the only one who knows what goodness the bubble bass line is about to bring.  Woo!

MP3:  Death Cab For Cutie - I Wanna Be Adored (Stone Roses Cover) 

Cover Tunes

I was reading over at Gobbler's Knob about the new Waylon CD, Waylon Forever and so I checked out the songs that were on it.  I was more than a little surprised when I saw he covered Cream's "White Room."  I guess I shouldn't be to surprised since ol' Shooter is the one behind the project.  Anyhoo, it got me to thinking about good cover tunes I've heard and what makes a good cover.

A good cover doesn't always have to be complete reworking of the origninal, but, it usually helps.  A friend of mine turned me on to a cover of  Outkast's "Hey Ya!" by one Obadiah Parker.  It's a great version, but, I can't help but think that chicks would really dig this.  Then, there is the completely awesome version of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" that The White Stripe perform.  

So, here are some of my favorite recent cover tunes.

MP3: Obadiah Parker - Hey Ya!

MP3: The White Stripes - Jolene

MP3: Ben Gibbard - Thriller

MP3: The New Frontiers - Look at Miss Ohio

Killer, Thriller--Tonight!

Until today, I thought that Ian Brown would be the only one that could do justice to Michael Jackson's "Thriller." However, thanks to Stereogum, my opinion has been changed. The great Ben Gibbard, from Deathcab For Cutie and the Postal Service, serves up this live version of the Jacko classic.

Of course it's done up Gibbard style, slow and slightly melancholy. But, it's ridiculous how good it is.

MP3:  Ben Gibbard - Thriller