The morning after the Chicago stop of their U.S tour in support of the excellent new The Brutalist Bricks, Ted Leo And The Pharmacists stopped by The A.V. Club to grace us with a cover of Tears For Fears' 1985 smash hit, "Everybody Wants To Rule The World." The bees in the background made their stage debut at the band's album-release show, and one of them was adopted by The A.V. Club.
Fruit Bats started as a solo project for Eric D. Johnson, who'd been palling around with the guys from Califone in Chicago. Ten years later, they're fully fledged purveyors of gorgeous, melancholy pop--check out last year's The Ruminant Band for proof. (You might also recognize Johnson as the second guitarist in the current Shins lineup.) Here, Fruit Bats lovingly embrace Hall & Oates' 1983 basketball-referencing hit single "One On One."
Pop-punk kingpins Alkaline Trio--performing here as an acoustic duo--stopped by The A.V. Club to tackle a song they love: Archers Of Loaf's 1993 classic of indie-angst, "Web In Front." The Trio's seventh album, This Addiction, came out in February on the band's own Heart & Skull imprint.
We were fairly certain that Starship's 1985 smash hit "We Built This City" would be one of the final songs picked for the debut season of A.V. Undercover, but Cursive proved us wrong. Nebraska's favorite sons attacked the song, making it their own. (In an alternate take, singer Tim Kasher sang "balls-deep in the hoopla" rather than the original's "knee-deep.") Associate editor Kyle Ryan can be seen in the video running the strobe light, an effect Cursive insisted on. The band's latest album is the excellent Mama, I'm Swollen.
When he was signing our wall, Justin Townes Earle mentioned that he shared childlike handwriting with his dad -- legendary songwriter Steve Earle. In this week's Undercover, Justin covers Bruce Springsteen's gorgeous "Atlantic City" in the spirit of the spare original. His latest album, Midnight At The Movies, came out last year.
The usually rocking Retribution Gospel Choir--which features two-thirds of the band Low--decided to get seriously mellow on this cover of The Beach Boys' late-period hit "Kokomo." They also pulled a switcheroo, with drummer Eric Pollard taking over lead vocals and guitar while usual singer-guitarist Alan Sparhawk taps a drum and sings sweet harmonies. Though the original is widely reviled, these guys claim to love it unironically, and that genuine enthusiasm comes through in this performance. Watch 'til the end for an appearance by Rodney The Mailman.
Milwaukee band Maritime--which was born from the ashes of The Promise Ring in 2003--has some big news to announce here: They just signed to Dangerbird Records, home of Silversun Pickups, The Dears, Minus The Bear, and others. Their debut disc for the label (and fourth overall) will be released later this year. But first: the band's mellow cover of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence," complete with keytar from drummer Dan Didier. Oh, and they'd like you to know that they're playing at UW-Madison this Friday, April 30.
The Clientele might not be the obvious choice to cover M.I.A.'s breakthrough hit "Paper Planes," but the relatively gentle British band did right by the song, adding two violins and inviting both their tour manager and a photographer friend to sit in on the Undercover session. Frontman Alasdair MacLean even decided to sneak in a line from a Clientele song, "Since K Got Over Me." The Clientele's latest Merge release is Bonfires On The Heath.
Ben Folds was in Chicago for three sold-out shows at the Vic, and he made some time to stop by The A.V. Club and cover Elliott Smith's "Say Yes" for us. Folds has a history with Smith: They did a brief tour together, both opening for Beck, and Folds told us that he'd sheepishly knock on Smith's door before the show to request "Alameda." Folds paid tribute to Smith on 2005's Songs For Silverman, with a song called "Late," and here he does so again, playing a piano-fied version of one of Smith's greatest songs, "Say Yes."
Wye Oak--Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack--asked us so politely if they could bring a friend along to help them cover "Strangers" by The Kinks, and who could refuse when that friend was Shearwater's Jonathan Meiburg? The two bands had been touring together, and Wye Oak were working the song out on stage every night. It only made sense that Meiburg would step in to give it some extra oomph. Wye Oak's latest is an EP called My Neighbor / My Creator; it's available digitally now and will be out on CD on June 8.
When Motion City Soundtrack agreed to participate in A.V. Undercover, we assumed they'd pop-punkify Pavement's "Cut Your Hair" with energetic abandon. But they went a different (and awesome) route, gathering five acoustic guitars for a five-man acoustical jam of Tesla-like proportions. Stick around for the "no big hair" line! MCS' latest album is My Dinosaur Life.
The Wedding Present formed 25 years ago in the north of England, and it's safe to say that the band was more influenced by The Buzzcocks and The Fall than by The Rolling Stones. Still, it sounds pretty spectacular when The Wedding Present--in the middle of a tour celebrating the 21st anniversary of its excellent album Bizarro--brings the noise to The Rolling Stones' 1966 classic "19th Nervous Breakdown." The Wedding Present is the only band (so far--is that a hint?) to have a song on the Undercover list and to perform a cover for us: "My Favourite Dress" will rear its head later this summer.
We were excited to see what song Owen Pallett--a.k.a. Final Fantasy, a.k.a. string arranger for Arcade Fire, among others--would choose for Undercover, because pretty much anything was guaranteed to turn out radically different from the original (and gorgeous). He grabbed "Game Of Pricks," from Guided By Voices' classic 1995 album Alien Lanes. Turns out he was a big GBV fan back in the day, but didn't realize until recording this cover that the song features the line, "Weep to water the trees." Pallett's latest album is the terrific Heartland.
The Antlers released one of last year's best (and most heartbreaking) albums: Hospice is a sorta-concept disc about death and relationships. It wasn't a huge leap for the Brooklyn band to choose Pink Floyd's melancholy "Wish You Were Here," a song about longing and loneliness for a person who's now gone. The Antlers are in the midst of a tour opening for The National; this week they'll play Radio City Music Hall, which must be pretty damn exciting. They'll also play Lollapalooza this summer, so try to keep it down so you can hear them.
In the most generalized of descriptions, both Rise Against and Nirvana qualify as "loud punk," so it makes sense that the Chicago melodic-hardcore band chose the legendary Seattle outfit's "Sliver" for our loudest Undercover to date. (The air ducts outside our office, and presumably throughout our building, rattled during the performance.) Rise Against's most recent album, 2008's excellent Appeal To Reason, had the kind of blazing guitars and hoarse-throated vocals from frontman Tim McIlrath that can trace their lineage back to Seattle in the early '90s (and Southern California in the '80s). The band's currently playing a few festival gigs in Europe before heading back home to write its next record, so this is likely as close as Rise Against will come to your city for a while.
We were excited when Frightened Rabbit agreed to stop by the A.V. Club office for an Undercover session, mostly because the Scottish band's recent Winter Of Mixed Drinks is one of the best albums of 2010. Covering The Wedding Present seemed like the obvious choice, but singer-guitarist Scott Hutchison threw us a curveball when he chose "Confetti," from The Lemonheads' classic 1992 album It's A Shame About Ray. While Evan Dando's original is a fairly sunny affair, Hutchison dropped some of that special Scottish sadness into his version. Then we all ate eggs in a conference room. True story!
Clem Snide frontman (and only constant member) Eef Barzelay has made other artists' songs his own many times before, from Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" to Hank Williams' "Lost On The River" to The Velvet Underground's "I'll Be Your Mirror." When we told Ben Folds that Barzelay would be shooting an Undercover, he said something like, "I can listen to that guy sing anything, all day." When he chose Journey's 1983 power ballad "Faithfully" for Undercover, we were delighted. When he told us it'd be performed in solo-ukulele form, that delight was doubled. It helps that the slightly cheesy lyric is something that Barzelay can relate to--missing your family while out on the road. Here's an amazing line from Wikipedia about Journey's original video: "Steve Perry can be seen shaving his short-lived but talked-about moustache in the video." Don't bail on this video, either: There's a surprise at the end that's even better than moustache-shaving. Clem Snide's latest album is The Meat Of Life.
We were pitching Coheed And Cambria's publicist on a different band for Undercover when he mentioned that the prog-metal champs might be up for it. Shrinking the New York band's huge sound down to a manageable size for our little room seemed like a challenge too potentially interesting to resist--and shrink down they did. Singer-guitarist Claudio Sanchez and guitarist Travis Stever brought a gentleness to The Smiths' semi-deep cut "A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours." Coincidentally, Coheed had already covered a song from our list, Journey's "Faithfully," in the past. But here they took one of the most challenging songs from Undercover and made it their own, partially as a gift to their manager, who's a big fan of the song. Coheed's latest disc is Year Of The Black Rainbow.
As the Undercover list grew shorter, we worried slightly that The Wedding Present's "My Favourite Dress" would prove to be a stumper. We couldn't have guessed that it wouldn't stump Patrick Stump, singer of Chicago pop-punk kingpins Fall Out Boy. As you'll recall, The Wedding Present already stopped by the office to cover The Rolling Stones' "19th Nervous Breakdown." Here, Stump--whose band is on some kind of "indefinite hiatus" that we didn't ask him about--takes on the cult classic, which originally appeared on The Wedding Present's 1987 album George Best. Stump brought some serious soul to the song, which we imagine he'll be injecting into his debut solo disc, due out later this year.
Superchunk's last album, Here's To Shutting Up, came out in 2001. (For those keeping score, that's a long-ass time ago.) The legendary Chapel Hill band has played a few gigs in the last decade, but mostly kept quiet, so when a Chicago show was announced, we made a collective little "squee" noise. And since we're obviously big fans ("Detroit Has A Skyline" is on the master Undercover list!), we finagled and asked nicely and begged the quartet to drop by and record a song for us. Superchunk chose "In Between Days" by The Cure, and made it--as you'll see--their own. Oh, and in case you hadn't heard: There's a new Superchunk album just around the corner, called Majesty Shredding. It comes out September 14 on Merge, and it's a rocker in that old-school Superchunk way. Get excited.
Adorable duo Mates Of State just released an all-covers disc called Crushes(The Covers Mixtape), so it seemed like a natural fit for Undercover. We figured it'd just be just Jason and Kori adding sweetness and light to The Replacements classic "I Will Dare," but they showed up with three other players in tow, including comedian Todd Barry on drums--he even donned kick-ass drummer gloves for the performance. Also: trumpet! Dig it.
It's not often--never, to be exact--that we have Oscar winners in our office, but we were thrilled that Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, a.k.a. The Swell Season, agreed to stop by and cover Neutral Milk Hotel's "Two-Headed Boy" for Undercover. The duo has been riding an incredible wave since starring together in the film Once, for which they won the Best Original Song Oscar in 2008. They brought a full band to rock through the song, and even added something extra at the end--a bit of Neutral Milk's "The King Of Carrot Flowers Pts. 2-3." After they left our little room, The Swell Season headed out to a sold-out concert at Ravinia, then flew to a sold-out show at the Hollywood Bowl and an appearance on The Tonight Show. All in all, a pretty good week.
We thought that Superchunk's "Detroit Has A Skyline" would be one of the last songs to go--and that it would take a particularly rocking band to do it justice. Of the final three songs, it made perfect sense for New York's Cymbals Eat Guitars, who stopped by the office the day before playing a blistering set at Lollapalooza. The band's debut, Why There Are Mountains, came out last year, and it's a raucous collision of Built To Spill, Modest Mouse, and even Cap'n Jazz. Most of those acts were rocking while the CEG guys were still in school; they're still in their early 20s. Cymbals' performance was easily the loudest Undercover yet; thankfully most of our neighbors had gone home when they stopped by.
Tokyo Police Club had just two songs to choose from for Undercover--they thought they had three, but Cymbals Eat Guitars grabbed "Detroit Has A Skyline" just hours before TPC chose Billy Squier's "Everybody Wants You," the leadoff track from Squier's amazingly titled 1982 album Emotions In Motion. (If you're keeping score, that means the final track chosen was "Driver 8" by R.E.M., which is up next week.) These young men--who weren't born when Squier's song hit the charts--rocked the song plenty, riffing a little harder than they generally do in their own songs. But don't take our word for it: Check out TPC's latest album, Champ.
And so it ends... When there were just three tracks left to choose from, New York's The Walkmen were kind enough to commit to performing whatever song was last. It surprised us, too, that R.E.M.'s 1985 classic "Driver 8" wasn't covered sooner in the series. (Maybe the Stipey-ness of it was too daunting.) But here are The Walkmen, ready to nail that snaky guitar and those impenetrable lyrics, including the classic "the power lines have floaters so the airplanes won't get snagged." It just so happens that R.E.M. just released a deluxe edition of the album that contains "Driver 8," the classic Fables Of The Reconstruction. The Walkmen are about to release a classic, too. (Segue!) Lisbon comes out September 14 on Fat Possum. It's been two years in the making, but worth the wait: It's easily one of the best albums of 2010. Oh, and you may have noticed that you can now vote for your favorite five Undercover performances.
If you're a careful follower of A.V. Undercover, you'll know that "One More Try" by George Michael is not actually on this year's list. Here's what happened: Iron And Wine's Sam Beam chose "Islands In The Stream" to cover, and had a special guest lined up to sing with him. That special guest couldn't make it at the last minute, and rather than have Sam pick a different song from the list, we let him play one that he'd been itching to do anyway (and a song that feels completely in the spirit of Undercover). We're hoping against hope that Iron And Wine and their special duet guest can come back before the end of the run and perform "Islands In The Stream" as sort of a bonus track. In the meantime: SPOILER ALERT! Though Iron And Wine was the first band to choose a song, they weren't the first to perform. So if you want to spoil some upcoming surprises, look closely at the wall. If you don't, then don't squint. Oh, and yes, that's Marketa Irglova from Undercover alums The Swell Season singing backup here!
For his cover of LCD Soundsystem's unstoppable "All My Friends," Baths--a.k.a. Will Wiesenfeld--asked us to procure him a piano. We immediately knew that his version wouldn't be terribly similar to Baths' excellent debut album, Cerulean, which wraps pop in gauzy electronic washes. No, Will stripped the song to its essence, asking his friend and tourmate Dexter--of the band Houses--to provide some truly organic percussion.
Dum Dum Girls' massively catchy debut album I Will Be ranked as our 13th favorite album of 2010, so we were delighted when these cool-as-ice ladies agreed to stop by the office and play us a cover. We were doubly delighted that they chose "September Gurls" by Big Star, because then we can say dumb stuff like "Girls play 'Gurls'." Okay, maybe not. In any case, please enjoy this performance.
Nobody planned it this way, but it worked out nicely that Providence, Rhode Island's The Low Anthem would tackle Wilco's classic "A Shot In The Arm" for Undercover. Though there are plenty of heirs apparent to Wilco's crossover-Americana charm, TLA seem like particularly strong candidates based on an already-impressive discography. (The Low Anthem's latest, Smart Flesh, was even released by Nonesuch, Wilco's home until very recently.) Enjoy.
We wouldn't have guessed that New Jersey's mighty Titus Andronicus would tackle They Might Be Giants 1990 quirk-pop classic "Birdhouse In Your Soul," but apparently they're big fans of the song. Of course, they didn't give "Birdhouse" a particular straight reading: They start by sampling Charles Bukowski's "Bluebird" before careening into the song. If you don't already own last year's The Monitor--one of The A.V. Club's favorites of 2010--you should remedy that post-haste. Watch for contemplative Rodney at 1:58. Enjoy!
Yes, we're well aware that you voted for this year's Undercover to include only bands that hadn't played last year. But if you look at the numbers carefully, you'll see that lots of people (47%) were okay with returning acts, particularly if they were one of the top vote-getters from last year. But really the reason we wanted to invite Baltimore duo Wye Oak back into the round room is that they're awesome. Their new album is called Civilian, and it's an early-ish contender for best of the year in at least one book around here. And oh man, Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack (along with Callers' Don "Donzig" Godwin on tenor horn) didn't disappoint. They tackled Danzig's "Mother" with exactly the amount of seriousness it deserves. Jenn even wore a special black hoodie and allowed herself to be temporarily tattooed in an homage to the former Misfits frontman. This song was chosen for Undercover by way of reader suggestion: About six of you thought it would be a good one, and you were right. (Oh, by the way, Wye Oak will be the only repeat performer from last year. Respect.)
Is Michael Benjamin Lerner our first drummer/lead singer? He just might be. The Telekinesis mainman released his second album, 12 Desperate Straight Lines, earlier this year, and it was once again expertly produced by Death Cab For Cutie's Chris Walla--and performed largely by Lerner himself. But you can't fuzz-pop that hard by yourself, so Lerner recruited Jason Narducy (who's played in both Bob Mould and Robert Pollard's bands, in addition to Verbow) and Cody Votolato (who used to tear it up in Blood Brothers) for his most recent live lineup. Together, they brought a bit of crunch to Belle & Sebastian's fantastic tale of... love? Paranoia? Anyway, "Like Dylan In The Movies" and Telekinesis. Together at last.
Rocky Votolato started his rock life in earnest in the mid-'90s with the band Waxwing, which also included his brother Cody--currently of recent Undercover alums Telekinesis. But the quiet life called more strongly, and Rocky took to a solo career filled with more gentle sounds. Matt Pond PA is a band led by singer-songwriter Matt Pond (you follow?). Rocky and Matt recently toured together, and we asked them to collaborate for Undercover. They chose The Human League's undeniable 1981 smash "Don't You Want Me," with Rocky deciding that Matt would play the role of the lady in this tumultuous relationship. We think you'll find it swell.
You may recognize three of the four people in today's session as Retribution Gospel Choir, one of A.V. Undercover's earliest participants and bravest re-interpreters of cheesy '80s hits. This time, as Low--which in its current incarnation is all of Retribution Gospel plus singer/drummer Mimi Parker--they've decided to tackle "Africa," the 1982 smash hit by Toto with the, umm, incredibly distinctive lyrics. (Worst offender: "I know that I must do what's right / sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti.") They tried to blame me for daring them to try it, but I think you'll agree that Low takes "Africa" and brings something special to it. And if you haven't seen the original video, you owe it to yourself, if only to see a bunch of bad haircuts playing on top of a stack of books. Low's latest album is C'mon, and you should check it out.
Chicago's Smith Westerns released their second album, Dye It Blonde, earlier this year, which is a fairly remarkable achievement considering how young they are. The band's sound tips toward glammy stuff like T. Rex, though for A.V. Undercover, they nabbed the salt-of-the-earth Tom Petty classic "American Girl." Oh yeah, all right, take it easy baby.
We didn't know what to expect when psych-influenced, Technicolor indie-rockers Of Montreal chose The White Stripes' straightforward, superquick "Fell In Love With A Girl" to cover. Would they fill the room with DayGlo colors and twist the song into a ten-minute jam? They most assuredly would not. Here's another side of Of Montreal: a four-piece capable of rocking the crap out of modern garage-rock classic. Enjoy.
Sharon Van Etten is no stranger to cover songs: Hers have been on the receiving end of tributes by Bon Iver, among others. Here, the Jersey-born singer-songwriter--who has two stunning albums out, Because I Was In Love and Epic--invited her tourmates Ari and Laurel (a.k.a. Little Scream) to help out on a slow-burning cover of Fine Young Cannibals' 1989 smash hit "She Drives Me Crazy." Rather than imitate Roland Gift's weird falsetto, Van Etten goes slightly twangy, with predictably fantastic results. Enjoy.
When we heard from John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats that the band had chosen Jawbreaker's 1994 classic of punk-scene angst, "Boxcar," to cover for us, we were tickled. When they actually came in and played it, we were delighted. Though the band-song pairing seems a little incongruous, it actually makes a lot of sense: Both Jawbreaker and The Mountain Goats were/are led by literate guys who like to put their feelings right out there, naked. It just so happens that this song is an indictment of the kind of holier-than-thou punk attitudes that Darnielle probably can't relate to personally. Which makes it all the more fun to see and hear him rock the lines: "You're not punk, and I'm telling everyone" and "One, two, three four, who's punk, what's the score?" Sharp-eared fans will note a couple of lyrical changes, made perhaps so that Darnielle could relate to the song better. And sharp-eyed fans will recognize drummer Jon Wurster in his second Undercover performance, the first being Superchunk's version of "In Between Days."
We knew when we asked Parts & Labor to choose a song for A.V. Undercover that the result would likely sound pretty different from the original, no matter what the experimental NYC rock band chose to do. We were excited that they accepted the challenge of Kanye West's "Runaway," a modern classic we figured most bands would see as too great a challenge. Singer B.J. Warshaw told us that they skipped the verses that they "couldn't reasonably sing honestly"--which left them mostly with choruses. (They're right: The line about dick photos would sound silly coming from almost anybody but Kanye.) In any case, we hope you'll enjoy this partly manic, partly chill interpretation. Parts & Labor's latest album is Constant Future, and it's a corker.
When the young Floridians in Surfer Blood chose the Pixies classic "Gigantic" for A.V. Undercover, we assumed that one of them would just have to come up with a falsetto. Instead, they recruited their friend Sarah Baldwin--drummer for The Girls At Dawn--to take the lead. We hope you enjoy it, as you're probably already enjoying Surfer Blood's debut, Astro Coast.
The guys from ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead asked us if they could do Undercover, but they didn't exactly understand the concepts. E-mails were exchanged, pitching songs that weren't on our master list. Finally, when they suggested doing this Indigo Girls song, we decided to stop trying to explain the concept and just have them do it. (They were sharing a bus with Surfer Blood anyway, so they weren't far away.) And thus we have... an Undercover bonus track. And we have a really nice drawing on the wall of the round room. Enjoy.
When the gentlemen of Sloan were setting up in the round room, they lamented all of the songs they would've liked to have performed, including Billy Squier's "Everybody Wants You." But they landed on Gary Numan's only real American hit, 1979's "Cars." It's perfect, though, since Numan is currently celebrating the 30th anniversary of the album that spawned "Cars," The Pleasure Principle. Sloan is no slouch in the longevity department, either: The Canadian band has been together since 1991, and just released its 10th album, The Double Cross. It's been met with some of the best reviews of Sloan's career, including an A- right here at The A.V. Club.
As you may recall, They Might Be Giants’ “Birdhouse In Your Soul” was on this year’s Undercover list, and was tackled by Titus Andronicus. Many vocal commenters weren’t too fond of the version—though we got a bunch of e-mails from people who liked it. One of those people was They Might Be Giants’ John Flansburgh, who offered up his band’s services for a rendition of Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping.” Flansburgh also had the brilliant idea of recruiting backup singers from our office to sing/shout the chorus. He asked me to determine how many people we could fit in that room—it was 16, plus two camera men, plus the band—and on Memorial Day, TMBG made a special stop in Chicago to perform the song. Needless to say, when I set about finding A.V. Club staffers and friends to populate the room, nerdgasms abounded: You’ll see Tasha Robinson, Genevieve Koski, Kyle Ryan, and new web producer Sarah Collins in the room. Oh, and Pop Pilgrims co-host Dan Telfer! And a special appearance by my baby boy Jasper! (You may notice that the lights are a little low in the round room, both for atmosphere and to keep things cooler.) Anyway, we think this one’s epic, and we think you will, too. They Might Be Giants’ new album, Join Us, will be released on July 19. It doesn’t feature “Tubthumping,” but it’s awesome nonetheless.
The Get Up Kids didn't have to go far to choose from the list of this year's Undercover songs: The longtime Blur fans had already been playing a bit of that band's "Girls And Boys" during their sound checks. The cheeky track originally appeared on the excellent album Parklife in 1994, just before The Get Up Kids started playing music in Kansas City, Missouri. Although the band would become most associated with the second wave of emo, The Get Up Kids have always specialized in a kind of hooky power-pop that isn't as far removed from Blur as it may appear—and this year's There Are Rules finds the band expanding its sound.
It might seem like singer-songwriter Matt Nathanson came out of nowhere with "Come On Get Higher"--a song that's graced many a TV show--but he's been releasing albums since the early '90s, flirting with big success for years and years. In recent years, he's toured with everyone from Sugarland to Maroon 5, which makes him perhaps the most mainstream artist ever to grace our round room. But that doesn't mean Nathanson doesn't have great taste: His repertoire of covers includes a bunch of Prince songs, plus a bang-up version of James' "Laid." Here, he tackles "Little Red Corvette," acknowledging upfront that he doesn't have quite the funk of the song's originator, but nailing it just the same. Nathanson's latest album is Modern Love.
When we saw that Bob Mould was coming through Chicago, we couldn't resist inviting him in to perform his own song: "If I Can't Change Your Mind" from Sugar's classic 1992 debut, Copper Blue. Mould, who also fronted the legendary Husker Du, just released his autobiography, See A Little Light. He's had an amazing career that just continues to bloom, and it's a fascinating journey to read about. (You knew he was a writer for World Championship Wrestling, right?) Anyway, the big question here was whether this performance should count as a cover, since Mould wrote it. We decided to let Bob figure that out, though based on his self-deprecating interview—he couldn't have been more gracious or fun at this taping—it's not exactly clear what the answer was.
We were all set to cross “If I Can’t Change Your Mind” off the master list after Bob Mould came in and told us it definitely counted as a cover when he played it. But the list was still out with The Decemberists, who agreed to play a song after we badgered singer-guitarist Colin Meloy on Twitter. When they asked if the Sugar classic was still available, we figured it wouldn’t hurt to have another version. Where Mould went solo-electric (and sang the little guitar bit at the end), Meloy and his current merry band—minus longtime member Jenny Conlee, who is battling breast cancer—decided to go with the five-man-acoustical-jam setup, the second Undercover performer to do so. The band’s performance at the Aragon that night was fantastic, and likely its last concert around here for a while, since Mr. Meloy will apparently be concentrating on his writing career for a bit.
It was a rocky road getting to “Janie Jones.” Let me tell you some tales out of school. (The bands involved won’t care.) First, The Dismemberment Plan expressed interest in playing the song, very early in the series, but couldn’t make it work with schedules. Then, Wild Flag claimed the song, 24 hours before Against Me! said they wanted it. It was painful to have to deny the Florida punk band, and nothing else on the list really interested them. Then Wild Flag had to bow out due to a scheduling conflict, and the Against Me! dudes were gracious enough to step back in and slay “Janie Jones.” What a great song.
Basia Bulat and Ted Leo’s fantastic “Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone” aren’t the most obvious match. Bulat is a gentle folkie, but it’s probably fair to call Leo a folk singer as well, though far more fiery than that word usually implies. But Bulat, who frequently plays an autoharp, clearly loves the song. (As the song itself goes, “Someone sang me through it.”) We think you’ll like this version, too.
Intrepid Undercover watchers already noticed that Huey Lewis' "The Power Of Love" had been scrawled on our wall, autographed by awesome shredder Marnie Stern, for a couple of months. In the first (and hopefully last) case of Undercover technical difficulties, that session basically turned out unusable. We apologize to Ms. Stern and her band. But in stepped The Hold Steady, who you readers angrily insisted we get in here for a session anyway. They felt the power, they felt the power of love, and now they've passed it along to you. Ladies and gentlemen, The Hold Steady.
Although Otis Redding has basically owned the song since 1966, the history of “Try A Little Tenderness” begins more than three decades earlier as a much more staid love song composed by a trio of professional songwriters. But it quickly became a go-to song for other performers, and in the many years since, it’s been reinterpreted by everyone from Bing Crosby to Three Dog Night. So it’s only natural that Peter Bjorn And John join the tradition in our little round room while touring to support their latest album, Gimme Some. How will three white guys from Sweden handle one of the staple songs of American soul music? Take a look.
Because we are loathe to offer you repeat performers (excepting the exceptional Wye Oak), we've tried to bring all new bands to Undercover this year. But because of some van trouble, a band that shall remain nameless couldn't make their appointment with the round room. But in stepped the lovely voice and sunny personality of Eric Johnson and The Fruit Bats--or a stripped-down version thereof. You'll find this trio (which includes guest Dan Hindman of Vetiver) a different animal than the full outfit that covered Hall & Oates for us last year. Johnson hadn't heard "The Other Woman" (which was written by Betty Sue Perry and made famous-ish by Loretta Lynn) before accepting the challenge of the final slot, but he nailed it just the same. Enjoy! At some point this week we'll be asking you to vote on your favorite Undercover of the year...
You might notice, astute readers, that Stevie Nicks’ duet with Tom Petty, “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” was not actually on this year’s list. The song was on an early version of the list, which went out to tourmates Sharon Van Etten and Shearwater. I suggested they do this song, and they agreed—and then scheduling proved too difficult. Since our dream team couldn’t do it, I pulled it from the list. And then, by magic or fate, they were able to squeeze us in. So, as with last year’s Undercover debut (Iron & Wine’s version of George Michael’s “One More Try”), we’re kicking things off with a bonus track. You got lucky, babes. This song, written by Tom Petty but supposedly shitcanned for several years for having too feminine a lyric, was a massive hit for Stevie Nicks in 1981. It caught Petty and Nicks at the height of their powers, as songwriter and chanteuse. (You can check out a Petty-only demo in the Playback box set, or here on YouTube.) Back to our dream team: Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater has graced the little round room more times than anyone now, having guested on Wye Oak’s rendition of The Kinks’ “Strangers” and knocking out a Randy Newman song for Holiday Undercover. Dude is game, and the new Shearwater album, Animal Joy, is excellent. Sharon Van Etten, who plays Ms. Nicks here, is having a hell of year. She recently released Tramp, which will almost surely be gracing many, many year-end lists (the good kinds!). Oh, and why are we making them team up? We’re trying not to have too many repeat performers in the round room, but a brand-new collaboration doesn’t count, right? Right. Enjoy.
It’s always a pleasant surprise when bands bring something extra to the little round room. California band Young The Giant, inspired by the video for R. Kelly’s modern classic “Ignition (Remix),” showed up to our office with a pile of rented fur coats—all the better to funnel Kells’ spirit. We think you’ll find this rendition fun and sweaty. Fun fact: “Ignition (Remix)” really isn’t a remix of “Ignition” at all. “Ignition” is a completely separate song, with its own melody and lyrics. It does share some thematic elements and a fondness for a particular sexual metaphor.
Young Canadian duo Memoryhouse--a three-piece for touring purposes--stopped by the round room to play us a song that's actually considerably older than they are: The Police's 1981 hit "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," one of a trio of big singles from the band's Ghost In The Machine album. There's a bit of gender swapping here, and Memoryhouse's Evan Abeele points out that it's kind of a "manic pixie dream girl" thing to do. (We're pretty sure he meant that in a very positive way.) Memoryhouse's excellent debut album, The Slideshow Effect, was released by Sub Pop earlier this year.
Punch Brothers were kind of a natural choice for A.V. Undercover, since the modern bluegrass-influenced band has made cover songs a part of its repertoire for years. (You might recognize chief Brother Chris Thile from his time in Nickel Creek, another band known for innovative cover versions.) For their jaunt in the little round room, Punch Brothers decided to tackle The Cars' 1978 hit "Just What I Needed." We think you'll find it delightful, and perhaps it will lead you to the Punch Brothers' equally delightful new album, Who's Feeling Young Now?
Seattle band The Head & The Heart blew up in a hurry; one minute they're playing our favorite cozy Chicago venue, Schubas, the next they're headlining two nights at The Vic. (And we're told they're playing Lollapalooza this year as well, but that won't be announced until tomorrow, along with the rest of the lineup, so keep it under your hat.) Anyway, we convinced them to drop by the round room while they were in Chicago recently, and they told us they wanted to cover the Arcade Fire song that's on the list. And then they changed their minds--their prerogative--and delivered us this smashing version of Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way," from that band's classic Rumours. We think it's safe to assume that the members of The Head & The Heart are not going through any Buckingham-Nicks style drama at the moment, but they did an excellent job with the song nonetheless.
When Cursive stopped by the round room, very early in season one of A.V. Undercover, to destroy and reclaim Starship's cheese-rock anthem "We Built This City," you commenters reacted poorly. ("Why?" we all wondered aloud. "Do they think that song deserves some kid-gloves treatment?") Cymbals Eat Guitars came in later that year to sanctify and glorify Superchunk's "Detroit Has A Skyline." Since we're big fans of both bands but also big fans of not having the same bands in here over and over (Wye Oak excepted), we asked Cursive and Cymbals Eat Guitars to form a one-off supergroup, and they accepted the challenge. The newly monikered Cursive Eats Guitars tackled the early-'90s smash hit "Hey Jealousy," by Gin Blossoms. We're still not sure if this is a good song or just a catchy song, but either way we think you'll enjoy this very rocking version.
Rootsy rock band Lucero hails from Memphis, the capital of the Southern soul music that defined record labels like Stax and Hi Records. It's a sound that can't help but seep into the band's solid new album Women & Work, and it makes Lucero perhaps best suited to take on one of David Bowie's most soulful hits. With the song's energy, horns, and piano, "Modern Love" could almost pass for a cover of an old soul song, but no, it's a David Bowie original from 1983's Let's Dance. Lucero makes the song its own, especially when Rick Steff gets going on the keys.
Trampled By Turtles came to bluegrass music (and largely acoustic instruments) via rock bands, discovering along the way a love of more traditional music. The Duluth, Minnesota band just released its sixth album, Stars And Satellites, and it's clear--both musically and commercially--that things are really starting to cook. The band was on The Late Show With David Letterman recently, and of course now they've made their way to our little round room. (Which is more prestigious? You decide!) They graced us with this lovely version of Arcade Fire's "Rebellion (Lies)," complete with mandolin and violin bits. This ain't your daddy's Arcade Fire (or something).
Nada Surf has had a spectacularly strange career. The band was launched into mainstream popularity in 1996 with a goofy radio hit, "Popular," that wasn't particularly representative of its sound. It took years for the group to earn its way into people's hearts, doing so with a series of fantastic, heartfelt pop records. The latest is The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy, though if you're interested in hearing Nada Surf play covers (beyond the one you just watched), there's also the 12-song If I Had A Hi-Fi, which features the band's takes on songs by The Go-Betweens, Depeche Mode, and others. Here, they add a bit of human beatboxing to New Order's gentle classic "Bizarre Love Triangle." (Oh, and yes, that's Doug Gillard of Guided By Voices, a touring member of Nada Surf.)
Before you get upset, like you did at And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, you should know this: Screaming Females understood the rules of A.V. Undercover. We asked the New Jersey band if they wanted to participate and showed them the list of remaining songs. They politely declined, for the very good reason that they didn't think they could tackle any of them properly, having just started a tour. They did, however, offer up "If It Makes You Happy," which they'd already been playing live. Since we damn near included a Sheryl Crow song on the list this year, we figured it was fate, so here's this year's second bonus track. Enjoy it very much, please and thank you.
The latest in a long parade of Merge Records-affiliated bands to grace our round room, Hospitality comes to us (and you!) from Brooklyn, hot on the heels of their self-titled debut album. (We gave it an A-, and recommend it to you highly.) We caught them on their second of three Chicago stops in the space of just a couple of months; they've been winning hearts and minds while on tour with Wild Flag and Here We Go Magic, among others. I was a bit surprised to learn that this version of Steely Dan's 1974 classic "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" was the first cover that Hospitality had ever attempted (of any song, not just a Steely Dan song!). I think they nailed it, adding a bit of Can/Neu/Stereolab-style chug and rubbing a bit of rock dirt on such a pristine original.
Portland Cello Project made its name mostly by covering reimagining hip-hop tracks for strings; the group even caught Jay-Z's attention with its cover of "H.A.M." (They're interviewed on Jigga's blog about it, even!) We thought it would be cheating for an instrumental group to participate in Undercover, though, so we helped PCP connect with Alan Sparhawk of Low, who's visited the round room twice before. The song they chose, "Institutionalized" by Suicidal Tendencies, is the song I was most excited about at the beginning of this year's Undercover. It's such a strange beast: a hardcore/thrash track whose verses are mostly spoken-word, and a painful personal story that's simultaneously pretty hilarious. It sounds incredibly dated, but in 1983, it sparked a lot of other bands (and got an incredible amount of MTV airplay, believe it or not). Sparhawk took the challenge seriously, donning a blue bandana and grabbing himself a Pepsi (all he wanted--and she just wouldn't give it to him!) for the performance.
If Reggie Watts can be counted on for anything, it’s taking a different approach. The comedian/musician or musician/comedian—let’s just say “ performer”—doesn’t do traditional stand-up comedy, so we knew that, when he came in to perform Van Halen’s “Panama,” we wouldn’t get an especially faithful version of it. The question was just how far afield he’d travel in our little round room. He didn’t disappoint: In Watts’ hands, “Panama” is actually an ode to the Central American country, helpfully dispelling some myths and explaining how its namesake canal works. He tells us his version comes from early demos of the song Van Halen recorded, and who can argue? The chorus is basically the same.
The guys in The Hood Internet made their names mashing up indie-rock and hip-hop into brilliant, often hilarious combinations. (Check out the classic R. Kelly versus Broken Social Scene mix!) They've released six free mixtapes now, all available at their website. The latest includes such clever combos as Tyga Vs. Neon Indian and Whitney Houston Vs. Chromeo. The duo will release their first album of original productions this fall on Decon, and it includes contributions from Carl Newman, The Rosebuds, Psalm One, and lots more. So it made sense that they fleshed things out for Undercover: Stv Slv and ABX are joined by the ladies of Chicago band Coins as well as Dan Didier (of The Promise Ring and Maritime, both Undercover alums) on drums. We didn't expect a straight-up cover of The Pretenders classic "Back On The Chain Gang," and indeed we didn't get one. Instead: Listen up for Gucci Mane and Rick Ross.
It had been quite a while since we'd heard anything from the Texas-based, Texas-sized group The Polyphonic Spree, but when a Chicago show was announced, we couldn't help but wonder how many of them would fit in the little round room. (Their ranks have swelled at times to 24 people.) When they chose Neil Young's 1972 "Heart Of Gold," we figured something special would happen, and that the robes would flow. We think you'll find this delightful performance enough to tide you over until the group releases a holiday album later this year. Meanwhile, cult--uh, band--leader Tim DeLaughter recently released a collaboration with Secret Machines' Philip Karnats under the name Preteen Zenith, which is well worth checking out. Enjoy this mega-cover of "Heart Of Gold."
Grouplove's fabulous summer jam "Tongue Tied" has been all over the place in the last few months, from an iPod Touch commercial to late-night TV to cars with windows rolled down. (If you haven't heard it and your musical tastes fall anywhere near the intersection of Arcade Fire and Mumford And Sons, it's well worth a listen.) We were delighted both that the sunny band chose Andrew W.K.'s party anthem "Party Hard" and that they brought some props. You'll see what I mean. Revel in the mellowness.
J. Tillman recorded a string of solid solo albums over the last half-decade, but he gained a measure of fame by drumming with Fleet Foxes for four years. Tillman played his last Fleet Foxes show earlier this year, though, stepping away in order to pursue a new songwriting path as Father John Misty. FJM's debut album, the grand Fear Fun, came out on Sub Pop in May--perhaps you saw the video starring Parks & Recreation's Aubrey Plaza? Considering the album's vibe, it made perfect sense that Tillman chose The Flaming Lips' "Do You Realize??" for this installment of A.V. Undercover. Careful, you might get a little misty watching it.
When the guys in the rollicking punk outfit The Bronx decided to stretch out musically, they didn't just add some new instruments or gradually shift styles: They created an alternate band and embraced Mariachi El Bronx, and immersed themselves in the traditional Mexican music. (Yes, they even wear charros.) Because they're so associated with their hometown of L.A., the band leaped at The Decemberists' "Los Angeles, I'm Yours," a funny little love letter to the city. Enjoy, and buenos dias.
Deer Tick has offered up raucous cover songs in the past, even transforming from time to time into Deervana, a rip-roaring Nirvana cover band. For his trip to the little round room, though, Deer Tick mainman John McCauley chose Harvey Danger's out-of-nowhere 1998 hit "Flagpole Sitta." That song's origin is pretty interesting: Released independently on Harvey Danger's debut album, the song exploded into the mainstream, appearing on dozens of TV shows and movies and even Now That's What I Call... compilations. Deer Tick adds a little dirt to the proceedings. Enjoy.
When's the last time you gave the Violent Femmes self-titled 1983 album a listen? Its jittery, unstable songs hold up remarkably well--and not just the oft-covered soundtrack staple "Blister In The Sun." Here, the California-based punk band Ceremony offers up a faithful rendition of "Kiss Off," a.k.a. that one Femmes' song with the counting. Ceremony's latest album is Zoo; it's their first for Matador, and a continuation of the band's shift from punk-indebted to post-punk-indebted. Enjoy.
We've had such fine performances from other acoustic acts this year that it seemed like a safe bet to invite The Wood Brothers into the round room. The band--which features Chris Wood of Medeski, Martin & Wood--chose one of the toughest songs on the list, too: Michael Jackson's "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)." (Fun fact: "P.Y.T." was the sixth single from Thriller, an album that only has nine songs.) Instead of the full dance treatment, The Wood Brothers broke it down to guitar, bass, and "shit-tar," which is a guitar modified for use as a percussion instrument. There may also be cameos, so stick around. The Wood Brothers' latest album is Live Volume One: Sky High. Enjoy.
We shouldn't have been surprised to be surprised by Liturgy. The "transcendental black-metal" duo creates massive, hypnotic sheets of sound informed by classical music as well as early black metal. We assumed that would mean the loudest Undercover yet, but Hunter Hunt-Hendrix informed us upon arrival that he wanted to perform Shellac's unstoppable "Prayer To God" a cappella. As you'll see, he builds the song up from scratch with vocal loops, creating something absolutely hypnotic. (And Shellac fans who were worried that a band would come in without an appreciation for the original shouldn't have been: Hunt-Hendrix says it's one of his favorite songs.) For some insight into Hunt-Hendrix's philosophy of metal, click to read his manifesto (of sorts). Or just check out Liturgy's Aesthetica, which came out last year on Thrill Jockey, or see the band live at the following shows, many of which double as Thrill Jockey anniversary concerts. Take a deep breath and enjoy.
There was some concern when making the 2012 Undercover list that Lana Del Rey would have slipped entirely from the public consciousness by the time someone performed her song "Blue Jeans." The world was all a-titter about her lifeless Saturday Night Live performance way back in January, with defenders and haters bravely stepping forward on the Internet to talk about it. But here we are, with her record having topped the charts in a bunch of countries and a supercharged re-release due later this year. Then there was the business of actually covering "Blue Jeans," a song that in its original form actually buries its own hook in atmosphere and attitude. But two-thirds of Brooklyn trio Jukebox The Ghost stripped Lana down even further, tackling most of the song with just voice and piano. It's plenty faithful, though, and might even give the Del Rey haters something to consider. Jukebox The Ghost's latest album is Safe Travels. Enjoy.
Calexico is the only band that can claim its song was played on the last Space Shuttle mission: Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords dedicated the band's "Slowness" to her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly. It was just the latest in a long line of quiet accomplishments by the Arizona band, which stirs traditional Southwestern sounds with the mild side of indie-rock. Here, Calexico grabs hold of Kenny Loggins' classic of cheesy wonder, "Danger Zone." The track was actually written by disco kingpin Giorgio Moroder (with lyrics by Tom Whitlock), though Loggins made it his own via the soundtrack to Top Gun. Calexico adds some layers and removes some excess, pulling something pretty out of a very '80s pop song. Calexico's latest is the fantastic, solemn Algiers.
The Promise Ring formed in Milwaukee in the mid-'90s and quickly found itself at the center of a scene—emo—that it didn't really belong in. For a hot minute, the band was on fire, and 1997's Nothing Feels Good is widely (and rightfully) considered a classic. But as the genre moved toward teenage screamers, The Promise Ring leaned toward more contemplative pop, culminating with 2002's Wood/Water, a pretty and quiet record that didn't quite fit the fashion. After the band split in 2002, drummer Dan Didier and singer Davey von Bohlen went on to form Maritime, whose songs you've heard time and again as the intro/outro music for A.V. Undercover and Pop Pilgrims. The Promise Ring reunited earlier this year and played some fiery festival and club shows. For Undercover, the band chose a song with a pretty high degree of difficulty—Adele's smash hit "Rumour Has It." They gathered a coterie of helpers to pack the round room and bring the song to life with spunky, punky energy. Enjoy.
Field Report frontman Chris Porterfield cut his teeth in the band DeYarmond Edison, whose members have gone on to form Bon Iver (yup, Justin Vernon) and the slightly less massive Megafaun. Porterfield wasn't a songwriter in his old band, but he mustered up some tunes over the last few years and just released his new band's self-titled album. It's a fantastic, downbeat collection that Bon Iver fans should find something to love in. Though the record just came out, Field Report has already toured with Counting Crows and Aimee Mann, among others. The song they're covering is "Chicago" by Sufjan Stevens, another lone troubadour who likes to bolster his live sound with lots of able musicians. Field Report added some aggression (just a little) and wiggly synth sounds for this rendition. Though it's airing second-to-last, the band didn't actually have a choice. (Long story, I'll explain next week--the last Undercover of this series, and the last EVER in the little round room!)
It's the final Undercover session ever in the little round room—we're moving down the street soon—and what better way to send us off than with a bone-shaking performance by those beloved scumdogs of the universe in GWAR. The final song is "Carry On Wayward Son," the big ol' 1976 smash hit by Kansas that still lives a healthy life on classic-rock radio today. It was one of the first songs to make this year's list, and we couldn't have dreamed that it would be performed by huge, angry aliens. (And you wouldn't believe the bands that were attached to cover it at one point or another throughout the year...) We were of course delighted that GWAR would not only grace us with their presence, but also choose the little round room as the public debut of new lead guitarist Pustulus Maximus. We are quite sure you'll enjoy this, and perhaps stop accusing us of only allowing puny indie bands into our office.
Welcome to the fourth year of A.V. Undercover—we're delighted to be back and delighted that you've decided to join us for another round of covers. But one thing that isn't round (amazing segue!) is the room: We sadly left the round room behind at our old office, and though we briefly considered fabricating a new one, we thought we'd just start fresh instead. And fresh it is! We're sharing a large new studio with our brothers and sisters at The Onion, and Chicago poster artist Jay Ryan created an amazing new backdrop for us in one corner of that studio. First up, we were honored and thrilled that the legendary Yo La Tengo was able to inaugurate the new space. The New Jersey band, which had just started a tour behind its excellent new Fade, has done a ton of covers over the years, and this one—of the Holland-Dozier-Holland composition "Come See About Me," made most famous by The Supremes—ranks among the best (in one man's humble opinion).
"Semi-Charmed Life" is one of those songs that inspires complicated feelings: It's sort of obnoxious and ridiculous and yet catchy and... good(?). One minute, dude is singing about meth, the next he's all, "The beach gives a feeling, an earthy feeling." (And then he sort of raps.) But none of this hand-wringing matters: "Semi-Charmed Life" was so massive that it will live damn near forever, and we found a band that really, truly likes it. There are no tongues in cheeks in this performance by Frontier Ruckus, a Michigan band that just released its excellent third album, Eternity Of Dimming. We hope you'll enjoy the singing saw, the banjo, and the speaking to you like the chorus to the verse, chop another line like a coda with a curse.
It makes sense that ZZ Ward chose Frank Ocean's "Thinkin Bout You" from this year's Undercover list; after all, her Eleven Roses mixtape featured nods to Tyler The Creator, Childish Gambino, and Freddie Gibbs—she's familiar with smoothness and hip-hop. Covering the song is no simple feat, but Ward and her band do it soulful justice. Ward's debut album, Til The Casket Drops, came out late last year. and she'll appear at Sasquatch this year, along with a bunch of other festivals.
Night Beds' debut album, Country Sleep, is one of this year's strongest—a gorgeous, country-ish, kinda weird set of songs masterminded by singer-songwriter Winston Yellin. We wouldn't have expected Night Beds to gravitate toward Robyn's monstrous club hit "Dancing On My Own," considering its basis in electronic beats. But a great song is a great song, and Night Beds make it their own in this performance, pulling out some pathos and changing the emphasis in the chorus. Enjoy.
Frightened Rabbit first joined us for A.V. Undercover way back in 2010, when Scott Hutchison offered up a very Scottish version of The Lemonheads' "Confetti." (The wall was nearly blank!) For this season, Scott was accompanied by his brother Grant for a longing version of the Cheap Trick classic "Surrender." Originally the brothers planned to attempt "No Diggity" by Blackstreet, but apparently found more common ground with this song. Frightened Rabbit's latest album is the excellent Pedestrian Verse. Enjoy.
The last time the aliens of GWAR visited A.V. Undercover, they had no choice about what to perform: They finished last year's series out by mutilating Kansas' "Carry On Wayward Son" in our old round room. This time, the blood-soaked outfit had a few left, and Billy Ocean's 1988 hit "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car" apparently piqued someone's interest. (Our money is on guitarist Pustulus Maximus.) The band showed up to our new studio a little concerned that it was too large, but not only did they blast through the Billy Ocean song, they appended a little something extra to it. (You'll have to watch to find out.) GWAR's latest album is Battle Maximus. There are two songs left this year: Heart's "Barracuda" and Rollins Band's "Low Self Opinion."
Voted Favorite of 2014
Voted Favorite of 2015
They Might Be Giants are responsible for one of the all-time great A.V. Undercover episodes—a 2011 version of Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping” recorded in our old round room, and featuring a backing chorus made up of A.V. Club employees and friends. (Their idea, by the way.) We coaxed them back with the promise of a bigger, less round room and a new list of songs. They settled on the 1999 Destiny’s Child hit “Bills, Bills, Bills,” a song that they weren’t terribly familiar with, but whose charms quickly won them over. They enjoyed playing the song so much that they’ve decided to make it part of their 2015 Dial-A-Song series, a revival of their old answering-machine concept updated for a glorious new age.
Cherry Bomb by The Runaways
Shock The Monkey by Peter Gabriel
Walkin' After Midnight by Patsy Cline
Possum Kingdom by Toadies
Laid by James
Stuck in the Middle with You by Stealers Wheel
No Rain by Blind Melon
He's A Rebel by The Crystals
Don't Bring Me Down by Electric Light Orchestra
She's My Best Friend by The Velvet Underground
In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins
Orinoco Flow by Enya
Say Say Say by Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson
Transmission by Joy Division
Rock 'N' Roll Star by Oasis
Raining Blood by Slayer
The Impression That I Get by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
She-Bop by Cyndi Lauper
Sabotage by Beastie Boys
One Thing Leads to Another by The Fixx
Sick Of You by Gwar
One Week by Barenaked Ladies
We've been meaning to show this off for a while: The folks from the excellent Illinois-based band Headlights were kind enough to be our guinea pigs for this year's Undercover series, playing us their version of XTC's "Making Plans For Nigel." You'll notice that the room isn't decorated yet, and the song wasn't on a list; we just asked them to play a cover, and here it is! Headlights' latest release is last year's Wildlife. Buy six!
