Oh Land - Bloodbuzz Ohio (The National cover)

First things first, I gotta include a shout out to my older brother Ben. He was the first person to introduce me to Oh Land, and I had the honor of introducing him to one of our shared favorite bands, The National. And even though just reading that Oh Land covered the National was enough to give me the warm fuzzies, actually hearing the song multiplied the effect. Attempting to match the majestic domesticity of Mr. Berninger certainly takes confidence and Nanna takes the move in stride, replacing the original's guitar driven energy with a sparse electronic landscape. Surprisingly, the track retains a warm feel, enveloped in angelic backing vocals and the occasional orchestral flourish that only bands like the National even try pulling off.

Bloodbuzz Ohio (The National Cover) - Oh Land

Bonus: Since I'm already posting an electronic leaning cover of Indie rock titans by an up and coming female indie singer I might as well....

The Suburbs (Arcade Fire Cover) - Mr Little Jeans

Porcelain Raft - Come As You Are (Nirvana Cover)

Porcelain Raft's take on Nirvana's "Come As You Are" definitely feels more like a Porcelain Raft song than it does a Nirvana cover, but I'm not saying that's a bad thing. Where Mauro's sound may not be sonically influenced by Nirvana, he's definitely got the right attitude. The version is fragile, slightly disjointed and more then a little dark. I think Kurt would definitely approve.

Come as You Are - Porcelain Raft

Previously posted:

The Wall (Yuck Cover) - Porcelain Raft

Talk to Me - Porcelain Raft

Mr Little Jeans - The Suburbs (Arcade Fire Cover)

There are a lot of dangerous assumptions you could make about Mr. Little Jeans. First off, you might assume that Mr. Little Jeans is actually a man. If you learn a little bit more about Monica Birkenes you might begin to assume that she's is simply Norway's answer to Lykke Li. That second assumption is definitely going to be a bit harder to shake, but gorgeous, inventive covers like the one below should go a long way. Mr Little Jean throws the homespun feel of the original out the window, instead launching the song into space. The surrounding synths flutter between seductive and emotionless, transitioning the original's subtle anxiousness into full blown paranoia.

The Suburbs - Mr Little Jeans

Of Montreal cover White Stripes

Of Montreal covers The White Stripes

Guards cover Vampire Weekend, MIA, Metallica

Sure, I guess MIA and Vampire Weekend do have a bit in common, but Metallica?

Motorbreath is transformed into a jazzy doom and gloom number that's pretty jarring compared to the original. Taxi Cab also turns into a slow burner, but with the swing on the chorus it almost sounds like the song was meant to be performed this way. Born Free somehow becomes a bearable song too, so thats cool.

Heems - Teenage Dream

Yes, Das Racist member Heems does sample the Katy Pery song. But no, its not really supposed to be ironic or embarrasing. Instead Heems slows and screws it into something sryupy and psychedelic to rap over.

Speaking of slowing down pop (that might be a stretch) into something syrupy and worth rapping on, I neglected to post the Dom-Gucci dream colab that hit the internet a few weeks ago. Check that out below as well.

Back to Teenage Dream though... this isn't even the first time I've posted a re-imagining of Teenage Dream! A few months ago I also posted Foxes in Fiction's straight up cover of the track that I'm also posting below.

Living in America (remix) - Dom Ft Gucci Mane

Teenage Dream - Foxes in Fiction ft. Weed

2010 Recap: Top 10 Remixes/covers

1. Graceland - The Tallest Man on Earth - Paul Simon Cover
2. Comfy In Nautica - Stephen Farris Remix - Panda Bear
3. Oh Naoko - Houses Remix - Sun Airway
4. Boy From School - Grizzly Bear - Hot Chip Cover
5. Nikki - Gobble Gobble - The Dream Cover
6. Wet Hair - Teen Daze - Japandroids Cover
7. Money on My Mind/I am the One - JJ - The xx intro sample
8. In Ruins - Baths Remix - Fol Chen
9. To the Lighthouse - Millionyoung remix - Memoryhouse
10. The Kids Don't Stand a Chance - Mike Snow Remix - Vampire Weekend

Foxes in Fiction Covers

Lets face it. Teenage Dream is kind of a good song. There I said it. I'm not going to give it any kudos for production but the "heart racing in my skin tight jeans" has a nice little tune to it that I catch myself whistling a lot more than should be alright. Of course, the lovely Foxes in Fiction come to the rescue and make it acceptable to whistle. Foxes in Fiction add a nice guitar riff on top of the chorus that adds quite a lot to the song, while fellow bedroom artist Weed adds some much needed out of tune vocals to make sure you know its not a totally serious cover.

In other Foxes in Fiction cheesy covers new (thats pretty specific news!) Foxes in Fiction also have an extra dreamy extra cheesy cover of 80s classic Take on Me. Can't say it adds much to the original but its a pretty fun listen. Grab both covers along with a personal favorite Foxes in Fiction Original below.

Teenage Dream - Foxes in Fiction (Katy Perry Cover)

Take on Me - Foxes in Fiction (A-ha cover)

Memory Pools - Foxes in Fiction

Ben Gibbard Covers Radiohead, is proud of his new album.

Yep. Props to Ben for being courageous enough to cover Radiohead! I mean if you're going to attempt to cover a Radiohead song "All I need" is probably one of your best bets (especially for a guy with similarly moody songs) but he still gets props because it turned out being pretty great! I've been listening to it on repeat for a good 15 minutes now.

In other Death Cab news check out this interview w/ Spin for news on their new lives as family men and their new record. Ben claims he is embarrassed by the amount of "self loathing" on Narrow Stairs and that he is extremely proud of their follow up.

In other Radiohead news Thom Yorke has a new single out!! Of two minutes straight of silence!! but its for charity so pretend you're still excited. Check out the details on Stereogum.