Reader, our most sincere apologies for the radio silence of late. We’ll spare you the details of the many real world obligations that kept us from you in a virtual sense; just know that we missed you. Virtually.
Since we believe in action over words; show over tell; awesome high-fives over detailed plans to one day give an awesome high-five, today we give you not one, but SIX songs to mark our regular weekly music write-up.
For those of you not blessed with mathematically inclined minds, that’s FIVE MORE SONGS THAN USUAL and SIX TIMES the quantity of music you’ve come to expect from us on a regular basis, making you six times as lucky, we’d venture to say.
So, unless you’ve been leading a wildly hermitic life for the past month, you’re likely well-aware that old-school French electro super-duo, Daft Punk, marked their first proper release in years last month. Whether you’ve heard the album from start-to-finish or not, simply by virtue of having ears + being human, chances are you have heard their ever-present single, “Get Lucky”. With it’s universally catchy melody + indisputably disco sound, it’s one of those songs that just gets mercilessly lodged in your head. So far, this early in the game, we don’t mind it. In fact, we love it. But we’re pretty sure that, by, say, late August, it’s going to be about as welcome as “Call Me Maybe” or “Gangnam Style” was that time last year.
In the meantime though, it’s enjoying nearly ubiquitous world-wide acceptance á la “Hey Ya!” circa 2003; so much so that it’s spurred some notable cover versions, two of which have inspired us to share them with you, Reader, along with a few other favorite cover songs from the past few months.
Our first “Get Lucky” is performed by one of our favorite local bands—Brooklyn’s own freaky-clockwork-space-string group, Miracles of Modern Science. They’ve dressed the track up with their own brand of buoyant, energetic pop making it nearly more addictive than the original. Watch their video above and then download the track below. Miracles of Modern Science just released a six-song EP which you can listen to, order + download on their bandcamp page (We interviewed MOMS back in late 2011, if you care to give it a listen, by the by).
In stark contrast to both the original song + MOMS’ upbeat version of it, we have a stripped-down, smoothed-out “Get Lucky” from London minimalists Daughter. We actually heard this take on the song soon after hearing Daft Punk’s and found it to be a refreshing alternative to the somewhat heavy-handed disco-y original, revealing the bones of the song itself + allowing us to appreciate it sans all the stylistic glitz. You can buy Daughter’s just-released debut LP, If You Leave, from iTunes + their label, 4AD.
Then, just for good measure + to make sure you’re not sore at us over our prolonged absence, Reader, we’re showering you with riches in the form of four other favorite cover tracks—Ellie Goulding‘s take on “High For This” from the superb Toronto-based hip hip artist The Weekend (AKA Abel Tesfaye); Oxford’s Foals with their version of the all-too-oft-forgotton early Police gem, “Bed’s Too Big Without You”; Canadians, Arkells with their stripped down version of Frank Ocean‘s R+B standout, “Thinkin Bout You”; and Austin’s Shearwater featuring stellar Brooklynite, Sharon Van Etten as they bless the Onion’s AV Club with a frighteningly accurate, undeniably rocking live version of Tom Petty + Stevie Nick’s “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.”
I know. We’re a ball of insecurity. All we want is to be loved by you, Reader.
It’s all we want.
