Nirvana cover of Meat Puppets "Lake of Fire" from 1993 MTV Unplugged Broadcast
We love cover songs. The following playlist represents the seventh mix of fantastic cover songs from splendid artists and bands who we feel do justice to songs we already love from some of the best bands ever. Hopefully, you'll agree, especially if you browse the previous cover mixes.

This new mix includes an eclectic batch of songs from Green Day (covering The Kinks), Radiohead (Oasis), Venice is Sinking (Okay), Blind Man's Colour (Animal Collective), Pavement (Echo and the Bunnymen); Trappers Cabin (Simon and Garfunkel); Atlas Sound (Fleetwood Mac); The Harvey Girls (The Flaming Lips), plus electrifying live covers from Gnarls Barkley, Prince and Keane. There are also covers of Passion Pit's "Sleepyhead" (done magnificently by Run Toto Run), and covers of King Harvest and Fiery Furnances.


But first up, Green Day delivers one of the best covers ever of The Kinks' classic "Tired of Waiting." Listen to the original in the YouTube video above from 1965.

Does anyone know why all the girls back then screamed so much? That's one of the reasons The Beatles gave up on touring after only three years, according to Paul McCartney. Anyways, Green Day's cover version of "Tired of Waiting" demonstrates their immense musical talents and the respect they have for one of their favorite bands.

"Tired of Waiting" (The Kinks) - Green Day

"Compass" (Okay) - Venice is Sinking

Brothersport (Animal Collective) - Blind Man's Colour

"Wonderwall" (Oasis) - Radiohead

"The Killing Moon" (Echo and the Bunnymen) - Pavement

"April Come She Will" (Simon & Garfunkel) - Trappers Cabin

Walk A Thin Line (Fleetwood Mac) - Atlas Sound

"Take Meta Mars" (The Flaming Lips) - The Harvey Girls

"Sleepyhead" (Passion Pit) - Run Toto Run

"Reckoner (Live)" (Radiohead) - Gnarls Barkley

"Dancing In The Moonlight" - (King Harvest) - Toploader

"Charmaine Champagne" (Fiery Furnances) - The Delfields

"Creep" (Radiohead) - Prince

"Cast No Shadow" (Oasis) - Keane


Listen to all of the cover song mixes in one place.

Labels: Cover Songs, Nirvana

Brandon Cox of Deerhunter and Atlas Sound highlighted the YouTube video above that features a cover version of a recent Deerhunter track "Rainwater Cassette Exchange," calling it "fantastically superior to the original. It actually sent shivers up my spine." It's not everyday that a popular musician declares a random YouTube cover of his/her own song better than their original version. Here is the original of "Rainwater Cassette Exchange."

In a live clip of Snow Patrol covering Oasis' "Wonderwall" you'll first notice the loud roar of boos from the crowd when Oasis is mentioned, and yet they sing along to every word of the song shortly afterwards. Interesting.

Kyle Wess of Blind Man's Colour has just released a very mellow and hazy-like cover version of Simon and Garkunkel's classic hit "I Am A Rock" and Coconut and The Duke deliver their own subdued version of Vampire Weekend's otherwise upbeat song, "Walcott."

The relatively unknown band Holy Ramos present a decent cover of a rarely known yet 1981 great song by The Kinks, although the subject matter did create some stir among some critics at the time, even though Ray Davies said years later it was metaphoric expression, not an actual song about a dirty old man in the park. Also check out cover songs from She & Him, CFCF, Pedro The Lion, M. Ward, Little Girls, Carlos Pesina and Xiu Xiu

"Wonderwall" (Oasis) - Snow Patrol

"I Am A Rock" (Simon & Garfunkel) - Chromatic Flights
The Original: "I Am A Rock" - Simon & Garfunkel

"Walcott" (Vampire Weekend) - Coconut and the Duke

Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want (The Smiths) - She & Him

"Art Lover" (The Kinks) - Holly Ramos
The Original: "Art Lover" - The Kinks

"Forbidden Colours" (Sylvian & Sakamoto) - CFCF

"Let Down" (Radiohead) - Pedro The Lion

"Let My Love Open The Door" (Pete Townsend) - M. Ward
The Original: "Let My Love Open The Door" - Pete Townsend

"Heinz" (Artery) - Little Girls

"Little Secrets" (Passion Pit) - Carlos Pesina

"Isobel" (Bjork)- Xiu Xiu

Labels: Cover Songs

The now defunct indie rock duo The Format recorded a great cover version of The Kinks' 1971 classic song, "Apeman." Listen closely to the lyrics - it's just another example of many that demonstrates the genius songwriting of The Kinks' Ray Davies. Also included is the original version for comparison. Check back in a few weeks because we're going to publish a playlist of cover songs of The Kinks' songs from artists and bands like Stereophonics, Of Montreal, Frank Black, Elvis Costello, Sonic Youth, The Jam and more.

Also featured in this mix is a fantastic cover by Ruby Weapon of Grizzly Bear's "Two Weeks," plus cover songs from Radiohead, Broken Social Scene, Au Revoir Simone, Band of Horses, Pennywise, Dr. Dog, Venice is Sinking, and Her Space Holiday. Thanks to CaptainObvious and CoverMeSongs blogs for some of these musical rarities.

"Apeman" (The Kinks) - The Format
Original: "Apeman" - The Kinks

"Two Weeks" (Grizzly Bear) - Ruby Weapon

"The Rip" (Portishead) - Radiohead

"Love Will Tear Us Apart" (Joy Division) - Broken Social Scene

"Oh You Pretty Things" (David Bowie) - Au Revoir Simone

"Your Love Is Forever" (George Harrison) - Band of Horses

"We're Gonna Fight" (7 Seconds) - Pennywise

"Heart It Races" (Architecture in Helsinki) - Dr. Dog

"Compass" (Okay) - Venice is Sinking

"I'll Believe In Anything" (Wolf Parade) - Her Space Holiday

Listen to all the Cover Songs playlist mixes.

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Ears To The Music, VIII: Mountain Goats, Chll Pll, Shaky Hands, Mission of Burma, Land of Talk, The Very Most & More

Today's Best Indie Releases: Julian Casablancas, Yeasayer, The Swimmers and the Nocturnal States Compilation

Band of The Week: Long Beach Folk Pop Band Avi Buffalo

Indie and Alternative Christmas Songs Playlist Mix Series

Today's New Indie Releases: Orba Squara, The Swell Season, The Whigs, I Love You, Glass Ghost, Pugwash, Lullwater & More

Labels: Cover Songs, Indie Cover Songs, The Kinks

Indie rock pioneer Beck and his Record Club is now well into their recordings of cover songs honoring the great Leonard Cohen as seen in the video above for "Sisters of Mercy." The Record Club is a collection of musicians, lead by Beck, that include Devendra Banhart, MGMT, Wolfmother and Little Joy, who set out to highlight certain artists and bands that have influenced their musical careers. During the summer, the Record Club's first series featured covers of Velvet Underground songs.

To kick off this playlist of cover songs, the Record Club present the first classic VU song the recorded, "Sunday Morning," followed by another VU track, plus cover songs by other artists of Vampire Weekend, Pavement, Radiohead, The Strokes, The Smiths, MGMT, Bob Dylan, LCD Soundsystem, John Lennon and Oasis.

"Sunday Morning" (The Velvet Underground) - Beck and the Record Club (2009)
Double-shot: "All Tomorrow’s Parties (The Velvet Underground) - Beck and the Record Club (2009)

"Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" (Vampire Weekend) - The Very Best with Esau Mwamwaya & Radioclit

Steel and Glass (John Lennon) - Alberta Cross

"Take It Or Leave It" (The Strokes) - Arctic Monkeys

"Big Black Smoke" (The Kinks) - Patch Up Boys

"Box Elder" (Pavement) - Pet Ghost Project

"Karma Police" (Radiohead) - Flunk

"Mr. Blue Sky" (ELO) - The Spinto Band

"Panic" (The Smiths) - Spoon

"Kids" (MGMT) - The Kooks

"Oh Sister" (Bob Dylan) - Andrew Bird

"All My Friends" (LCD Soundsystem) - The Main Drag

See the other cover songs playlists.

Other Posts and Playlists You Might Enjoy:

Bands to Watch: Double-Shots on the Rocks from Scotland Yard Gospel Choir and Fool's Gold

Halloween Indie Rock Songs, Vol VI: Akron/Family, Clues, Arctic Monkeys, Modest Mouse, The Black Lips & More

Ears To The Music, Vol. VII: Built To Spill, Modest Mouse, Pearl Jam, Clues, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Paramore & More

New Indie Releases This Week: Altas Sound, Spring Tigers, Sufjan Stevens, Port O'Brien, Neon Indian and More

In The Reels: 'Where The Wild Things Are' and Karen O and The Kids Soundtrack

Halloween Indie Rock Songs, Vol. IV: Evangelicals, Franz Ferdinand, Interpol, Beck, Islands, Ramones, REM & More

Ears To The Music, VI: The Dead Weather, Nirvana, Hopewell, Langhorne Slim, Bamboo Shoots, Fol Chen & More

Labels: Cover Songs, MP3s, The Kinks

Who doesn't love a great cover version of an awesome song by a band they like, of a band they like? That's a recipe for an awesome cover song, most of the time. It's been a while since we put together a playlist of hot covers. This playlist comprises some of the best covers we've heard in some time, and hopefully you'll agree. Afterall, did you ever think that the Arctic Monkeys would be singing a cover version of a track in a James Bond movie? Or Vampire Weekend doing Fleetwood Mac?

Plus, ex-Concrete's vocalist Victoria Bergsman and her new band Taken By Trees have a brand new LP out featuring a slightly altered cover version of Animal Collective's "My Girls," titled "My Boys." Born Ruffians deliver one of the best cover songs ever of Bruce Springsteen - it's addictive, huh? Canadian super indie band Broken Social Scene cover "Puff The Magic Dragon" that includes dialouge at the end of the song as well.

Don't miss the covers of Bat For Lashes doing Big Star, Asobi Seksu belting out Leonard Cohen, Radiohead covering Neil Young, Venice is Sinking's cover of an Okay song, plus other hand-picked covers from Drive By Truckers (Jim Carrol, RIP), The Feelies (Rolling Stones), Black Keys (The Kinks), Paramore (Kings of Leon) and Local H (Led Zeppelin).

"Diamonds Are Forever" (007 Cover) - Arctic Monkeys

"My Boys" (Animal Collective) - Taken By Trees

"Everywhere" (Fleetwood Mac) - Vampire Weekend

"Love Me Tender" (Elvis Presley) - Norah Jones

"Foxes Mate For Life" (Bruce Springsteen) - Born Ruffians

"Tell Me Why" (Neil Young) - Radiohead (live)

"Take It Or Leave It" (The Strokes) - Arctic Monkeys

"Act Nice and Gentle" (The Kinks) - The Black Keys

"Puff The Magic Dragon" (Leonard Lipton and Peter Yarrow) - Broken Social Scene

"Two Weeks" (Grizzly Bear) - Ruby Weapon

"Suzanne" (Leonard Cohen) - Asobi Seksu

"Kangaroo" (Big Star) - Bat For Lashes

"Compass" (Okay) - Venice Is Sinking

"People Who Died" (Jim Carroll) - The Drive-By Truckers

"Paint It Black" (Rolling Stones) - The Feelies

"Use Somebody" (Kings of Leon) - Paramore

"I'm in Love with a Girl" (Big Star) - Patterson Hood

"Going To California" (Led Zeppelin) - Local H

View and download past installments of Indie Cover Songs


More Popular Posts in Past Week:

New Indie Rock from The Cave Singers, The Duke Spirit, Starlight Mints, The Fiery Furnaces, Miike Snow & More!

New Indie Songs from The Almighty Defenders, Thao, Times New Viking, Girls, Blitzen Trapper, Obits, Castanets & More

Ears To The Music, Vol. IV: The Spinto Band, The Dodos, Public Radio, Elvis Perkins, A Sunny Day in Glasgow & More!

The Format's Sam Means and Nate Nuess Release New Music Since The Duo's Official Break-Up

New Indie Releases This Week: Why?, The Pains, The XX, Jack of Heart, Fool's Gold, The Mary Onettes & More

Labels: Cover Songs, MP3s

It's been almost two months since the first installment of the "Cover Me Playlist Series," and from looking at the numbers, many people seemed to enjoy it enough to make this an on-going playlist series. Who doesn't love a great cover song? There are thousands of them, many that a lot of people don't know about.

This playlist features just released, and recently released, cover songs from some of indie and alternative rock's most popular artists. In fact, on The Killers' new EP, Spacemen, the band covers "Four Winds" by Bright Eyes. The Chairs perform a popular Bon Iver song. The Black Keys do a take on a long lost track from The Kinks.

Also, check out Slaraffenland's cover of a classic new wave hit from the 80s and Serena Ryder's heart-felt cover of Band of Horses' "The Funeral." Ryder's music is not my kind of stuff, but she does a nice cover of one of my favorite recent songs from one of my favorite bands of this decade.

"Four Winds" (Bright Eyes) - The Killers
The Killers website

"Flume" (Bon Iver) - The Chairs
The Chairs on MySpace

"Act Nice and Gentle" (The Kinks) - The Black Keys
The Black Keys website

"Take On Me" (A-ha) - Slaraffenland
Slaraffenland on MySpace

"The Funeral" (Band of Horses) - Serena Ryder
Serena Ryder on MySpace

See the first playlist installment for this series


Popular posts this week:

New Remix from Metric
Deleted Scenes Release New Album
New Songs from Trainwreck Riders, Sonic Youth, The Von Bondies and Super Fury Animals

Labels: Cover Songs, MP3s

Who doesn't like a well-done cover song? There are countless numbers of brilliant cover songs that have been recorded through the years, most notably in alternative and indie rock. This is the beginning of yet another playlist series right here on IRC.

Kicking off this debut playlist series are two cover songs from the new benefit album RAM On L.A., a compilation of Paul McCartney cover songs based on his 1971 solo release RAM.

The album is a free download from Aquarium Drunkard, but you are encourage to donate to the vital work of the organization called No More Landmines. The artists who performed these cover songs gave their free time for this cause, so please help as you can by visiting the NML link above. (There are two cover songs in this playlist from the album; the others are various covers.)

"Dear Boy" (Paul McCartney) - Bodies of Water
Bodies of Water Official Website

"Ram On" (Paul McCartney) - The Parson Red Heads
The Parson Red Heads Official site

"Waiting For War" (The Morning Benders) - The Submarines
The Submarines on MySpace

"Outlaw Blues" (Bob Dylan) - The White Stripes
The White Stripes on MySpace

"Taste" (Animal Collective) - Blind Man's Colours
Blind Man's Colour on MySpace

"Sweet Jane" (Velvet Underground) - Cowboy Junkies (live)

Stay tuned for more cover songs. This is playlist series will run throughout 2009. You can grab the media feed, follow IRC on Twitter or add us to MySpace.

Note: Because Facebook threatens its users' privacy, we are not using Facebook as a social network.

Labels: Cover Songs