VIRAL INFECTION: Under the Covers Edition

re: All (Bigotry) In The (Patriarchal) Family

Has anyone told you how goddamned attractive you look today?

I'd holla, just saying.

As some of you more loyal (re: attractive) readers may recall, previous installments of Viral Infection have dug up some nifty covers from the depths of the Internet, but these were mostly poorly recorded live versions in a video quality only your (also attractive) mother would love. Nevermore.

This time, we've decided to give you some more incestuous covers of indie bands covering other indie bands, since we like to keep it all in the family. So hop in bed with your cute sister or 3rd cousin twice removed cause we're about to get tender.

SUN KIL MOON:::CONVENIENT PARKING

For those of you too young in your relevancy to remember this interesting experiment of a cover album, Sun Kil Moon aka Mark Kozelek attempted to do a spanning revue of the Modest Mouse back catalog in his ethereal acoustic style. While his dedication is applaudable, the songs kind of end up sounding the same and most are pretty watered down versions of fantastic source material. (something Sun Kil Moon had no issue with on their John Denver covers since fuck John Denver) However, this version of Convenient Parking is pretty nice and the accompanying video is not too bad either, like a light mushroom trip to Banner of Youth.

 

DR. DOG:::HEART IT RACES

Make no mistake, Dr. Dog is not a band that needs to rely on kitschy covers to prove themselves: although their studio albums are rarely flawless cover to cover, all of them contain at least several truly brilliant pieces. I could wax poetic ad nauseum on the genius of 100 Years or Die, Die, Die or That Old Black Hole but I'll save that for another post.  [Note to self: actually do that.] 

Yet here we have a cover of a band that most artists would have trouble covering, Australian darlings Architecture In Helsinki. Dr. Dog takes a firm grasp on the material, maintaining its integrity while adding their own signature sound to the song. Also, all the surfers are nice to look at, I must be feeling the contact high of our GUEST BLOGGER [note to self: actually don't do that. ever again.]

DEER TICK:::ALL APOLOGIES

Although Nirvana doesn't technically count as any sort of indie band anymore, the curious inception of Deervana certainly does. Deer Tick recently ended their tour as Deervana where they would play Nirvana albums in their entirety, this time around it was In Utero, and this is an acoustic rendition of All Apologies full of grit and flaws that would make Kurt proud, right down to the cigarette in the headstock.

Viral Infection: Animal Rescue Edition

Well hello there dear Internet strangers!  Pardon my absence, I've been hiding in the forests of somewhere super indie, making woodland creatures sing me #relevant buzztunes and tell me the secrets of dirt.  So here are a few selections from some of Mother Nature's critters that need YOUR love/Internet buzz to survive! [Insert sad Sarah McBlahBlah song here]

''Dear Tumblr Jesus: please make me Internet famous''

Frightened Rabbit:::Good Arms Vs. Bad Arms

Poor Scott Hutchison and his Frightened Rabbits, hiding away in Scotland from all the <3-breakers and hAtErZzZ.  He even shaved his beard for this stripped down version of my personal favorite FR tune, so he needs your warm lovin arms more than ever to heat up his naked face.

[via Sleepover Shows]

Okkervil River:::Black Sheep Boy

Once upon a time, Tim Hardin wrote this beautiful song about sheep vibes, then Will Sheff and the Okkervil Rivers covered it and wrote an equally beautiful album to further explore the emotionalism behind said sheep vibes and interweave the sheep struggles into Sheff's own heartbreak.  Then, some girl from the Internet used her MacBook to appropriate the aforementioned vibes/angsts and put them into a video with her and her awesome BFFs in black & white smoking cigarettes and vibin 2 landscapes. Help the Black Sheep Boy maintain his relevance, donate today!

Andrew Bird:::Tables & Chairs (Live at Bonnaroo '06)
Every June, a fuckton of vibed out folk make the pilgrimage/vision quest to a little town called Manchester, Tennessee where they proceed to join together in a tight knit little community that shares a farm where they vibe 2 groovy tunes, do copious amounts of drugs and fuck each other.  It is in this idyllic setting that we find our next animal in need of rescue, a young Bird named Andrew. This is no regular Bird: he whistles better than yo mama's bluebird (they whistle right?) and can play lots of isntruments and is so painfully attractive you almost want to vomit.  [Really, he should be rescuing us.  I WANT TO WHISTLE LIKE THAT! Everytime I try I just spit all over myself and have to drink away all the bad feelings my failure brings...but I digress....] Anyway, Mr. Bird brought his Apocalyptic visions to the blissed out crew at Bonnaroo and was met with enthusiastic whoops and BONNAROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOs, but no one took him seriously.  With the recent Rapture in Times Square, people need to be hearing this message and really vibing to it, just letting it drift through the bong smoke and soaking it into their remaining brain cells.  [Also: LOLZ when he tells the crowd there will be snacks and they lose their shit.  Don't do drugs kids.]

Viral Infection: Bleep Bloop Beats Edition

Oh, hey there...

Nice to see you again...

That outfit is so fetch...

Too indie to use working washers

Sorry, I'm still mourning the loss of Joanna Newsom, snapped away into the clutches of nuptials (#NupsClutch?) by Andy Samberg earlier this week. The two were married in a quiet ceremony in Big Sur, CA, one I was (rudely) not invited to.  Oh well, at least she's still alive and harping, and I wish her many happy years of boats and dicks in boxes... 

Not pictured: Box With Dick

If only he had stayed with Natalie Portman or snatched up an alt-baguette from Dirty Projectors or even Bethany Cosentino aka Best Coast. I mean, she likes Wavves and he seems like a bro who vibes to Lonely Island, or at least dresses like them/ 'danks out' while watching their skits.  Then maybe the world could go on spinning and so many lonely indie boys and girls could put  Have One On Me on the old turntable and dream of Joanna fingering harp vibes in their bedroom as she plays with their hair and bakes cookies.

If only she had stayed with Bill Callahan and his Smog-gy goodness and made beautiful New Weird America wave offspring...

Suspenders+Paisley 5-ever

But I digress...so here are some bleeps and assorted bloops to dance (or cry) away the pain to, if your pain is indie love lost. If it's not, well, these songs will definitely make your vibes significantly greater.

I Break Horses---"Denial"

Start the healing with this warm wave of dreamy synth and fluttering low dB pulse

#ItGetsBetter

Luxury---"J.A.W.S"

A twinkling ball of wibbly wobbly booty beats co-produced (or perhaps created?) by Disclosure. There isn't an actual video yet, just put on Electric Sheep or your iTunes visualizer and groove out.

FKA Twigs---"Papi Pacify"

If you're looking for some dark freaky shit though, this is definitely your biscuit. FKA Twigs manages to cram bellowing bass, erotic asphyxiation, and glitter into 5 twisted minutes, a feat as impressive as it is erotic. You go Glen Coco!

Viral Infection: NPR Weirdo-Wave Edition {Bill Callahan, Ira Glass & The Mountain Goats}

To hold you together this most humpy of hump days, here are a few viral selections for your auditory and visual pleasure, made possible by your generous gift to National Public Radio.

Bill Callahan, formerly known as Smog singing "Small Plane" from his new album Dream River (which recently received Best New Music on P4k) in an East Village community garden.

Ira Glass of This American Life singing Elliott Smith's "Say Yes" with Lucy Wainwright.

The Mountain Goats performing for NPR's Tiny Desk music series.  This one is better enjoyed with your eyes closed to better paint the pictures in your head for the stories John Darnielle tells.