Vampire Weekend's top five covers: Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac, and more
In what promises to be a hipster shangri-la, Merriweather Post Pavilion will host both Vampire Weekend and local dream pop duo Beach House on Saturday.
In anticipation of the show, here's a list of the top five covers by Vampire Weekend. The preppy New Yorkers are known for their infatuation with Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon. But lately lead singer Ezra Koenig has been totally girl-crushing on Bruce Springsteen. So much so that they covered The Boss' "I'm goin' down," from "Born in the U.S.A." at a show in August.
Well, last week the band went further and actually recorded the song for Seattle's 107.7.
For the badge-wearing fan who's already played "Contra" to death, the list should introduce you to weirder stuff you probably haven't heard yet. And if you don't like Vampire Weekend, you can listen to pretty decent simulacra of some of your favorite bands' songs:
4. "Exit Music (For a Film)" by Radiohead
3. "Ruby Soho" by Rancid
2 ."Someone's Going to Die" by Blitz
1. "Everywhere" by Fleetwood Mac
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
Comments
That's actually one of my favorite Springsteen tunes and VM made it sound exactly like every other song they do. Same with the Rancid cover. Have fun at the show, but I'll pass.
Sam, congrats by the way!! Awesome news about your promo. You will be missed big time around here!!
Posted by: Sturmy | September 9, 2010 9:09 AM
Sturmy is so wrong about the Springsteen cover, so right about the Rancid cover.
The Fleetwood Mac cover is the tie-breaker. Final score: VW 2, Sturmy 1.
Posted by: Patchen | September 9, 2010 12:23 PM
you forgot "stand by me"
Posted by: nick | September 9, 2010 5:10 PM
Honestly, this might be the worst collection of cover songs I've EVER heard. Truly awful. Makes me understand why Vampire Weekend's target demographic is ton deaf frat boys.
Posted by: Cambella | September 9, 2010 8:55 PM
Erik, why write about a band if you're too cool for school? I'm not the biggest VW fan, but I am looking for an interesting blog with music reviews and tips on cool places to go around Baltimore. It's true that trying to cater to every taste will sometimes make a review really bland and useless for everyone. But trying to give exposure to all that Baltimore's entertainment venues have to offer will hopefully open people to new experiences.
Posted by: not cool | September 10, 2010 10:33 AM
Can a true hipster afford tickets to merriweather?
Can a google maps app find you a way to get from your warehouse space to columbia via fixed gear bike?
These are the burning questions of our time.
Posted by: The Baltimore Chop | September 11, 2010 6:25 AM