A.V. Club Undercover

You might notice, astute readers, that Stevie Nicks’ duet with Tom Petty, “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” was not actually on this year’s list. The song was on an early version of the list, which went out to tourmates Sharon Van Etten and Shearwater. I suggested they do this song, and they agreed—and then scheduling proved too difficult. Since our dream team couldn’t do it, I pulled it from the list. And then, by magic or fate, they were able to squeeze us in. So, as with last year’s Undercover debut (Iron & Wine’s version of George Michael’s “One More Try”), we’re kicking things off with a bonus track. You got lucky, babes. This song, written by Tom Petty but supposedly shitcanned for several years for having too feminine a lyric, was a massive hit for Stevie Nicks in 1981. It caught Petty and Nicks at the height of their powers, as songwriter and chanteuse. (You can check out a Petty-only demo in the Playback box set, or here on YouTube.) Back to our dream team: Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater has graced the little round room more times than anyone now, having guested on Wye Oak’s rendition of The Kinks’ “Strangers” and knocking out a Randy Newman song for Holiday Undercover. Dude is game, and the new Shearwater album, Animal Joy, is excellent. Sharon Van Etten, who plays Ms. Nicks here, is having a hell of year. She recently released Tramp, which will almost surely be gracing many, many year-end lists (the good kinds!). Oh, and why are we making them team up? We’re trying not to have too many repeat performers in the round room, but a brand-new collaboration doesn’t count, right? Right. Enjoy.

It’s always a pleasant surprise when bands bring something extra to the little round room. California band Young The Giant, inspired by the video for R. Kelly’s modern classic “Ignition (Remix),” showed up to our office with a pile of rented fur coats—all the better to funnel Kells’ spirit. We think you’ll find this rendition fun and sweaty. Fun fact: “Ignition (Remix)” really isn’t a remix of “Ignition” at all. “Ignition” is a completely separate song, with its own melody and lyrics. It does share some thematic elements and a fondness for a particular sexual metaphor.

Young Canadian duo Memoryhouse--a three-piece for touring purposes--stopped by the round room to play us a song that's actually considerably older than they are: The Police's 1981 hit "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," one of a trio of big singles from the band's Ghost In The Machine album. There's a bit of gender swapping here, and Memoryhouse's Evan Abeele points out that it's kind of a "manic pixie dream girl" thing to do. (We're pretty sure he meant that in a very positive way.) Memoryhouse's excellent debut album, The Slideshow Effect, was released by Sub Pop earlier this year.

Punch Brothers were kind of a natural choice for A.V. Undercover, since the modern bluegrass-influenced band has made cover songs a part of its repertoire for years. (You might recognize chief Brother Chris Thile from his time in Nickel Creek, another band known for innovative cover versions.) For their jaunt in the little round room, Punch Brothers decided to tackle The Cars' 1978 hit "Just What I Needed." We think you'll find it delightful, and perhaps it will lead you to the Punch Brothers' equally delightful new album, Who's Feeling Young Now?

Seattle band The Head & The Heart blew up in a hurry; one minute they're playing our favorite cozy Chicago venue, Schubas, the next they're headlining two nights at The Vic. (And we're told they're playing Lollapalooza this year as well, but that won't be announced until tomorrow, along with the rest of the lineup, so keep it under your hat.) Anyway, we convinced them to drop by the round room while they were in Chicago recently, and they told us they wanted to cover the Arcade Fire song that's on the list. And then they changed their minds--their prerogative--and delivered us this smashing version of Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way," from that band's classic Rumours. We think it's safe to assume that the members of The Head & The Heart are not going through any Buckingham-Nicks style drama at the moment, but they did an excellent job with the song nonetheless.

When Cursive stopped by the round room, very early in season one of A.V. Undercover, to destroy and reclaim Starship's cheese-rock anthem "We Built This City," you commenters reacted poorly. ("Why?" we all wondered aloud. "Do they think that song deserves some kid-gloves treatment?") Cymbals Eat Guitars came in later that year to sanctify and glorify Superchunk's "Detroit Has A Skyline." Since we're big fans of both bands but also big fans of not having the same bands in here over and over (Wye Oak excepted), we asked Cursive and Cymbals Eat Guitars to form a one-off supergroup, and they accepted the challenge. The newly monikered Cursive Eats Guitars tackled the early-'90s smash hit "Hey Jealousy," by Gin Blossoms. We're still not sure if this is a good song or just a catchy song, but either way we think you'll enjoy this very rocking version.

Rootsy rock band Lucero hails from Memphis, the capital of the Southern soul music that defined record labels like Stax and Hi Records. It's a sound that can't help but seep into the band's solid new album Women & Work, and it makes Lucero perhaps best suited to take on one of David Bowie's most soulful hits. With the song's energy, horns, and piano, "Modern Love" could almost pass for a cover of an old soul song, but no, it's a David Bowie original from 1983's Let's Dance. Lucero makes the song its own, especially when Rick Steff gets going on the keys.

Trampled By Turtles came to bluegrass music (and largely acoustic instruments) via rock bands, discovering along the way a love of more traditional music. The Duluth, Minnesota band just released its sixth album, Stars And Satellites, and it's clear--both musically and commercially--that things are really starting to cook. The band was on The Late Show With David Letterman recently, and of course now they've made their way to our little round room. (Which is more prestigious? You decide!) They graced us with this lovely version of Arcade Fire's "Rebellion (Lies)," complete with mandolin and violin bits. This ain't your daddy's Arcade Fire (or something).

Nada Surf has had a spectacularly strange career. The band was launched into mainstream popularity in 1996 with a goofy radio hit, "Popular," that wasn't particularly representative of its sound. It took years for the group to earn its way into people's hearts, doing so with a series of fantastic, heartfelt pop records. The latest is The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy, though if you're interested in hearing Nada Surf play covers (beyond the one you just watched), there's also the 12-song If I Had A Hi-Fi, which features the band's takes on songs by The Go-Betweens, Depeche Mode, and others. Here, they add a bit of human beatboxing to New Order's gentle classic "Bizarre Love Triangle." (Oh, and yes, that's Doug Gillard of Guided By Voices, a touring member of Nada Surf.)

Before you get upset, like you did at And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, you should know this: Screaming Females understood the rules of A.V. Undercover. We asked the New Jersey band if they wanted to participate and showed them the list of remaining songs. They politely declined, for the very good reason that they didn't think they could tackle any of them properly, having just started a tour. They did, however, offer up "If It Makes You Happy," which they'd already been playing live. Since we damn near included a Sheryl Crow song on the list this year, we figured it was fate, so here's this year's second bonus track. Enjoy it very much, please and thank you.

The latest in a long parade of Merge Records-affiliated bands to grace our round room, Hospitality comes to us (and you!) from Brooklyn, hot on the heels of their self-titled debut album. (We gave it an A-, and recommend it to you highly.) We caught them on their second of three Chicago stops in the space of just a couple of months; they've been winning hearts and minds while on tour with Wild Flag and Here We Go Magic, among others. I was a bit surprised to learn that this version of Steely Dan's 1974 classic "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" was the first cover that Hospitality had ever attempted (of any song, not just a Steely Dan song!). I think they nailed it, adding a bit of Can/Neu/Stereolab-style chug and rubbing a bit of rock dirt on such a pristine original.

Portland Cello Project made its name mostly by covering reimagining hip-hop tracks for strings; the group even caught Jay-Z's attention with its cover of "H.A.M." (They're interviewed on Jigga's blog about it, even!) We thought it would be cheating for an instrumental group to participate in Undercover, though, so we helped PCP connect with Alan Sparhawk of Low, who's visited the round room twice before. The song they chose, "Institutionalized" by Suicidal Tendencies, is the song I was most excited about at the beginning of this year's Undercover. It's such a strange beast: a hardcore/thrash track whose verses are mostly spoken-word, and a painful personal story that's simultaneously pretty hilarious. It sounds incredibly dated, but in 1983, it sparked a lot of other bands (and got an incredible amount of MTV airplay, believe it or not). Sparhawk took the challenge seriously, donning a blue bandana and grabbing himself a Pepsi (all he wanted--and she just wouldn't give it to him!) for the performance.

If Reggie Watts can be counted on for anything, it’s taking a different approach. The comedian/musician or musician/comedian—let’s just say “ performer”—doesn’t do traditional stand-up comedy, so we knew that, when he came in to perform Van Halen’s “Panama,” we wouldn’t get an especially faithful version of it. The question was just how far afield he’d travel in our little round room. He didn’t disappoint: In Watts’ hands, “Panama” is actually an ode to the Central American country, helpfully dispelling some myths and explaining how its namesake canal works. He tells us his version comes from early demos of the song Van Halen recorded, and who can argue? The chorus is basically the same.

The guys in The Hood Internet made their names mashing up indie-rock and hip-hop into brilliant, often hilarious combinations. (Check out the classic R. Kelly versus Broken Social Scene mix!) They've released six free mixtapes now, all available at their website. The latest includes such clever combos as Tyga Vs. Neon Indian and Whitney Houston Vs. Chromeo. The duo will release their first album of original productions this fall on Decon, and it includes contributions from Carl Newman, The Rosebuds, Psalm One, and lots more. So it made sense that they fleshed things out for Undercover: Stv Slv and ABX are joined by the ladies of Chicago band Coins as well as Dan Didier (of The Promise Ring and Maritime, both Undercover alums) on drums. We didn't expect a straight-up cover of The Pretenders classic "Back On The Chain Gang," and indeed we didn't get one. Instead: Listen up for Gucci Mane and Rick Ross.

It had been quite a while since we'd heard anything from the Texas-based, Texas-sized group The Polyphonic Spree, but when a Chicago show was announced, we couldn't help but wonder how many of them would fit in the little round room. (Their ranks have swelled at times to 24 people.) When they chose Neil Young's 1972 "Heart Of Gold," we figured something special would happen, and that the robes would flow. We think you'll find this delightful performance enough to tide you over until the group releases a holiday album later this year. Meanwhile, cult--uh, band--leader Tim DeLaughter recently released a collaboration with Secret Machines' Philip Karnats under the name Preteen Zenith, which is well worth checking out. Enjoy this mega-cover of "Heart Of Gold."

Grouplove's fabulous summer jam "Tongue Tied" has been all over the place in the last few months, from an iPod Touch commercial to late-night TV to cars with windows rolled down. (If you haven't heard it and your musical tastes fall anywhere near the intersection of Arcade Fire and Mumford And Sons, it's well worth a listen.) We were delighted both that the sunny band chose Andrew W.K.'s party anthem "Party Hard" and that they brought some props. You'll see what I mean. Revel in the mellowness.

J. Tillman recorded a string of solid solo albums over the last half-decade, but he gained a measure of fame by drumming with Fleet Foxes for four years. Tillman played his last Fleet Foxes show earlier this year, though, stepping away in order to pursue a new songwriting path as Father John Misty. FJM's debut album, the grand Fear Fun, came out on Sub Pop in May--perhaps you saw the video starring Parks & Recreation's Aubrey Plaza? Considering the album's vibe, it made perfect sense that Tillman chose The Flaming Lips' "Do You Realize??" for this installment of A.V. Undercover. Careful, you might get a little misty watching it.

When the guys in the rollicking punk outfit The Bronx decided to stretch out musically, they didn't just add some new instruments or gradually shift styles: They created an alternate band and embraced Mariachi El Bronx, and immersed themselves in the traditional Mexican music. (Yes, they even wear charros.) Because they're so associated with their hometown of L.A., the band leaped at The Decemberists' "Los Angeles, I'm Yours," a funny little love letter to the city. Enjoy, and buenos dias.