Tuesday, June 5, 2007

The Rockist Holy Grail, Part I

Thought it might be a good idea for a recurring feature to feature a couple mp3s that are exactly the type of thing every card-carrying Rockist is looking for when he/she decides to troll the mp3 blogs for free tunes.

The two we have here are covers -- which, themselves, are debatably un-Rockist, but whatever -- that score very high on the TRS authenticity meter. They're both the kind of songs that you never expect to find, but are always elated when you come across them. Check 'em out:

Camper Van Beethoven - "Pictures of Matchstick Men" (Status Quo cover)

I once wrote to Ween to suggest they cover this song. To my knowledge, they've never taken me up on my suggestion, but CVB have beat them to it. The violin kinda takes the weird, psych edge off, but this was always one of my favorite mid-late British Invasion singles.

Arcade Fire - "Five Years" (David Bowie cover)

Actually also heard the Polyphonic Spree do their own spin on this one and liked it more, but since this one came as a total surprise when they did it at First Avenue in Minneapolis a couple years ago, it gets the nod. The ultimate epic opener done by a band that's pretty familiar with them.

And just for good measure...

The Hold Steady - "Against the Wind" (Bob Seger cover)

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