National Record Store Splits!

So many 7"s! My head's gonna explode!

Jay Reatard "Hang Them All"/Sonic Youth "No Garage"

Oh Jay! First of all, this is not a Tapes 'n Tapes cover. It's taken me a while to get into your guitar-driven angst-ridden rock, but I'm coming around. Maybe it was the initial idiocy of the name--who cares now though. This new track is not as pounding, yet it is still aggressive and has a light-hearted feel to it. Ok, most of his tracks are fun and "Hang Them All" is pretty tight.

The great Sonic Youth! How often do you find bands that get better and more experimental as they age despite their success? Unfortunately, this means they still try different thing and this is one. It sounds like a demo from 1984 Dinosaur Jr that just plods along with occasional noise-freak-outs. Yeah, we'll skip that one.

Beck "Green Light"/Sonic Youth "Pay No Mind"

Beck's track is more or less forgettable besides the fact that it's a John Legend cover. Basic in its style and more Elliott Smith-ish that true lo-fi Beck. What we really want here is Sonic Youth's cover of "Pay No Mind," which does not disappoint. It features a lone Kim Gordon on the first verse with a crackling fuzz behind her. Thurston joins as well as a simple drumbeat (ala Beat Happening) which crescendos with quickening pace and screaming feedback. This mid-90's anthem is given the full works and I think it's a wonderful tribute from one of the bands that helped make it happen in the first place.

Flaming Lips "Boderline"/Black Keys "Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles"

Again with the Flaming Lips, but this is the electronic Lips that seems to be most popular and when they cover Madonna, they COVER MADONNA! This version is fantastic! So slow and beautiful in it's simplicity that it's hard to imagine Madonna dancing around in her black mesh outfit to this track. Things pick up and it become an epic masterpiece worthy of Ming's court. The musical hook is also a surprise with its contrast adding that little extra bit of weirdness you were looking for from the Lips.

Another strange choice for a cover as the bluesy Akron boys take on Captain Beefheart's "Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles" and it comes off just like you think it would. I love the Black Keys, but will be the first to admit that they are becoming a bit predictable. This track, while excellently performed, just sounds like an out-take from Attack & Release: worth keeping but not praising.