Parsons Playlists: Indie Covers

Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today we’re featuring a collection of Indie Covers by Music Library student manager Cole (Class of 2021).

Cole says:

“I’m a huge fan of musical covers; seeing how great artists interpret one another’s work is purest joys of being a music fan. There are, of course, certain covers that everyone knows (Jeff Buckley’s cover of John Cale’s cover of Leonard Cohen’s original “Hallejulah” comes to mind). But I have a particular affinity for covers done by indie artists. I love seeing how smaller acts put their own unique spin on familiar songs, dancing on the line between fidelity and novelty. Collected below are some of my favorite covers by indie and alternative artists.”

Michael Cera Palin – “If It Makes You Happy” (originally by Sheryl Crow)

Michael Cera Palin - I Don't Know How To Explain It

Run River North – “Mr. Brightside” (originally by The Killers)

Iron & Wine – “Time After Time” (originally by Cyndi Lauper)

Japanese Breakfast – “Dreams” (originally by The Cranberries)

Lucy Dacus – “La Vie En Rose” (originally by Edith Piaf)

Lucy Dacus - La Vie En Rose

Richmond native Lucy Dacus graduated from Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School and attended Virginia Commonwealth University. She is also one third of the indie supergroup boygenius, alongside Julien Baker and Pheobe Bridgers.

The Japanese House – “Landslide” (originally by Fleetwood Mac)

Day Wave & Hazel English – “PDA” (originally by Interpol)

Day Wave and Hazel English - PDA

Phoebe Bridgers – “Friday I’m In Love” (originally by The Cure)

Soccer Mommy – “Drive” (originally by The Cars)

Bon Iver – “Coming Down” (originally by Anaïs Mitchell)

Snail Mail – “The 2nd Most Beautiful Girl In The World” (originally by Courtney Love — the little-known band, not the famous Hole singer)

Snail Mail - The 2nd Most Beautiful Girl In The World

The Cranberries – “Go Your Own Way” (originally by Fleetwood Mac)

Best Coast – “Rhiannon” (originally by Fleetwood Mac)

Dashboard Confessional – “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” (originally by R.E.M.)

Chris Carrabba - Covered in the Flood

Bonus: Punch Brothers – “Reptilia” (originally by The Strokes)
This is one of my favorite covers, though it was never formally released and cannot be included in the Spotify playlist below.

Spotify playlist:

YouTube playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU94rco57ZewHDv2qO-LL0MWM1SZ45mr0

Parsons Playlists: Halloween 2020

Welcome to the third installment of Parsons Playlists, back after a hiatus and featuring a Halloween playlist from Music Library Associate, Melanie Armstrong.

Halloween 2020

Melanie says: “Since Halloween 2020 is going to be a bit … different, I – your friendly neighborhood Music Library Associate – made a playlist in that vein.
I’ve left out some of the more obvious Halloween playlist picks (like “Thriller“, or “Spooky“, or “Ghostbusters“), and hope you’ll enjoy this idiosyncratic selection! I’ve included some songs for the Halloween blue moon (the first Halloween blue moon since 1944) among other things.”

Otis Redding – “Trick or Treat”

Billie Eilish – “Bury A Friend”

billie eilish

The Cramps – “I Was A Teenage Werewolf”

Missy Elliott – “Get Ur Freak On”

Missy Elliott - Get Ur Freak On

The Marcels – “Blue Moon”

(This doo-wop version is arguably the most famous version of “Blue Moon”, but it was written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1934!)

King Harvest – “Dancing in the Moonlight”

blue moon

Electric Light Orchestra – “Strange Magic”

Squirrel Nut Zippers – “Hell”

Vintage Halloween Dance

Van Halen – “Runnin’ With The Devil”
(in tribute to Eddie Van Halen who passed away this month)

Talking Heads – “Psycho Killer”

The Police – “Murder By Numbers”

Halloween dogs

The White Stripes – “Little Ghost”

Louis Armstrong – “The Skeleton in the Closet”

Le Squellette Joyeux

The Divine Comedy – “The Happy Goth”

They Might Be Giants – “Dead”

Groovie Ghoulies – “(She’s My) Vampire Girl”

Black Cat and Jack O'Lantern

Yoko Ono – “Yes, I’m A Witch”

Eels – “My Beloved Monster”

Buffy the Vampire Slayer stake

Billy Joel – “The Stranger”
(a song about masks feels EXTRA appropriate at the moment … plus fun with metaphors!)

R.E.M. – “It’s The End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”

And here it all is as a Spotify playlist for you:

Plus here’s a bonus (not available on Spotify) cheese-tacular Halloween artifact from the 1980s featuring the inimitable Tim Curry:

We sincerely hope that everyone has a safe & fun Halloween (despite the particular weirdness of 2020).

jack o lantern

YouTube playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU94rco57Zew8nvrzDii5yoNOsWmj69_s