Song of the Day: C.C. Sheffield, “Lust for Life”

Posted by Ray Padgett at 11:01 am Add comments

Jul 012010

Song of the Day posts one cool cover every morning. Catch up on past installments here.

Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life” is one of the all-time great punk songs. After 33 years, its energy hasn’t faded a bit and it truly deserves a Song of the Day feature.

This isn’t it.

Southern California pop duo Girls wrote their own “Lust for Life” last year and Iggy’s influence appears nonexistent. It’s a breezy ode to summer, featuring such weather-appropriate lines as “I wish I had a suntan/I wish a pizza and a bottle of wine.” It’s the closest thing to a Beach Boys anthem we’ve seen in years, which is impressive coming from a guy who grew up in the Children of God cult where his mom was a brainwashed sex volunteer (true story).

A Hawaiian-flavored pop jam shouldn’t make for a convincing club banger, but it does (I think). C.C. Sheffield may be best known for appearing on DJ Tiësto’s 2009 hit “Escape Me,” but where that song was a massive dance anthem, this cover is a…slightly more modest dance anthem. The summer vibe moves from Orange County to Ibiza, but the joy doesn’t fade. Also, fun speculation-starter: Andrew VanWyngarden of MGMT took the above photo.

Download: C.C. Sheffield – Lust for Life (Girls cover)
[audio: SOTD0710/LustforLife.mp3]

Check out more C.C. Sheffield at her band’s MySpace.

Cover Me is now on Patreon! If you love cover songs, we hope you will consider supporting us there with a small monthly subscription. There are a bunch of exclusive perks only for patrons: playlists, newsletters, downloads, discussions, polls - hell, tell us what song you would like to hear covered and we will make it happen. Learn more at Patreon.