Sep 062011
 

Tokyo Police Club finished their “10 Songs, 10 Days, 10 Hours, 10 Years” series over the weekend with five more covers. We’ve already heard them tackle everyone from Moby to the Strokes and that diversity holds for the final set. They start with Phoenix, end with Miley Cyrus, and tackle LCD Soundsystem, M83, and Harlem Shakes in between. Continue reading »

Aug 292011
 

Last week we heard Tokyo Police Club launch their “10 Songs, 10 Days, 10 Hours, 10 Years” covers series with their take on Moby’s “Southside.” Well it’s been four more days since, and that means four more covers. Each song comes from a year from 2002 through 2005, with the series continuing through this weekend. Several also feature guests, including Passion Pit singer Michael Angelakos and Michael Jackson almost-guitarist Orianthi. Continue reading »

Aug 242011
 

Tokyo Police Club just began their “10 Songs, 10 Days, 10 Hours, 10 Years” series and things are off to a good start. Basically, over the next 10 days, the band will cover one song for each year from 2001 through 2010. Each gets arranged and recorded in one 10-hour session, then premiered the next day. At this very moment they’re in an L.A. studio cranking away on Jimmy Eat World’s “Sweetness,” with unspecified songs to follow (options for 2003, listed on sponsor Polaroid’s website, include Train, Jason Mraz, the Strokes, and Audioslave). Continue reading »

Aug 252010
 

Regular readers know how much we’ve enjoyed The A.V. Club’s Undercover series. It brought us the Swell Season covering Neutral Milk Hotel, Frightened Rabbit covering the Lemonheads, and the Antlers covering Pink Floyd, all in the Club’s unique pick-a-cover-off-the-list system. Sadly, it’s nearing the end. Canadian indie breakout Tokyo Police Club had only two covers left to choose from – Billy Squier’s “Everybody Wants You” and R.E.M.’s “Driver 8.” They went with Squier, which means the last band is stuck with R.E.M. (you could do worse)

The band claims they picked the 1982 hit because they didn’t know it as well. That meant “no one would be bummed if we didn’t do it the great, majestic service it’s owed,” singer Dave Monks explains. Such self-deprecating remarks sell the band short. They put forward a grungey stomp that starts out rocking and slows to a dirty groove.

Watch the video and download an MP3 below, courtesy of The A.V. Club. Check back next week to see who wraps up the series with some R.E.M. Continue reading »