If Ane Brun just rocks too hard for you, check out Lady & Bird, the three-year old side-project of Keren Ann and Bardi Johanson that got a domestic release a few weeks ago.
It’s pretty damn sleepy, but does have one shining moment: a cover of “Suicide Is Painless.” The theme to M*A*S*H.
Now, this is a great song. One of the greatest TV songs ever. And it’s really sad, but will always make me laugh after what happened at South By Stereogum. We didn’t have DJs between sets, so I gave the Parish sound guy Air’s Deck Safari. It’s 4 CDs — plenty of songs to fill the time. But he put it on shuffle and kept restarting it after each set … so “Suicide Is Painless” played like ten times. It was the worst possible song to get a room of hipsters psyched for Thunderbirds Are Now! I left the CDs there by accident. Sucks ’cause they cost a lot of money.
Anyway, here’s Lady & Bird’s version of the tune and some others you might know.
Lady & Bird – “Suicide Is Painless” (MP3)
Johnny Mandel – “Suicide Is Painless” (MP3)
Marilyn Manson – “Suicide Is Painless” (MP3)
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now all you need is stewie griffin’s version.
I had not seen that Air Deck Safari post before … the first two parts of that appear to be recordings of their Essential Mix for BBC Radio 1 in 1998.(the Essential Mix is a weekly two hour mix, mostly done by club DJs both established and up-and-coming, leaning somewhat on the progressive house end of electronic music).
Not sure where the second two hours are from.
As far as “Suicide Is Painless” .. .the Manic Street Preachers actually had a charting single with a cover of that in the UK. I have no mp3, unfortch.
I just listened to Mandel’s version a bunch of times yesterday. Weird.
(Sounds like the version you linked to was ripped straight from the vinyl, correct?)
Lady & Bird’s pretty much a straight cover, and the Manson and Manic St. Preachers versions are atrocious.
Like most things, best to stick with the original.
Except Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah”.
Even Cohen says that’s better than his version.
matt costa also did a great cover of “suicide is painless.”
Swiderski brings up the Manics version of “Suicide,” which I think is a helluva song. It’s on the Ruby Trax NME benefit that came out 1,000,000 years ago.
The following sentence is completely true: when my wife was in the third grade, she sang this song with her entire class as part of the Farmington (Utah) Elementary school talent night. How I wish I was there with a recording device. I would love to hear children sing this song. And kudos to the teacher who arranged it, surely a hipster doofus ahead of her time.
I’ve got Deck Safari. Need a replacement copy? I’m in 11215.
The Manics version (complete with the weird-ass arty video) is also available on their greatest hits, Forever Delayed
no one mentioned royal trux version? it is great.