Last month Death Cab For Cutie returned to the spotlight with “You Are A Tourist,” the great first single and video from their forthcoming Codes And Keys. A sunny addition to our spring playlist, it recalls brighter moments of mid-period Cure when it’s not channeling “Float On.” That’s fitting given how Ben Gibbard’s got five Cure covers in his live repertoire. In fact I can’t remember ever seeing the guy perform without hearing some other band’s song in the set. So before we gear up to collectively prematurely evaluate Codes, here’s a listen back at Ben in all his incarnations (DCFC, Postal Service, solo, with Zooey, etc) covering dozens of classics and Avril Lavigne. They’re arranged below worst to best, based on a scientific formula of how cool they are. Could Death Cab be indie rock’s best wedding band? Tell us your favorite…

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After several closely monitored weeks of leaks, it’s time to take a look at the year’s most anticipated album that doesn’t feature Buckethead. Given Kanye West’s reputation for finding musical inspiration in unlikely places (be they leftfield samples or genre-bending collaborations) it’s surprising to see the superstar rapper/producer embrace such a restrictive palette. As you’ve no doubt gleaned from this and other blogs, every song on this album is built from a blueprint of TR-808 drum machine beats and conspicuous digitally manipulated crooning. It’s a departure that’s especially confounding given the prevalence of Auto-Tune abuse in countless recent hip-hop hits. Kanye knows the pitch-shifting mechanism is played out, he just doesn’t give a shit. It’s still a crutch (a more skilled singer wouldn’t rely on the gimmick) but we won’t harp on it. The absence of samples is one key difference between this concept album and the acclaimed school trilogy. The lack of pop singer guest appearances and co-producers is another (though Jeezy and Weezy make high-profile if totally unnecessary cameos, and No I.D. co-produces two songs with Kanye). Those creative choices coupled with King of Pain (T-Pain?) lyrics help define 808s as a solitary pursuit. Don’t expect any club bangers, this is more like a soundtrack for stalking ex-girlfriends on Facebook.

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Kanye has totally gone emo on us: Strip away the Auto-Tune on “Love Lockdown” and “Heartless” and you have yourself a pop-radio dude self-deprecatingly singing about his heartache (over a Tears for Fears sample, no less). Maybe Pete Wentz should suggest Fall Out Boy use more Auto-Tune, less Elvis Costello. West’s formula doesn’t shift too much on “Cold Winter,” but we do get interestingly upfront percussion, as if he borrowed at least one stick from Brian Chippendale’s recent Björk collaborations. (OK, more likely, his percussion dudes from “Love Lockdown”‘s Miami Vice version). It’s a short piece, like Kanye … wouldn’t be surprising if on 808′s & Heartbreak it worked as a transition into something bigger.

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As its name suggested, the “Literal Videos” series rerecords the lyrics from old (i.e. ’80s) music videos so the song ends up being about exactly what happens in the clip. They initially did A-ha’s “Take On Me.” This time around it’s Tears For Fears’ “Head Over Heels.” Keep your eye on the Rabbi.

It’s been awhile since we’ve heard a good Clipse mash-up. Well, not since MySplice, anyway. Then, it was “Flaming Clipse,”; today, P4K‘s got Girl Talk’s remix of Grizzly Bear’s “Knife,” which works the Thornton brothers’ rap into a dancefloor-ready, “Shout”-sampling twist on the Yellow House favorite. For more Grizzly mash-up action, hit Brooklyn Vegan for a track that pairs “Knife” with The Knife. Yeah, it’s semantics — but pitch-shifted vox aside, it works well. And for the trifecta, we suggest you pick up the band’s own reworking of “Easier,” a B-side that dials down the snare shuffle, and works up the surreal sweep and swoosh. Check it out at Rough Trade.

Enjoy.

Two of our favorite ’05 discoveries tide over fans with under-the-radar releases, both of which include interesting takes on synth-heavy ’80s megahits.

First up: Grizzly Bear‘s cover of Yes’ “Owner Of A Lonely Heart,” from the forthcoming Sorry For The Delay (The Early Recordings).

Never been a big Yes fan (though I own every Genesis CD — go figure). But I love this song and always had a ridiculous theory about its … uh, genesis: Yes guitarist Trevor Rabin buys a 1983 top-of-the-line keyboard and convinces the band that inane audio punctuation was the sound of the future. Somehow it works (and it was Yes’ sole chart-topper). On this cool cover version, Ed Droste drops the electro-theatrics in favor of subdued guitars and atonal harmonies, creating a haunting meditation on loneliness.

Yes – “Owner Of A Lonely Heart” (MP3 Link Expired)
Grizzly Bear – “Owner Of A Lonely Heart” (MP3 Link Expired)

Ed tells Stereogum the super-early recording is actually just him before he put the band together.

“I used to obsess the song as a kid and I remember that funny video with the crowds of bleak people walking in their business attire … Anyhow, it came on shuffle (god bless iTunes shuffle) and I just suddenly heard this really great, tragic slow version of the song. Granted, I couldn’t really shred the solo parts but I took the parts that seem to work the best and just added and added harmonies over it until it felt like how I would have wanted it. But I do love the original.”

On a similar note, a few months ago Thomas from Doveman produced an album of his banjo player Sam singing folk songs … and one Tears For Fears cover. I inquired if it was “Head Over Heels,” one of my favorite ’80s tunes, and indeed it was. The cover’s eighties-ness is peeled away, as like Ed Grizzly’s approach, but it’s a harder sell because Sammy’s vocals are an acquired taste. Incidentally, Thomas tells us this cover made its way to Björk, and she’s really into it.

Tears For Fears – “Head Over Heels” (MP3 Link Expired)
Sam Amidon & Doveman – “Head Over Heels” (MP3 Link Expired)

Enjoy.