Bruce thinks he is sexy.
I’ve done a slew of Bruce cover posts in the past, including a war, which he won, with The Rolling Stones and The Boss A to Z. Oh, and of course this great Patterson Hood show, too. So how can I possibly have more? Dunno. But I do. Mebbe it’s ’cause he’s the father to many of indie rock’s foundational acts, from Arcade Fire to The Hold Steady. So, here’s what’s accrued since the last time. As usual, there’s a zip file with the songs that aren’t direct-linked here (i.e., all the savefile songs and where noted). Enjoy.
A is for attempted, but failed. Camper Van Beethoven tries to do Bruce Springsteen.
B is for I’m On Fire-Bat for Lashes. This isn’t a favorite Bruce tune of mine–the lyrics are good, but it’s a little dull musically. But this version kicks ass.
C is for Cover Me’s Bruuuuuuuuce post. (I may have miscounted by “U”s.) It’s a good one. If any of the links are dead, bother him, not me.
D is for the Drive Bys! Buttholeville State Trooper (Bruce Springsteen)>Buttholeville-Drive By Truckers
E is for Edmunds! From Small Things-Dave Edmunds. Way past his prime, but Dave can still shred.
F is for fanboy. Bon Jovi should admit that they owe their entire careers to Bruce. And Howard Stern. I remember when BJ were just a few punks from Jerzey, when Howard got them a limo and had them play Club Bonet for him. They were instant successes. They never give Howie enough credit. Badlands-Bon Jovi (live).
G is for Patty Griffin-Stolen Car (aiff file in zip file.)
H is for Hungry Heart-Jesse Malin. Supposedly, Jesse has an all-covers album coming out, but I haven’t found it anywhere. Can’t wait to hear it. He’s a dude who I don’t dig his own stuff, but all his covers are fantastic.
I is for Interpretation. As in, radical interpretation. I’m guilty of not being a fan of Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy–don’t much care for his new album, either–but this album he did with progressive instrumentalists Tortoise is extraordinary. I recommend copping the whole damn thing. (It was titled “The Brave and The Bold”.) Thunder Road-Tortoise and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy.
J is for Spirit of the Night-Just Like Me (live).
K is for kill yoursef, which is what you might want to do after you hear Minnie Driver mangle “Hungry Heart” on Blowin’ Your Cover’s Rock and Roll Suicide post.
K is also for Kathleen Edwards-I’m On Fire. She’s one of the most underrated alt-country singers around.
L is for Local H, who graced the stage on Halloween dressed like Bruce and did a really great set of nothing but Bruce covers. I highly recommend you go here and get the whole show, but if you’re just inclined to get one track then . . .
M is for movie. In addition to writing “Light of Day” for Joan Jett to perform alongside Michael J. Fox, Bruce wrote “On the Dark Side” for Eddie and the Cruisers. Here’s Local H doing it.
M is also for Backstreets-Maria McKee (live version). One of my all-time favorite Bruce tunes.
N is for Matt Nathanson. Matt’s bounced between major labels and indies, but he’s never asked me for a review. Damn shame, ’cause he’d get one for sure. He’s also a big Bruce fan. As evidenced by the following covers.
Brilliant Disguise (better than the original!)
No Surrender
Thunder Road (my all-time fave Bruce tune)
O is for No Surrender-One Reason (live version, in the zip file).
P is for Born to Run-Phish.
Q is for If I Should Fall Behind-Quiet Line
R is for Racing in the Streets-Townes Van Zandt.
S and T are for Sara and Tegan! Dancing In The Dark (live version)-Tegan and Sara
T is also for Tougher Than the Rest-Mendoza Line
U is for I’m on Fire-Ari Hest. No, wait, U isn’t for that. There’s no U in any of that. Uh oh. (Get it? Uh oh?)
V is for video. The video for this tune made Courtney Cox’s career, and was one of the seminal videos of its time. And it’s really just Bruce performing. Bands, take note: We wanna watch you play. All the other crap in your videos is usually lame. Dancing in the Dark-Charlotte Martin
W is for Rosalita Come Out Tonight-Whybirds
X and Y are not for anything. So take this brief pause to tell me how much I suck in the comments. You know you want to. Something in this post is wrong and bad, and you feel the need to tell me about it, don’t you. I thought you did.
And last but not least, Z is for zipfile!
