11/08/2005

Vigor, vim, vitality and punch


So, Tortoise and Bonnie "Prince" Billy walk into a bar ...

It almost sounds like a punchline, that these guys got together to record an album of cover songs including Elton John's "Daniel" and Springsteen's "Thunder Road." (It's called The Bold and the Brave, supposedly due out in January.) But damn, this cover of Devo is pretty good. The original is super-stiff discoid minimalism; the new version sounds like they got the song drunk and made Bonnie Prince sing into an echoplex. Chicago-Louisville axis 4eva.

Devo - "That's Pep!"
Bonnie "Prince" Billy & Tortoise - "That's Pep!"