Hot! Live! Music!

Wow, has it seriously been almost a year since I've done one of these? That doesn't seem right.

Radiohead, "15 Step"


I was happy to find their Grammys performance on YouTube somewhere, since the CBS copyright police had eliminated most other video. I'm not really sure why they'd bother --- it was the 2009 Grammys. It's not like CBS plans on rebroadcasting this anytime soon. '15 Step' has a terrific beat as it is, but amplified by the USC marching band, it's awe-inspiring.


MGMT, "Naive Melody"


Ok, it's not the best cover. It certainly doesn't hold a candle to the Miles Fisher cover, let alone the Talking Heads original. But I just love the idea that some people inevitably walked across campus that day and rolled their eyes at the jackasses playing music in the quad, and now today surely brag to their friends about how they saw MGMT back when they were just starting out. "You know, even then, I knew those guys were going to be huge," and so forth.


Ben Lee, "Kids"


Sadly, I couldn't find a video of the Talking Heads covering Ben Lee to complete the circle. Damn the Heads for breaking up years before Lee ever came on the scene and/or graduated grade school.


Pulp, "Disco 2000"


I'm not a big karaoke guy, but if a Pulp song is on the playlist, I'm getting up there and performing. No questions asked. Oh, that doesn't mean I'll be singing a Pulp song. I'll be sticking to my usual standard, "It's Raining Men."


The Cardigans, "For What It's Worth"


Hey, while we're dealing with bands that were big back when I was in high school, here come the Cardigans. Whatever happened to these guys? This is not, btw, a cover of the Stephen Stills classic. The Cardigans just inexplicably decided to name one of their tunes after one of the more famous songs in music history. Then again, society by and large just calls Stills' song "Somethin's Happening Here" anyway, so maybe the Cardigans thought they could sneak it in under the gun. Those dodgy Swedes...


Bruce Springsteen, "Dancing In The Dark"


This is pretty awesome. This busker is just strumming along on the streets of Copenhagen, when who should stroll up but Bruce Springsteen to join in and give this kid the thrill of his life. Good thing the kid knew at least one Boss song or else the whole thing might've gotten awkward.


Antony and the Johnsons, "Crazy In Love"


Yes, it's the Beyonce song. And bonus, it was even in Toronto! Also, not to judge, but that's what the guy from Antony and the Johnsons looks like? Whoa. Nice voice, but he looks like Ursula from The Little Mermaid came to live as a human male.