The idea behind this was a simple one - collect enough mp3s of indie bands covering top 40 hits to fill up a cd. After I had been putting this mix together, I started to wonder what drives a smaller band to cover a famous one. Is it the kitsch appreciation that leads to a tongue-in-cheek cover (such as apparently is the case with Gibbard’s cover of Complicated)? Or perhaps seasoned indie vets like Ted Leo realize that there is something undeniably catchy about the newest Kelly Clarkson single. Either way, these covers have lead to some interesting musical moments and some hilarious stage banter. The majority of these are live recordings, which makes it all the more interesting in my opinion.

NOTE: Go here to download them. This’ll likely be taken down around Aug 15th, so hurry!

Now That’s What I Call Indie Covers! volume 1 (links removed. it’s been a week, people)
01 David Byrne - I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Whitney Houston?)
02 Ted Leo - Since U Been Gone/Maps (Kelly Clarkson/Yeah Yeah Yeahs)
03 Ben Gibbard - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Cyndi Lauper?)
04 Tilly and the Wall - Hey Ya! (Outkast)
05 Rilo Kiley - Simply Irresistable (Robert Palmer)
06 Flaming Lips - Under Pressure (Queen/Bowie)
07 Of Montreal - Can’t Explain (The Who)
08 Superwolf - Ignition (R. Kelly)
09 Bishop Allen - Ring of Fire (Cash)
10 Ben Gibbard - Complicated (Avril)
11 The Unicorns - The Clap/I Just Can’t Get You Out of My Head/P.I.M.P. (Kylie/50 Cent)
12 Elliott Smith - All My Rowdy Friends Have Settled Down (Williams Jr.)
13 Sufjan Stevens - This One Goes Out To the One I Love (REM)
14 Rufus Wainwright - Somewhere Over the Rainbow
15 Rilo Kiley - Let My Love Open the Door (Townshend)
16 The Mountain Goats - The Sign (Ace of Base)
17 Belle and Sebastian - Dancing Queen (ABBA)

NOTE: I wanted to badly to include things like the Decemberists covering the Smiths or Arcade Fire doing a Talking Heads song, but that wouldn’t fit the theme. I had to stick to songs that were easily recognized by most people out there in order to be true to the mix.

ANOTHER NOTE: Also, there’s the tiniest chance that some of these might have been mislabled and are not actually the band we think it is. However, they all sound like it to me, so whatever.