Okay, only Beck would come up with an idea this cool. Check it out: indie rock's favourite son will include a feature called Record Club on his website later this summer, where he will rerecord classic albums in spans of 24 hours.
The first album on the docket has been announced as - drum roll, please -The Velvet Underground and Nico.
Once recorded, the spontaneous (and unrehearsed) albums will be released song by song on his website, as well as the websites of participating artists. Known in his live set for adding cover songs, those of Nick Drake and Hank Williams being just two examples, Beck has recruited some friends to help him out with the ongoing covers project, including Devendra Banhart, Jamie Lidell, producer Nigel Godrich and this year's Bonnaroo darlings MGMT.
Beck and MGMT are no strangers to collaboration. In October of last year, the covert cover collaborators played a surprise show at Martyrs in Chicago, performing songs by Beatles, Mott the Hoople, Jimi Hendrix, and, yes, the Velvet Underground.
Meanwhile, Whiskey Clone's Paper Tiger blog reports a seven-inch vinyl version of Beck covering the Velvet Underground's "Sunday Morning" (marked "Record Club - Sunday Morning") is showing up in some fan's orders of the One Foot in the Grave deluxe album from Beck's website. Recorded in March or April, this is rumoured to be the first seven-inch in a series, but it's unknown how or where fans will be able to get a hold of them.
And no word yet on which off-the-cuff Beck cover albums will be recorded next, but really, the possibilities are endless.
The first album on the docket has been announced as - drum roll, please -The Velvet Underground and Nico.
Once recorded, the spontaneous (and unrehearsed) albums will be released song by song on his website, as well as the websites of participating artists. Known in his live set for adding cover songs, those of Nick Drake and Hank Williams being just two examples, Beck has recruited some friends to help him out with the ongoing covers project, including Devendra Banhart, Jamie Lidell, producer Nigel Godrich and this year's Bonnaroo darlings MGMT.
Beck and MGMT are no strangers to collaboration. In October of last year, the covert cover collaborators played a surprise show at Martyrs in Chicago, performing songs by Beatles, Mott the Hoople, Jimi Hendrix, and, yes, the Velvet Underground.
Meanwhile, Whiskey Clone's Paper Tiger blog reports a seven-inch vinyl version of Beck covering the Velvet Underground's "Sunday Morning" (marked "Record Club - Sunday Morning") is showing up in some fan's orders of the One Foot in the Grave deluxe album from Beck's website. Recorded in March or April, this is rumoured to be the first seven-inch in a series, but it's unknown how or where fans will be able to get a hold of them.
And no word yet on which off-the-cuff Beck cover albums will be recorded next, but really, the possibilities are endless.
