Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard has announced Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono, a tribute album to Yoko Ono that includes covers by David Byrne, Yo La Tengo, Sharon Van Etten, Death Cab for Cutie, Japanese Breakfast, U.S. Girls, Amber Coffman, Deerhoof, the Flaming Lips and more.
The album is arriving February 18 on Canvasback Music, and you can hear Byrne and Yo La Tengo's cover of 1970's "Who Has Seen the Wind?" now.
In a statement about the album, Gibbard said:
Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono was born out of both love and frustration. The "love" part is pretty obvious; it is the seemingly bottomless well of inspiration and enjoyment Yoko Ono's music has provided me and I must assume everyone else present here on this compilation. The "frustration" part, on the other hand, goes back decades.
As an advocate, the tallest hurdle to clear has always been the public's ignorance as to the breadth of Yoko's work. To put it into context; this is an artist whose output has run the gamut from avant-garde to bubblegum pop, often across a single album. For years, it has been my position that her songwriting has been criminally overlooked. She has consistently created melodies as memorable as those of best pop writers. As a lyricist, she has always written with poignance, sophistication, and deep introspection.
Some of her best songs have been covered and compiled here by a generation-spanning group of musicians for whom her work has meant so much. It is my sincere hope that a new crop of Yoko Ono fans fall in love with her songwriting due in some small part to this album we have put together.
In addition, Gibbard will be launching a podcast with journalist Jenny Eliscu on the day of Ocean Child's release. The two hosts will discuss Ono's music and artistic impact, and will be joined by some of the artists featured on the album. A portion of the album's proceeds will also be donated to WhyHunger, an organization that works to transform our global food systems and combat world hunger and poverty.
Ocean Child promises a lot of great interpretations, but U.S. Girls tackling "Born in a Prison" and Sharon Van Etten covering "Toyboat" are particularly exciting.
Listen to David Byrne and Yo La Tengo take on "Who Has Seen the Wind" and see the Ocean Child tracklist below.
Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono:
1. Sharon Van Etten - Toyboat
2. David Byrne & Yo La Tengo - Who Has Seen The Wind
3. Sudan Archives - Dogtown
4. Death Cab For Cutie - Waiting For The Sunrise
5. Thao - Yellow Girl (Stand For Life)
6. U.S. Girls - Born In A Prison
7. Jay Som - Growing Pain
8. Stephin Merritt - Listen, The Snow Is Falling
9. Deerhoof - No No No
10. We Are KING - Don't Be Scared
11. The Flaming Lips - Mrs Lennon
12. Japanese Breakfast - No One Sees Me Like You Do
13. Yo La Tengo - There Is No Goodbye Between Us
14. Amber Coffman - Run Run Run
The album is arriving February 18 on Canvasback Music, and you can hear Byrne and Yo La Tengo's cover of 1970's "Who Has Seen the Wind?" now.
In a statement about the album, Gibbard said:
Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono was born out of both love and frustration. The "love" part is pretty obvious; it is the seemingly bottomless well of inspiration and enjoyment Yoko Ono's music has provided me and I must assume everyone else present here on this compilation. The "frustration" part, on the other hand, goes back decades.
As an advocate, the tallest hurdle to clear has always been the public's ignorance as to the breadth of Yoko's work. To put it into context; this is an artist whose output has run the gamut from avant-garde to bubblegum pop, often across a single album. For years, it has been my position that her songwriting has been criminally overlooked. She has consistently created melodies as memorable as those of best pop writers. As a lyricist, she has always written with poignance, sophistication, and deep introspection.
Some of her best songs have been covered and compiled here by a generation-spanning group of musicians for whom her work has meant so much. It is my sincere hope that a new crop of Yoko Ono fans fall in love with her songwriting due in some small part to this album we have put together.
In addition, Gibbard will be launching a podcast with journalist Jenny Eliscu on the day of Ocean Child's release. The two hosts will discuss Ono's music and artistic impact, and will be joined by some of the artists featured on the album. A portion of the album's proceeds will also be donated to WhyHunger, an organization that works to transform our global food systems and combat world hunger and poverty.
Ocean Child promises a lot of great interpretations, but U.S. Girls tackling "Born in a Prison" and Sharon Van Etten covering "Toyboat" are particularly exciting.
Listen to David Byrne and Yo La Tengo take on "Who Has Seen the Wind" and see the Ocean Child tracklist below.
Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono:
1. Sharon Van Etten - Toyboat
2. David Byrne & Yo La Tengo - Who Has Seen The Wind
3. Sudan Archives - Dogtown
4. Death Cab For Cutie - Waiting For The Sunrise
5. Thao - Yellow Girl (Stand For Life)
6. U.S. Girls - Born In A Prison
7. Jay Som - Growing Pain
8. Stephin Merritt - Listen, The Snow Is Falling
9. Deerhoof - No No No
10. We Are KING - Don't Be Scared
11. The Flaming Lips - Mrs Lennon
12. Japanese Breakfast - No One Sees Me Like You Do
13. Yo La Tengo - There Is No Goodbye Between Us
14. Amber Coffman - Run Run Run
