Sun Kil Moon

One of my all-time favorite bands is the Red House Painters, San Francisco slow-core rockers of the 1990's with a penchant for unusual covers. Witness their dirge-like cover of Kiss's Shock Me, as well as covers of songs by AC/DC, Yes, the Cars, and Paul McCartney, to name a few. The band - basically a vehicle for serotonin-challenged Mark Kozelek - split up several years ago, but Kozelek's new band, Sun Kil Moon, carries on the Red House Painters' sound, as well as a flair for radically re-interpreting songs. Their 2nd album, Twin Cities, consists entirely of covers of Modest Mouse songs. It's an impressive work, at least from my perspective. I love Kozelek's work but am only a casual fan of Modest Mouse. The 2songs I know from the only Modest Mouse album I own (Lonesome Crowded West), are both good: Convenient Parking, and Trucker's Atlas. You can get a free download of Ocean Breathes Salty. Steve and any other San Francisco residents should check out this review from SF Weekly. And if you see Kozelek on the street (you might recognize him from the movie Almost Famous - he played the bassist in the band), wave for me...

And although this post is nominally about Sun Kil Moon and their kooky covers, I highly recommend that you check out their first album of originals, as well as the Red House Painters canon (start at their 2 self-titled albums from 1993 and work our from there, if so inclined).