If we’re ever going to hear Beck’s new unrecorded album of sheet music, Song Reader, musicians need to step up and perform those quarter notes, staff lines, lyrics and chords. Magnetic Fields’ Stephin Merritt interpreted the material last week with a toy piano and windup bird, while the album’s official site has begun cataloging a first wave of YouTube covers to surface. Earlier this month, the Duke Spirit’s Liela Moss joined Ed Harcourt and David Coulter for “America, Here’s My Boy” live in London. With Coulter on saw, Harcourt on piano, and Moss on vox, the trio turned in one of the more inspired renditions honoring Beck’s experiment to date. Check out some footage above.
In semi-related news, Harcourt has a lovely new album due via CCCLX Music in February. The first track from Back Into the Woods — an LP recorded in just 6 hours at Abbey Road — is here.