The Morning Benders -

The Morning Benders - "Last Nite" (Strokes Cover)

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The Morning Benders Cover The Strokes - “Last Nite”

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Strokes’ 2001 debut, Is This It, Stereogum have curated a nice little covers collection featuring new renditions of each of the LP’s 11 original tracks by Austra, Peter Bjorn & John, Real Estate, and others. One standout comes from the incredibly consistent San Francisco indie group the Morning Benders, fearlessly taking on the Strokes’ breakout hit, “Last Nite.” Listen above as singer Chris Chu and friends reimagine the modern garage-rock classic as a danceable synth-pop jam. An MP3 is available with the rest of the compilation here.


The paint is barely dry on the Strokes’ comeback record, Angles, but it looks like we can rest assured LP4 won’t be their swan song. “The best thing we can do right now is put out another one really quick,” Julian Casablancas said last month. “I definitely think there will be a fifth Strokes album.” He wasn’t kidding, as they returned to the studio this week according to plan, beginning sessions for another full-length set. Bassist Nikolai Fraiture — the most reliable source of the quintet — promises to “keep us posted” (via Twitpic, etc.) as they “work on some new ideas.” Here’s to another album from the Strokes, this time with a few less off-putting motives perhaps.

We’re busy gearing up to fly to Austin for Waynestock and the Axis of Audio day party, in addition to a dozen other events taking place during SXSW, so here are some afternoon links to enjoy in the meantime (though more posts are on the way shortly):

  • Tom Waits was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last night by Neil Young before performing 4 songs, including “Get Behind the Mule” with Young himself. While the broadcast won’t air on FUSE until Sunday (3/20), reports from the event have surfaced with a sneak peek at the ceremony. One great quote (of many) from Waits: “They say that I have no hits and that I’m difficult to work with, and they say that like it’s a bad thing.” For a longer excerpt of his speech, visit Anti Blog.
  • Our esteemed friends at Drowned In Sound and yours truly teamed up for the latest chapter in our series of news round-ups with a brand new concept in which updates on artists are accompanied by their most recent streaming songs. Behold! Music News Mixtape #1, featuring Nick Cave, Bat For Lashes, Laura Marling, and many more.
  • Iron & Wine covered George Michael’s “One More Try” for AV Club’s ongoing “Undercover” series. Watch the performance here.
  • The Strokes are streaming LP4, Angles, in full on their website.
  • David Lynch will direct a live webcast of a Duran Duran concert next week. Check out the trailer and other details here.

Video: The Strokes - “Under Cover of Darkness”

In which Julian Casablancas and the boys entertain an empty mansion with Angles single “Under Cover of Darkness” for their new Warren Fu-directed official video. Tuxedos? Check. Also: an anonymous conductor, sheet music, and imaginary audience applause. Works for me, I suppose.

Happy Radiohead Day, everyone! While we’ve been letting The King of Limbs soak in and getting irrationally excited about a conspiracy theory or two, some links of note made a blip on the radar…

Conan Unveils 2011 Bonnaroo Lineup

Manchester, Tennessee’s Bonnaroo Festival recruited 2010 lineup member Conan O’Brien to announce the 2011 lineup, moments ago, for this summer’s June 9-12 event, which will star Arcade Fire, The Strokes, Eminem, The Walkmen, Lil Wayne, Mumford & Sons, the Black Keys, and — perhaps most notably — the reunited Buffalo Springfield, among others. Enjoy Conan’s intro above and check out the full lineup here (the official Bonnaroo site is down).

Hope everyone’s having a great weekend so far. Here’s a few links of note this Saturday afternoon…

Our first taste of brand new Strokes material is imminent, as the band have revealed the full tracklist, their first new promo photo in a half-decade (above), and an announcement that the first single off Angles, “Under Cover Of Darkness,” will arrive very soon. As previously reported, Angles will be released in full on March 22. Without further ado, here are those ten songs that Albert Hammond, Jr. mentioned: