Bloc Party: BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge
Alright. I know. I’ve been posting on Bloc Party a lot recently. And by “a lot”, I mean the last four posts have all prominently involved the band in one way or another, my bad. But they’ve got a huge new single out that should be their biggest commercial success to date, “I Still Remember”, and there’s just a lot going on for the band right now. So forgive me if I make one more post dedicated to the band, but come on, it’s Bloc Party covering Nelly Furtado! I mean, fuck, does it get any better than that? Answer: No.
The band performed yesterday on Jo Whiley’s morning show on Radio 1, the best part of which is always the Live Lounge sessions, in which Whiley’s guests head into the lounge and perform a song from their catalog as well as a cover of a hit by another artist. This routine has seen Snow Patrol covering “Crazy In Love”, Arcade Fire covering “Maps” and a number of other memorable performances, including my personal favorite of the bunch, Guillemots’ incredible rendition of “Take Me Out”. Bloc Party’s performance, however, is one of their best ever, featuring another acoustic performance of “I Still Remember” and a brilliant take on Nelly Furtado’s “Say It Right” that led Whiley to comment that “it made it sound like Nelly had nicked it from the lads themselves”. Right, then - here are the tracks, only available for download on Good Weather For Airstrikes.
MP3: “Say It Right” (Live Lounge Session) - Bloc Party
Interested in hearing the full recording? It’ll be available for streaming here until next Wednesday and includes an insightful interview with the band and better music than you’ll ever hear on any popular American station (*sigh*). And since I’ve been collecting these Live Lounge covers for quite a while now, I figured I’d upload some of my favorites here for your enjoyment. Check it below.
MP3s:
“Crazy In Love” (Live Lounge Session ft. Zane Lowe) - Snow Patrol
“Maps” (Live Lounge Session) - Arcade Fire
“Take Me Out” (Live Lounge Session) - Guillemots ((highly recommended))
“Sweet Child O’ Mine” (Live Lounge Session) - Mylo
“Smile Like You Mean It” (Live Lounge Session) - David Gray
Anyone have The Feeling’s cover of “Drop The Pressure” that I know is floating around out there somewhere? I’ve been trying to track it down for ages, but it’s been the one Live Lounge cover that’s consistently eluded me. Any help would be much appreciated, get at me in the comments.