Thursday, January 26, 2012

The Best Bruce Springsteen Covers of the 2000s

It's nothing new for musicians to take a crack at Springsteen's songs, but through his resurgence in popularity and influence over the last few years even more artists are covering the Boss.

I guess his tunes are so damned fun to sing. And since the original versions are all so identifiable they immediately take on new life when performed by a different artist. It probably doesn't hurt either that a lot of his work can be quite dated by their production styles - especially his 80s stuff.

Anyways, here are my favorites from the last few years...


Kurt Vile - "Downbound Train"






The Hold Steady - "Atlantic City"


Tortoise and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - "Thunder Road"


Camera Obscura - "Tougher than the Rest"


Marissa Nadler - "The River"


Vampire Weekend - "I'm Going Down"


Julian Casablancas - "Dancing in the Dark"


Tegan and Sara - "Dancing in the Dark"


Honorable mention to the National's "Mansion on the Hill" and Arcade Fire's "State Trooper". I think these newer takes definitely hold up to some of the classic Bruce covers like Johnny Cash's "I'm on Fire" or David Bowie's "It's Hard to be a Saint in the City", and of course Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Born to Run".

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