Deer Tick cover "Beautiful Girls"

I don’t hear much in the way of Top 40 radio,, and I‘m not going to complain about that. If I do it’s usually by accident - something over the P.A. in a drugstore or deli or something. Last June I had to be one of the chaperones at the 8th grade dance for my students, so of course I got a crash course in what the kiddies are into these days. Overall, I wasn’t impressed. There was one song though that stood out that evening - a song a fellow teacher informed me was “Beautiful Girls” by Sean Kinston. It only partially stood out because I liked it, but also for the word ‘suicidal’ repeated as a chorus. Nothing like a stupid pop song to make suicide vague and harmless to fragile teenage minds - but whatever, there was “Suicide Blonde” when I was a kid and I’m still here. But anyway, it was embarrassingly catchy - with an almost 60s-like melody on that chorus.

Furthering the increasingly popular trend of semi-ironic pop covers by indie-artists (did Ted Leo start this trend when he covered Kelly Clarkson, or do we go back to The Gourds brilliant re-imagining of Snoop Dogg’s “Gin & Juice” for the birth of this “genre”?), PHW favorite Deer Tick has released a version of this song that highlights the 60s flavor of the original. Is it any surprise then that he busts into “Stand By Me” as the song fades out? Now if only the DJ would play “Dirty Dishes” at this year’s dance I’ll be all set.

MP3 :: Beautiful Girls (Sean Kingston cover)
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Previously:

MP3 :: Dirty Dishes
MP3 :: Diamond Rings 2007
(from War Elephant. Buy here)
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