Forty Five Minutes Of Velvet Underground Cover Versions

Listening to Michael Stipe's slim catalogue of post- R.E.M. songs recently led me to a 2021 tribute album, I'll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute To The Velvet Underground And Nico- an album of covers of all the songs from the banana sleeved 1967 album that invented as many bands as The Beatles or Kraftwerk did. It's a hit and miss affair as these tribute albums often are but there are a few highlights and Michael Stipe's cover of Sunday Morning is one of them with strings by Hal Willner, the New York producer who worked with Lou Reed and Marianne Faithful among others. Stipe's sister Lynda sings backing vocals on the song, the opening tune on an album that is one of his top three records of all time (one of the others being Patti Smith's Horses and the third possibly Television's debut). 

It led to me going through my collection in search of other Velvet Underground cover versions- there are many. In the mid- 80s the release of V.U. and Another V.U. gave the Velvets a further shot in the arm, the new slew of previously unreleased songs inspiring a new generation of bands. This is a forty five minute mix of Velvets covers with one unofficial edit- remix thrown in. There are so many I've left out a second edition could easily follow. The Velvet Underground never get old, never get tired, familiarity never breeds contempt. They are a band that keeps giving. 

Forty Five Minutes Of Velvet Underground Cover Versions

• Michael Stipe: Sunday Morning
• Lovekittens: What Goes On (Orbient Mix)
• Nhii: What Goes On (Nhiii Remix)
• The Kills: Pale Blue Eyes
• Thurston Moore: Temptation Inside Your Heart
• Cowboy Junkies: Sweet Jane (Mojo Filter Junkie Re- Love)
• Matt Berninger: I'm Waiting For The Man
• Kurt Vile: Run Run Run
• R.E.M.: After Hours (Live 1989)

Michael Stipe's cover version of Sunday Morning is a low key joy, clarinet and guitar leading us in and then Stipe's voice, making the most of Lou Reed's melodies and pop song sensibilities. The bassline is the one from Walk On The Wild Side, a nice little touch. 

Lovekittens were a an early 90s indie band who released two singles, one a cover of What Goes On which The Orb produced and then also remixed. Ambient house Velvets with cooing vocals. 

Nhii is a Brooklyn producer and musician who remixed/ edited What Goes On in 2020. What Goes On is a key Velvets song, two chords and some psyche organ and that endless Velvets groove. Nhii's edit rumbles in on Mo Tucker's drums and then splices a new rhythm and beat into it, 2020 dance music with a scuzzy edge. There's some acid thrown too and then Lou's vocal arrives, 'Baby be good/ Do what you should/ You know it'll be alright'.

The Kills cover of Pale Blue Eyes is a B-side from a 2012 single, The Last Goodbye. Jamie's guitar tone is perfect, a gnarly, distorted sound that works his amp beautifully. The bit n the middle where the whole song stutters is really cool too. There are loads of covers of Pale Blue Eyes- R.E.M. and Paul Quinn with Edwyn Collins both did memorable versions. 

Thurston Moore is on the I'll be Your Mirror tribute album,a cover of heroin with Bobby Gillespie on vocals. This cover from last year is better though, a Thurston Moore live favourite finally recorded in 2025 and then released on Sterling Morrison's birthday (29th August). 

Cowboy Junkies cover of Sweet Jane (as edited here Balearic style by Mojo Filter) turned up in last Sunday's mix too, a song I played at The Golden Lion back in February. Cowboy Junkies based their version on the one The Velvets did on the 1969 live album rather than the one from Loaded. Lou Reed approved of this. 

Matt Berninger (from The National) and his cover of I'm Waiting For The Man are from the I'll Be Your Mirror tribute. Velvet Underground songs are so well known and so them that bringing something new to them is difficult. Berninger strips the song down into a two chord clank, metal on metal drumming, and his weary, worn voice sounding like he knows exactly what it's like and how it goes when you're waiting for your man. 

Kurt Vile's cover of Run Run Run is also from I'll Be Your Mirror. He'd appeared on this blog once before this weekend, one post in fifteen and a half years. Now he's been on it twice more in two days. His cover of Run Run Run is a thrilling take on the song- it's a song that inspired a million bands to play dirty, distorted two chord rock 'n' roll, a fun song to play and Kurt sounds him and his band are having fun. Lou wrote the song on the back of an envelope on the way to a gig and its got one of those casts of Lou reed characters in the lyrics, Teenage Mary, Uncle Dave, Margarita Passion, Seasick Sarah and Beardless Harry all on the hunt for drugs. 

We started with Michael Stipe and we finish with him too, this time singing with R.E.M. in 1989 on the Green tour. They were still in the habit of playing covers for encores on this tour- I saw them at Liverpool Royal Court and they did this song there, the last one they did that night. They released four covers Velvets songs during the 80s, three of them rounded up on the Dead Letter Office B-sides album from 1987. 

The Rest Of Ever And More

Michael Stipe appeared on American TV last week singing The Rest Of Ever, a brand new song from a solo album that is apparently going to be out by the end of the year. In the clip below Michael performs it with the house band, as is the norm on US chat shows- Louis Cato and The Great Big Joy Machine- so the recorded version may be a little different but the song sounds pretty good, Stipe is in good voice, and it is good to hear him singing again. 

In the interview section he talked about recording the sound of a tree and singing along to it in the style of a sea shanty. Difficult to tell how serious he was being but I'm always in favour of the spirit of experimentalism and playfulness. 

Back in 2020 Michael sang with Big Red Machine, a duo consisting of Aaron Dressner of The National and Bon Iver's Jason Vernon. The recording was done during lockdown and that period inspired Stipe's lyrics. 'No time for dancing... no time for love like now'. Low key, pattering drums, pianos, strings, and Michael Stipe's very specific timbre and phrasing. 

No Time For Love Like Now  

The year before Michael released his first solo single via his own website, a quite startling song, very much a break from the R.E.M. alt- guitar sound that people might have expected and been hoping for. Juddering synths and tambourine, drones and keys, Stipe's voice on top, a little like a warmer but fragile version of Suicide.

Your Capricious Soul

In coming up with a solo album, a definitive Stipe solo musical statement, he's been taking his time and genuinely doesn't seem to have been in any rush to make music since R.E.M. called it a day back in 2011 but gradually we seem to be getting closer to the day we get a Michael Stipe solo album. 

Asha Bhosle

Legendary Indian singer Asha Bhosle died a few days ago aged 92. Her singing career,alongside acting and television presenting work, spanned eight decades and apparently she is the most recorded artist in history. She may be best known to British indie audiences from the title and lyrics of their 1997 single Brimful Of Asha.

Brimful Of Asha

What a great song- The Velvet Underground via Indian TV and film, the beauty of the 7" single as an art form, Asha's sister Lata Mangeshkar (also a singer of renown), Ferguson Mono, Jacques Dutronc, the Bolan boogie, Trojan Records... a lyrical stream of consciousness that makes perfect sense even if you don't get all the references. The single stalled on release but a Norman Cook remix smashed its way to the top of the charts and it sold millions. Asha herself said that the song was significant, the moment that two worlds, British indie rock and Bollywood, collided.

Asha Bhosle sang on this song, O Je Suis Seul,too by West India Company. West India Company were Neil Arthur and Stephen Luscombe (from Blancmange), Asha and tabla player Pandit Dinesh (when West India Company started in 1984 Vince Clarke was involved too but Erasure became a much bigger day job). 

In 1989 West India Company rubbed shoulders with Dr Alex Paterson of The Orb and his Battersea neighbour Andrew Weatherall (then at the start of his remix career) and the pair did two remixes of O Je Suis Seul, another Asha Bhosle cultural collision, this time, acid house/ ambient house and Bollywood spliced. Weatherall drops in the 'Yep, I know that feeling' sample, Nastassja Kinski in Paris, Texas, one he'd use again on Screamadelica a year later. Thrash, then of The Orb, engineered both remixes, the Bhagwan Boogie is Andrew and the Orient Express Mix is Andrew and Alex. 

O Je Suis Seul (Bhagwan Boogie)

O Je Suis Seul (Orient Express Mix)

Both are totally of their time, have a wonderful 1989 innocence about them and are completely fantastic, the Bhagwan Boogie especially. 

Asha also sang on Bow Down Mister, Boy George's late 80s/ early 90s acid house/ Hare Krishna outfit Jesus Loves You. George wrote the song on a trip to India- Asha said several times it was the song she was most pleased to have contributed to. Her vocal in the second half elevates the song. 

Bow Down Mister (A Small Portion 2 B Polite Mix)

Asha Bhosle also appears on this 2021 track by Bicep, a duo from Belfast. Asha's vocal is a strong presence in the track, set back from the tumbling and thumping drums and the skipping synths, the track on the verge of falling apart. The album Isles was released in early 2021, a point where any communal activities- dancing, clubbing, going to gigs, even meeting indoors- were out of the question. Asha's vocal seems to fully capture that in a way, partway between euphoria and melancholia. 

Sundial

Lastly, and I was completely unaware of this song until this week, is this- in 2002 Asha sang a duet with Michael Stipe, a song that appeared on an album by 1 Giant Leap (Faithless' Jamie Cato). The Way You Dream is pretty stunning- eight minutes long, building gradually with tabla and samples, Asha's divine voice, strings, Michael joining in just after two minutes, singing along with and around the vocal the 1 Giaat Leap pair had already recorded with Asha. 

Asha's funeral took place two days ago, huge crowds coming out to pay tribute to her as she made her way to be cremated where she was sent off with a gun salute. 

RIP Asha Bhosle. 

More Bands In Places They Shouldn't Be: A Vinyl Villain Guest Edition

I spent last Thursday evening in the company of JC, the man behind the long running, standard setting blog The Vinyl Villain. He'd travelled down from Glasgow overnight and we met for a few drinks and a catch up taking in two legendary Manchester pubs- The Briton's Protection (grade II listed, serving beer since 1806- the year not the time- with a mural of the Peterloo Massacre down one wall) and The City Arms (a pre- Hacienda haunt for many back in the day, situated just across the road from Fac51). Earlier this week JC sent this to me. A few weeks ago I started an irregular series of Bands In Places They Shouldn't Be including Echo And The Bunnymen on Wogan, Prefab Sprout at Alton Towers, Ice T on The Late Show and Aztec Camera on Pebble Mill. I've got a few ideas lined up for further editions in the series but in the meantime JC has stepped in with a Bands In Places They Shouldn't Be Scottish Edition. Without further ado, then, over to JC...

I was quite tickled by Adam’s previous posts in which he dug out some classic video clips of performances or appearances in the most unlikely of places.  So much so, that I’ve come up with a few more, all of which feature singers/bands from Scotland.

First up are Aztec Camera and a rendition of Walk Out ToWinter that was broadcast on Switch, a series aired on Channel 4 between March and September 1983.  It basically took over the Friday evening slot that had been occupied by The Tube, starting one week after the end of the first series and ending one week before the second series began.

Look closely and you’ll see that the normally immaculate Roddy Frame and his bandmates are wearing identical and hideous tracksuits.  That’s because the footage was from the afternoon rehearsals when they did their bit to help the camera operators and lighting technicians do their thing, returning later on for the actual performance that was broadcast.  Only thing is, the band decided not to perform the new single and thus leaving the record label a tad upset. Which is why, no doubt after much pleading with the producers of Switch, this footage was shown a few weeks later. 

Back in the days when the BBC actually were half-decent at putting out music shows, they came up with the idea of a 24-hour broadcast across BBC 2 and Radio 1, which was given the imaginary title of Rock Around The Clock.  I think there may actually have been a couple of these, with the shows being a blend of live performances from concert venues, studio performances, interviews, videos and specially commissioned film clips.   It also saw musicians dropping in for chats, as was the case when Edwyn Collins, Paul Quinn and Zeke Manyika were interviewed, from recollection around 1am, and it’s fair to say they were up for having a bit of fun.

I’ll divert for a few minutes, as the same show also had Billy Bragg and Echo & The Bunnymen in the studio at an even later hour.  They teamed up for an unforgettable cover of a Velvet Underground number.

Turning now to the first band ever to play at the Scottish Exhibition Centre, the cavernous venue on the banks of the River Clyde to which all the big names would flock after the legendary Glasgow Apollo was closed down and demolished.  History records that UB40 were the first to play in what became known as Hall 4 in 1985, but the truth of the matter is that a little-known local act called Snakes of Shake were the first as evidenced by this clip which went out on The Tube in 1984:-

OK….the building was still under construction, but let’s not split hairs.

That clip was part of a special on Scottish music that was broadcast by The Tube.  You’ll have to bear with me on the next one as I can’t find a segment where it’s just the song.  

It’s a seven-minute piece of film, in which presenter Leslie Ash turns up on a very wintry day in Dundee for a chat down in the dockside area with Billy Mackenzie.  The interview takes place on what appears to be a tug boat, while Billy then mimes outrageously to the Associates song ‘Waiting For The Loveboat’ on board the HMS Unicorn, a 200-year old frigate that operates as a museum/visitor attraction in Dundee.  The music begins around 4 mins and 24 seconds in.

You’ll have spotted by now that many of these clips are courtesy of the hard work of an individual who goes by the name of ScottishTeeVe who has taken hundreds of hours to take his VHS etc recordings and put them up on YouTube for our enjoyment.  All the clips thus far, I also have on dozens of different videotapes that are in boxes in a cupboard beneath the stairs, but I just don’t know how to now put them in places where they can be shared and enjoyed more widely.

I’ll finish off with a cheat.

It’s a clip that doesn’t feature anyone from Scotland, but it was filmed in Glasgow on 3 June 1990.

The location is Custom House Quay on the banks of the Clyde. It was part of ‘The Big Day’,  one of the centrepiece events in a year-long set of festivities to celebrate Glasgow being designated as the European City of Culture.  An all-day music festival that was free of charge across various locations, with the big-name acts performing on stages at the main civic square or in the largest of our inner-city parks.  Some more niche acts were put on at Custom House Quay, one of whom was Billy Bragg.  He didn’t let on that he was going to be joined for part of his set by some friends from America:-

You can see that the location is full to capacity, with maybe a couple of hundred folk sitting down and maybe as many again standing up at street level.  No mobile phones, so no way of letting anyone know that Michael Stipe and Natalie Merchant were singing their hearts out.  I don’t have this clip on video, for the simple reason that I was out on the streets that day, among what was estimated to be a crowd of 250,000.  Nor did I see it on the day…..I was half-a-mile away enjoying the one stage where the music was quite eclectic, watching the likes of Aswad, Nanci Griffith and Les Negresses Vertes put on great shows.  It wasn’t until the next day, reading the newspapers, did I learn about the Custom House Quay happening.  The performance has become the Glasgow equivalent of the Sex Pistols at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester in 1976 with thousands claiming to have been there.

Massive thanks to JC for this time capsule, a hugely enjoyable post. 

You Never Called, I Waited For You, But These Rivers Of Suggestion Keep Dragging Me Away

It's something like that. One of the joys of early R.E.M. is that everyone hears what they think they can hear.

Michael Stipe has just announced that he's releasing his first post- R.E.M. music, a soundtrack to a friend's film. Most of the world will probably do little more than shrug. They carried on far too long, almost nothing after New Adventures In Hi-Fi sticks in the memory and they began to have an air of pomposity which became offputting. So it's funny to watch a clip like this one, live on the David Letterman show in 1983 playing Radio Free Europe and So Central Rain, when they were a frenetic, Wire-y, mumbling, American post-punk band dressed in second hand clothes. And then to shed a little tear.