Throwback Thursday Videos - Six Degrees of David Bazan

I went down a YouTube cover rabbit hole upon hearing this heart-rending cover of Pedro the Lion's "Bad Things to Such Good People" by Julien Baker and Manchester Orchestra. Her breathy plaintiveness, underpinned by MO's high lonesome harmonies, render this song more astonishing and agonizing than the original, released in 2000 on Pedro the Lion's second album Winners Never Quit.

 

During his long hiatus from PtL, David Bazan recorded singles and albums in a variety of solo and group efforts. One of those tracks was a cover of Radiohead's "Let Down" recorded as part of OKX, Stereogum's tribute to the 10th anniversary of OK Computer. I heard Bazan and Death Cab's Ben Gibbard perform this at the 9:30 Club more than a decade ago, and there was scarcely a dry eye in the room by the time they finished.

Baker will be playing The Anthem with Courtney Barnett on July 24, and the reunited Pedro the Lion will grace the Black Cat with their presence on August 12. Those are my Throwback Thursday Video selections for what feels like the first day of spring, a couple of weeks late.