The Awkward World

#1 – They improved one of my favorite songs of all time, Bruce Springsteen’s “Atlantic City.” The original is a deeply cynical, desperate song, but in Craig Finn’s hands, the lines “Everything dies, that’s a fact / Maybe everything that dies some day comes back” actually sound positive. I just found out about this cover, and I’m actually kind of angry at them for it. Everything this band does is just so goddamned amazing, why did they have to pour their magic rock and roll juice over a song that was already perfect? I did not need Springsteen’s original to no longer be my favorite version of this song…

#2 – They are aliens. No band is this good. No human band…

That’s all I have. I don’t trust any band that I like this much, especially when they record a song like “Atlantic City” as a throw-away compilation track. Any other band would build an album around that, but not Craig Finn. I hate to admit this, but “My Girls” actually has some competition.

That throwaway compilation, by the way, is called War Child: Heroes, and it’s one of the best records of what is shaping up to be a very good year for music. There’s a neat idea behind this: 16 iconic artists — like Springsteen, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Sir Paul McCartney, etc. — each get to choose one of their songs and one younger band to cover that song. Is it any surprise that Springsteen picked the Hold Steady? Or Dylan picked Beck to take on “Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat”? Or Bowie picked TV On the Goddamned Fucking Awesome Radio to cover “Heroes,” another one of my favorite songs? No more free downloads for you. Go pick up this record or buy it on iTunes. All proceeds benefit War Child, an international nonprofit that “aims to provide children with the assistance needed to cope with the immediate and long-term consequences of war,” particularly in Africa and the Middle East. Good cause, great album.

Also, enjoy this video of the Hold Steady, Steve Earle, and others joining the Boss onstage for a rendition of Rosalita.

Seacrest out.