The Modelses

Men. Machines.

California Suns

There's a certain amount of cognitive dissonance in trying to imagine the four guys in black leather jackets and blue jeans on the cover of »Leave Home« showing up at the Pacific sands and, for punks from Queens, a line like "Well, I'm going out west where I belong..." perhaps applies better to CBGBs than California. But the songs on the first Ramones' albums constantly play with the line between gritty realism ("Beat on the Brat", "Gimmie Gimmie Shock Treatment") and cartoonish fantasy ("Chain Saw"). Also, as heard on "Let's Dance", '60s rock'n'roll is real "place" for the band—a place much more real than sunny California—and one which they can reduce to their own NYC-urban-punk formula as necessary. Cover as escapism.

With "Rockaway Beach" on the next album, the band would bring together all of these threads—a new late '70s, East Coast surf spot characterized as much as by "hot concrete" as sun and sand.

Sickles and Hammerses

After the three-minute carthasis of »The Freed Pig«, the opening song on Sebadoh's III, what was left to say? Apparently nothing—track two is a reset, a 50-second instrumental romp through the Minutemen's »Sickles and Hammers«. Cover as palette cleanser.

Jump Intos

LCD Soundsystem finally released the live album for their final Madison Square Garden concert. Their cover of Harry Nilsson's »Jump into the Fire«—previous available only as a live BBC recording on the »Daft Punk Is Playing at My House« single—wasn't their last song on stage. But »JitF« isn't the last song on Nilsson Schmilsson either—it just feels that way. Cover as climax.

Let's Dances

The cover as reduction to a formula.

Into Yous

Always a strange experience when you realize that I song you've known for years is a cover—especially when it's transformed to this degree.

Robinsons

The other big Lemonheads cover.