Photo by Robert Altman
HB0’s Vinyl wraps up its first season this Sunday, and though the show itself has received mixed critical reception, at least the soundtrack has become consistently entertaining. Today brings the release of season one’s full soundtrack, and with it, some intriguing new covers.
Julian Casablancas already well established his affinity for The Velvet Underground with previously released covers of “White Light/White Heat” and “Run Run Run”. Just in case that wasn’t clear, though, The Strokes’ frontman went and recorded a third cover for the official soundtrack. This time, he took on “Venus in Furs” off The Velvet Underground & Nico, upping the track’s already eerie vibes by increasing the focus on the scratchy electric viola. Take a listen below.
Another interesting track appearing on the OST is a surprising take on The Stooges’ “No Fun” by Charli XCX. The electropop songstress isn’t the first name that comes to mind when considering a vocalist for such a punky garage track, and she certainly seems to be trying a bit too hard to sound slimier than she normally does. But despite the slightly affected vocals, there’s a fair amount of fun in her version of “No Fun”… and in any event, it’s significantly better than Trey Songz’s attempt at “Life on Mars?” (which is also a thing on this thing). Check out Charli doing The Stooges below.
Also on the Vinyl soundtrack are previously released covers by Iggy Pop (Nervous Breakdowns’ “I Dig Your Mind”), The Arcs (Bobby Parker’s “Watch Your Step”), and an original track by Royal Blood (“Where Are You Now?”). Rounding out the tracklist are covers of Terry Reid’s “Stay With Me Baby” by Chris Cornell, “Sugar Daddy” by Sturgill Simpson, and David Bowie’s “Life on Mars?” by Trey Songz.
Vinyl: The Essentials: Best of Season 1 Tracklist:
01. Jess Glynne, Alex Newell, DJ Cassidy with Nile Rodgers – “Kill The Lights”
02. Charlie Wilson – “Alright Lady (Let’s Make A Baby)”
03. Elvis Costello – “Back Stabbers”
04. Trey Songz – “Life On Mars?”
05. Iggy Pop – “I Dig Your Mind”
06. Charli XCX – “No Fun”
07. John Doe – “Strychnine”
08. Royal Blood – “Where Are You Now”
09. The Arcs – “Watch Your Step”
10. Chris Cornell – “Stay With Me Baby”
11. Ty Taylor – “I’ve Been Wrong So Long”
12. Nasty Bits – “Woman Like You (A E I Want You)”
13. Sturgill Simpson – “Sugar Daddy (Theme from Vinyl)”
14. Julian Casablancas – “Venus in Furs”
15. Charlie Wilson – “Love, I Want You Back”
16. Humble Pie – “Black Coffee”
17. Nate Ruess – “I Wanna Be With You”
