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October 4, 2006

Howie Beck Covers The Strokes

Fans of the Casablancas crew will want to pick up on this one (if you haven't already!). Toronto-troubadour Howie Beck's lo-fi, acoustic take on "Reptilia" reminded us that The Strokes really do have some great, recent songs -- once you strip 'em of their coincident distractions (i.e., celebrity girlfriends, hipster hairdos, et al). We love this take, like we loved Gary Jules's career-making strip down of "Mad World" and Mat Weddle's "Hey Ya." Beck's turn on the seven-chord tune is bare bones, and it'll make you see it in a new light.

Howie Beck – "Reptilia" (MP3)

On his latest, self-titled album, Howie's friends Feist, Matthew Caws, and Ed Harcourt make cameos, but it’s the Elliott-recalling vulnerability in his vocals that does the heavy lifting. This song is an album standout, and we're proud to premiere this acoustic version that, frankly, we think is superior -- and entirely awesome.

Howie Beck – "Sometimes" (Acoustic) (MP3)
Howie Beck – "Sometimes" (MP3)

Enjoy.

Posted at 10:49 AM in
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11 Comments

first!

Posted by: mario at 10/04/06 12:05 PM  | Reply
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lolz nice d00d


Anyway, nice to hear this. But it makes me long for old Strokes. What Ever Happened? (I can't believe I just said that)

Posted by: Erik at 10/04/06 12:33 PM  | Reply
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Yeah they used to really rock. Now they are just louder.

Posted by: Adam at 10/04/06 12:45 PM  | Reply
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they still have some good songs...

but yes old strokes = best.

Posted by: jack at 10/04/06 3:39 PM  | Reply
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That was beautiful.

Posted by: Tauwan at 10/04/06 5:11 PM  | Reply
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i downloaded sometimes, thinking that was going to the be the strokes cover

Posted by: pat at 10/04/06 5:54 PM  | Reply
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I just did the same thing.

Now I really want to hear an acoustic cover of Sometimes. That would be interesting.

Posted by: kevin at 10/04/06 7:21 PM  | Reply
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Haa. I had the same impulse -- but that Strokes song is called "Someday," not "Sometimes"!

Posted by: amrit at 10/04/06 10:16 PM  | Reply
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dude...
that was sooo cool.

Posted by: Aarushi at 10/07/06 10:51 PM  | Reply
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Can someone PLEASE re-post reptilia.
that version is amazing and its driving me crazy knowing its out there but that i can't get it. Thanks

Posted by: owen at 04/16/08 3:03 AM  | Reply
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It's on his myspace page http://www.myspace.com/howiebeck

Posted by: jimmy at 04/25/08 6:28 PM  | Reply
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