Watch Andrew Bird and The National’s Matt Berninger Cover Lou Reed
Image via YouTube Music Video Andrew Bird
Who better to cover the legendary Lou Reed than two other indie-rock greats, Andrew Bird and The National’s Matt Berninger? Over the summer the pair played several tunes together on Bird’s webseries Live from the Great Room. Today they’re releasing a polished video of one of those songs, their cover of Reed’s “Perfect Day.”
Though nothing could top the original, their rendition is pleasantly simple and moving. Renaissance man Andrew Bird deploys myriad skills, alternating between a violin (which he both bows and plucks) and a guitar, all the while maneuvering a loop pedal.
Matt Berninger sings, though Bird joins him for the choruses (they blend wonderfully). The song wraps up with a slightly extended “You’re gonna reap just what you sow” outro. Watch the performance above.