Saturday, April 11, 2009

The Cribs - "Men's Needs" (the song remains the same)

It's been several weeks since I've featured The Cribs so its clearly time for another installment. "Men's Needs" is the first single and partially the title track from their third LP, 2007's "Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever".

Wichita Recordings has posted the censored version of the video on YouTube; you've probably seen it by now. (As an aside -- with respect to YouTube etc., Wichita Recordings completely "gets it".) But there are also two different versions: one with a digitally added leotard on the woman (instead of strategically placed black bars) and an uncensored version. The "brooklynvegan" blog has links to the leotard version (now broken due to WMG no longer "getting it") and the uncensored version (new link) (new new link).

Kate Nash, the girlfriend (or perhaps wife, I'm not sure since all the articles I could find are written in future tense) of The Crib's guitarist Ryan Jarman, has recorded a version of Men's Needs. I believe Nash is more of a presence in the UK and judging from what I've read, her rapid rise to success (her debut LP "Made of Bricks" went to #1 in the UK) seems to have caused a bit of a backlash. I'm not familiar with her work, but this version is an enjoyable, slightly folky version of the song.

In addition, there is the minimalist, even more folky version by Lightspeed Champion (aka Devonte Hynes). I was also unaware of Lightspeed Champion; apparently he's big in the UK as well. But not so big that his alternative credentials aren't intact...

When will we see a US band cover a Cribs song?

Bonus link: "Fairer Sex" is the B-side to the CD version of the "Men's Needs" single.  Live version of "Fairer Sex". 

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