Ben & Neil

Ben Folds - Songs of Love [originally by the Divine Comedy]
This cover off of one of Ben's EPs is the first time I had ever heard of The Divine Comedy (the band, not the poem). Recently though, the Divine Comedy and the man behind the music, Neil Hannon have been cropping up in a bunch of notable covers and such. For example, the Life on Mars? cover I posted a while back and a Queens of the Stone Age cover (see below). The Divine Comedy toured with Mr. Ben Folds in 2002, which later led to a co-headlining tour of the UK. The three live covers below come from an October 2002 gig at Brixton. I just read now that Neil Hannon also sung So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish in the closing credits of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy film. It suddenly occurs to me that I should investigate the music of Neil Hannon and The Divine Comedy more thoroughly...

The Divine Comedy - Brick (live) [originally by Ben Folds Five]
Ben Folds & The Divine Comedy - Raindrops are Falling On my Head (live) [originally by Burt Bacharach]
Ben Folds & Neil Hannon - Mess (live) [originally by Ben Folds Five]

Ben Folds & Neil Hannon - Race for the Prize [originally by the Flaming Lips]
This is from a Jonathan Ross BBC radio show.


The Divine Comedy - No One Knows [originally by Queens of the Stone Age]
I forgot how much I liked the original when it first came out, so this sweet cover was a nice reminder. Banjo solo!


Unbeknownst to me when I started this post, Obscure Sound just recently posted a bunch of Neil Hannon covers too. Go check it out.