Have you ever wanted some of Ke$ha's blood, but you were afraid to ask? Fortunately, now you can purchase a "blood vinyl" edition of The Flaming Lips' Heady Fwends Record Store Day exclusive double LP. For the small sum of $2,500, you can own one of 10 copies that features the encased blood of Erykah Badu, Bon Iver and yes, Ke$ha. It's further evidence that Wayne Coyne is off his rocker, along with these gummy fetuses.

The Flaming Lips, along with artists including Saint Etienne, Supergrass' Gaz Coombes and The Charlatans' Tim Burgess, were selected by UK music mag Mojo to pay tribute to the 50th anniversary of The Beach Boys. Pet Sounds Revisited gives the band's landmark album a thorough redo, particularly the Lips' rendition of "God Only Knows."

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Strangely enough, we have our second Siouxsie and the Banshees cover in this edition of Covering Tracks, turned in by the New York-by-way-of-Dallas duo School of Seven Bells. Benjamin Curtis and Alejandra Deheza recently headlined Modern 'Til Midnight at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, a homecoming gig of sorts for Curtis, who played locally with UFOFU and Tripping Daisy before moving to New York with his brother to start The Secret Machines.

In contrast to the proggy nature of the latter, Curtis' work with School of Seven Bells has become increasingly electronic, culminating with this year's concept album Ghostory. The Siouxsie cover isn't culled from that album, however. Rather it's the A-side to a Record Store Day 7-inch that was just released digitally. Curtis and Deheza deconstruct the track "Kiss Them For Me," building around a synth hook that could've been programmed by Pharrell Williams. Ultimately, it's the percussion and Deheza's vocals that make it, but it's an audacious task to try and top the original.

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Roy Robertson

Björk might seem an odd subject for a cover, but it makes sense when you think about it. Her often minimal arrangements leave plenty open to interpretation, and her avant-garde style certainly has earned many fans among fellow artists. In fact, Thom Yorke called "Unravel" his "favorite song ever," which he covered during a 2007 Radiohead webcast, and experimental acts including Liars, Dirty Projectors and Atlas Sound all contributed to a tribute to Bjork's second album, Post.

Denton indie folk artist Roy Robertson recently sent us a version of "Who Is It (Carry My Joy On The Left, Carry My Pain On The Right)" from 2004 album Medúlla. The original features beat-boxed rhythms, sparse synths and layers of Björk's otherworldly vocals. Rather than try to out-weird that, Robertson turns in a somewhat straightforward vocal/acoustic guitar version that gets added weight from gurgling electronics, driving percussion and a healthy dose of reverb.

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Japandroids, preparing for Easter Sunday.

The last time Vancouver's Japandroids came through town, they played the modest live room at Bryan Street Tavern. Odds are they'll command a larger venue next time around, considering the widespread anticipation of sophomore album Celebration Rock.

The duo gets the most noise per capita of any band out there with their guitar/drums setup, evidenced by the new album's first single, "The House That Heaven Built." If you spring for the limited edition clear vinyl 7-inch due out May 15, you'll also get B-side "Jack the Ripper," a Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds cover from the 1992's Henry's Dream. It's a rather faithful take on Cave's post-punk storytelling and, if anything, it actually heightens the tension and intensity of the original.

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In this week's edition of Covering Tracks, we turn our attention to Denton heroes Old Snack. The trio released their debut, Everything Is Happening So Fast, last fall, which tears through nine tracks in less than 20 minutes.

That efficiency is particularly evident on album track "Please Please Girl," a cover from power pop pioneers Flamin' Groovies' 1976 LP, Shake Some Action. As singer/guitarist Aaron White admits, "We ratchet up the original quite a few notches." The original clocks in at a tidy 2:05, but Old Snack rambles through their version in 1:37. It's a respectful rendition that adds just enough fuzz and snarl.

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Casey Hess

So a couple weeks ago we promised a Covering Tracks exclusive from a member of Deep Ellum royalty. Delivering on that promise is Casey Hess, who was an integral part of the '90s Dallas music scene with Doosu and went on to melt faces with Toadies offshoot Burden Brothers.

Hess is currently working on a solo record that promises to be decidedly less riff-heavy than his previous work and current band Descender. As he's been culling material for the project, a cover has been popping up in his live sets that Hess agreed to record for us.

"The Last Beat of My Heart" was the final single from Siouxsie and the Banshees' 1988 album Peepshow, a mournful ballad featuring Siouxsie Sioux's understated vocals, swelling strings and a lone accordion. Hess' version, self-recorded with mixing from David Castell, is nicely updated with churning guitars, subtle harmonies and a sneaky low end.

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Today, we mark Gary Numan's 54th birthday with a Covering Tracks homage by Dallas' own New Fumes. The godfather of synth-pop is still going strong, touring extensively last year, performing 1979's The Pleasure Principle in its entirety and providing guest vocals on the Battles track "My Machines." Which, by the way, was one of the most mind-blowingly kickass videos of 2011.

The aforementioned 1979 classic, Numan's first without the Tubeway Army moniker, vaulted him into superstardom on the strength of the single "Cars" and provides the source material for this week's cover. New Fumes, aka Daniel Huffman, eschewed the obvious and opted for deep cut "Observer," which we appreciate.

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Beach Fossils

Before we get into this week's edition of Covering Tracks, a quick aside. Are you familiar with digital panhandling? Seems begging for money under the cloak of art and charity is socially acceptable these days. With a financial goal, a well-crafted mission statement and a Kickstarter account, you too can be on your way to a new laptop or extra weed money.
For an excellent primer on the Kickstarter trend, enjoy this scene from Portlandia:

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As the queue of local artists itching to lay down covers forms to the left, our weekly feature Covering Tracks returns with a live performance from Ryan Adams.The mercurial former frontman of alt-country (remember that?) icons Whiskeytown is certainly known for genre-bending. In his solo career, he's been a troubadour, a post-punk and even a metalhead, releasing several songs under the Werewolph moniker and issuing a wax-only metal concept album, Orion.

Seems his infatuation with metal is deep-rooted, with covers of Iron Maiden's "Wasted Years" and Ratt's "Round and Round" in his catalog. Adams' most recent homage was at the close of an acoustic show in Los Angeles last week. After some banter with the crowd, he referenced "a massive hero to me" who was "just a genius and like a blindingly good person."

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Chairlift

Our fledgling feature Covering Tracks returns, its stated mission to bring you fascinating covers from the far flung reaches of the Web, or right here in our own backyard. A fine example of the kind of homegrown content we'd like to cultivate is the ongoing cover series from Australia's Triple J radio, Like A Version.

Brooklyn's Chairlift made the most recent visit to the Triple J studios, while on a tour stop in support of their terrific new album, Something. Caroline Polachek, Patrick Wimberly and company -- with special guest Kool A.D. of Das Racist -- paid homage to our greatest living diva, Beyoncé (R.I.P., Whitney).

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