MP3 of the Day: Beck Covered by Jay Reatard

"Gamma Ray" is one of my favorite tracks off Beck's recent album, Modern Guilt. And Jay Reatard, well nearly everything the dude records is gold to these ears. So when I heard Reatard was gonna shoot out his version of "Gamma Ray," I had to track down the cover ASAP. Jay's version is predictably darker than Beck's, full of underwater vocal sound effects and a general teetering-towards-a-meltdown jittery vibe. It's an excellent cover of an excellent pop song, and you can hear for yourself here (tracked down to Just Press Play via Hype Machine.) The cover will also be available a B-side to the original "Gamma Ray" Sept. 30 (online) and Oct. 7 (on vinyl). -- Jennifer Maerz