Bad Astronaut :: "Needle in the Hay" by Elliott Smith

Elliott Smith was known for his sweet, soft-spoken singing voice with a hint of raspiness and acoustic-driven indie rock. Unfortunately, Smith died in 2003 from a suspected suicide (the possibility of homicide was never thrown out) but his impressive catalog of work lives on.

I discovered Smith much too late. It wasn’t until I heard his song “Needle in the Hay” while watching one of my favorite movies: “The Royal Tenenbaums.” [SPOILER ALERT!] The song is featured in the scene where Richie “The Baumer” Tenenbaum slits his wrists in the bathroom. The scene itself is very graphic but Smith’s voice and simple acoustic guitar give it an overall painful and chilling feel. Not to mention that if you are at all familiar with Smith’s suicide, it makes the scene that much more emotional.

Directly contrasting from that version of Elliott Smith’s song though, is the cover of “Needle in the Hay” by punk rock band Bad Astronaut. The band, which features members of Lagwagon (one of which who, ironically enough, later committed suicide), brings about classic punk qualities, such as rich and distorted power chords and erratic drumming. Lead Singer Joey Cape fronts the band so his voice is instantly recognizable to Lagwagon fans and is unique all on its own.

The introduction to the Bad Astronaut version sounds almost exactly like Smith’s production only the guitar is distorted. After a few notes though, it gives way to pounding drums and more distorted guitars. It has been said that for live performances featuring a full band, Elliott Smith gave “Needle in the Hay” a more rocking feeling; adding drums, bass and even singing an octave higher. Though I was never able to see Smith live, I imagine that Bad Astronaut’s version takes from that performance.

I’m usually a fan of punk bands’ takes on songs when they do covers and although the same is true for this version, I think “Needle in the Hay” should have been left to Elliott Smith. Now don’t get me wrong; I LOVE Bad Astronaut! I understand that Elliott Smith is an influence to countless musicians and that covering a song can be a band or musician’s way of paying tribute, but the “punk-ness” of the song definitely took away from the soft-yet-chilling voice that makes this song so awesome. This is something that punk songs often tend to do which can be really risky.

The punkier version of “Needle in the Hay” sounds good on its own but if you’re looking for the same feeling and emotion that Elliott Smith gave this song when he wrote and performed it, Bad Astronaut falls short.

Here is Elliott Smith’s version:

Here is the clip of “The Royal Tenenbaum’s” that features Elliott Smith’s song. WARNING: VERY GRAPHIC!

Since I can’t find a video of Bad Astronaut’s version of the song, check out their MySpace page to listen to the song.