Harmonies by Musician Friends

My rad roommate Allie and I had a revelation this weekend: our favorite performances are by musician friends who supplement each others' songs with harmonies. It's not quite a named genre yet, but we LOVE them. Here are some recent favorites:

Re: Stacks by Bon Iver feat. The Staves

I thought this For Emma, Forever Ago classic could not be improved until I heard it this way. If you don't like concert banter, jump to 1:02.

If you like what you hear of The Staves (how could you not?) their debut album is now live-streaming on the Guardian website. It's probably the best way to get a dose of them until their music is accessible stateside. 

New Slang by The Shins feat. Sam Beam (Iron & Wine)

I have accepted the fact that I'll never know all the correct lyrics to this song, but it will always be a favorite. My roommate (she's actually the coolest) discovered this version the other day, and it rivals the original.

On a Good Day by Joanna Newsom feat. Robin Pecknold (Fleet Foxes)

This Have One on Me song is only a minute and a half but packed with killer lyrics. I definitely posted "Will you leave me be so that we can stay true to the path that you have chosen?" as my status in my high school Angsty Lyrics Status Stage multiple times. Don't pretend you were above that. If you're reading this blog, you probably had an ALSS, too.

Now listen to it supplemented by Robin Pecknold's beautiful vocals. Again, skip to 1:13 for a banterless vid.

The illest, right? In case you want to listen to that glorious minute and a half one more time, this is a cover I did of it last year during finals week with--you guessed it--my roommate, Allie.

Yay harmonies, yay musician friends, yay Allie, yay to the resurrection of this blog.