Check out this video of Mumford & Sons rendition of Vampire Weekend’s Cousins they did for BBC Live Lounge.

And a rip of the audio for your portable pleasure:
Mumford & Sons – Cousins

20. Campus – Vampire Weekend

From the self titled album Vampire Weekend, released in 2008.

19. No one does it like you – Department of Eagles

From the 2008 album In Ear Park.

18. Home – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

From the 2009 album Up From Below.

17. Long Way Home – Tom Waits

Off the 2006 triple album Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards.

16. Electric Feel – MGMT

Off the 2008 album Oracular Spectacular .

15. Sing – Travis

From the 2001 album The Invisible Band.

14. Do You Realize – The Flaming Lips

Off the 2002 album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.

13. Love of my life… – Erykah Badu & Common

Erykah Badu & Common collaborated on this soulful tune for the soundtrack of Brown Sugar in 2002. The film barely made an impression, while this stand out track will likely last for many decades to come.

12. All These things that I’ve Done – The Killers

From the 2004 album Hot Fuss.

11. Crazy – Gnarls Barkley

From the 2006 album St. Elsewhere.

Vampire Weekend - Cousins

I am finding it difficult to express how excited I am for Vampire Weekend’s sophmore album Contra to come out on January 12th next year! Until then, we can enjoy their promo track Horchata, which came out in early October, and the next single, available for download at Amazon, Cousins. There’s even a video:

Good times.

Horchata -Vampire Weekend

Tipped of by Pigeons and Planes this morning I discovered that Vampire Weekend are giving away the first track off their highly anticipated second release Contra, which is due to be released January 12th, 2010 in the US. Go give Vampire Weekend your email address if you’d like future updates from the band, or download it with absolutely no strings from VW, or from here.

The new tune is in Vampire Weekend’s unique style with the sounds global percussion, xylophones, and strings combined together in a playful way that makes you want to bounce around in time with the beat. I’m officially excited about the new album next year!

For those of you interested Horchata is a traditional drink latin roots. How it is make varies from region to region, and is sometimes made from almonds or sesame seeds.

8. A-Punk – Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend hit the scene hard this year. The blogosphere was all over them early this year, then the rest of the world caught on as their became Rolling Stone’s newest sweethearts. Even I listed their catch tune, Campus, as one of my Top 10 Tracks ever. The blending of Western and African influences gives Vampire Weekend a unique style that is hard to ignore.  Their self-titled debut album has so many great tracks that it’s difficult to choose one as the best.  A-Punk is an upbeat and fun, with lyrics worthy of analysis. Move over Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon, the new breed African fusion has arrived!

7. Dreamer – Jenn Grant

I have given Jenn Grant quite a lot of attention here on the Road 2 Nowhere this year. While I love her entire album Orchestra for the Moon from start to finish, Dreamer remains my favourtie track on the record. Its  stunningly beautiful instrumentations and Jenn’s flawless vocals, singing such scrumptious lyrics as:

On a date by a chocolate lake
Down by the rotary
Past town at the edge
Looking down at butterflies

Makes Dreamer one of my Top 10 Tracks of 2008.

6. Great DJ – The Ting Tings

The Ting Tings got a mention on the Road 2 Nowhere with reference to their catchy pop tune Shut Up and Let Me Go being featured on an iPod commercial. After releasing several singles, the band finally released their first full length album, We Started Nothing, in May 2008. Great DJ holds the spot as my favourtive track on the record. It has everything that a great pop tune should have, while maintaining the requisite level of hipness, making it one of the most catchy and lovable tunes of 2008.