NPR: Petra Haden Live at the BPP

Petra Haden Live at the BPP

Filed under: Music, Video

Music is in Petra Haden's blood. She's the daughter of jazz legend Charlie Haden and has been singing with her sisters (they're triplets) since childhood. Since then she's been a member of the Decemberists and The Rentals, and has collaborated as a singer and violinist with people like Beck, Green Day, Mike Watt and the Foo Fighters, to name a few. This month she contributed a cover of Journey's classic "Don't Stop Believin'" to the compilation album "Guilt By Association," a collection of different artists' guilty pleasures. She performed that song live for us in the studio yesterday, and frankly, it was so beautiful that it drove us damn near to tears.

Check it out.

Win Rosenfeld

12:20 PM ET | 09- 6-2007 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

We saw Petra Haden and the Sellouts at the MFA here in Boston last year, doing a show that was half tracks from her version of THE WHO SELL OUT and half original material. It was an outstanding show, adn I highly recommend them if they come to your town.

Sent by Stewart | 1:28 PM ET | 09-06-2007

u butchered one of the greatest songs ever.

Sent by JP Daley | 6:49 PM ET | 09-06-2007

Wow, That was so beautiful, moving and inspiring. Just the thing I needed to hear at the end of a long day to help me through the end of the summer blues and to prepare for the ever shortening days of approaching fall. It puts life in perspective to feel the joy in all things at all times and to see it in Petra's face and hear it in that song. Thank you.

Sent by Graham G. Hawks | 6:54 PM ET | 09-06-2007

Petra Haden's voice is lovely and the harmonies were very tight, but it lacked any sense of desperation or longing that make the origional version a classic. A song about lonelyness and the desperate need to connect with someone, to know and be known by another, should really be sung by a vocalist who can express it. Dissapointing.

Sent by Greg | 7:42 PM ET | 09-06-2007

congratulations bpp...for going after all kinds of great music...those notes ring true in the ear of a music lover...thanks again.

Sent by jay | 8:18 PM ET | 09-06-2007

This is simply amazing. Thanks!

I wasn't a big fan of the public radio show model that involved serious news followed by music, but the BPP is converting me.

Sent by Steve Petersen | 9:01 PM ET | 09-06-2007

After reading the FAQ section about the B double P, I thought that it would be great to see this ensemble perform 'Eye in the Sky' by the Alan Parsons Project:)

Sent by I and I | 11:15 PM ET | 09-06-2007

Drove you to tears? Perhaps from fear! I had to listen to the original 10 times in a row before I could stop rocking back and forth with that far away glazed look whle muttering "Steve Perry save me."

Sent by James Kim | 11:57 PM ET | 09-06-2007

Can't Stop
This Heaving
While holding onto my grieving
Over classics that are butchered
Every day-y-y-y-y!

Sent by Lu Ponz | 2:58 AM ET | 09-07-2007

I never thought much of the original, and so understood the "artists' guilty pleasures" description. I was in my twenties when the song came out and it was just a pop song.

But these ladies turned it into something more and gave the lyrics a different emphasis.

Because of this I can see how the original can be called a "classic" in spite of my original twenty something opinion. I really was an arrogant young man....

You, me and the devil makes three......

Sent by Stu | 3:32 AM ET | 09-07-2007

as a fan of "that dog," this was a nice kind of '90s flashback. would hate to follow them in karaoke.

Sent by nina | 9:07 AM ET | 09-07-2007

That was wonderful. Petra Haden is such a breathe of fresh air in the music world. I especially like her version of "Thriller".

Sent by Alissa | 11:45 AM ET | 09-07-2007

Although I appreciate the talent these vocalists obviously have, their remake of this song is simply unsatfisying and unneccessary and frankly whimpy. The orginal has an urgency and heartbreaking desperation about it that these vocalists don't convey. If you really want to get your heart racing listen to the original by Journey.

Sent by M. Dtybop | 11:45 AM ET | 09-07-2007

It is rare that we get to see raw music sung with such passion and simplicity..with a twist of jive...right in the studio! I got a big smile from hearing the compilation of different sounds and personlities. Thanks for sharing the fun!

Sent by peggy | 11:46 AM ET | 09-07-2007

God loves an excellent A Capella group, which they most certainly are. God, though, can't abide good songs covered badly. Sorry guys!

Sent by Tim | 12:56 PM ET | 09-07-2007

I'm a fan of Petra's work with the Decemberists, but I find her other work uneven and often disappointing. This performance reminds me of fall performances of college a cappella groups, before the group has gelled. It's serviceable but not well-arranged and poorly performed, especially Petra's startlingly bad attempts at covering the high guitar lines. I'm quite disappointed.

Sent by Jennifer | 2:22 PM ET | 09-07-2007

Okay, I love Petra's version of this song, but Lu Ponz's comment made me laugh out loud.

Sent by Alison Stewart | 2:28 PM ET | 09-07-2007

I, for one, have never found much desperation in arena rock. Petra Haden
may only be a servicable singer but she's a servicable singer that Bill Frisell wanted to play with! It seems to me that she and her friends are having as much fun with the song as Perry and Journey do. Then again, I grew up with Brian Ferry singing These
Foolish Things.

Sent by malcolm | 4:48 PM ET | 09-07-2007

If you never loved the original, then Petra's could be a revelation. For those who ever called it our favorite song must have felt the nape hairs rise in terror. Was it the lame sonics of streaming audio? Or maybe you just "had to be there" to get this performance.

Sent by David | 4:59 PM ET | 09-07-2007

If you like the song, you might like the video we made for Petra and Engine Room Records http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kXbHf1SwGk. Hope you like it!

Sent by Aaron Wong | 6:00 PM ET | 09-07-2007

I am assuming that this was performed in your studio. Who ever was recording this hardly showed the black woman. You could see all the others but her, considering also that she had a major role with playing the beats. A s a black woman am always very aware of these issues. I could not see her face, once you showed her body but nonetheless, not her face. I also have an issue with the fact that her body was shown in pieces whilst everyone else's was not cut. Please be aware of these issues and consider seeing this from a black persons perspective.Be aware of who is watching and who is listening to you. This is offensive to me.

Sent by Mphatso | 7:57 PM ET | 09-07-2007

wow! everyones a music critic...that's fine but why not feel just as passionate about darfur, iraq, health insurance, earth, education, children...or have i spread myself too thin...

Sent by jay | 8:05 PM ET | 09-07-2007

Sorry posted a bad link before; here's the correct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kXbHf1SwGk

Sent by Aaron Wong | 12:43 AM ET | 09-08-2007

That was a joy to watch, it made me smile. I would cringe every time I heard Steve Perry perform this song. Much better version. Thank you.

Sent by Katherine Anderson | 4:08 PM ET | 09-08-2007

Wow! I was really moved by that song. I grew up on Journey in high school and it brought back a lot of emotion. You girls looked like you were having so much fun. Thanks.

Sent by Randy | 4:45 PM ET | 09-08-2007

Whimsical fun is engrained in my mind forever! Thanks for breaking the mold!

Sent by Shawn Monique | 7:40 PM ET | 09-08-2007

I usually dislike this song but the way they presented this was amazing!

Sent by Callie Reis | 8:38 PM ET | 09-08-2007

There is no doubt that there is talent flowing through the group, but YIKES! What a massacre of a classic.

Sent by Jennifer | 9:21 AM ET | 09-09-2007

I think if you close your eyes and listen to it, it's not so bad. But they are waaay to cheerful in singing the song. It was well done, but the feeling wasn't there.

Sent by Tom E | 2:18 PM ET | 09-10-2007

wow! that was simply amazing...i've been a fan of petra and her sisters for as long as i've been into great music aka THAT DOG! whatever happened to that band? anyways, i'm glad people like her are alive.

Sent by marsha satterfield | 12:12 AM ET | 09-12-2007

I'm sorry, but this girl, despite what some would call a musical pedigree, gives a cappella music a bad name. There are many pro groups, but college groups around the country perform at much higher levels than petra and her group, reproducing hit songs and writing original music. UPenn's Off the Beat, WashU's Mosaic Whispers and After Dark are some of my favorites. If female a cappella is your thing, than check out Clemson's Take Note. All of them put this sad performance to shame, both in their live shows and recorded music.

Sent by Aaron | 6:31 PM ET | 12-03-2007

What an amazing experience. I was driving in my car when I heard this for the first time on NPR and I honestly almost had to pull over I was so moved! It was beautiful! I love the original version of this song and will continue to love it in it's original form....but this is a cool twist and almost turns it into another song entirely. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I really question those that said they didn't like it! I am on my way to buy the album!

Sent by Blair Gove | 8:32 PM ET | 07-29-2008

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