The Bird and Bee — a.k.a. singer Inara George and multi-instrumentalist Greg Kurstin — have released the third song from their forthcoming album Interpreting the Masters: A Tribute to Van Halen, due out August 2nd. The track, an insane, inventive rendition of "Hot for Teacher," features zero guitar heroics but plenty of Beck, who contributes a unmistakable extended bit of spoken word. The cover also showcases the talents of drummer Omar Hakim, known for his work with David Bowie, Sting, Daft Punk, Weather Report, Madonna, Kate Bush and more.
"The Bird and the Bee bring unforeseen angles to the Van Halen song book. Makes sense because, like Eddie Van Halen, Greg is a kind of musical wunderkind in his own right and Inara's vocals bring a cool counterpart to Diamond Dave's pyrotechnics," commented Beck, who has collaborated with George and Kurstin since the Sea Change-era, with the latter also having produced the Grammy-winning album Colors. "Making a cameo on their version of 'Hot for Teacher' felt like an extension of the kind of riffing and fooling around we do in the studio on a normal session."
Hear it above, and for another take on "Hot for Teacher," check out Dillinger Escape Plan's very different cover below.
