Superchunk Took Ryan Adams's Most Beloved Song And Turned It Into Pop-Punk Perfection

Legendary North Carolina band Superchunk took Ryan Adams's "Come Pick Me Up" and sped it up, added distortion, and gave it some punk sneer. The results are mind-blowing. The song will be on the forthcoming album While No One Was Looking: Toasting 20 Years of Bloodshot Records, which also features Blitzen Trapper, Andrew Bird, Shakey Graves, Into It. Over It, Frank Turner, and members of Foo Fighters, R.E.M., Interpol, and Cursive.

Ryan Adams's Version:

YouTube

Ryan's devastating but scathing tribute to an ex-lover, from his breakout debut album Heartbreaker, has gone down as one of the most famous breakup ballads of the last 20 years. Complete with acoustic guitars and emotive vocals, it's absolutely been the soundtrack to many trips to splitsville.

Superchunk's Version:

soundcloud.com / Via pitchfork.com

“It’s a song I’ve always wanted to cover AND Ryan claims the title came from our album of the same name, so it seemed fitting. Though he may have just been saying that to be nice," says Superchunk frontman and Merge Records founder Mac McCaughan. Their revved-up rock-n-roll version of the song still puts the agony of the original on display, but might be a better backdrop for smashing old picture frames in a drunken rampage.