Pitchfork

Sure, the question marks abound here, but the words in front of them are far too interesting to simply ignore. According to a recent BBC report [via NME.com], UK nocturnal concoctors Hot Chip have a couple covers in the works that should raise an eyebrow or two.

The BBC talked to Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor, who reportedly revealed that the band recently joined forces with none other than Peter Gabriel to record a cover of the Peter Gabriel-namechecking track "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" by Peter Gabriel-influenced popular indie rock combo Vampire Weekend. Talk about a case study in postmodernism!

There's no word on when or where the cover will show up, and Hot Chip's publicist could not confirm the collaboration. Still, it's not so far-fetched a possibility: Mr. Gabriel himself even talked about covering the song in question with BBC 6 Music a short while back, saying "I actually do like that song a lot. I haven't quite worked out whether I should be [singing my own name] or substituting it with a name that might be appropriate to me."

Taylor also revealed to the BBC that Hot Chip are planning to cover Joy Division's "Transmission" at the request of New Order (the BBC article isn't clear which faction of the defunct/not defunct New Order approached Taylor, but in all probability it was the Sumner/Morris axis).

"It is totally different from Joy Division's original version," Taylor told the BBC of the cover. "It is much more Caribbean sounding because it features steel pans as the lead instrument." Uh, does this guy really not use contractions?

The "Transmission" cover will apparently appear on an upcoming charity compilation for War Child International, the long-running organization which seeks to help children around the world affected by war. This collection would be the follow-up to 2005's star-studded Help: A Day in the Life affair, however all of this, too, remains unconfirmed at this time.

Finally, Taylor shed some light on Hot Chip's Made in the Dark follow-up, which the band has been demoing. "The songs are more mid-tempo and disco influenced at the moment," claimed Taylor. "Made in the Dark was all over the place mood wise and quite aggressive at times. But things are a bit calmer this time." Potential song titles include "Alley Cats" and "Thieves in the Night".

One thing we do know for certain: Hot Chip will return to the road on September 19 with a tour that spans two continents, stretches into November, and includes dates with Growing and Max Tundra. Oh, and one date with Vampire Weekend too. Golly, I hope they team up onstage to cover Peter Gabriel.

Hot Chip:

09-19 San Diego, CA - Street Scene Festival
09-20 San Francisco, CA - Treasure Island Music Festival
09-21 Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern
09-22 Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern
09-23 Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theater $
09-25 Dallas, TX - Palladium Ballroom
09-26 Austin, TX - Zilker Park (Austin City Limits Festival)
09-28 Chicago, IL - Metro *
09-29 Chicago, IL - Metro *
09-30 Toronto, Ontario - Koolhaus *
10-01 Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis *
10-03 New York, NY - Terminal 5 *
10-04 New York, NY - Terminal 5 *
10-05 Philadelphia, PA - The Trocadero *
10-07 Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live! *
10-08 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club *
10-09 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse *
10-23 Southampton, England - Guildhall #
10-24 Cardiff, Wales - University #
10-25 Liverpool, England - Academy #
10-26 Leeds, England - Academy #
10-28 Sheffield, England - Academy #
10-29 Birmingham, England - Academy #
10-30 Cambridge, England - Corn Exchange #
11-01 Manchester, England - Apollo #
11-02 Glasgow, Scotland - Academy #
11-03 Leicester, England - University #
11-05 Brighton, England - Dome #
11-06 London, England - Brixton Academy #^
11-07 London, England - Brixton Academy #^

$ with Vampire Weekend
* with Growing
# with Max Tundra
^ with Wiley