KISS's "Shock Me,"
performed by Red House Painters

Few can take a KISS anthem and turn it into a touching love song.

But that's exactly what Mark Kozelek and Red House Painters did on the Shock Me EP, on which the band renders not one, but two gorgeous versions of the hard-rock classic from the original Men in Black.

On the first, there's still a bit of the KISS edge from the song's rockin' 1977 original from Love Gun. A snarling electric joins Kozelek's acoustic on the song's main riff. But for the most part, the song is typical of the post-VU sound that RHP and Kozelek— along with American Music Club and that band's singer Mark Eitzel — used to establish San Francisco's early-to-mid '90s "sadcore" sound. Brushed snare, marching-band tempos and acoustic guitar, all rolled up in Kozelek's warm voice.

But what really makes the song is not its adherence to the band's blueprint, it's the wonders it works with lyrics like these:

Shock me, make me feel better, oh yeah
Come on and shock me, put on your black leather
Baby, I'm down to the bare wire
Shock me, we can come together
Oh yeah, I wanna feel your power
Shock me, make me feel better
Baby, I'm down to the bare wire
Shock me, put on your black leather
Baby, come on, come on, shock me

The second, even more beautiful take on "Shock Me" comes at the end of the piece, where the edgy guitar of the other RHP version gives way to a piano. The drums are gone and the band essentially lets Kozelek's voice, acoustic guitar and piano render the song even more beautiful than the first version.

The Shock Me EP was later tacked onto the group's second self-titled album, which also features a Simon and Garfunkel cover ("I am a Rock"), as well as "The Star Spangled Banner." But RHP's knack for cover tunes didn't end there. The band's take on The Cars' "All Mixed Up" appeared in a GAP commercial (the ultimate measure of success) four years after it showed up on Songs for a Blue Guitar. And the covers of Yes' "Long Distance Runaround" and Paul McCartney's "Silly Love Songs" from that same album are hilarious and not to be missed.

— Eric Wittmershaus (ericw at flakmag dot com)