The Bird and The Bee are going to be releasing a new cover album tribute to So-Cal metal kings Van Halen in August. Logically, one of the tracks that would be covered on the tribute album would be the 1984 hit single “Hot For Teacher,” one of the band’s most iconic songs. Today the band releases their rendition of the song “Hot For Teacher,” with none other than alt-pop superstar Beck appearing as a guest.
The song starts out with Eddie Van Halen’s trademark finger tapping technique replaced with The Bird and the Bee’s trademark easy-listening-influenced synth lines. Overall the song takes on a bit more of an easy-listening vibe, which is no surprise considering The Bird and the Bee’s history covering iconic artists. However, unlike their cover album of Hall and Oates material, the band is taking on a whole new genre and one of its icons at that.
The most notable change in this cover is the cameo by Southern California’s Beck, who provides the iconic spoken-word intro to the raunchy song. While The Bird and The Bee change the vibe of the song, they don’t adjust the tempo, with the double time drums defining the intro interlude over which Beck tells us to turn to “Page 69.”
Photo Credit: Owen Ela
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