Last month marked the one-year anniversary of Mina Walker and Kelley Dugan’s third LP as Daisy the Great, The Rubber Teeth Talk. In honor of that milestone, today they’re sharing a deluxe version of the record that includes a bonus disc made up of new versions of every song on the track list, each one handled by a different artist hand-selected by the duo—some covers in tandem with Daisy the Great, some remixes, some a combination of both, as is the case with Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bell’s take on the song “Ballerina,” which was additionally chopped up by Sipper Archive.
To hear Walker and Dugan break down how each of these collaborations came together, all 12 features were something of a dream. While Sleigh Bells, Girlpool’s Harmony Tividad, and Frankie Cosmos represent formative artists for the young pair, several of the other slots were reserved for friends they’ve met on the road—Benét and Tex Petrello, to name a few. Meanwhile, Ray Bull got involved largely due to years of being told that that band looked like a “boy version” of Walker and Dugan, leading to the two groups realizing that they had much more in common. “When we recorded the vocals together,” the duo shares, “it felt like we were four clowns standing around a mic, and we think the song sounds like that in the best way.”
With the deluxe version out today, Walker and Dugan take us on a journey through each individual’s collaboration’s genesis and realization, with more stories of bonding inevitably popping up along the way. Stream along to the bonus album below.
1. “Dog” (Frankie Cosmos Version)
We reached out to Frankie Cosmos to do a version of “Dog” because we’ve loved Greta [Kline]’s music for forever. Her music is so charming and inventive, and her sound really inspired so much of indie music in the last 10 years—she’s a total legend. Also, she was born and raised in New York City, like Kelley. We actually grew up really near to each other, and so it was very sweet to have her on this project, especially since “Dog” is so concretely set in NY. We spent a few days in the studio with Greta and Nate Mendelsohn working on this track and we had so much fun. We laughed all day long and played music and had the best time! We are such huge fans of Greta and honored to be friends, and this version is so awesome.
2. “Lemon Seeds” (Ray Bull Version)
A lot of people tell us Ray Bull looks like the boy version of us—tall, blonde, and shorter brunette duo—so we thought it’d be fun to reach out to them to do a version of “Lemon Seeds.” We love their take on this one. When we recorded the vocals together it felt like we were four clowns standing around a mic, and we think the song sounds like that in the best way. This is one of our favorites to listen to and such a different version than the original.
3. “Ballerina” feat. Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells (Sipper Archive Remix)
Sleigh Bells was a big early influence for the band. We did a cover of one of our all-time favorite songs, “Rill Rill,” a couple of years ago, so when Alexis was down to sing on “Ballerina” V2 we were so stoked. Also, after we reached out, Alexis randomly ran into our guitarist/bassist, Matt, climbing in the gunks. It was kismet. We wanted this version of “Ballerina” to be loud and trash-can-y and quick, and we thought our longtime buddy and collaborator Sipper would be a great fit to remix it. He came up with such a cool take. We feel like we’re in a video game when we listen to it.
4. “Dream Song” (Harmony Tividad Version)
We’ve always been such big fans of Harmony’s work. Her lyrics and melodies are so beautiful and unique, and every time we see a video of her singing a song, the meaning hits so hard. Girlpool was one of the first bands we bonded over when we started Daisy, so it feels so surreal to be working with Harmony 10 years later. When we started talking about the reimagined version of “Dream Song,” she said she wanted it to be a Roches-inspired, beautiful, dreamy version and we thought that was a perfect antithesis to the original version, which is much more chaotic and loud and angular. This version is so special to us, and when we got her first draft we couldn’t stop looping it. It’s so soothing to listen to and really brings out the whimsy and tenderness of the lyrics in a new way.
5. “Mary’s at the Carnival” (Lutalo Remix)
We love what Lutalo did with this song! “Mary’s at the Carnival” is about witnessing a very pure and innocent love from the vantage point of having lost yourself in a complicated and heavy relationship. Lutalo’s remix brings so much air and freedom to the song—it feels like a fresh start. We listened to the first mix of this together on a train and it felt like magic. We were both so moved and delighted by Lutalo’s vision and so excited to get to play this song a million times in our headphones.
6. “Lady Exhausted” (Babehoven Version)
Babehoven is such a magical band. We love their whimsical sound and thought they’d be a perfect fit to reimagine “Lady Exhausted.” This song has pretty whimsical, dreamy lyrics and the original version is very chaotic. Maya and Ryan came up with such a beautiful take on the song. Maya’s voice is so, so pretty. When she sent the first take, Mina had a tear in my eye. We went to their home studio in Hudson to record our harmonies and had so much fun hanging out with them and their dogs and cats, and Maya made us soup. We laughed a lot, and I think we made something really beautiful and new for this song.
7. “Swinging” (Like a Doll Version)
I think Emma is making some of the coolest music in Brooklyn right now, and is a long time bestie. I think she’s the queen of dreamy smart rock. “Swinging” is a song about Kelley getting too high on laughing gas at the dentist and falling into a black hole in her head and entering a crazy dreamstate. We thought the nature of the lyrics would be perfect for Emma’s style. When we first sent her the song, she said, “I can’t sing that fast, you guys are basically rapping.” We said, “You can sing however slow you want.” Emma came over and we sat in Mina’s room and Emma played some beautiful chords she was thinking of and we came up with some harmonies. Then she recorded with the rest of the Like a Doll band and we were blown away with the track they sent. We looove this version of “Swinging.” It really highlights the whimsy of the song. We feel like we’re in Alice in Wonderland listening to it.
8. “Rest of My Life” (Benét Version)
Benét is a major bestie. We took him on our “Ballerina Tour” last spring and we became really fast friends. We couldn’t stop laughing on that tour. He’s as sincere as he is funny, and his depth really shines in his music. He’d tell crazy jokes on stage and then slip right into a devastating song. His voice is so beautiful, and we thought he’d do such a good job with “Rest of My Life,” a song about fear in uncertainty and what it means to exist as such an ephemeral thing. Benét came over and we made the track together in Mina’s room and came up with something really intimate and melancholy. We sent it over to Matt from our band, who did such a perfect mix for the vibe of this song. It’s so calming and feels like loving your friends and wanting to be around them forever.
9. “Bird Bones” (Birthday Girl Version)
“Bird Bones” is a song dedicated to our friend Stephanie Shaffir, who passed away. She was one-of-a-kind, and she was really into taxidermy, lizards, and Kurt Cobain. A few days after she passed, Mina was on a walk and saw a whole bird of bones that really reminded her of Stephanie. We knew we wanted whoever worked on this song to be a friend who knew what the song meant to us. Birthday Girl is a band filled with longtime buddies. When we asked Eva to be a part of the project, and if she had any songs she was drawn to, she said “Bird Bones” was the most meaningful to her, and we were really grateful to have the song in the hands of such kind and passionate people. We’re so happy with the version they made. It has a fuzzy, hazy, big, sad energy that we think Steph would love.
10. “Everywhere” (Paper Lady Version)
“Everywhere” is based on a line from Gossip Girl where Chuck tells Jenny that the world she wants to be a part of only exists from the outside. That hit hard, and we wrote a whole song about it. We reached out to Paper Lady, who we’ve been fans of and internet friends with for a while. They had such a clear vision for their rework of the song, and when we came in to add vocals we were so obsessed with the track they’d made. “Everywhere” was desperately calling for a lush shoegaze version, and we’re in love with it.
11. “Sue Me Alice” (Tex Patrello Version)
We met Tex Patrello in Texas while we were playing a one-off headline show at the tail end of a tour we were on opening for The Kooks. Tex opened for us in Dallas, and we fell in love with her music right away. Tex’s vision for “Sue Me Alice” was so sparkly and beautiful and majestic. She came over to Mina’s apartment and directed us as we sang over her track. It was so much fun to work on the song that way and to try our best to let go and become like colors for Tex to paint with. We love this version, it feels like magic.
