Hamilton Leithauser covers John Cougar (and he’s playing A.V. Fest) A.V. Undercover BROUGHT TO YOU BY Geico MORERECENT null Hamilton Leithauser covers John Cougar (and he’s playing A.V. Fest) null Cheatahs cover Big Country null Andrew Jackson Jihad covers Stone Temple Pilots null Tokyo Police Club covers Wheatus null The Coathangers cover The Go-Go’s null Eagulls cover The Stone Roses null PUP covers Buzzcocks null Howler covers .38 Special null The Men cover Devo null Lydia Loveless covers Echo & The Bunnymen null Wild Cub covers Beyoncé null Wye Oak covers Kate Bush null A.V. Undercover 2013: Watch the recap and vote for your favorites null Ben Sollee covers Rollins Band null The Dismemberment Plan covers Heart null GWAR covers Billy Ocean null Mannequin Men cover Dinosaur Jr. null Richard Marx and Matt Scannell cover Tom Jones null Disappears cover U2 null Free Energy covers Sleater-Kinney By Josh Modell @joshmodell Aug 12, 2014 12:00 AM Hamilton Leithauser has graced the Undercover stage (well, not this one, the other one) twice before, with The Walkmen. His on-extreme-hiatus band covered R.E.M.’s “Driver 8” in season one, and “Holiday Road” for our first Holiday Undercover series. Now he’s back with an excellent solo album, Black Hours, and a fully functioning cover of John Cougar’s “I Need A Lover.” (You’ll also notice Walkmen guitarist Paul Maroon rocking out while sitting down.) The song was Cougar’s first American hit, way back in 1979, and it was released after he stopped using the name Johnny Cougar, but before he went with John Cougar Mellencamp and, at long last, simply John Mellencamp. Leithauser and his band took the song as a challenge, working up a cover that includes its full-length instrumental opening passage, not just copping out with the much shorter radio edit. It’s aces. If you’re in or near Chicago, you can see Leithauser and his band at this year’s A.V. Fest/Hideout Block Party on September 5; info and tickets are available here.