When The National covered a song from ‘Bob’s Burgers’
You might not realise it, but Bob’s Burgers has quietly become one of the most successful animated sitcoms of the last decade. With 13 seasons, a full-length cookbook, and a feature film to its name, Bob’s Burgers has reached levels that only shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy could match. In fact, the show is so big that mainstream acts like The National have become avowed fans.
You see, part of the chaotic charm of Bob’s Burgers is its embrace of music. At its height, nearly every episode of the show had its own original song sung by the characters somewhere. While the show isn’t technically a musical sitcom, there have been at least 100 original songs strewn throughout the show’s run.
While assembling a soundtrack album for Sub Pop in 2017, creator Loren Bouchard decided to go big: 107 songs from the show’s first seven seasons. These ranged from brief 30-second snippets to full-length performances. To make the release even bigger, the show reached out to some real-life rock stars to record covers of the show’s songs. The extra five songs, known as Bob’s Buskers, featured artists like St. Vincent, Stephen Merritt, and Kenny Mellman.
By far the most enthusiastic famous fans were The National. The legendarily gloomy indie rockers apparently love the family dynamic and double-entendres that make Bob’s Burgers what it is, so much so that they agreed to record three songs from the show instead of one. The band took on ‘Sailors in Your Mouth from season four’s ‘Turkey in a Can’ and ‘Christmas Magic’ from season five’s ‘Father of the Bob’.
They saved their best cover for last. Getting a helping hand from English singer-songwriter Låpsley, The National took on the hilarious toilet-centric ode ‘Bad Stuff Happens In The Bathroom’. Originally featured in the show’s 100th episode (actually the show’s 107th episode, but the 100th episode produced), ‘Bad Stuff Happens In The Bathroom’ is a duet between father and daughter duo Bob and Louise Belcher. Long story short: Louise accidentally glues Bob to the public toilet in the restaurant just before Bob is set to do a potentially life-changing interview.
Matt Berninger takes on the rumbling bass vocals of H. John Benjamin, settling into a weirdly fitting role. Since none of the other band members can accurately imitate a nine-year-old girl, Låpsley steps in to sing Louise’s parts. Turning the silly ode to escaping the bathroom into a buzzy electronic rock track, The National and Låpsey bring a hearty amount of surrealism to the world of Bob’s Burgers.
Check out The National’s version of ‘Bad Stuff Happens In The Bathroom’ down below.
