Echo & The Bunnymen “People Are Strange” from The Lost Boys soundtrack, 1987. 12″ single, UK import, 1988/1991 release. “People Are Strange” is, of course, a Doors cover that Echo & The Bunnymen recreated rather faithfully (and Ray Manzarek produced) for the opening sequence to one of my favorite 80′s movies. (Back in the day rumor had it that one of the punks filmed on the Santa Cruz streets was one of our friends who had run away to California, but I’ve never been able to spot him in any of the scenes). The B-side has three more covers, recorded live, that are slightly less faithful to their originals though still quite respectful, all great and Echo’d up: “Paint It Black” (Rolling Stones), “Run, Run, Run” (Velvet Underground) and “Friction” (Television). That last song in particular is notable because I’m not a big Television fan but Echo & The Bunnymen’s cover is hard-driving (well, to be fair, the original is as well), melodic and a bit Talking Head-ish with notes of neo-psychedelia thrown in. These three tracks, along with “People Are Strange” also appear on Echo & The Bunnymen’s 1988 EP New Live and Rare; the live songs were recorded in Sweden for a radio show in April 1985.