‘Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono’ Coming 2/18; Hear Japanese Breakfast Cover “Nobody Sees Me Like You”

On Feb. 18, a tribute album titled Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono will be released. Conceived and curated by Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, the project features 14 new versions of songs from Ono’s career, from an eclectic array of artists including:

Deerhoof
The Flaming Lips
David Byrne and Yo la Tengo
Japanese Breakfast
Sharon Van Etten
Death Cab for Cutie
US Girls
Jay Som
Stephin Merritt (of Magnetic Fields)
Thao
Sudan Archives
We Are KING
and Amber Coffman

Below, listen to Japanese Breakfast‘s new version of “Nobody Sees Me Like You” as a preview:

A news release notes that a portion of the album’s proceeds will be donated to WhyHunger, a non-profit organization Ono has supported for decades in their efforts to transform our food system by building social justice and striking at the root causes of hunger and poverty. 

Click here to pre-order Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono on CD from our Rock Cellar Store

The track listing:

1. Toyboat – Sharon Van Etten

2. Who Has Seen The Wind? – David Byrne and Yo La Tengo

3. Dogtown – Sudan Archives

4. Waiting For The Sunrise – Death Cab for Cutie

5. Yellow Girl (Stand For Life) – Thao

6. Born In A Prison – US Girls

7. Growing Pain – Jay Som

8. Listen, The Snow Is Falling – Stephin Merritt (of Magnetic Fields)

9. No No No – Deerhoof

10. Don’t Be Scared – We Are KING

11. Mrs. Lennon – The Flaming Lips

12. Nobody Sees Me Like You Do – Japanese Breakfast

13. There Is No Goodbye Between Us – Yo La Tengo

14. Run Run Run – Amber Coffman

Said Gibbard of the project’s scope:

Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono “was born out of both love and frustration,” Gibbard continues. “The ‘love’ part is pretty obvious; It is the seemingly bottomless well of inspiration and enjoyment Yoko Ono’s music has provided me and I must assume everyone else present here on this compilation. The ‘frustration’ part, on the other hand, goes back decades.

“As an advocate, the tallest hurdle to clear has always been the public’s ignorance as to the breadth of Yoko’s work. To put it into context; This is an artist whose output has run the gamut from avant-garde to bubblegum pop, often across a single album. For years, it has been my position that her songwriting has been criminally overlooked. She has consistently created melodies as memorable as those of best pop writers. As a lyricist, she has always written with poignance, sophistication and deep introspection.

“Some of her best songs have been covered and compiled here by a generation-spanning group of musicians for whom her work has meant so much. It is my sincere hope that a new crop of Yoko Ono fans fall in love with her songwriting due in some small part to this album we have put together.”