By MIKEL TOOMBS

Pierre Menard just tweeted Hortlax Cobra: “Dude, you stole my shtick.”

Menard, the Jorge Luis Borges character who offered a new take on “Don Quixote” with his word-for-word interpretation (wait, it gets even more confusing), would surely appreciate the efforts of solo synth-pop act Hortlax Cobra, the alter ego of John Eriksson (of Swedish trio Peter, Bjorn and John), who has created “1984,” an electronic album of “all original music” that keeps “the same track lengths, tempos, keys and song titles” of the 12-million-selling Van Halen album of the same name (and year).

And, no, that’s not the most confusing part: “1984,” whose original version was the “first album Eriksson ever owned,” is (the 2012 “1984,” that is) “the musical prequel to his debut album,” “Night Shift.” You see, “1984,” which will be released here Dec. 12 (via Ingrid, the Swedish artist collective), was recorded before Hortlax Cobra’s “Night Shift.” OK, I’ll give up now.

Here, then, is HC’s rather more sedate take on VH’s “House of Pain” (might as well jump around):

Read more about Hortlax Cobra in a Rolling Stone story here.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Mikel Toombs is a frequent contributor to GeneStout.com. Read his recent preview of Eileen Jewell.)