Of course, being me, I cannot let some minor bit of pleasure alone, it must be watered down with excess rumination, here’s just a sample:
Improvisation: somebody’s way of doing a piece of music differently than it is usually done. So, let’s say I’m gonna cover “Desperado.” [I know, other than “Cheeseburger In Paradise” this must be the most badly-covered song in the world, well, maybe “Brown Eyed Girl,” but I digress). I think to myself, “self, you don’t want to sound just like the Eagles, so let’s fire this piece up a bit.” Well, you know, let’s not.
Which gets me to scat singing (I know, I know, there are medications to help control excessive rumination, but I don’t want to take any of them as they’ll cause my “falumbwebwe to shrink to the size of a flashlight”). Whether that ad-lib stuff in the little video really qualifies as scat, I am not prepared to say, but it made me think about it. Here’s my bottom-line. I recognize that some skill is doubtless required to do “good” scat singing (Ella Fitzgerald. Cab Calloway). I’m also sure that to do quality yodeling requires effort and talent. (I’m sure you’ve sniffed out the bottom-line already). I don’t like scat singing. I particularly don’t like it when “Jewel” does it. She seems unable to stifle herself from doing it. Here’s a pleasant-looking young woman who went to great success doing folky/acoustic stuff after (allegedly) living in her car, and instead of just getting into tabloids and other such “big star” stuff, she inflicts scat singing on us.
You know, the word “scat” actually refers to something other than singing, and it is equally as smelly.
Gerry: I usually have narrow tastes when it comes to cover versions of songs. For example, I see no point in covering a song and bringing nothing to it. The most recent egregious offender I can recall was John Waite’s “Missing You” by Tina Turner. She couldn’t have sung it any more straight. Why bother?
Conversely, twisting a song to pieces so that nothing remains of it makes no sense to me either. Sheesh, if you want to do a different song, then do a different song. “Raining Blood” by Tori Amos was ridiculous.
My favorite covers preserve the spirit of a song, but add something new and/or interesting. “Born to Be Wild” by Lizzy Borden comes to mind. So does “Love is Alive” by Joe Cocker. Van Halen’s “You Really Got Me.”
Jewel has a very sexy mouth.
Saintseester, it seemed familiar, but I hadn’t really watched it intently before. Nice piece.
Actually, I really like well-done covers, if, as you say, they do something with it. A notable poor cover, in my view, was Counting Crows doing Joni Mitchell’s song (exact name escapes me) “They Paved Paradise and Put Up a Parking Lot.”
I like Johnny Winter’s cover of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” and his cover of “Rock ‘N Roll Hoochie Koo.”
I like Sinead O’Connor’s cover of “Nothing Compares 2 U.”
I like Cream doing “Crossroads.”
I don’t like Tori Amos’s cover of “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”
I’m sure if I put my mind to it I could come up with many examples on both sides of the like/dislike equation.
Best Cover which comes to mind right now: Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along The Watchtower.”
I did a Ten Things Tuesday post once about ten covers I like better than the originals. Covers CAN be done well, but they are just as often done very, very badly…
I’ve always been a big Cake fan. They do a good bit of cover songs but always seem to have their own sound. The Mah Na Mah Na song is one of them on their Bsides and Rarities album along with a bunch of others. Give ’em a listen. You might enjoy!
Gerry: Interesting selections. I couldn’t, and can’t, stand the original “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” Jim Steinman songs are odd birds. Obviously Mr. Loaf sings them like “one of them round pegs,” though, and I’m sitting here imagining him singing “Eclipse.” I think I’d like that better. I always think of him singing Air Supply’s “Making Love Out of Nothing At All,” too.
Come to think of it, maybe I just don’t like Bonnie Tyler.
You’ve also opened up another can of worms (-5). How does it/should it/might it/whatever change our thinking when a cover version is the definitive version of the song? I’d argue that’s the case for both Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” as well as Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower.” You could say that about Manfred Mann’s “Blinded by the Light,” too. I’d bet a surprisingly small number of walking-around folks know that these are Prince, Dylan, and Springsteen songs, respectively.
Mrs. Chili: The worst “very, very badly” one I ever heard was the lounge act at one of my business getaways ten years ago doing “Brick House.” I mean, the dipshit doing this song was the whitest man in the solar system. Merv Griffin was Isaac Hayes next to this guy. I had to go sit back down to laugh at him, because I was getting light-headed trying to dance and laugh simultaneously.
Scott: You’re not the first smart person I’ve heard sing the praises of Cake. AFAIK, I haven’t even 30 seconds of exposure to their stuff. Perhaps I’ll remedy that sometime soon.
Speaking of “Blinded by the Light” as of my last check, iTunes has reserved the original studio long version of Manfred Mann’s rendition as an “album only” song. Thus far I’ve resisted. Why they do that I don’t know. I may cave in at some time, ’cause I love that cover.
Ditto “Cowgirl In The Sand” (not a cover). Album only.
Re: album only on iTunes: I think it’s a cash grab, pure and simple. Many people don’t want anything but that song by Manfred Mann, so if they want it bad enough they’ll bend over for it.
It was the same story on an Animals best-of I downloaded a year or so ago. I wanted the whole thing because of fond memories of an Animals cover medley David Johansen had floating around on early MTV. But I noticed that if you just popped in wanting to pick up “Spill the Wine,” you were SOL.
Know what I figured out today? I posted this a week and a half after Brina Bat posted it. I checked her blog out today, and there it was. I didn’t do it on purpose; the unoriginal YouTube posting was subconscious.
She’s cool. You should go check her out (though she’s ’bout to get hitched, so probably rather distracted at the moment).
My first laugh today! Quanx!
Of course, being me, I cannot let some minor bit of pleasure alone, it must be watered down with excess rumination, here’s just a sample:
Improvisation: somebody’s way of doing a piece of music differently than it is usually done. So, let’s say I’m gonna cover “Desperado.” [I know, other than “Cheeseburger In Paradise” this must be the most badly-covered song in the world, well, maybe “Brown Eyed Girl,” but I digress). I think to myself, “self, you don’t want to sound just like the Eagles, so let’s fire this piece up a bit.” Well, you know, let’s not.
Which gets me to scat singing (I know, I know, there are medications to help control excessive rumination, but I don’t want to take any of them as they’ll cause my “falumbwebwe to shrink to the size of a flashlight”). Whether that ad-lib stuff in the little video really qualifies as scat, I am not prepared to say, but it made me think about it. Here’s my bottom-line. I recognize that some skill is doubtless required to do “good” scat singing (Ella Fitzgerald. Cab Calloway). I’m also sure that to do quality yodeling requires effort and talent. (I’m sure you’ve sniffed out the bottom-line already). I don’t like scat singing. I particularly don’t like it when “Jewel” does it. She seems unable to stifle herself from doing it. Here’s a pleasant-looking young woman who went to great success doing folky/acoustic stuff after (allegedly) living in her car, and instead of just getting into tabloids and other such “big star” stuff, she inflicts scat singing on us.
You know, the word “scat” actually refers to something other than singing, and it is equally as smelly.
Still, the video was cute and I laughed.
Doo-DOO-de-doo-doo!!
You have seen this, right? Star Wars Manamana
Gerry: I usually have narrow tastes when it comes to cover versions of songs. For example, I see no point in covering a song and bringing nothing to it. The most recent egregious offender I can recall was John Waite’s “Missing You” by Tina Turner. She couldn’t have sung it any more straight. Why bother?
Conversely, twisting a song to pieces so that nothing remains of it makes no sense to me either. Sheesh, if you want to do a different song, then do a different song. “Raining Blood” by Tori Amos was ridiculous.
My favorite covers preserve the spirit of a song, but add something new and/or interesting. “Born to Be Wild” by Lizzy Borden comes to mind. So does “Love is Alive” by Joe Cocker. Van Halen’s “You Really Got Me.”
Jewel has a very sexy mouth.
Saintseester, it seemed familiar, but I hadn’t really watched it intently before. Nice piece.
Mrs. Chili: Mah na mah na!
I’m gonna hit you in the face with a fist full of scat!
Actually, I really like well-done covers, if, as you say, they do something with it. A notable poor cover, in my view, was Counting Crows doing Joni Mitchell’s song (exact name escapes me) “They Paved Paradise and Put Up a Parking Lot.”
I like Johnny Winter’s cover of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” and his cover of “Rock ‘N Roll Hoochie Koo.”
I like Sinead O’Connor’s cover of “Nothing Compares 2 U.”
I like Cream doing “Crossroads.”
I don’t like Tori Amos’s cover of “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”
I’m sure if I put my mind to it I could come up with many examples on both sides of the like/dislike equation.
Best Cover which comes to mind right now: Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along The Watchtower.”
The cover of Billie Jean (mjackson version) done by that American Idol guy (cook?) is surprisingly delightful. Will find link for you later.
I did a Ten Things Tuesday post once about ten covers I like better than the originals. Covers CAN be done well, but they are just as often done very, very badly…
I’ve always been a big Cake fan. They do a good bit of cover songs but always seem to have their own sound. The Mah Na Mah Na song is one of them on their Bsides and Rarities album along with a bunch of others. Give ’em a listen. You might enjoy!
Charles: You’re gonna be just like the hep cats!
Gerry: Interesting selections. I couldn’t, and can’t, stand the original “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” Jim Steinman songs are odd birds. Obviously Mr. Loaf sings them like “one of them round pegs,” though, and I’m sitting here imagining him singing “Eclipse.” I think I’d like that better. I always think of him singing Air Supply’s “Making Love Out of Nothing At All,” too.
Come to think of it, maybe I just don’t like Bonnie Tyler.
You’ve also opened up another can of worms (-5). How does it/should it/might it/whatever change our thinking when a cover version is the definitive version of the song? I’d argue that’s the case for both Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” as well as Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower.” You could say that about Manfred Mann’s “Blinded by the Light,” too. I’d bet a surprisingly small number of walking-around folks know that these are Prince, Dylan, and Springsteen songs, respectively.
Mrs. Chili: The worst “very, very badly” one I ever heard was the lounge act at one of my business getaways ten years ago doing “Brick House.” I mean, the dipshit doing this song was the whitest man in the solar system. Merv Griffin was Isaac Hayes next to this guy. I had to go sit back down to laugh at him, because I was getting light-headed trying to dance and laugh simultaneously.
Scott: You’re not the first smart person I’ve heard sing the praises of Cake. AFAIK, I haven’t even 30 seconds of exposure to their stuff. Perhaps I’ll remedy that sometime soon.
Speaking of “Blinded by the Light” as of my last check, iTunes has reserved the original studio long version of Manfred Mann’s rendition as an “album only” song. Thus far I’ve resisted. Why they do that I don’t know. I may cave in at some time, ’cause I love that cover.
Ditto “Cowgirl In The Sand” (not a cover). Album only.
Re: album only on iTunes: I think it’s a cash grab, pure and simple. Many people don’t want anything but that song by Manfred Mann, so if they want it bad enough they’ll bend over for it.
It was the same story on an Animals best-of I downloaded a year or so ago. I wanted the whole thing because of fond memories of an Animals cover medley David Johansen had floating around on early MTV. But I noticed that if you just popped in wanting to pick up “Spill the Wine,” you were SOL.
Know what I figured out today? I posted this a week and a half after Brina Bat posted it. I checked her blog out today, and there it was. I didn’t do it on purpose; the unoriginal YouTube posting was subconscious.
She’s cool. You should go check her out (though she’s ’bout to get hitched, so probably rather distracted at the moment).