The Weekly DiScussion: Covered in glory or retarded reinterpretations?

disagree with you on a couple of points

1) The Placebo covers album is, bar one particularly hideous song and a couple of slight duds, ace.
2) I think that's it.

Yes, because they are good. Why the hate? :(

of 'Never Let me Down Again' by Depeche Mode is great

In the same vein, Rammsteins cover of 'Stripped' by DM is hilarious.

I also Like QOTSA's cover of 'back to dungaree high' by Turbonegro

And 'Wild Honey Pie' and 'In Heaven' by Pixies

'Hounds of Love' was good, and i have a soft spot for 'Heartbeats' - both managed to take the songs to a new place and create something really good that doesnt have to be considered alongside the original.

but biffy clyro's version of buddy holly by weezer is wicked as is obviously johnyy cash's hurt by nine inch nails.

is Ryan Adams' re-working of 'a song for you' by Gram Parsons. Gorgeous.

when they bring something new to the song. They make it a completely new song.
That's why Hendrix's 'All Along The Watchtower' works. It turns a folk song into a proper rock guitar workout.
Obviously, this isn't always guaranteed to work - just look at 'Stop Me'. It lacks the verve of the original (largely down to the vocals, I think. Musically it's fine.).

Sometimes, though, you just get straight, almost complete like-for-like covers. They never work. Ever.

Placebo's version of Kate Bush is awesome... what are you talking about? Also great (as mentioned above) is Radiohead doing Carly Simon. But my personal favourite cover of all time is Pyogenesis (German metal-techno crossover band) doing Toto's 'Africa' and vastly improving the original.

I listened to the Mark Ronson album yesterday for the first time. Not particularly impressive. Hardly any of the tracks stray even remotely from the originals. A good cover should include an 'original' interpretation.

Incidentally, I believe there was a quote from one of the Gurls Allowed in the paper yesterday that said that they hated their own Tiffany cover and they are intending to refrain from doing any more cover versions in future.

Soulwax's "cover" of (Daft Punk's) Teachers is ace.

no doubt's version of the vandal's 'oi to the world' is pure pop brilliance, a guilty pleasure!

no mention of ten masked men yet?

Is Devo's cover of Satisfaction or The Boredoms covering The Mekons 'Where were You?'

Devo all the way

elliott did absolutely loads of amazing covers

http://www.blamonet.com/vb/showthread.php?t=102534

thats a list of all of them people could come up with, i can't find a link just to my sweet lord though, sorry.

xo

i quite like the 'Hounds Of Love' version but it's annoying now and people saying it's better than the original frankly irk me. Plus Jose Gonzales' version of 'Heartbeats' is limp and dull.

Best cover band ever title goes to Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Anyone who's heard their take on 'Hats Off To Larry' will know that to be the truth.

BAD COVERS ARE BAD

... you actually DO something with it a la Radiodread/Dread Zeppelin. Admittedly, what they've done is sacreligious to some, but at least it's creative, even in a (possibly) slightly tongue in cheek way...

I know a few people who were so, so annoyed when Muse covered 'Feelin Good' just because of the height the bar had been set by previous versions (nina simone and john coltrane particularly).

Personally, I'm on the fence; If you do a cover to try and emulate/absorb some greatness from the original, you're a prick, but if it's a good song that you think you can pick up and run with, why not?

The Residents doing 'Satisfaction' (Devo's is also good)
The Adult Net - Incense and Peppermints
Soft Cell - Tainted Love
Fatima Mansions - Shiny Happy People
The whole of Johnny Cash's 'The Man Comes Around' album.
Kiiiiiii - Brown Girl In The Ring
Killdozer - American Pie
Melt Banana - Surfin' USA
Akia Kane - Action Time Vision
In fact, any cover version by Japanese female fronted noise bands.
Ex- Girl - Pop Music
Michael Viner Bongo Band -Apache

etc

is fucking awful!

new here aren't you?

it was 'High & Dry', apologies, the sheer awfulness made me forget for a moment...

...covers aren't a band thing. It's just that shit bands/artists shouldn't cover shit songs. Shit bands/artists should also not attempt to cover good songs. I think that should really be the rule. Shit bands. No covers.

of Take Me Out and You Can Go Your Own Way
are both rather enjoyable too

...their cover of Suicide Is Painless is ace

but i've held my own on sites with a faaaar higher concentration of coolsies and scenesters. What was it i said that got your skinny jeans in a twist?

...covered by Muse on a War Child album I think. Fecking marvellous.

doing I Don't Like Mondays by Boomtown Rats also, was used on The West Wing n(greatest TV show of all time).

Great covers -

Jimi Hendrix - Day Tripper
Fudgetunnel - Sunshine of Your Love
Soup Dragons - I'm Free
Trivium - Master of Puppets
Ryan Adams - Wonderwall
Slowdive - Golden Hair
Reel Big Fish - Take on Me
The Byrds - Tambourine Man

The one cover I never want to hear again? Mary J Blige doing 'One' - plain murder that was...

appreciated

in covering stuff amongst the modern taste makers, hasn't there? I think it goes hand-in-hand with the large amount of recycling of fashion and pointless nostalgia which seems to be prevalent at the moment. It's so much easier to just roll over something that has been done before, and you can be assured the cretins of this country will go "aw, that's nice, I know what this is, and it doesn't challenge the original in any way because it is essentially un-challengeable so it makes me feel safe inside".

The current lot seem to think that slowing a song down and sticking an acoustic guitar on it counts as a meaningful interpretation. It doesn't. For the record, these are my favourite covers:

Elbow - August and September
Cat Power - Satisfaction
Arcade Fire - This Must Be The Place
Elliot Smith - Thirteen