tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16333114.post4134182389211785916..comments2024-03-28T12:07:29.737-04:00Comments on kenneth in the (212): When a Cover Song Isn't Really a 'Cover'Kenneth M. Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01666275272819956774noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16333114.post-66590021783032339512015-09-30T13:12:51.517-04:002015-09-30T13:12:51.517-04:00will go with what I think is the standard definiti... will go with what I think is the standard definition -"It has previously been recorded and released by another artist" I really can't go with "'Hound Dog' is not a cover if you were White, so you would not have heard Willie Mae Thornton, exept that it was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller" Back in the 20s-50s, nearly every artist recorded his/her rendition of the popular songs of the time. The Beatles covered Churk Berry and the Marvelettes. The Stones covered Muddy Waters, etc etc etc And the REASON to call the songs "covers" is that the artist has heard the earlier version, so his rendition is not a completely pure creation. All OKBob Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16333114.post-89939344793870129242015-09-29T15:21:24.748-04:002015-09-29T15:21:24.748-04:00While the (good!) examples you give are covers whi...While the (good!) examples you give are covers which, to a certain segment, become instead the definitive versions (in effect supplanting the originals), I've also enjoyed when I discover that songs I like are covers, leading me to the originals I was unaware of or had overlooked, so are introductions that don't compete with the originals so much as double the fun. The best example that occurs to me right away is a cover of the B-52s 'Song for a Future Generation' that cleverly updates the lyrics for a contemporary twist, as done by Chicks on Speed.<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiTdCzJqCqM<br /><br />Other songs that have functioned this way for me are Ted Leo and the Pharmacists with 'Six Months in a Leaky Boat' (Sharkbite Sessions version), originally done by Split Enz, the Information Society's 'Are Friends Electric?' of Gary Numan's Tubeway Army, and Tori Amos with 'Rattlesnakes' of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. I always feel that people who quibble that "the original was better" or vice versa, which is a legitimate subjective reaction, may be depriving themselves of two good songs as opposed to one. My biggest gripe actually lies with those covers that don't depart nearly enough from the original, rendering them academic -- Marilyn Manson does this with 'Personal Jesus' and 'Tainted Love,' although his 'Golden Years' (Bowie) and 'Down in the Park' (Numan again) are solid redos. (The Foo Fighters, of all bands, do fun versions of the latter as well as Prince's 'Darling Nikki.') The Cruxshadows do a haunting (and gender-flipped) spin on The Eurythmics' 'Here Comes the Rain Again.'Damiannoreply@blogger.com