I'm a sucker for a good cover song. The stranger the better. The further from the original's design, the better. Today, I've created a new Radio SFT playlist that has original versions of songs followed by my favorite cover version. Most of the songs should be easily recognized.
What do I like about these songs? Well, listen to the Radiohead song. Then listen to the cover. They couldn't be more different. Or, in the case of Iron & Wine, who seems to be the king of the unexpected cover, you can hear how he deconstructs The Postal Service or Stereolab and pulls out the very heart of the song. The Flaming Lips do the exact opposite to Neil Young. My favorite may be Ben Lee's interpretation of Modest Mouse. How often can you say a typewriter is musical?
Anyway, listen and enjoy. More importantly, leave some comments about your favorite cover songs. Have you heard something odd or unexpected? Let me know. I'm a cover song pack rat. I need suggestions and you, my dear friends, have them. I know you do.
Ooh, ooh, I know!
ReplyDelete1. Bjork's cover of John Denver's Leaving on a Jet Plane.
2. Frank Black's cover of The Beach Boys' Hang on to Your Ego.
3. They Might Be Giants' cover of The Allman Brothers' Jessica.
4. Devo's cover of The Stones' (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction...mmmmm, post-post-modern...
And any track on David Hasselhoff Sings America. Golden.
The soundtrack to I Am Sam is made up almost entirely of Beatle's cover songs. My personal favorite is Rufus Wainwright doing "Across the Universe." I love that song. Fiona Apple also covered it on the Pleasantville soundtrack
ReplyDeleteLove TMBG's Jessica. I was listening to that yesterday. There's a great version of the Meat Puppets' "Whirlpool" on that EP as well.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite cover on I Am Sam is Nick Cave's "Let it Be". Mainly because, well, it's so unlike Nick.
If Ben Lee and M. Ward were playing in different venues in your city on the same night, which would you go see?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure it is my favorite, and I can only take it in small doses, but I am still amused by a cassette I got in college called Tom's Album. The whole album is covers of the song Tom's Diner by Suzanne Vega. I can only listen to it when I'm willing for the tune to be stuck in my head for a week... Argh! I haven't even listened to it and it's started already!
ReplyDeleteHmmm. M Ward or Ben Lee. I think I'd go with M Ward. Though, to be honest, I have no compelling reason why he's my choice.
ReplyDeleteI remember that remix album of Tom's Diner. If I recall, there's a remix on there that is about 100 times better than the version on Vega's album (which I still have, I'm afraid).
how about the cover of White Room or of Strawberry Fields as done by The Bobs?
ReplyDeleteI started out hating the cover of "Revolution" on the I Am Sam soundtrack, but wound up loving it in time. I can't listen to Tori Amos' cover of 97' Bonnie & Clyde because it creeps me out. She did a fantastic job, but it's just so haunting. Her version of "Enjoy the Silence" and "Rattlesnakes" (also from Strange Little Girls) are fantastic. I'm almost ashamed to admit this, but I have fallen in love with Nathan's version of 'My Favorite Things" (yes, the song from the Sound of Music) featured on For the Kids Too. It has a great sound to it. It doesn't leave the song unrecognizable, but it gives it a newer sound that I adore.
ReplyDeleteI've always loved Frente's version of "Bizarre Love Triangle" even though my friends used to ask for "the real version" of it as opposed to the "flake's version" (meaning Frente).
10,000 Maniac's version of "Because the Night" and "Peace Train" are favorites of mine as well.
Oh, and I can't forget the Smashing Pumpkins version of "Landslide." I don't like it quite as much as I used to, but I still think it's a good cover.
Is For the Kids Too the one with Tom Waits singing Heigh Ho? If it isn't, go find that song. It's frightening.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks Deborah. Due to your comment, I'm in the top ten results for this:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=david%20hasselhoff%20cover%20songs&meta=
Nope, no Tom Waits on For the Kids Too, but the original (For the Kids) has Tom Waits singing Bend Down the Branches which scares the hell out of me let alone small children.
ReplyDelete