cover songs. we love them. we hate them. some more than others. the stereotypical heckler from the audience wanting to hear freebird probably does want to actually hear the song. a bad cover will instantly call down fire and brimstone from above. and by above i mean everyone in the crowd. but take a mediocre artist and give them a good cover and it will propel them higher than they will ever be able to get on their own. but why is that? why are some better than others? is it just a matter of one being recorded or performed better? well, kinda. i THINK i have the answer. not sure, but i think i do. a good cover song is when the new version brings a different viewpoint to the song that has yet to be realized.
you can't just rehash the old one. people will ALWAYS like the old one better. even if it's inferior recording quality and inferior musicianship. why? because you're just copying an original spark of creativity.
One example is Copeland.
Don't get me wrong. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE COPELAND. seriously. i have all their records. i've played shows with them. i've talked with them. they're good guys. aaron marsh's voice is amazing. beneath the medicine tree is one of my favorite records. but i think their Achilles heel is when they do covers. and not because it was done badly. it's because they didn't bring anything new to the table. when they covered black hole sun, they took a dark and brood original and decided to make their own version dark and brooding. they covered take my breath away. they took a slow ballad and made a slow ballad. sure, they added a couple cool things here and there. but there was no fundamental new idea brought to the table. they do everything else right. they're great musicians. it's well recorded. they're just missing the part about bringing a new idea to an old song.
On the other hand, there's Ingrid Michaelson.
I saw her play in nashville about a year ago and she was amazing. it was kind of a weird tour. she was blowing up with that The Way I Am song yet she was on a tour with some other writers that nobody had ever heard of and it was kind of awkward and obvious that everyone was there only to see her. ANYWAY, she did the most AMAZING cover of radiohead's Creep that i've heard. just her and a ukulele. here's a link for it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcoj5PWFMZg [be warned, there is some swearing]
Anyway, the reason her version is awesome isn't because she has a phenomenal voice. it's because it's a completely new idea that put a whole different take on a really good song. the original had huge overdriven guitars. this isn't just about making an acoustic version. the ukulele is such a bright and whimsical instrument. to pair it with such a creepy (how appropriate) and dark song is a really good idea.
Think about this. Has anybody heard of Me First and the Gimme Gimme's?? it's a side project of a few punk bands that do punk rock covers. they've got a winning formula. they just take good songs and make punk covers. some are better than others. after so many years it's become a formula, but the point is that they are bringing a fundamental change. and i believe that's why they've been so successful and turned what was probably meant to be a one time project into multiple CDs.
and on that same note, has anyone heard the When Punk Goes Crunk compilation CD? it's just punk bands doing rap and r&b songs. some of the bands just tried to do their best approximation of a rap song and failed miserably. the songs that are good are the ones that bring a new element. i've heard a LOT of bands cover this song, but All Time Low's version of Umbrella by Rihanna is the best.
And here's my best example:
do you have any clue who these guys are? no really. don't cheat and skip down below. take a look and guess. you probably have no idea.
But if you heard any of their hits you would instantly recognize the songs. ok, give up? this is the reggae band UB-40. they had a few hits back in the 90's. Red Red Wine. I Can't Help Falling In Love With You. The Way You Do The Things You Do.
Every single hit they've had were cover songs. they took a great song and made it reggae. it's a simple formula, but it satisfied the requirement of a good cover and brought a new element that made the song fresh and new.
I'm not sure why i'm up so early and i'm not sure why i decided to write about cover songs. it was just in my head when i got up. i hope you all are doing well. i've got shows in minneapolis and arkansas this weekend. come out and say hi. i'll holla atcha later.
P.S. if any of the guys in copeland somehow happen to read this, I'M SORRY. i seriously do love your music. i'm not slamming you. it's just an objective analysis. although a wise man once told me not to analyze. because it just makes anal of Y - Z - E. wait, that didn't quite work out like i planned.
you can't just rehash the old one. people will ALWAYS like the old one better. even if it's inferior recording quality and inferior musicianship. why? because you're just copying an original spark of creativity.
One example is Copeland.
Don't get me wrong. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE COPELAND. seriously. i have all their records. i've played shows with them. i've talked with them. they're good guys. aaron marsh's voice is amazing. beneath the medicine tree is one of my favorite records. but i think their Achilles heel is when they do covers. and not because it was done badly. it's because they didn't bring anything new to the table. when they covered black hole sun, they took a dark and brood original and decided to make their own version dark and brooding. they covered take my breath away. they took a slow ballad and made a slow ballad. sure, they added a couple cool things here and there. but there was no fundamental new idea brought to the table. they do everything else right. they're great musicians. it's well recorded. they're just missing the part about bringing a new idea to an old song.
On the other hand, there's Ingrid Michaelson.
I saw her play in nashville about a year ago and she was amazing. it was kind of a weird tour. she was blowing up with that The Way I Am song yet she was on a tour with some other writers that nobody had ever heard of and it was kind of awkward and obvious that everyone was there only to see her. ANYWAY, she did the most AMAZING cover of radiohead's Creep that i've heard. just her and a ukulele. here's a link for it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcoj5PWFMZg [be warned, there is some swearing]
Anyway, the reason her version is awesome isn't because she has a phenomenal voice. it's because it's a completely new idea that put a whole different take on a really good song. the original had huge overdriven guitars. this isn't just about making an acoustic version. the ukulele is such a bright and whimsical instrument. to pair it with such a creepy (how appropriate) and dark song is a really good idea.
Think about this. Has anybody heard of Me First and the Gimme Gimme's?? it's a side project of a few punk bands that do punk rock covers. they've got a winning formula. they just take good songs and make punk covers. some are better than others. after so many years it's become a formula, but the point is that they are bringing a fundamental change. and i believe that's why they've been so successful and turned what was probably meant to be a one time project into multiple CDs.
and on that same note, has anyone heard the When Punk Goes Crunk compilation CD? it's just punk bands doing rap and r&b songs. some of the bands just tried to do their best approximation of a rap song and failed miserably. the songs that are good are the ones that bring a new element. i've heard a LOT of bands cover this song, but All Time Low's version of Umbrella by Rihanna is the best.
And here's my best example:
do you have any clue who these guys are? no really. don't cheat and skip down below. take a look and guess. you probably have no idea.
But if you heard any of their hits you would instantly recognize the songs. ok, give up? this is the reggae band UB-40. they had a few hits back in the 90's. Red Red Wine. I Can't Help Falling In Love With You. The Way You Do The Things You Do.
Every single hit they've had were cover songs. they took a great song and made it reggae. it's a simple formula, but it satisfied the requirement of a good cover and brought a new element that made the song fresh and new.
I'm not sure why i'm up so early and i'm not sure why i decided to write about cover songs. it was just in my head when i got up. i hope you all are doing well. i've got shows in minneapolis and arkansas this weekend. come out and say hi. i'll holla atcha later.
P.S. if any of the guys in copeland somehow happen to read this, I'M SORRY. i seriously do love your music. i'm not slamming you. it's just an objective analysis. although a wise man once told me not to analyze. because it just makes anal of Y - Z - E. wait, that didn't quite work out like i planned.
2 comments:
Ah, Nick! I agree with you so much on this one! I've actually had conversations with friends about it before. Some of them agree and some of them think I'm crazy. haha
But one conversation I had was with some friends at school. I had just watched this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CsWm28SMZQ Its a cover of A Little Help From My Friends by the Beatles. Now, I'll admit that I'm not too big of a Beatles fan. I just never got into them. This is a good song, though, and I really enjoyed what they did with it. So I showed it to some friends. They hated it and said that they shouldn't have changed the tempo and all that. They disagreed with me about making a cover your own, but oh well!
And if you look back into musical history, a cover is called a 'cover' because the second artist was trying to cover up the original version. Like, when Elvis took Hound Dog from Big Mamma Thorton, he had to make it sound completely different from the original. So if you go based upon what a cover is supposed to be, it should be different.
And thats the end of this really long comment...
Nick you write about some really interesting stuff man. As a drummer I'm trying to make a little extra money with the guys in our cover band fever dog. Only as a side project to wild tiger. But we are having this dellema. Do we play it just like the original, or do we add our own flair to it. You make a really great point and I just wanted you to know I
enjoy reading your blog and what you have to say. Love you dude.
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