Enter the name of any song on YouTube and you’ll likely find covers aplenty. Most will be pale recreations of the original source material. Even fewer will add anything new or insightful along the way. Instead, what you’ll find are fans playing songs they love: affectionate but, as an artistic endeavor, pointless. The best covers will offer something new. They’ll add something to the song’s language, changing it’s tone and personality, even it’s face and body—hence the “reassignment surgery.” Doing it well is a tall order and that’s why the good ones are such a rarity. As I said here, a good cover will even make you hear the lyrics in a new way—adding more subtext to the original. Some Cover Champions of Note:
Jeff Buckley, Hallelujah
Janis Joplin, Me and Bobby Magee
David Bowie, Wild Is the Wind
Johnny Cash, Hurt
Earth, Wind, and Fire, Got to Get You Into My Life
Talking Heads, Take Me to the River
Bryan Ferry, A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall
Jimi Hendrix, All Along the Watchtower
Nina Simone, I Put a Spell on You, especiallythis, and just about anything else she’s done
And this: two Dutch teens wring depths of emotion from Creep you never knew was there, while betraying the emotion with grinning faces
And Cover Losers: Mostly everyone and everything else. Another add for the Champion List: This diamondfrom the Moulin Rouge! movie soundtrack.
The music we love as teenagers is the music we bind to for life. It’s a fact. Our iPods – remember those? – were proof. No doubt you're still listening to playlists based on the formative periods of your life. I certainly do. (Some reside on my Spotify account now.) And why not? It makes us feel good—an iced brain bath for the ongoing existential anxieties. But the intent of this blog wasn’t to be the flashbacks of some gargoyled grayhead posting about the sorry state of music after my coming-of-age. I’ve dwelt in the old school, admittedly, but I’m graduating now. So watch me gush: We should all do as much. In the age of Trump – whether supporter or resister, these are times that could benefit from some positivity. Especially, in the age of social media: we’ve all become tireless bleating whingers of something or other. Note to Boomers: Good music is still being made. Let’s move on. 263) Scheer, Shea (1996): Guitars like chainsaws ripping through a junkyard’s worth of rusted F-100s while a plaintive girly voice chirps tales of trauma: Scheer’s sound was a beautiful marriage of disparate personalities, and like most marriages, this one was also short-lived. Hailing from Belfast, Scheer managed one album and major tour, released a less interesting followup before the record company lost interest in them. They were a niche market, one that Baby Metal would pursue years later (in the extreme). But Scheer did it much, much better.
264) Killing Joke, I Am the Virus (2015): OK Boomer? Name a Millennial band that roars like this. These grayhead veterans crush on their album Pylon. And yet, AllMusic said the album “doesn't sound terribly innovative.” MetaCritic gave it a 77/100, according to Wiki. F**k ‘em. The sound will make the atlas joints in your neck want to go full bang. This album rages with fire and menace and both the guitars and drums deliver like a Chicago P.D.’s taser.
265) Ann Peebles, I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down (1973): If you hear Al Green in this it’s because Peebles had Green’s production team and band are behind her. As a singer, her style was mature and subdued and she’d the critics’ love behind her, especially the white ones – Robert Hilburn in the Los Angeles Times was a big fanboy. However, this critical love never seemed to bump her into the mainstream, which is a shame. As for the song itself, I’m a sucker for the passive-aggressive love songs that follow the general formula of I’m going to leave you. Soon...Maybe... 266) Sebadoh, Careful (1994): Back when college radio was a thing and record companies were paying attention, Sebadoh were darlings. Founded in 1988, these Massachusetts college town dropouts were what was “alternative” then: a descriptor generally referring to bands low on musical virtuosity – that eschewed soloing, heavy on the irony, mildly introspective if not entirely emo, and with mostly vague lyrics. It all seems so long ago now. At the time the album was hailed and ended up on a number of Best of the Year lists. 267) The Ghost of a Sabre Tooth Tiger, Too Deep (2014): Aussie psychedelicists, Tame Impala – a band mining similar lode as GOASTT – had Sean Lennon’s endorsement as sounding most like his dad. TI has also hit the big time, something GOASTT was never going to do. GOASTT’s sound is also très retro and much more Strawberry Alarm Clock than Revolver. But much more than TI, they stick their melodies and their psychedelics have more atmosphere. Their thievery is affectionate and sincere. I think this band is way better: Good songs, solid jams, better lyrics, and way heavier. 268) Jack Bruce, Rope Ladder to the Moon (1969): This guy was the genius behind Cream way back when, but for some reason couldn’t find his much commercial mojo without Eric Clapton’s guitar. His early solo albums – especially this one – are now considered classic and enjoyed some success in their time, mostly in England. Bruce did a series of albums in the 70s, experimented with a few things – played with Leslie West and Robin Trower (what was he thinking?), did some jazz – but couldn’t seem to find his audience again. He was eventually dropped from his record label. Sad: Jack deserved so much better. 269) Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Midnight Man (2008): Of old guys doing good, still, you could count them on one hand – Cave, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen to the end, occasionally Bryan Ferry, Andy Partridge, Stevie Wonder maybe – but the crimes of the many refusing to sunset overwhelm them. Look at this list from 2019 of nearly every band you can think of – reductive, missing original members, and with voices you’d think couldn’t blow out a candle – and they’re still touring. But listen to Cave here – he continues to have something to say and says it with a muscular voice. Nick ought to share some that Viagra – some of his peers could use it. This is one Boomer who’s okay. 270) Beck, Sexx Laws (1999): White boy R and B with Country flourishes that delivers – and his falsettos crush. 271) Minnie Ripperton,Reasons(1974): Maya Randolph’s long-deceased mother brought whistle tone singing to the mainstream and had this moment of glory back in the day after years of toiling in the undistinguished Rotary Connection. Her Olympian near dog whistle registers aside, her voice was a lot more than just muscle. This is the song she should be remembered for, not Loving You. 272) Elvis Costello, So Like Candy (1991), Veronica (1989): Looking for inspiration and impetus, Paul McCartney and Costello teamed up in the late 80s and collaborated on songwriting. Some were Costello’s, some were McCartney’s (My Brave Face). In 2017 McCartney released some that he’d been keeping in the can all these years. For me, of the lot, these were the best: So Like Candy was the jewel in the crown. (Veronica was the hit.) 272) Anastasia Screamed, Tornado (1991): Another college radio darling band – ca. 1987-1992 – these Beantown-transplants-to-Nashville alt f**kboys would end up far more obscure than Sebadoh. Singer Chick Graning is the prize here. This EP was their moment of glory.
273) The Brecker Brothers, Some Skunk Funk (1975): If you don’t know who they are, you know their samples. Both brothers, Randy (trumpet, flugelhorn) and Micheal (sax, flute) played with just about everyone over their careers and elder Randy was a member of the original Blood, Sweat, and Tears lineup. If the album’s hit single was any indication, they were throwing everything into the box to make a hit record as any bump-shoveling AR dude could’ve hoped for. The proof being their appropriation of Average White Band with added disco sauce that became the album’s hit single. But Skunk Funk shows the band way hotter, more ripped, and trades out the disco sauce for fusion – like trading up for hot salsa from ranch dressing. Bonus!Elbow, Leaders of the Free World (2005): These Mancunians have been kicking around since 1997. They’re now eight albums in but this was from their third. This demands your attention from the start. I’ve always been a fan of their relaxed intensity. A reminder that many of the best things you’ll ever hear will come to you in a whisper. These guys are cunning whisperers.
Old man meets new music: Here are the results. 21) Brian Jonestown Massacre, Seven Kinds of Wonderful (2012): Not sure what’s going on here, if what we’re hearing is a sample of the advertised Tess Parks’ vocalizations or something else. The warbling lines of the female vocals intermixed with the flutey sounds and the synth string pads form a nice lattice of support for the groove. The lyrics are French which, having no idea what they mean, sound preachy and sexy at the same time – like being scolded by your teacher crush. 22) Ought, Pleasant Heart (2014): Formed in 2011 in Montreal, Ought was immediately greeted with gushing praise from Pitchfork and others. The plucked rage of the guitars, the stumbling drunk drum beat, and the fatigue in the vocals all convey well that pained and stressed sound that guitar rock does so much better than anything else on the planet. The unobtrusive and eery keyboards add effective atmosphere. It’s not a pleasant sound but one that makes an appropriate soundtrack to the loathing of a toxic working life. 23) Preoccupations, Continental Shelf (2015): Yet another from Canada – Calgary in this case: The ambiance of Continental Shelf is as wide and inhospitable as the Canadian tundra itself. The guitars add a welcome but strained orchestral backdrop and offer just the right platform for the down-spiraling lyrics. When all is said and done/You'll be around until you're gone Crystallized, canceled eyes/Illegitimate merchandise The band was originally named Viet Cong, a name that was a far more interesting choice, I thought. But, alas, one that proved to be too controversial – claims were made that it was “racist” and “culturally appropriating.” Gigs were canceled over it. Old wounds and their denials of the war period still live on, it appears. Given the United States and Canada’s involvement in the Viet Nam debacle – but only Canada on the low – you’d think people might have a more enlightened appreciation of the reference. But, sadly, that’s not the world we live in. 24) Dilly Dally, Know Yourself (2018): What’s up with Canada? Dilly Dally hails from Toronto. This Drake cover pushes away the THC clouds of the original and moves the needles into the red where they should be. Her scream is a delight. 25) White Lung, Dead Weight (2016):Continuing the trek across the inhospitable North: last stop Vancouver. Usually, it’s the vocals that are the vector of the best in punk. The spitting mouth being the proper and most direct font of the most effective rage. And in between the screamed lyrics, some light thrown into the dark corners of our messy urbanized existence. The rest of the accompaniment is generally perfunctory but the listener goes with it. This was famously the case with the Ramones. Not so with White Lung – that guitar player is the messenger here. He eschews the crunchy buzzsaw chords that are standard issue and goes for a more fluid, surreal kind of gloss. He’s digging into new territory and it elevates the otherwise generic proceedings into something far more noteworthy. 26) Flying Lotus, Never Catch Mefeaturing Kendrick Lamar (2019): Flying Lotus is the stage name of Steven Ellison. Beat music is what it’s called. I’m guessing that hip hop doesn’t apply here because of Ellison’s style involves a more intricate and academic musicality, much more than isolated and repeated grooves and oblique jazz references that we usually come to understand as the form. I also hear many tips of the hat to Parliament/Funkadelic and for me it’s about f--kin’ time. The sound Ellison drops here sparkles down like mylar confetti interspersed with streamers of fuller themes, plus a few leans toward what might be considered avant-garde. This may be the future so we’d better get used to it. 27) Bomba Estereo, Fuego (2008): From Columbia and as sexy as only someone saying exotic stuff you don’t understand in a dayglo bikini top can be. (Props to the bilingual!) 28) Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band, Waiting for the D Train (2009): AllMusic called her “one of the most gloriously influential and notorious women in the history of rock.” She’s likely the most reviled non-political public figure in history. No one has endured more ire and condemnation for so little. She’ll forever be the Dragon Lady and Beatle-killer to many. Her childhood was ruled by upheaval and racism–moved to the U.S. from Japan during WWII where she was hated, returned to Japan, tainted by her American experience and was hated. Her very life has been an act of resistance. Her art was often confrontational but joyful too. Her music could be difficult, her vocals pitchy, and words too often treacly and a wee patronizing in that heavy-handed, drugstore greeting card way. Though she’s had her moments, including a few great ones. Her album Between My Head and the Sky was written “in six days and recorded quickly.” And she was 76 (!) at the time. What have your grandparents done lately? I once dug deeper into Ono’s backstory here. 29) Silvia Pérez Cruz with Raúl Fernández Miró, Carabelas Nada (2014): The Spanish Cruz (b. 1983) works a variety of genres including fado, jazz, native folk, and flamenco. Her style tends toward the eclectic and goes between hard and a MOR* kind of soft. (Hear a softer treatment of the same song here.) For me, it’s the harder stuff that’s the more interesting, as is this one. *Middle Of the Road 30) PJ Harvey and John Parish, My Black Hearted Love (2009): Deep in her career when a less alloyed artist might be spinning toward creative entropy, Harvey voices this masterpiece. Bonus!Angel Olsen, Lark (2019): The brilliant if overwrought histrionics of the orchestrations grabbed me right away. Wiki claims she grew up listening to punk, noise, and Christian “rock.” She clearly has a record collection loaded with 80s selections – probably also spent some time with her parents’ Joni Mitchell records.
