The great thing about music is that it is open to interpretation. Whether you are reading cryptic lyrics trying to figure what they mean or wondering what a song would sound like if it were played by someone else, it's always fluid. While I was perusing the internet the other day for background information on a band that I have started listening to, I came across a wonderful cover they did.
Below is a video of the Screaming Females covering Taylor Swift's 'Shake it Off'. While I am not the biggest fan of Swift, I have always given her credit for writing her own music and playing her own instrument. That is the main difference between a musician and an entertainer. Do they write their own stuff or play their own instruments? That sets them a step above those who do not. The Screaming Females give an edge to the song.
This led me to think of other songs that have been covered that I enjoy. Some times covers are good/great or can be just plain terrible. One fun thing about covers is to hear different styles of the song being played. It can be mind blowing or underwhelming or just the same as the original. And there is nothing wrong with that.
Below is a video of the Screaming Females covering Taylor Swift's 'Shake it Off'. While I am not the biggest fan of Swift, I have always given her credit for writing her own music and playing her own instrument. That is the main difference between a musician and an entertainer. Do they write their own stuff or play their own instruments? That sets them a step above those who do not. The Screaming Females give an edge to the song.
This led me to think of other songs that have been covered that I enjoy. Some times covers are good/great or can be just plain terrible. One fun thing about covers is to hear different styles of the song being played. It can be mind blowing or underwhelming or just the same as the original. And there is nothing wrong with that.
Heart: 'Stairway to Heaven'. Worthy of being covered themselves, Heart did this cover of this classic Led Zeppelin song a few years back during the Kennedy Center Awards. The three living members of rock's greatest band were in attendance and appeared to be in awe. The son of John Bonham, Jason, played the drums during the performance. How he can keep it together playing the same instruments for the same songs his dad played is beyond me. I would be a mess.
Jimi Hendrix: 'All Along the Watchtower'. When you are as prolific a singer/song writer as Bob Dylan, you are bound to have some of your music covered and redone. This is the case with 'All Along the Watchtower'. And holy shit, does Jimi Hendrix make it his own. Hendrix's version of the song is played so much, that sometimes you forget that Bob Dylan wrote and played it. That's just a cover song taking on a life of it's own. That would be like someone taking 'Voodoo Child' or 'Foxy Lady' and playing it so well that everyone needs to be reminded that Jimi Hendrix wrote and performed it.
Joss Stone: 'Fell in Love with a Boy'. A take on the White Stripes' 'Fell in Love with a Girl', Stone slows it down and makes it unbelievable. She did not make the mistake of trying to duplicate the Stripes. She took it in a different, sexy direction. Even changing out 'Girl' for 'Boy' in her version. I admit, that I had not heard this song before last week when I heard it on the radio. And I was floored by it.
The White Stripes: 'Jolene'. Speaking of the White Stripes, they covered this Dolly Parton song and released it on a live album. I do love me some White Stripes. More importantly, I love me some Jack White. Musically, he can do no wrong. I always thought that the White Stripes could cover the Beatles' 'I Want You (She's so Heavy)' or Zeppelin's 'When the Levee Breaks' and would do them both justice.
The Fugees: 'No Woman, No Cry'. A spin on Bob Marley's song, they move it from Trenchtown to Brooklyn and update some of the lyrics. On the back end of 'The Score' (one of the most important records in the past thirty years), it brings a calming effect to a tense, politically aware album. The final track on an album is just as important as the first, and I think that this is one of the best last tracks.
Honorable Mention:
The Gourds: 'Gin and Juice'. Yeah. That 'Gin and Juice'. I have no idea what Snoop thinks about this cover, but it is just great. This is an example of taking a song from one genre (rap) and taking it to a genre where it doesn't belong. I don't exactly know where I would classify the Gourds. Country maybe? At least this song is country-ish. It makes me smile every time I hear it. When we lived in Wichita, we would go out on Thursdays (because who needs to be productive on Friday?) and it use to be a karaoke night. The guy that ran it, occasionally played this song before getting the evening going.
Dishonorable Mention:
Aerosmith: 'Come Together'. I have never been the biggest fan of Aerosmith, so that fact makes it easy to shame them. They covered this Beatles song and it missed the mark for me. If you are going to cover a band as monumental as the Beatles, it better be a great cover. This one isn't. I talk about making a cover your own when you record, and Aerosmith did so. Unfortunately, they made it terribly their own.
The Fugees: 'No Woman, No Cry'. A spin on Bob Marley's song, they move it from Trenchtown to Brooklyn and update some of the lyrics. On the back end of 'The Score' (one of the most important records in the past thirty years), it brings a calming effect to a tense, politically aware album. The final track on an album is just as important as the first, and I think that this is one of the best last tracks.
Honorable Mention:
The Gourds: 'Gin and Juice'. Yeah. That 'Gin and Juice'. I have no idea what Snoop thinks about this cover, but it is just great. This is an example of taking a song from one genre (rap) and taking it to a genre where it doesn't belong. I don't exactly know where I would classify the Gourds. Country maybe? At least this song is country-ish. It makes me smile every time I hear it. When we lived in Wichita, we would go out on Thursdays (because who needs to be productive on Friday?) and it use to be a karaoke night. The guy that ran it, occasionally played this song before getting the evening going.
Dishonorable Mention:
Aerosmith: 'Come Together'. I have never been the biggest fan of Aerosmith, so that fact makes it easy to shame them. They covered this Beatles song and it missed the mark for me. If you are going to cover a band as monumental as the Beatles, it better be a great cover. This one isn't. I talk about making a cover your own when you record, and Aerosmith did so. Unfortunately, they made it terribly their own.
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