We all have our favorite bands that we listen to religiously
and love unconditionally. But just like us, those bands also have bands that
they listen to religiously and love unconditionally. It’s just one big web of
loving and jamming. Now we as just mere listeners can not do much to show our
love for these bands besides spending our life’s savings on concert tickets,
band shirts, locks of the lead singer’s hair, you know, the normal stuff. But
musicians have something they can do to show their appreciation for the bands
that inspired them and made them who they are: they can create cover songs.
Many bands start of doing only covers of their favorite bands, early on in
their careers when creativity doesn’t flow as swiftly. More veteran bands will
eschew the use of cover songs in favor of original stuff, but may incorporate
some covers into their live sets. Regardless, there is nothing a music fan
loves more than hearing one of their favorite bands cover a song by another of
their favorite bands. In this article, we’ll go through the various levels of
cover-songitude, starting with the golden examples of rock imitation and moving
through the ranks to the vile, depressing covers that one should avoid at all
costs (Limp Bizkit, I’m coming for you!). So without further delay…
The Good
Most people
believe a cover song to simply be a recreation of an older song with a slight
change to fit the situation. However, that couldn’t be farther from the point
of covering a song. Yes, the song should still retain the same basic melody and
words, generally speaking, but the heart of covering a song is making it your
own. Without that little spark of your own personality (or big spark, as it
sometimes is necessary), what’s the point of playing the song?
I guess to start things off, we should just
look at what is considered by many (read: everyone with functioning ears) to be
the greatest cover song of all time: All Along The Watchtower by The Jimi
Hendrix Experience.
Most people (read: anyone who hasn’t seen Watchmen) are going to read that last
sentence and say, “Hey Ben, what’re you trying to pull? That’s an original
Hendrix song! What are you smoking and where can I get some?” My dear reader,
the only thing I am high on is Hendrix, and this song is 100% cover. The
original song was written by none other than the poet laureate of rock and
roll, Mr. Bob Dylan (he will probably show up a few times on this list). If you
listened to both versions back to back, you would hardly be able to tell them
apart, with Dylan’s version being, in typical Dylan fashion, filled with nasal
yowlings and lots of acoustic strumming, whereas the Hendrix version is a
love-sex-psychedelic-jam-funk-groove of pure guitar perfection (can you tell
which version I like better?). Now most will put that down to personal
preference, that Hendrix’s style was just more suited to popular opinion…except that Bob Dylan
himself said that Hendrix’s song was superior in pretty much every way.
That’s when you truly know that a cover song has achieved its goal; you as a
musician have put your own soul into another’s work and have created something
new and dynamic that the original could not. Another song that worked in a
similar fashion to this is Johnny Cash’s “Hurt.” Usually, cover songs are done
by a newer band on an older band’s song. In this case, the Man In Black decided
to cover a Nine Inch Nails song, which to many seemed like a truly bizarre
choice. Nine Inch Nails is considered one of the founding bands of industrial
rock/metal, filled with eerie synthesizers, whispered vocals, and a penchant
for oddity (see “Closer To God”). When
the final product was released in 2002 along with a music video, it took the
music world by storm; Johnny Cash took the avant-garde, grinding melody of the
original and trimmed it down to the barest of bones, creating a lilting tune
that rips at the listener’s heartstrings. You see, Mr. Cash was dying at the time, diagnosed
with a degenerative neuropathic syndrome, and the song reflects that. With
rough vocals, morose guitar strumming, and a video that shows how much Cash had
gone through in his life and how he was suffering, “Hurt” became his own song.
Even Trent Reznor, the original creator of the song, admitted that
it wasn’t his song anymore.
Honorable mentions:
Crossroads by Cream (Robert Johnson)
The Man Who Sold The World by Nirvana (David Bowie)
Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley (Leonard Cohen)
Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley (Leonard Cohen)
Somewhere Over The Rainbow by Israel K (Judy Garland)
The Meh
Most cover
songs will typically fall into a state of normalcy. You will hear it on the
radio or at a friend’s request (I am guilty of plugging for cover songs on
multiple accounts), and you might enjoy it or not. Regardless, the cover exists
and some are better than others. One such cover, at least in this humble
writer’s mind comes from a Bob Dylan tribute album (I told you he would show up
on this list more than a few times). It is a cover of the song “With God On Our
Side” by an artist known as K’naan. I would imagine that 99% of those reading
this article just said “Who the hell is K’naan?” The short story is that K’naan
is a rap artist from Somalia whose biggest claim to fame is the FIFA theme
song, “Wavin’ Flag.” All of those people who just wondered who K’naan is are
now screaming at their computers, “DEAR GOD BEN HOW COULD YOU TELL US THAT A
RAP ARTIST DID A GOOD COVER OF BOB DYLAN?!?! SHUNNNNNNN!” Before you all get
your knickers in a twist and excommunicate me from the church of Rock and Roll,
take a listen to this song:
Now it has definitely made some creative changes, but like I
said earlier, that is what makes a cover so good. K’naan infused a typical
acoustic Bob Dylan song and added his own personal experiences and talents into
it. Rather than keeping the original sarcasm and scathing criticism of the idea
of using God as a crutch that modern society had gotten so used to, K’naan gave
the song a more positive and hopeful feeling.
On a different note, the next song takes the emotions and feelings of the original song and turns them up to 11. Now as a point of warning, I have an unnatural fixation on this band, and therefore the next paragraph or so will be horribly, horribly biased. The song is “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” originally by the Beatles, and the band is Halestorm, a 21st century heavy rock band fronted by the angelic, beautiful, and all-around perfect Lzzy Hale (did I mention I love this woman a lot? That’s that bias I was talking about a second ago):
On a different note, the next song takes the emotions and feelings of the original song and turns them up to 11. Now as a point of warning, I have an unnatural fixation on this band, and therefore the next paragraph or so will be horribly, horribly biased. The song is “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” originally by the Beatles, and the band is Halestorm, a 21st century heavy rock band fronted by the angelic, beautiful, and all-around perfect Lzzy Hale (did I mention I love this woman a lot? That’s that bias I was talking about a second ago):
The original version of this song was among the Beatles’
most risqué works. Heavy guitar and keyboards, lilting bass lines, and the
screaming vocals were a far cry from tunes about holding hands and being happy
just to dance with you. Halestorm took this darkness and raised it to just
plain sexy levels. Lzzy Hale’s vocals in this song are just dripping with lust
and impatience, creating such a heavy and sensual atmosphere to an already
heavy song.
And no male out there can tell me that a woman who looks
like that and is screaming, “I WANT YOU, I WANT YOU SO BAD” is doing
something wrong.
Honorable Mentions:
Baker Street by Foo Fighters (Gerry Rafferty)
Baker Street by Foo Fighters (Gerry Rafferty)
Dancing In The Street by Van Halen (Martha and the
Vandellas)
Hound Dog by Jimi Hendrix Experience (Elvis)
The Bad
Now not all
bands can do covers well. Sometimes the difference in styles is just too
different. Other times, the ones doing the cover might not even be musicians
(they are just Starfleet commanders). To
demonstrate the latter point and perhaps answer some questions you are having
about Star Trek and music, let us journey to the furthest corner of hell where
this song exists:
Yes, that is William Shatner, our beloved Priceline
Negotiator and Captain Kirk, performing Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds,
presumably while taking a tour through Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory while on
incredible amounts of LSD. Shatner’s signature staccato phrasing makes an
appearance here, making the listener believe he is questioning the very lyrics
of the song. Let’s leave the singing to the actual musicians, Will.
On the other side of things, here is what many consider to be a “real” band covering a song created by one of the greatest bands of all time, the Who:
On the other side of things, here is what many consider to be a “real” band covering a song created by one of the greatest bands of all time, the Who:
Limp Bizkit, for those of you not in the know, are a
nu-metal band formed in the mid-90’s by singer Fred Durst. What’s nu-metal you
may ask? It’s generally considered as a synonym for “awful music we all wish
would disappear,” spawning universally hated bands such as Korn and Insane
Clown Posse. All of that aside, this cover is completely uncalled for. “Behind
Blue Eyes” was originally a song describing the pains and hardships of one who
is always painted as the bad guy. Roger Daltry’s vocals on the original version
decried the angst and pent up aggression that the song was meant for. Limp
Bizkit took all of that passion and turned it into the gross, discombobulated
mess that you just heard, if you managed to get through it.
As an added
sleight to the Who, here is Hilary Duff covering “My Generation”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvC6jDrxT-U
Sorry to put you through that one.
(Dis)honorable mentions [LISTEN AT YOUR OWN PERIL]:
Stairway To Heaven by Dolly Parton (Led Zeppelin)
Imagine by Avril Lavigne (John Lennon)
Smells Like Teen Spirit by Miley Cyrus (Nirvana)
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