8.08.2006

Back to the Music...With Covers!

So I'm a cover whore...

BUT FIRST - just know that I may take off again of a while...we'll just have to wait and see, but I am doing much better. I've been getting out of my house again and I may have a large change coming up very soon that I think will help.

And now on to the music!

Glen Phillips - Hyperballad (Live) (Bjork Cover) HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!
I'm not a fan of Bjork. Not at all. I hate how being strange is sometimes confused with being original. I never listened to this particular song until I heard this version and through Glen's plaintive call I finally noticed the depth of emotion present in the lyrics. Glen's version finally made the melody and lyrics shine through. This is a must hear for anyone.

Pete Kuzma with Bilal - High and Dry (Radiohead Cover)
Everyone was wicked hard in their reviews of the Radiohead tribute album "Music for Radio Heads". Sure, the title was dumb but there were a few great renditions in there. Who knew that Radiohead could write such an amazing soul song? It replaces the bitter feel of the original version with a smooth groove and is perfect for a backyard barbeque with your special friend.

Trey Anastasio with Stewart Copeland - Can't Stand Losing You (Police Cover)
OK, OK...this one is kind of a mess. Trey can't hit the notes that Sting could and the jam in the middle sounds like everyone was playing random things all at once...but it's still Stewart Freakin' Copeland playing an old Police classic.

Thrice - Eleanor Rigby (Beatles Cover)
Don't judge this cover before you hear it..well...at least the first half of it. I get shivers when I hear the lead singer hit that insasne falsetto the first time. I could have done without the hardcore ending tho...but the beginning is fantastic.

Barenaked Ladies - Close to You (Carpenters/Burt Bacarach Cover)
Pure pop goodness. What else is there to say?

Also, thank you to everyone who sent kind emails, left kind comments and other correspondance. I appreciate every bit of it.

7 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey this Radiohead Cover rocks.

6:27 AM  
Blogger klkjldwkjdwljk said...

I think what makes Hyperballad such a great song is that its emotion is hidden behind a very bright and pleasing presentation. I first heard this song driving to Jacksonville, FL with my girlfriend and I was telling her how beautiful it was and she gawked at me and had me listen to again and actually listen to the lyrics. Bjork captures the sublime very well.

For me, this Glen Phillips cover just drags on with acoustic sadness that just about every teen with a guitar can do.

2:27 PM  
Blogger Don't Need Anything said...

i dont find anything about the original version pleasing. nothing.

and thank god for teens with guitars. thats what the best of our music today was built on.

7:05 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"I'm not a fan of Bjork. Not at all. I hate how being strange is sometimes confused with being original." - I understand what you mean by this and I can identify with you but damn you for saying that about Bjork. I'm so annoyed. If it's not to your taste that's fine but the way you've failed to spot her artistry and most of all the beauty in her voice and the way she uses it - well, I can't say I think much of your ear for music. The link's broken so I can't listen to the cover you refer to. But to cover Bjork? With 'teens with guitars' that you refer to? Good grief man, open your mind. You seem to try to sound so knowledgable and yet basey and cool at the same time. Stop it for crying out loud! You make my brain hurt.

7:54 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Continuing from comments during the In The Pines discussion... I don't have any specific goals other than to retrieve a satisfactory argument from you. I do respect other people's views but that has a certain boundary. Of course not everyone's bound to like the same things I do and certainly with Björk I can understand because her voice is indeed very strange. I feel that being dismissive of someone, however, is quite another matter.

Saying Björk is 'weird' just seems a really ambiguous and (pardon me, but) unintelligent thing to say. Being as it is that you're talking about someone who I consider to be one of the very few truly artistic singers in the public eye who give something of their deepest being, I was annoyed, to say the least. Her voice is undoubtedly her own. In originality, yes, but also if you ever heard her speaking, it's the same voice - not just the accent, but the tones. A true representation of herself in her music. She sings with a lot of soul too - really gives it her all.

So that's why I'm here. This stuff means a lot to me and I like to debate it. I'm open to having my opinions changed but so far I haven't heard what I would call a satisfactory counter-argument.

7:47 AM  
Blogger Don't Need Anything said...

for years ive had people tell me that i should be listening to bjork. everytime i went and i listened to several songs and every time i walked away with a bad taste in my mouth. i dont like her voice and it doesnt matter to me that its the same voice that she talks with. i dont like the lyrics (most of the time) and i dont like the music. i dont hear much heart or emotion in her music...at least nothing i can identify with and her music just means nothing to me. i dont view it as art - just mere pretention.

i will give her one thing tho - her fans are freakin' rabid.

9:08 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Okay look if you don't like Björk that's one thing. I'm certainly not the type of twat to tell somebody they have to like something.

But pretention? I don't see it like that and I have to disagree. Experimental yes, soulful, definitely. That's part of what I was making reference to when mentioning she sings with her own voice. She has a very unusual voice when speaking and I can't help but think it very brave for her to be so publicly naked. It's easy enough to put on an American accent like most other bands (American or not) and know that a lot of people will like it. This together with her technique (and willingness to abandon it) and power - it blows me away.

Well at least you're not being so dismissive now. I can respect that. What have you heard of Björk anyway?

2:34 PM  

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