Music meme with a twist

Posted by Sari

Blogmemes have changed into chain-letters, when did this happen? Why did I not get the memo? How annoying. The whole idea of a meme is to see how it spreads viral-like in a community. Directing it like a chain-letter takes all the fun out of the idea. So I just decided to kidnap the latest music meme and change it a bit. Instead of givin you six of my favourite songs (how do you do that anyhow, my “favourites” playlist has at least 200 songs on it at the moment), I give you six of my favourite covers.

I have always liked cover versions. Maybe because my first real love-affair with music was with classical music where one of the geat joys is to own both Furtwängler's and Harnoncourt's Beethoven's Fifth, and love them both for being very different.

The range in classical music is of course much narrower than with modern covers which are all over the place compared to the originals. The really bad ones are usually just add a techno-beat to 80s pop-classic, but some are really innovative and different. And even the not so good ones give air-time to old songs and make them familiar to new generations. Anyhow, here are my favourites at the moment:

Sid Vicious: My Way. I suppose it is a bit sad that this is a nostalgic trip down to memory lane, but it is. Even so, listening Sid maligning what for me was Sinatras signature tune is nothing short of brilliant.

Johnny Cash: Personal Jesus. Cash did a lot of interesting covers in his last recordings, most famous of which is brilliant version of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt”, but I like this Mode cover even more. That honkytonk piano in the backround just makes the song.

Love And Rockets: Ball of Confusion. This is originally a funky Temptations song and has also been covered by Duran Duran and Neville Brothers but Love and Rocets extremely tight and energetic version is my favourite.

Frou Frou: Holding out for a Hero. Bonnie Tyler’s last big hit was from the soundtrack of the movie Kevin Bacon will never live down, this Frou Frou cover is also from soundtrack, this time from Shreck 2. And I love it, even if the female vocalist utilizes what Koulunpenkki’s husband calls ayrshire technique

Shankaar-Eshan-Loy: Pretty Woman. Now this can’t come as a surprise for anyone who reads this blog. The Bhangra version of Pretty Woman from Kal Ho Naa Ho.

October Hill: Fake Plastic Trees. This is somehow lazier and sweeter than the Radiohead original, though it does not aim to wildly different. It is interesting how in most of the Radiohead covers I have heard the biggest change has been to substitute Thom's raw voice with female vocalist. Sometimes it works like here, sometimes the song really needs that edge to work.

Comments

[Mekku]

So 'Common People' by William Shatner didn't make the cut? :-)

[Omppu]

Personally, the remake of "Call on me" (don´t recall the artist´s name) touched a cord in my soul, as did Gunther´s version of Samantha Fox´s "Touch me". I know, I know, I´m slightly perverted...