The Better Cover Song?

Last week I wrote a post about songs that should never, ever be covered. It turned into one of my most popular posts. So it got me thinking more about cover songs. What about songs that were actually better when they were covered? There are a lot of examples, but I'm going to focus on just one. It is probably a song that you never even realized was a cover - Blinded by the Light. 

This song was originally written by The Boss - Bruce Springsteen - and was released as the first song on his debut album 'Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.'. It was also his first single. It wasn't a hit and never appeared on the charts. Four years later Manfred Mann's Earth Band, a British Progressive Rock group, released a version of the song on their album 'The Roaring Silence'. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the Canadian RPM chart in 1977. I say 'version' because Manfred Mann changed several of the lyrics. The most popular was part of the hook. Instead of singing "cut loose like a deuce", they sang, "revved up like a deuce." The biggest change in versions for me is the fact that in Springsteen's version you can actually hear and understand the lyrics. In the cover, lead singer Mann was hard to understand and that line has been commonly misunderstood as, "wrapped up like a douche." In fact, Springsteen has joked about it saying that it wasn't until Mann rewrote the song about a feminine product that it become popular. 

So, what do you think? Do you think 'The Boss' has the better version, or was the song better after Mann got his hands on it? And, what other songs were better as covers?

Original

Cover

Sound Alike Day?

Today is National Look Alike Day, but I say - let's call it 'National Sound Alike Day'! I would like to honor this day by talking about songs that sound like other songs. It can happen. There are only so many chord combinations out there. Heck, I was writing a song for my niece's birthday the other day and then I realized that it was a Maroon 5 song! What is hard to understand about these songs though is that someone didn't figure it out before it hit the radio. You've got to play the song for people before you record it, then play it multiple times during recording. Next, you have to play the recording before it makes it on the album. How do these things get overlooked? Or maybe they don't and artists just think they can get away with it. Hmmmm...

Probably the most famous sound alike is between 'He's so Fine' by the Chiffons and 'My Sweet Lord' by George Harrison. 'He's So Fine' hit the radio in 1963 and became a lackluster hit. 6 years later George Harrison slipped away from a press conference and starting riffing on the guitar trying to fit chords to the words 'Hallelujah' and 'Hare Krishna'. Later on, members of his band joined in and lyrics were developed. Harrison recorded a version on his album 'All Things Must Pass' and was the first single from the album which was released on Nov. 28, 1970. By Feb. 10, 1971 he was being sued. Fast forward through almost 10 years of litigation and the federal court ruled that Harrison had 'subconsciously' copied the song. They said that 3/4 of the song's success was from the melody of 'He's so Fine' and 1/4 of the success was from George Harrison's name and his new lyrics. So he was ordered to pay a majority of the royalties to Bright Tunes - the owner of 'He's So Fine'. Ironically, The Chiffons went on to record 'My Sweet Lord' to capitalize on the publicity from the case.

Here are some more recent sound alikes:

Green Day's '21 Guns' Vs. Electric Light Orchestra's 'Telephone Line' 

Lady Antebellum's 'Need You Now' Vs. Alan Parsons Project's 'Eye in the Sky'

Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' Vs. Madonna's 'Express Yourself'

What do you think about these sound alikes? Are there other modern ones that I've missed?

Imagine a World Without Covers

I love cover songs. I get great joy in hearing a new re-imagining of an old song. It is one of the reasons why I watch and love 'Glee'. It is also one of the biggest reasons that I listen to The Coffee House station on Sirius. My favorites are when an artist takes a Pop or R&B song and turns it into an acoustic performance. Think Yael Naim's version of Britney Spears' 'Toxic'.

Without covers, what would bands play at the bar on Saturday night? How would we learn how to play guitar? There are so many benefits of covers, but there are also songs that should never, ever be covered. Some songs are just sacred in their original form and to change or rearrange them is not only disrespectful, but borderline sacrilegious.

The number one song that I think should NEVER be covered has indeed been covered over 100 times (including by the cast of 'Glee'). That song is John Lennon's 'Imagine'. This is a beautiful, if not hard to listen to, song about a world filled with peace and tolerance. It is simple, yet moving. Understated, yet philosophical. I don't believe that it is possible to do a better version than Mr. Lennon. Nor do I think it is possible to rearrange or pull alternate meanings out of it, as you can in so many other songs. The song is what it is - perfect.

And it isn't that I think that this song should only be covered by amazing artists. Indeed it has been covered by amazing artists! Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Joan Baez, Elton John, Queen, Smokey Robinson, Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young, Ray Charles - just to name a few! It doesn't matter. It just shouldn't be touched. And it especially shouldn't have been touched by Rick Springfield, Avril Lavigne, American Idol singers and Miley Cyrus! Really? How do you have the balls to cover this song when you can't even sing your own?

So, as I say to my dog when she is about to get into something that she shouldn't be - LEAVE IT!

What songs do you think should never, ever be covered?

Pretty Girl Rock

So this song is still in my head - Pretty Girl Rock - but not in the way that you might think. Although I have been receiving psychiatric treatment since hearing it last week - it hasn't been in my head in its original form. The idea of Pretty Girl Rock is appealing. I love the name. It was the whole reason I didn't change the station when the DJ announced it. What is 'Pretty Girl Rock' today? There aren't that many female artists who really dig deep and get dirty with their music. It is hard to resist the urge to synthesize your mediocre talent, unbutton your shirt and get a hit. I have literally racked my brain all week trying to think about girls that rock, who also happen to be pretty. Here's what I've come up with. 

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - A rock band from the fellow New England state of Vermont. This band is a throw-back to the days when people actually played music on instruments and the music was raw and real. Even their website photos look like someone just pulled them from their 'Nam era ammo box of memorabilia. Not only is Grace pretty, but I think that could be considered an understatement. She is beautiful, bold, sexy, alluring, borderline goddess-like. And not only does she rock the mic like none other on the radio today (sans Adele perhaps), but she can also rock the guitar - acoustic and electric, AND the Wurlitzer!

This band is just now becoming main stream with their hit 'Paris (Ooh La La)' even though they've been around since 2002 and have had 4 other albums. They've won a handful of awards, their song 'Falling or Flying' was on a handful of network TV shows, and they've toured with their male counterparts - The Black Crowes. Have I mentioned that she writes songs too? 

So, this is my Pretty Girl Rock. Who is yours?

Pretty Girl Snark

I heard a new song on the radio on my way home from work today that made me cringe so much that I knew I had to come home and write about it. And I guess after looking into the song more that by writing about the song with the catty snarkiness that is about to follow, that I am going against what the song is supposedly about in the first place. Oh well.

The song is 'Pretty Girl Rock' by R&B artist - Keri Hilson. Why don't I like this song? Well, first off, it sets you up for disappointment right out of the box. When the DJ said, "Check out this new song - Pretty Girl Rock" my immediate reaction was - Sweet! A rockin' song done by an all-chick band that I might be able to cover at Open Mic nights! Then the track starts, which is completely synthesized and doesn't feature any actual instruments, and in comes Keri with the most contrived and obvious lyrics that I've heard since 'Whip my Hair'. 

My name is Keri, I'm so very
Fly oh my it's a little bit scary
Boys wanna marry looking at my derri-
erre, you can stare but if you touch it I'ma bury 

And then later in the song she literally says, "But if you want I'll be happy to repeat it" and sings this bullshit again! 2 times through - 'Thong Song' style. Unbelievable. 

I can't believe I made it this far into the song to tell you the truth. In reality I did it for you - my blog readers....so, your welcome. 

After this dreadful beginning the song gets...worse! She goes on to sing about how she is the hottest thing on the planet and she knows it. Not only does she know it, but she is going to tell you about it, even if you don't want to hear it - especially if you don't, actually. Here's where it gets even more ridiculous. Keri Hilson gave an interview where she said that the song wasn't as vain as it sounds, "although I do feel those things about myself." What?! Then she said how she hopes the song will empower all woman to feel beautiful, because they are. Really Keri? You want all woman to feel beautiful? Then what about this line...

Pretty as a picture
Sweeter than a swisher
Mad cause I'm cuter than the girl that's witcha
I can talk about it cause I know that I'm pretty  

I don't think that is very empowering for the girl that you are singing about being prettier than, I'm just saying.

And I can't even figure out what the true tragedy is with this song. Is it that Bill Withers who wrote such classic masterpieces as 'Ain't no Sunshine', 'Lean on Me', and 'Lovely Day' collaborated on this piece of musical debris? Or the fact that I know I will have to listen to this song AND 'Whip my Hair' at the dance I have to chaperone next Friday? 

Link to the Video (Warning! I only made it 12 seconds in before I wanted to punch my computer screen. Somehow seeing her sing it made it even worse. )

March Song Contest

March has come and gone and I have to say that my feelings haven't really changed that much about the month. While I am glad that it is April today, I must also say that it is currently snowing and we'll have over a foot of snow before tomorrow. So much for Spring. Maybe I just hate every month that isn't warm.

So the song contest was to create a song that made me not hate March so much. The closest anyone came was the March poem submitted by Tim. He gave many strong arguments for why I should be a little more loving to the third month of the year. So Tim, I'll be sending you a copy of 'Songbook' by Nick Hornby - one of my favorite author's. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

That's it for now. Let me know if you have any ideas for things you would like to see me write about in the month of April. For now I will just say that it is poetry month, so I'll do something with that, and I have a pretty big writing project announcement coming soon.