Personally, I am getting a little tired of it. Yes, I love Christmas, but too much of a good thing is bad. I used to love Christmas music, but working in a retail store that plays it non stop for the entire extended Holiday "season" will drive a man to crazy. We go so overboard that it renders the whole thing no longer special. Take time to enjoy the end of fall. The last of the leaves are falling, and we should squeeze every last bit of Fall. Very soon your hoodie will not be enough to keep you warm outside.
What other holiday has two months of celebrating behind it?!?!?! Can you imagine if the Halloween "season" started in September? Pumpkins keep us in check with that. By rotting they remind us that too much too soon will leave you rotten and done by the time trick or treating starts. What about Valentines Day? You ready to start seeing pink stuffed animals and candy hearts in mid December? I doubt it. The only one that I can really get behind is if St. Patrick's day started in mid January.
Pace yourself people. Wait till Thanksgiving is over to get your inner Griswold on.
RANDOM VIDEO BREAK TIME!
Ok, back to the action! Over the last three months it really has felt like a giant road trip at times. Bachelor parties in 'Bama, Purdue on the weekends, business trips to St. Louis.....yeah I have spent a lot of time behind the wheel of a car lately. This has lead to some solid road trip conversation. It feels like one that gets repeated over and over again is about covers songs.
Cover songs are ones that are remade from an "older" or "original" one. Before the rise of Rock and Roll it was quite a common thing for a record company to record multiple versions of the same song. Often if they felt a song was good, they would get an artist or group that they felt to be more marketable. Another tactic was to get an artist to record an already popular song on a different label, so they could begin to distribute it on their own. Over time covers became a great way for rising artists to make get their names out there to pave way for their original material. It became the standard at rock shows for bands to play covers during their encores because they didn't have any true hits of their own. Once in awhile a cover will become as popular, if not more popular than the original, but with the recent rise of the show Glee we are seeing an appetite for cover songs like never before. Love it or hate it, you cannot stop this machine.
Here is a list of some of my favorite covers in no particular order:
Boys of Summer
Original Artist - Don Henley (1984)
Cover - The Ataris (2003)
This song IS summer. Both versions are awesome, but the slightly faster pace and electric guitar cannot be denied. Of all the punk covers of hits this one reigns as the best.
Sweet Dreams
Original Artist - Eurythmics (1983)
Cover - Marylin Manson (1995)
Great example of one song, pretty much the same lyrics, VERY DIFFERENT SONGS. Both have the whole creepiness factor nailed down solid, but Manson's version is down right scary. Ever since its use in the 1999 remake of "House on Haunted Hill" this has become a standard for filmmakers in the genre. It was good to see that both got nods on the Pilot for the new show "Grimm".
GLEE Time
Don't Stop Believing
Original Artists - Journey (1981)
Cover - Glee (2009)
As discussed before Glee is a force of nature. They dominate at awards shows, are on top of the itunes charts, and have opened a world of film, reality show, and video game spin offs. There are a lot of great songs from Glee over the last couple, but this is the one that started it all. The original happens to be one of my favorite songs. There were many a fuzzy night at the fraternity house that I had me drunkenly signing this song at the top of my lungs with my friends. The song itself has been voted as the best power ballad ever, and it is the most downloaded song on iTunes. No cover will ever come close, but damn Glee gives it its best shot. As a former high school choir member myself this song and show grabbed my attention and pulled me in. While I would not consider myself a Gleek, I have always openly admitted that I enjoyed the show from its start.
Dynamite
Original Artist - Taio Cruiz (2010)
Cover - Mike Tompkins (2010)
Youtube shout out here. The Taio Cruz song is fine, but there is something just addictive and fun about Mike Tompkins' wildly creative video. He has a whole series of videos like this one where he is a one man acappella band. For you Gleeks out there it is arguable that his Teenage Dream cover is better than the Darren Chriss version.
Smooth Criminal
Original Artist - Michael Jackson (1988)
Cover - Alien Ant Farm (2001)
Dear Alien Ant Farm,
When I was in high school I purchased your album Anthology because I loved your cover of Smooth Criminal. While that cover was awesome, the rest of your music sucks and I would like my $12.00 back.
From - Everyone
Mrs. Robinson
Original Artist - Simon and Garfunkel
Cover - The Lemonheads
Can't think of another Lemonheads song if my life depended on it, but I will always remember that they are a band because I like their cover.
Ring of Fire
Original Artist - Johnny Cash (1963)
Cover - Social Distortion (1990)
I love Social Distortion. It blows my mind that they are not a more well known band. In this cover of the well paced Cash classic, they go into their own turbo mode and rip their way right through the song. My gut tells me that if I ever was trapped in an actual ring of fire, it would feel more like the Social Distortion version than the Cash one.
Hurt
Original Artist - Nine Inch Nails
Cover - Johnny Cash
Ahhhh you see what I did there? Both songs stand on their own two feet and are hits in their own right, but the Cash is a little more haunting with the fact that it was recorded just before his death.
I Fought the Law
Original Artist - Bobby Fueller Four
Cover - The Clash
While I said that The Ataris version of Boys of Summer is the best cover of a hit, the Clash have the ultimate punk cover. Once The Clash unleashed their punk sound on this twangy classic it forever became their song. Bands ranging from Social Distortion to Green Day have covered this song as well, but it is more of a cover/tribute to The Clash.
All Along the Watchtower
Original Artist - Bob Dylan (1967)
Cover - Jimi Hendrix, Dave Mason, U2, Niel Young, Dave Matthews Band, Grateful Dead, Pearl Jam
Surprise! You thought this was going to be someone covering Jimi's song? Wrong! What is arguably Jimi's best song is in fact a Bob Dylan song. Jimi recorded his cover only 6 months after Dylan wrote and recorded it. This is rare case where the cover is more popular than the original. Rolling Stone has Jimi Hendrix's cover at #48 on the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Give both a listen. Who does it better?
Twist and Shout
Original Artist - Isley Brother
Cover - The Beatles
This song makes me think of Ferris Bueller, which makes me think of Chicago. Nuff said
Whew time to get to the weekly stuff!
What the BF is listening to - Yeah I think we can safely skip it this week. Just pick a video from above.
What the BF is watching - Grimm (NBC Friday 8:00 PM CT)
As mentioned above I gave the pilot a slot on my DVR. After giving it a view I have to say I was pleased. The setup is that a cop starts seeing weird things around him only to find out that he has some special kind of power to see monsters. It plays off of all the old brother Grimm fairy tales. NBC must not care too much about it if they are giving it the kiss of death Friday Primetime spot, but I am going to try to enjoy it while it is on air. The Prep watched the pilot with me and was able to enjoy it after she "got used to the whole face changing thing." Looks like a good compromise show. Right now it is probably a Level 2 on the scary movie scale.
Movie Trailer Time! - The Muppets (opening November 23rd)
Dear Prep,
We are going to see this movie. I don't care if you don't like the Muppets. They were a staple of my childhood. Just be happy that I want to see a movie that isn't a horror movie or an action one.
Love,
The BF
GAME OF THE WEEK - Bears at Eagles (Nov 7 - Monday Night Football)
So ready for this game. After a bye week I am chomping at the bit for more Bears football. If the Bears can go in and take this one from the Eagles they put themselves in an even better position to secure a post season bid. It won't be easy though. The Eagles look like they are starting to figure stuff out. Hopefully the Bears past success of being able to shut down Vick happens again.
Pick - Bears +8.5. For those of you that are bold this might be an interesting Money Line Play.
Alright that should do it this week. You have any favorite covers? Movies you are looking forward to? Let me know if there is anything I should be checking out.
Great Post! I'd like to know more about the brand, Southern Snob. I see it all over campus lately and would love to see a write up on them similar to your others!
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