After reviewing the list of nominees, it’s pretty apparent that our submissions skew heavily towards quasi-ironic indie rock. In the interests of greater inclusion, I encourage all readers with a passion for folk, country, rap, soul or funk (or just about any other under-represented genre) to chime in with a few nominations. I’ll get things started with Cube and Mack 10 covering (sampling?) “Should I Stay or Should I Go?”
Will
Will writes from Washington, D.C. (well, Arlington, Virginia). You can reach him at willblogcorrespondence at gmail dot com.
Devcat is watching over, but if you notice any problems contact the editors and Devcat will be notified and deployed immediately.
on I Told You SoYou're familiar with the old saw from the War on Terror days, right? "A Muslim extremist wants to ki… on I Told You SoMy original thesis is at the very root comment. We've got a bunch of Conservative Types who are comp…
on I Told You So*sigh* You are all over the place, Jaybird. You utterly fail to actually state your thesis so no one… on I Told You SoIn any case, I was under the impression that if Trump was, in fact, Hitlerian, that it would put obl… on I Told You SoIt's weird looking back at the year, huh? There were a handful of people who said "if Biden is the c… on I Told You SoMen + College are the only ones who stepped up. Put the blame where it belongs: Men Without College… on I Told You SoYes, continue to blame the Muslims in Michigan despite the vote in Michigan not actually being any d… on I Told You SoSo you agree that it is a quotation that exists? on I Told You SoI'm okay with just Trump being Hitler too. Saddened, I suppose. But it's okay. At least we have *ONE… on I Told You SoYou realize that's a quote by Erik Erickson, right? A person who voted for Trump and presumably does…
Movie of a Man Awakened at Night
November 26, 2024
It’s Going to be a Hard Winter
November 25, 2024
Hunting the Wild Goose – It’s a Funny Game
November 24, 2024
November 23, 2024
on I Told You So on I Told You So
on Open Mic for the week of 11/25/2024 on I Told You So
on I Told You So
on I Told You So on I Told You So
on I Told You So on I Told You So
on I Told You So on I Told You So on I Told You So on I Told You So on I Told You So on I Told You So
Honestly, I thought this was an all-white thing. Here’s my nomination:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65WexbsVs40Report
This may or may not be an interesting thing I’ve noticed but rock and roll has a lot of covers. This band covers this song and that band remakes that other song, so on and so forth.
Rap does not seem to do that. Every now and again, of course, there is a line in a song that pays tribute to an earlier song (like throwing a “let me clear my throat” before the bridge or similar) but there aren’t anywhere near the same degree of covers.
I wonder why.Report
What about sampling? The fact that so many great hip hop and rap tracks are based on a small snippet of a hook, a bass line, a lyric, a horn line seems on the same level as your perception of rock n roll. Different genres approach appropriation differently.Report
Like both EPMD and Puff Daddy sampled Average White Band’s “person to person”?
I don’t know. That strikes me as different than a cover, per se…Report
Klein –
Great pick – I’ll put that up as soon as I get the chance.
Jaybird –
I think you’re right; rap is pretty self-referential and has definitely popularized sampling, but you don’t hear too many covers. I have no idea why this is the case. Funk, soul, country and folk, on the other hand . . .Report
If we want to open up enough to allow samples, I’d say that Nice & Smooth’s sampling of Fast Car on “Sometimes I Rhyme Slow, Sometimes I Rhyme Quick” is probably the best use of an unobscure sample out there.
Eric Prydz’s “Call on me” is probably the best use of a borderline sample.
Best use of an obscure sample would probably be EPMD’s sampling of “Person to Person” on Richter Scale. (Which then became significantly less obscure when Puffy used the same sample on “Friend” on his debut (crappy) album).Report
Phish is without question one of the great “cover bands.” Their covers of AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell,” The Beatles “A Day in the Life,” Ween’s “Roses are Free,” and Velvet Underground’s “Rock and Roll” are legendary (at least in jam band circles), as is their range (they’ve also taken stabs at The Beastie Boys, Jay-Z, and TV on the Radio). Their recent cover of the entire Stone’s “Exile on Main Street” album on Halloween was outrageously good. I think their version of “Shine a Light” qualifies for this little contest, but I could only find this snippet online (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3E15PDTkc8). But here’s the full version of “Loving Cup,” which didn’t suck either.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1bsxFqLuMgReport
Here’s another band on another Halloween that could cover a tune too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMan6STpZAEReport
And this might possibly be the best worst holiday song cover of all-time. Thanks, Neil!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOegH4uYe-cReport
I realize, like Nirvana above, these are “indie” bands but they’re pretty incredible covers.
Antony – “If It Be Your Will” by Leonard Cohen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKhGKB6faW0
The Raconteurs – “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjIsub91HAQ
White and company also did a monster “It Ain’t Easy” by David Bowie during this set at Lollapalooza.
I’ll stop now.Report
The Dead Kennedys “California Uber Alles” performed by The Disposable Heroes or Hiphoprisy. This is from their album “Hypocrisy is the Greatest Luxury” but there’s a better version from the Virus 100 compilation (Alternative Tentacles 100th release) –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBAkOifDeSw
I’m going to throw in another indie rock cover though, “Freebird” performed by Built to Spill. Why? Because it is *not* ironic – watch the video, they are taking it dead serious. I got to see them perform this live, and it was a jaw dropper.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8whmIaeftQReport
Good call on BTS playing Freebird. A buddy of mine saw that performance live.Report
Well, speaking of Ice Cube and sampling, The Players Association cover of “Footsteps in the Dark” by the Isley Brothers is pretty good. My vote’s with Stars though.Report