#6 :: Cover Me, I'm Going In!

Dishing up a double long list this time. Making up for March's absence. Also I couldn't narrow this list down. Covers are a tough thing to deal with, critically. Rarely do they transcend the original to anybody that heard it first. But they actually are so important for passing on the brilliance of the past to a whole new generation. Rock music is so young and the classics are going to become blurrier and blurrier to every generation that comes along. Its also nice to see how interpretation and inspiration play into how an artist approaches the source material. Reinvention or homage? Its says a lot about both the quality of the source material and the vision of the artist. Enjoy.

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The tracklist is as follows:


Song: Black Steel (Public Enemy) .................. Artist: Tricky
Such a classic reinvention. Hypnotic.
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Song: Cornflake Girl (Tori Amos) .................. Artist: Jawbox
This one is only interesting cause I love Jawbox and they manage to play this as if it were their own.
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Song: Iron Man (Black Sabbath) .................. Artist: Giant Sand
The original is barely recognizable underneath the drunken haze. Classic.
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Song: The Killing Moon (Echo and the Bunnymen) .................. Artist: Pavement
Introduced me to Echo. Its not as good as the original but faithful.
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Song: Human Behavior (Bjork) .................. Artist: Decemberists
Probably the first song I heard by them. Matched perfectly.
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Song: Saturday Night (Bay City Rollers) .................. Artist: Ned's Atomic Dustbin
Heard this cover before the original. Now I know that the BCR version is a King Kong never to be topped but this still rocks in its early 90's way.
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Song: Life on Mars? (David Bowie) .................. Artist: Sue Jorge
This was the best thing about A Life Aquatic. What a blissfully re-imagining of the original. And in Portuguese!
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Song: Straight out of Compton (NWA).................. Artist: Nina Gordon
This song is the reason this list was made. BRILLIANT. It is easy for these kinds of things to be dripped in irony. But this sounds so completely sincere and so natural.
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Song: The Boys Are Back in Town (Thin Lizzy) .................. Artist: Mountain Goats
This is just nice. Ironic but nice.
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Song: Everybody Knows (Leonard Cohen) .................. Artist: Concrete Blonde
I like how she brings such a huge fiery vocal presence to Mr. Cohen's original chilly delivery.
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Song: About a Girl (Nirvana) .................. Artist: Cibo Mato
Woderful reinvention. Shows off the brilliance at both ends of this song.
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Song: Happiness is a Warm Gun (Beatles) .................. Artist: Breeders
Introduced me to the lesser known gems of the Beatles catalog. Made me start buying the albums and looking past the best of collections.
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Song: Such Great Heights (Postal Service) .................. Artist: Iron & Wine
What a nice homage between contemporary artists.
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Song: (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (Rolling Stones) .................. Artist: Cat Power
Again the original is completely obliterated and unrecognizable. And its still a great song.
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Song: Corona (Minutemen) .................. Artist: Calexico
Mariachi's meet the Minutemen. Wow. Nuff said.
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Song: Big Mouth Strikes Again (Smiths) .................. Artist: Treepeople
Not really holding a candle to the original but how could it. But the shredding guitars are rad.
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Song: Show Me the Way (Peter Frampton) .................. Artist:Dinosaur Jr.
While this didn't really turn me into a Peter Frampton fan, it was important as it at least made me more musically aware.
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Song: Highway 61 Revisited (Bob Dylan) .................. Artist:PJ Harvey
Embarrassed to say I heard this version before the original. But you can't really compare them.
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Song: I Want You to Want Me (Cheap Trick) .................. Artist:Letter to Cleo
Not a big Cheap Trick or Letters to Cleo fan but this song is so summery and fun and I can't resist its charms.
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Song: Mr Grieves (Pixies) .................. Artist:TV on the Radio
A brilliant a cappella re-imaging of one of the lesser celebrated Pixies gems. Breathtaking.
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