Last night, the WS had the good fortune to enjoy some quality drinking-homebrew-on-the-patio-and-engaging-in-conversation time with a good friend. We got to talking about the aesthetic of the cover song in popular music: i.e. what makes for a good one, what makes for a bad one, and what are the all-time greats. We came to an agreement that a successful cover song needs to be about surprise, and reinvention. Imitation bad. Reconfiguration good. Sorry, Pat Boone.
Here are some of the greats that we brought up in our discussion:
Talking Heads (covering Al Green), "Take Me To The River"
[Dig it: ol' quirky art school nutcase David Byrne brings some CBGB angular, postmodern soul to a classic gospel tune from the Reverend. It shouldn't work, in theory, but it does. If Byrne had played it straight, not so much. But he makes it Byrne.]
Cat Power (covering The Rolling Stones), "Satisfaction"
[Chan Marshall slows it down, and drops the chorus, and makes it one moody, we're-gonna-be-up-all-night existentially angsty funride. Hell, Mick was just singing about not gettin' laid. Wherein lies the reason for her dissatisfaction is going to require some major therapy time.]
Cowboy Junkies (covering The Velvet Underground), "Sweet Jane"
[Another savvy, cross-gender reinvention. This is my friend's favorite. An erstwhile drug number turned into a sweaty and ambiguous erotic aria. Brilliant.]
But what say you? If ever I am lucky enough to entice a reader to this ol' modest mono(b)log(ue), I would love to know what cover songs have rocked your world. Leave a comment.
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