Tuesday, July 8, 2008

TonNL loves a cover....



Jazzkantine from Germany do something fine with a quite well-known song from some quite well-known hard rockers...
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5 comments:

Proudfoot said...

Pretty slick. TonNL, I am not an over-serious, earnest muso, but I sometimes don't know where I stand on this kind of stuff. This reminds me of Leather Nun's cover of 'Gimme Gimme Gimme A Man After Midnight' (which they swear was not a pisstake), Ciccione (Sonic) Youth doing 'Addicted to Love', Paul Anka covering Nirvana or even Dread Zeppelin. What I hope it
boils down to is the fact that a good song will always (or nearly always) win through.
The line between novelty/comedy, homage, desperate-ploy-to-appeal-to-youth market and just rank cluelessness or having-a-laugh isn't always clear.
Which is fine.
Recently a friend commented on my ABBA albums: "Ah, very ironic" quoth he. What button does one press in the ear to enjoy music ironically? Funny I can get,
but I can't really listen
ironically.
Jazzkantine, shorn of album/live
context, I don't know where to place. What are they up to? Weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, Pop Idol, Jazz Crossover audience or just fun?
Highway to Hell? What a song.

July 8, 2008 at 2:30 AM
DarceysDad said...

Yeah, I'm pretty much with you, Proudfoot.

I don't want to get into the 'good' vs 'bad' argument again - there are plenty of 'bad' songs I enjoy immensely in the right context - but there is definitely some mileage in the argument that a well-written song can migrate across genres and still shine. Doesn't always mean you can do what you want with a song: I really hate Ed Kuepper's version of H2H, but hey ho ...

This is the kind of cover I'd sneak in at family parties amongst the Kenny Rogers / Sinatra / Lloyd Webber / Rogers & Hammerstein. (I have that kind of family, I'm afraid.) I keep meaning to put together a CD-R with the likes of Paul Anka's Black Hole Sun, Mel Tormé's Zaz Turned Blue, some Hayseed Dixie, Cracker's version of White Riot, and so on. When the multi-player is on shuffle, I swear no-one is going to notice, but it's the sort of small rebellion that helps keep me sane. In fact I'm going to miss much of this weekend's RR for just such a party (DarceysGreatAuntie's 60th), so I think I have my task for the week!

On a sidenote, for me ironic music has a ridiculously short shelflife. Normally two plays, one to listen yourself and one playing it for your mates, and that's it.

July 8, 2008 at 9:11 AM
Proudfoot said...

D'sD. Will agree to disagree on Kuepper's H2H! I think I recommended it you you a while ago so I can't back down now!
I nearly spent money on the reggae OK Computer (Horace Andy et al) but heard 'Airbag' and decided that, like Gus Van Zant's remake of 'Psycho' it was a waste of time. One listen and I was done with it.
You could probably stick some Nouvelle Vague on at your Aunt's party too.

July 8, 2008 at 12:17 PM
ToffeeBoy said...

Anyone else remember The Mike Flowers Pops' version of Wonderwall? - quite good, but as you say proudfoot, these things don't generally stand the test of time.

July 8, 2008 at 9:18 PM
Tim (Kalyr) said...

Agree with DSD; a great song will survive translation into a completely different genre, and both be recognisable and work within it's new genre. More of a challenge most of the rather pointless 'straight' covers.

Not so sure when the reinterpretation is so radical so little of the original remains it's barely recognisable - Nigel Kennedy's Hendrix album comes to mind. anyone heard that?

July 8, 2008 at 10:56 PM

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