New Wave Outpost Forum

So how do we all feel about covers in general? Granted, they're not always as good as the original (usually not) but they do expose younger generations to some epic classics. In that sense, even a bad cover can be a good thing. Here's Placebo doing Kate's Running Up That Hill:

<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zKkaLM9NcSo&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zKkaLM9NcSo&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

Any videos of any classics being covered you want to share?

I remember hearing that band AFI covering The Cure's Hanging Garden. It was pretty good. The only youtube clip isn't anactual video, and the sound quality is terrible, but I'll post anyway:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ROcuFwIysCM

About 80% of them are utter shit!!! Most of the recent ones, have been done by bands who are trying to get new fans into buying their rubbish. if they're done right, they're excellent, if not, they stink

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There do seem to a lot of shit ones either done by crap bands trying to get attention or sampled by rappers without a stitch of originality left in them. But I love covers. There's few things I like in music better than a really well-done cover that totally surprises me. Some ones I've probably mentioned before:

The Editors - Lullaby:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6enwvHxEHo

Stars - This Charming Man:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kgeux7RC1io

Paolo Nutini - It Must Be Love:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6tDvWdOPVM

Letters to Cleo - I Want You To Want Me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-37F6MmAYD4

And I wish there was a clip of Fountains of Wayne doing ELO's Can't Get It Out of My Head - awesome.

[quote][i]Originally posted by DJ Phoenix[/i]
<br>About 80% of them are utter shit!!! Most of the recent ones, have been done by bands who are trying to get new fans into buying their rubbish. if they're done right, they're excellent, if not, they stink

Come join my new music trading site, it's FREE:

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[/quote]


These numbers do not compute if 95% of the new music coming out (that you've never heard) is shit![;)]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Blir[/i]
<br> But I love covers. There's few things I like in music better than a really well-done cover that totally surprises me.

Letters to Cleo - I Want You To Want Me:
[/quote]

I'm with Blir; I think some bands do them for the wrong reasons, but I really enjoy hearing a beloved song interpreted in a different (or even similar) way. I'm a fan of several covers much reviled on this site, including Nouvelle Vague and Annie Lennox's "Train in Vain." (C'mon, it's a SOUL song.) NV's "Just Can't Get Enough" and "Ever Fallen in Love" are really quite striking, I think.

And also from Letters to Cleo and TTIHAY is "Cruel to Be Kind," http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QjT3u_m3a0&NR=1, though that's such a perfect gem of a pop song that it would be hard to screw up. (For trivia fans, the good parts of the movie were filmed not in Seattle but just a few blocks from my house in Seattle's gritty step-sister.)

I'm not really opposed...it can be really cool hearing a cover that is done well and sounds really cool. But if it stinks, then it hurts. The other day I was in a store, browsing among the clothes, and all sorts of covers came on and I was annoyed. But maybe they were just crummy to begin with. (except one: a salsa-ish cover of "Hard Days Night"). But then other times, I've heard a cover somewhere and was intrigued. It's a very subjective thing among folks with such high standards as us ![;)]

Pavement's "Killing Moon". Oh. My. God.

Incredible.

I love Placebos cover of " Running Up that Hill", here's a few more by them.

Johnny and Mary-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIwHpznTuZo

Where is My Mind-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVFLgx8o7XM&feature=related

Johnny and Mary doesn't seem like song they should be doing.Where is my mind is a better fit, although pretty straight forward.

its hard to say they are a bad thing when you have a cover that is actualy very different and done well,hendrix version od all along the watchtower.devo doing satisfaction,bobby darin doing mack the knife even.but generally covers are absolutely pointless,they are either very inferior or they are just the same which serves no point.
what really really bothers me is the amount of bands that do a cover and basically release it as there only successful single.a band doesnt deserve to gain a name and a bank account just because they did some great old song that the kids now arent familiar with.
there are probably countless numbers of us right here in this forum that could make a band and choose a really great but not well known 80s song and record a cover and release it with a trendy video.i mean you dont even have to actually be a band to cover something.

there are so many things that just make me roll my eyes in concept alone.like everytime some band covers like a motown classic,and some new wave bands were guilty of this too.anytime i hear about a band wanting to cover like respect,i mean come on.

to me covers are a great thing for a band to do at live shows.especially a newer band that still has a small repertoire.
but they shouldnt be your only single and they shouldnt be your album filler because you cant write anything else yourselves.

Some really good covers:

Futureheads - Hounds Of Love
Orgy - Blue Monday (yes, I'm serious)
Coil - Tainted Love
Editors - French Disko (Stereolab song)
Pixies - Head On
Cyber Axis - Can't Get You Out Of My Head
Sisters Of Mercy - Gimme Shelter

A good cover pays homage to a great song and the band that originally made it a hit. It is a tribute and a show of appreciation. It demonstrates that a classic song can stand the test of time.

When someone takes the time to give a forgotten or somewhat obscure song new life, it becomes more meaningful to me.

They have to put their own spin on it and not simply recreate a note for note replica of a popular song just to boost their own image. And when someone can successfully change the instrumentation or arrangement, I get to hear it in a whole new way!

Examples:

"Blue Monday"- Flunk
http://www.myspace.com/flunktheband

"Somebody Got Murdered"- Matthew Ryan
http://www.last.fm/music/Matthew+Ryan/_ ... t+Murdered

"Stop Me"- Mark Ronson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4kBr5WWiBM

"Rebel Yell"- Mr. Badwrench
http://www.last.fm/music/Mr.+Badwrench/_/Rebel+Yell

"Enjoy the Silence"- Lacuna Coil
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<a href="http://www.djcraig.net/los_angeles_dj">DJ Craig</a>

A couple I like, off the top of my head:

Dream Academy: Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want instrumental
Frazier Chorus: Anarchy in the UK
OMD (with some guest chick vocals): Neon Lights
PSB: Where the Streets Have No Name

There were a couple Depeche Mode covers I thought were well done on this Swedish (?) compilation called "I Sometimes Wish I Was Famous".

[quote][i]Originally posted by coop41[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by DJ Phoenix[/i]
<br>About 80% of them are utter shit!!! Most of the recent ones, have been done by bands who are trying to get new fans into buying their rubbish. if they're done right, they're excellent, if not, they stink

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[/quote]


These numbers do not compute if 95% of the new music coming out (that you've never heard) is shit![;)]
[/quote]

LOL, You're correct. How silly of me to not have written down 95%[:)][:D]

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Here's one of the best NW covers of all time: http://www.elevenshadows.com/mp3/SpaceA ... trevor.mp3