When Young Pop Artist Cover New Wave Songs

[IWantMyMTV]

[quote][i]Originally posted by bpdp3[/i]
It's the same creepy feeling I get when I see late 70's/early 80's punk/new wave t-shirts at 'Hot Topic' in the malls. How many of these kids REALLY know what that music is, what it actually means? It's being marketed to them by people OUR age.[/quote]I see a lot of teens wearing Ramones T-shirts.
I'm always tempted to ask them what their favorite Ramones song is, just to see what they'll say.

I hate most covers these days.
They're usually blanded down pop versions.[xx(]

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[SwampThing]

[quote]I see a lot of teens wearing Ramones T-shirts. I'm always tempted to ask them what their favorite Ramones song is, just to see what they'll say.[/quote] I think you might be surprised. My 4 year old all ready likes the Ramones. I think any teen aspiring to learn guitar could easily start with the Ramones. The simplicity and energy of their music makes it very accessible and fun. Hell when I was in High School (80's) there were plenty of kids wearing Led Zeppelin and Doors t-shirts, and yes they new all the songs.

[IWantMyMTV]

[quote][i]Originally posted by SwampThing[/i]<br>[quote]I see a lot of teens wearing Ramones T-shirts. I'm always tempted to ask them what their favorite Ramones song is, just to see what they'll say.[/quote]I think you might be surprised. My 4 year old all ready likes the Ramones. I think any teen aspiring to learn guitar could easily start with the Ramones. The simplicity and energy of their music makes it very accessible and fun.[/quote]That's nice to hear about your 4 year old.[:D]
I think you're probably right about young guitar students, easy chords & such.

I just don't like poseurs.
I personally wouldn't ever wear a shirt from a band I didn't [b]LOVE[/b]

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[WolverineSyr]

It always bothers me to hear a lame cover of one of my beloved 80's songs. It bothers me more when it's some vapid cookie cutter singer.

I guess I have to put it in perspective though. I recall when I brought home a Stray Cats album my mother did a lot of eye-rolling and was kind of offended that someone was "stealing" the music of her youth. Granted, Stray Cats weren't covering a lot of stuff - just a style of music though...

She came around though, I remember her tapping her feet to Sexy & 17...

[Bitter Almonds]

[quote][i]Originally posted by SwampThing[/i]
<br>[quote]I see a lot of teens wearing Ramones T-shirts. I'm always tempted to ask them what their favorite Ramones song is, just to see what they'll say.[/quote] I think you might be surprised. My 4 year old all ready likes the Ramones. I think any teen aspiring to learn guitar could easily start with the Ramones. The simplicity and energy of their music makes it very accessible and fun. Hell when I was in High School (80's) there were plenty of kids wearing Led Zeppelin and Doors t-shirts, and yes they new all the songs.
[/quote]

Hehe. My little bro doesn't wear the shirts, but he can name various Ramones tunes he loves and can quote stuff from [i]Rock 'N Roll High School[/i] from having it seen about 4 times in one week-end[:D]

[wiota]

[quote][i]Originally posted by bpdp3[/i]
<br>
It's the same creepy feeling I get when I see late 70's/early 80's punk/new wave t-shirts at 'Hot Topic' in the malls. How many of these kids REALLY know what that music is, what it actually means? It's being marketed to them by people OUR age.
[/quote]

Don't get a creepy feeling! These teens know more about 80's music than most people on this board. Sure they didn't live through the 80's, but with today's resources, they can get caught up fast.

You are probably seeing kids exactly like my 17 year old son, who loves to wear his Suburban Lawns shirt or his Angry Samoans shirt or one of his many Ramones shirts. And believe me, he and his friends know their 80's music stuff, because while I'm working he and his buds sit around after school watching VH1 Classic videos, surfing the internet and lisening to Yahoo music. They listen to more music in a day than I can in a week. It's non-stop music for 10 hours a day after school. He even does as good as me on most of the Name That Tune contests.

It's actually pretty mind blowing to hear them talk of their favorite 80's artists. Yesterday, he was on a big 20/20 kick, listened to all their songs over and over, and pestered me non-stop with questions.

The future is in good hands....

[bpdp3]

Wiota, your point is well-made. And it sounds like you raised a pretty intelligent kid there, too!

[danadotcom]

Now I know what my Mom meant when she'd fail to get the point of a Motown track (or something similar) being covered by someone I used to listen to: Bowie & Jagger's "Dancing In The Street", for example. I completely understand why the originals are so much better now that I'm in her shoes. Save Ferris' "Come On Eileen" was so derivitive it should have embarrassed the band for covering it. And who recently did "Our Lips Are Sealed"? The chick had no clue what she was singing about. Even No Doubt tried too hard to squeeze out "It's My Life"; and Orgy's take on "Blue Monday" was just a lazy, sloppy mess. The end-all-be-all cover of the ages is hands down Soft Cell's "Tainted Love". Even Mom would have to agree with that one.

[goutroy]

[quote][i]Originally posted by i_like_lectric_motors[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by goutroy[/i]
<br>Anyone catch that 311 cover of The Cure's Just Like Heaven? That was one of the biggest atrocities of humankind.
[/quote]

I know they had a hit with a very shitty version of Lovesong. Did they do Just Like Heaven too? A version of JLH I always liked was Dinosaur Jr.'s even though a lot of people absolutely hate it.
[/quote]

Yeah, you're right. I just avoided it so much after the first time I heard it, I forgot what song it was. That's repression for ya! BTW, I like Dinosaur Jr's Just Like Heaven cover too!

[troy08]

It annoys me when talented artists feel the need to cover songs that were perfect as they were. Annie Lennox should have never touched The Lover Speaks - No More I Love Yous. Different type of passion coming from a man's voice...

[guyinsf]

Mandy Moore came out with a CD of covers, doing XTC, Blondie and some other NW artists.

[KYYX4ever]

Oy! I don't like the new covers, either, but i suspect it is because I like and/or remember the originals quite fondly. There's that "don'
t-mess-with-nostalgia" thing that makes it hard to listen to. Unless the cover is REALLY good or sounds snappy and original-ish. Which of course i can't think of any right now.

I recall hearing Siouxsie's "Dear Prudence" when I was a teen and having no idea, at first, that it was a Beatles' cover. To this day it remains my favorite Siouxsie song (followed closely by "Dazzle"). Same with the Avengers' "Paint it Black". I didn't know that it was a Stones' original. My parents were Beatles and Stones fans, so they thought these "covers" sucked. But to me, as a young impressionable teen, those covers were fresh and snappy. (although you must admit they are damn good covers).

p.s. XXX, that Duran covers album was indeed not worthy. Except for "Femme Fatale"; that's not bad.

[deethelurker]

[i]p.s. XXX, that Duran covers album was indeed not worthy. Except for "Femme Fatale"; that's not bad.[/i]

Um, I'm going to have to correct you there -- "Femme Fatale" appeared on the eponymous 1993 Duran release, otherwise known as [i]The Wedding Album[/i]. This obv predated the covers album ([i]Thank You[/i]) by two years, as that album was released in 1995. And I'm going to slightly protest the long-held assertion that that was a wholly unworthy venture, as I did enjoy their update of "The Chauffeur" (that would be "Drive By"), actually PREFER their version of "Watching The Detectives" to the Elvis Costello original, and think their versions of "Crystal Ship" and "Thank You" are pretty killer. Though they could not even begin to best Bob Dylan at "Lay Lady Lay" and the "I Wanna Take You Higher" and Public Enemy (!) covers are FOULFOULFOULFOULFOUL. Dire. And actually the accepted rule is that the best cover Duran ever performed was their cover of the Cockney Rebel song "Come Up And See Me (Make Me Smile)".

I, um, have nothing else to add on this thread, as everyone else has already said things I've agreed with.

[KYYX4ever]

Thanks, I stand corrected. (I lost track of DD during the 90s. Got back into them again recently).

And--DUDE! You are SO right about "Come Up and See Me (Make me Smile)"--that cover ROCKS my face off (as Frayo would say). MUCH better than the original. I completely love DD's version!

[djcraig]

Here are some great 80's covers. Most are available on iTunes. Sorry about the length of the list but I'm a little obsessed:

Anything, Anything- Grey Daze

Bizarre Love Triangle- Cary August

Blister in the Sun (MTV2 Version)- Guster

Blue Monday- Orgy

Boys Don't Cry- Oleander

Call Me- I Am the World Trade Center

Cars- Jim Collins

Chains of Love- Temperance

Cheers Theme- Me First and the Gimme Gimmes

Come On Eileen- Save Ferris

Dancing With Myself- The Donnas

Don't Change- The Last Dance

Don't You (Forget About Me)- Billy Idol

Don't You Want Me- Alcazar

Enjoy the Silence- Failure & Locust

Everyday Is Like Sunday- Pretenders

Eyes Without a Face- Scooter

Girls Talk- The Knack

Hanging On The Telephone- The Kickovers

Here Comes Your Man- Alice Wonders

How Soon Is Now?- Love Spit Love

I Got You- Lava Baby

In a Big Country- Moe

In Between Days- Ben Folds

Into You Like A Train- Jawbreaker

Is She Really Going Out With Him?- Sugar Ray

It's My Life- No Doubt

Jessie's Girl- Frickin' A

Just What I Needed- Eric Martin

Kids in America- The Muffs

King Of Pain- Alanis Morissette w/Sting

Let's Go to Bed- Ivy

Love Song- 311

Love Will Tear Us Apart- Paul Young

Message in a Bottle- Rolf Munkes

Mexican Radio- Lee Press-on and the Nails

Moving in Stereo- Plastic

Oliver's Army- Peter Mulvey

One- Johnny Cash

Only You- Robb Roy

Personal Jesus- Johnny Cash

Planet Earth- Brave New World

Pretty In Pink- Automatic 7

Pride (In the Name of Love)- Delirious?

Rio- The Morpholinos

Rock Lobster- The Retroliners

She Blinded Me With Science- Bill Parsons

She's a Sensation- Huntingtons

Space Age Love Song- Eleven Shadows

Strangelove- Pat MacDonald

Stray Cat Strut- Na Leo Pilimehana

Sweet Dreams- Phats & Small

Take On Me- Reel Big Fish

The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)- Shyko

The Ghost in You- Stun Gun

There Is a Light That Never Goes Out (Live)- Neil Finn

True- Duvall

Turning Japanese- No Use for a Name

Walking On Sunshine- Me First and the Gimme Gimmes

White Wedding- Deathstars

Wouldn't It Be Good- Michael Monroe

You Spin Me 'Round (Like a Record)- Second Skin