Just another night of karaoke for Celine....
Cover Songs? It's A Love/Hate Thing...
by Jo Michelmore
There's something that's been annoying me. It's been annoying me since the first second I heard it. I gave it a couple of minutes, I promise I did, as a lover of music and a music blog writer I felt it my duty to give it the full three minutes and twenty one seconds. It hurt. Every note was a little bit of pain. I hope you appreciate what I do for you, dear reader, but I won't do that again. I have probably never disagreed more with my editor on this one, when in his review he said this;
"...there's been enough work to create a unique take on it that you'll find enough to enjoy."
Nope. Matt, I disagree. What am I speaking of? It was this...
"...there's been enough work to create a unique take on it that you'll find enough to enjoy."
Nope. Matt, I disagree. What am I speaking of? It was this...
There is not one single second of that song I enjoy. I don't care how well it fits into the film, I don't care whether you're a Beyonce fan or not, there is nothing, NOTHING, not one thing, about this cover that is good. Ms Winehouse, I apologise on behalf of music to you...they suck. As usual, this got me thinking about something. Covers? Love them or hate them?
Let's talk about this. I have a love/hate relationship with the concept, because even when they're bad I find comfort in the fact that everytime the 'bad' version is played, the songwriter gets paid some cash, so there is some justice, I guess.
Like, for example, Stevie Nicks, in 1981, did this....
....and it makes me happy that Lindsay Lohan earnt Stevie some more cash when in 2005, she felt the need to writh around against her backing dancers (that's at 2:37, in case you were wondering) while singing the song Stevie wrote; Edge Of Seventeen, which is about the deaths of Stevie's Uncle and John Lennon. Yes, Lindsay, you know the song well, then?
The Red Hot Chili Peppers, in 1992, did this...
....and it makes me happy that RHCP got some extra cash when the All Saints did that awful, awful cover of Under The Bridge in 1998. What's that you say, silly girls? "Sometimes I feel like I don't have a partner?" Er, yes, that's what heroin addiction feels like, Anthony Kiedis would know. Heroin addiction doesn't generally feel like a 90's r'n'b beat, baggy pants and crop tops. Strange, I know.
One more, probably my favourite. AC/DC, originally in 1980, did this....
...and it makes me happy to know they got some extra cash when Celine Dion and Anastacia decided they would sing it in 2002. It also makes me happy because I see that no matter how good your voice is, if you choose the wrong song and make the wrong dance moves, you look and sound like a 50 year old desperate divorcee at karaoke on a Saturday night. That makes me very happy.
....AND because I love our readers and can't bare the thought of you having to listen to that Beyonce monstrosity at the start, I'll leave you with this. Amy Winehouse, RIP. Hear that? That's soul, that's emotion and that's something Beyonce and Andre are still learning about.
