This time I decided to do a batch of heavy covers of 80s songs. They're sure to disgust the original artists, and most of the songs' fans, but I like them better.
Mandy Lion - Kiss
This is a cover of Prince's little mincing song. I like this better. Mr. Lion has a pretty wicked growl to him, and this song goes from mincing to menacing in about a second.
Alien Ant Farm - Smooth Criminal
This was all over the radio a decade ago. Takes Michael Jackson and gives it some testosterone. Still surprisingly faithful to the original, though. Love it.
Dope - You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)
Originally recorded by Dead or Alive in 1985, this was one of the only dance songs I didn't feel uncomfortable liking. I like the new version by Dope better, though. Plus, for additional geekiness, the video is performed by World of Warcraft characters.
Realm - Eleanor Rigby
I've loved this cover since I bought Realm's debut, Endless War, on cassette in 1989. I like the Beatles' version too, but this one always charges me up. I can see Sly and Dave getting sick to their stomachs listening to it, though.
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"I think it is the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately."
--George Carlin
November is Coming
10 comments:
OMG, I LOVE the Dope video! That was one of my favorite 80s dance songs (still is), & I totally dig the Dope version.
And I will now confirm my total geekness - the WoW spin is AWESOME! =)
Thumbs up to Mandy Lion, AAF and Dope, but as predicted, I just can't wrap my head around the Eleanor Rigby cover. Its just such a pensive/introspective song that the speed metal version just doesn't work for me, though I guess one result of this is that a very short song gets even shorter when done in this genre.
By the way, I am not a WoW player, but I am curious what would make one of the characters in the game start dancing the Macarena, as shown in the video. I guess it takes all kinds.
Ok, one more thing, I couldn't get over the fact that Mandy Lion reminded me (in appearance) of the heavy metal version of Hank Williams Jr.
Talk about random thoughts ;-)
Damn. Now I've got "you spin me right round baby right round" in my head.
Each race in WoW has their own dance style. The human females dance the macarena. Blame the programmers.
Dave-
I think the reason I like the "Eleanor Rigby" cover so much is because the original is so pensive and introspective. The Beatles managed to infuse that song with a lot of emotion, and the Realm version exposes it as a contrivance. Not to say that it's any worse than any other sentimental pop song, but Realm's treatment forces the song through a meat grinder, highlighting that it's just a series of words and sounds that lend the song its emotional power.
To me, that's the main project of heavy metal and punk.
Jason,
So you're saying that Realm doing Eleanor Rigby is kind of like buying the books on tape version of "Gone With the Wind" (as read by CHARLES MANSON)?
Or it more like Gone with the Wind, as read by Steven Wright?
Or maybe To Kill a Mockingbird read by Gilbert Gottfried.
Hehe.
So wrong.
If you like the Eleanor Rigby cover by Realm you should check out the version by Godhead, off of their first (and still best) album.
Nathan-
I was able to listen to (and watch) the Godhead version (thank you, YouTube!). I like it.
I think the primary way in which it differs from the Realm cover (aside from being done in a different genre of music) is that Godhead apparently intends it as an earnest rendition of a song, if done in a different style. In the Realm version, it's pretty clear those guys aren't aiming for seriousness.
I'll have to check out more Godhead stuff. I like the gothic/electronic/techno rock stuff quite a bit. In fact, I'd been looking forward to the new Tiamat album until I heard some sound clips. Now I'm not so sure.
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