Cover songs are the plague of the music industry. They are at the same time the greatest compliment an artist can receive, but also a free ride for someone to use a tracks previous success for their own marketing. The song presumably has already been tried and tested in the public domain, they are the easiest tool for instant public approval. YouTube is the breading grown for cover shittiness, every kid in the world can upload their crappy version of Adelle’s ‘Rolling in the Deep’. That’s not to say there is no place in the world for cover songs, but you have to be able to put forth some originality on it.
Now there are a couple cardinal sins (to me) relating to cover songs. One, bands use this tool to seem somehow more interesting by covering a song that is well outside their breadth. Example: “I can’t believe Belle and Sebastian did a cover of Slayer.” Now to the naked eye, the bad bastard folk music that Belle and Sebastian create on a consistent basis is uplifted, into the world of ‘interesting’ if only for a second. This is a fallacy, Belle and Sebastian do make sad bastard, boring music, and even if such a cover existed it wouldn’t change this fact. If Hell existed it would be playing “The Boy and the Arab Strap” for all eternity, and yes I bought that record for some goddamn reason (chalk it up to teenage wannabe-ness “Let’s drink chamomile tea and talk about knitting techniques”).
The second sin is covering a song you don’t even like, explicitly using the songs popularity to simultaneously poke fun at it, but also reaping the benefits of its popularity. See every pop-punk band who covered a Britney song. A cover used to be a tribute, a declaration that ‘this song/band fucking rocks’. Now at times it seems to be filler for a band that doesn’t have enough material to please a crowd, so they may as well play Wonderwall because everyone and their mom knows the lyrics.
All that being said, and yes I’m going to contradict myself, sometimes cover songs are just fun. Here are three cover songs that are currently rocking my speakers on a consistent basis.
1. 6 Foot 7 - Lil Wayne (covered by Karmin)
Now there are a couple cardinal sins (to me) relating to cover songs. One, bands use this tool to seem somehow more interesting by covering a song that is well outside their breadth. Example: “I can’t believe Belle and Sebastian did a cover of Slayer.” Now to the naked eye, the bad bastard folk music that Belle and Sebastian create on a consistent basis is uplifted, into the world of ‘interesting’ if only for a second. This is a fallacy, Belle and Sebastian do make sad bastard, boring music, and even if such a cover existed it wouldn’t change this fact. If Hell existed it would be playing “The Boy and the Arab Strap” for all eternity, and yes I bought that record for some goddamn reason (chalk it up to teenage wannabe-ness “Let’s drink chamomile tea and talk about knitting techniques”).
The second sin is covering a song you don’t even like, explicitly using the songs popularity to simultaneously poke fun at it, but also reaping the benefits of its popularity. See every pop-punk band who covered a Britney song. A cover used to be a tribute, a declaration that ‘this song/band fucking rocks’. Now at times it seems to be filler for a band that doesn’t have enough material to please a crowd, so they may as well play Wonderwall because everyone and their mom knows the lyrics.
All that being said, and yes I’m going to contradict myself, sometimes cover songs are just fun. Here are three cover songs that are currently rocking my speakers on a consistent basis.
1. 6 Foot 7 - Lil Wayne (covered by Karmin)
She absolutely kills it and with a smile on her face the whole time.
2. Pursuit of Happiness - Kid Cudi (covered by Lissie)
Great song, great cover. People told me “slow my roll”, I’m screaming out “Fuck that”.
3. I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You - The Black Kids (covered by Kate Nash)
3. I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You - The Black Kids (covered by Kate Nash)
Great version. Plain and simple.
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