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March 22, 2006
Smells Like Paul Anka
Based on the urgings of the nice but sick and twisted people I work with, this afternoon I brought home a loaner cd of Paul Anka/Rock Swings.
I even listened to it.
Briefly.
As a child of the late 80's and adorer of most things heavy metal and/or alternative, I would just like to state for the record that certain types of music do not translate well into other types of music. This goes for such angst anthems as Smells Like Teen Spirit, Wonderwall, Black Hole Sun and Everybody Hurts. They just aren't the same when turned into big band standards. Not the same at all.
Nor are heavy metal classics like Van Halen's Jump and It's My Life by bon Jovi meant to swing. Don't even get me started on Eye of the Tiger, which was probably a bad thought from the beginning, even before Anka monkeyed with it.
And I still want to cry when I think of his arrangement for Lovecats by the Cure. It's such a great song. How could he DO what he did to it? All the bounce and fun and joy sapped out of it like a week-old helium balloon.
The only song that I listened to that did work in this format was Michael Jackson's The Way You Make Me Feel, which was halfway there already.
Overall, it was such a horrifying experience that I had to take my laptop downstairs and play Smells Like Teen Spirit and Everybody Hurts for Dave so that he could share in my pain.
Now I have to come up with a suitable escalated response for the sickos who insisted I'd like it...
Posted by sally at March 22, 2006 10:07 PM
Comments
Hello hello hello hello.
How odd. I was going to post on my blog today how everybody should at least listen to this cd once. I don't know why I was going to post it. But I was going to post it.
I should also mention that everybody owes it to themselves to listen to The Bad Plus version of Smells Like Teen Spirit. And if you hate that, you'll probably hate Tori Amos version too. But I don't care. I love cover songs. Which is why I adore Brian Ibbot's Coverville podcast.
You've lost all respect for me now, haven't you?
I simply do not care. Instead I feel stupid, and contagious.
Here we are now. Entertain us.
A mulatto
An albino
A mosquito
My libido
Yea
Posted by: Terry Bain at March 22, 2006 11:47 PM
No. I admire you greatly for being willing to confess your faults in public.
Just kidding.
Actually, I'd love to know why you like this cover of Teen Spirit. Because the guys at work said it's one of the best arrangements on the cd.
Me? I thought all the emotion was smoothed over. There wasn't a heart in it. Same with Black Hole Sun and Everybody Hurts. Those songs work because the original arrangements let the pain happen. There's sadness. In his arrangements, I feel like Anka took two steps back and commented on the songs from a safe place.
Tori Amos, though, would probably manage to keep the pain in there. Even though she'd put her own funky spin on it. So that's a cover I'd want to hear.
If you want fun covers, I have The Folksmen doing Start Me Up, which gets funnier and funnier as the song goes along, just because of the arrangement and The Clumsy Lovers doing You Shook Me All NightLong.
Posted by: Sallyacious at March 23, 2006 07:41 AM
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