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Fun Stuff => BAND => Topic started by: A_S00 on 29 Apr 2014, 23:32

Title: Worst covers thread
Post by: A_S00 on 29 Apr 2014, 23:32
Looks like we're bored of the thread about good covers (http://forums.questionablecontent.net/index.php?topic=29326.0).  Let's talk about shitty* covers!

*The category of "shitty covers" may include, but is not limited to:-----

My submissions:
-----

Now you!
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: Thrillho on 30 Apr 2014, 00:52
Any time someone covers a song and changes the gender of who they're addressing. Annoying in general, because fuck it, can't you just be gay this one song? But more annoying in examples where the lyrics have to get clunkily changed. Someone covered 'Big Yellow Taxi' and changed 'old man' to 'girlfriend' which doesn't even approach rhyming with the original fucking lyric.

Bob Dylan covers are a subgenre of their own, but for examples of both good and bad I reviewed a four disc collection for Amnesty International here (http://madcap156.wordpress.com/2012/03/27/the-chimes-of-freedom-baffling/).

Also, the Lemonheads' cover of Mrs. Robinson is enough to get them locked up.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: J on 11 May 2014, 12:59
brittany spears' song Oops, I Did It Again is actually a cover of a little known Louis Armstrong song.

Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: Thrillho on 11 May 2014, 13:07
What the absolute fuck!
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: Thrillho on 11 May 2014, 13:08
No way in hell is that true.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: Welu on 11 May 2014, 14:25
It's not, I had to look it up. http://www.supermasterpiece.com/music/oops.html Warning: Link makes noise.
Quote
In 2005, the comedy website Super Master Piece released parody version of "Oops!... I Did It Again" titled "Oops I Did It Again!: The Original", which they jokingly labeled as the original recording by Louis Armstrong on April 1932 in Chicago, Illinois; their version was actually recorded by Shek Baker.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: J on 11 May 2014, 15:37
huh, well i guess they fooled me.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: J on 11 May 2014, 15:38
the fake louis armstrong version is still better though
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: hedgie on 12 May 2014, 16:41
Any time someone covers a song and changes the gender of who they're addressing. Annoying in general, because fuck it, can't you just be gay this one song?
What about Joplin's version of "Me and Bobby McGee"?  She gender-swapped it, but hers is practically the definitive version.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: Zebediah on 12 May 2014, 17:27
Shitty cover: Rod Stewart's cover of... well, pretty much anything he's ever covered. There is no song that Rod Stewart can't make worse by covering.

However, the absolute worst of the worst may be his cover of "Pinball Wizard". It's so bad it's hilarious. I laughed so hard I could barely breathe.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: Thrillho on 13 May 2014, 01:20
Any time someone covers a song and changes the gender of who they're addressing. Annoying in general, because fuck it, can't you just be gay this one song?
What about Joplin's version of "Me and Bobby McGee"?  She gender-swapped it, but hers is practically the definitive version.

Well obviously my main issue is from a gender enlightenment perspective, and I can't be too sniffy about someone 45-odd years ago swapping the genders when even I was far from enlightened as recently as two years ago, admittedly.

It's more that you end up just destroying the lyrical integrity of the song a lot of the time, as in my example with 'Big Yellow Taxi.' I'd love to cover 'Video Games' by Lana Del Rey, and I absolutely wouldn't change the genders in that song, apart from anything else it references sun dresses and shit, not that it matters if cis-men want to wear dresses or anything, but the song is the song. It shouldn't need to matter in this day and age, particularly when changing it due to your own prejudices can ruin the lyrics.

As for Rod, I like some of his songs, but he really is appalling and covering things. I can't think of a single thing he's covered where I prefer his version.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: lepetitfromage on 13 May 2014, 07:48
Any time someone covers a song and changes the gender of who they're addressing. Annoying in general, because fuck it, can't you just be gay this one song? But more annoying in examples where the lyrics have to get clunkily changed. Someone covered 'Big Yellow Taxi' and changed 'old man' to 'girlfriend' which doesn't even approach rhyming with the original fucking lyric.


I fucking HATE when they do that. If it doesn't rhyme/fit/work, leave it out. I'm not even a musician and I can figure that shit out.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: Welu on 13 May 2014, 07:52
I once heard a female group singing a cover of Cee Lo Green's Fuck Forget You and they did some gender switching but not for every part of the song which was really distracting.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: A_S00 on 13 May 2014, 22:25
Another category:  covers that mess up the rhyme scheme for no fucking reason.

Worst offender:  Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's cover of Somewhere over the Rainbow (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiU0mFnkHCo).  Listen to the first fucking couplet, then rage-close the tab.

*edit* Correct link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_DKWlrA24k), courtesy of J.

There's also a cover of Peggy-O by an Irish folk band I like called Siucra, where they've changed one verse to:

In a carriage you will ride go pretty Peggy-O
In a carriage you will ride go pretty Peggy-O
In a carriage you will ride go with your true love by your side
As fair as any maiden in the are-o


It's a really nice cover other than that, but WHAT WAS WRONG WITH FUCKING "RIDE?"  DID YOU HAVE A TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE INVOLVING RHYMING AT A YOUNG AGE OR SOMETHING?  C'MON!
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: ev4n on 14 May 2014, 12:25
So ironic.  An hour after reading this thread I come across Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs cover of Maggie Mae.  I figured Sweet would sing.  I was wrong.

No pronouns or names changed as far as I could tell.

And yes, it was better than RS's version.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: BeoPuppy on 20 May 2014, 07:04

That's just weeeird.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: A_S00 on 20 May 2014, 19:03
That's just weeeird.
That's...definitely weird, alright.  I'm not sure how I feel about it.  The vocals were...well, honestly more similar to the Leonard Cohen version than I was expecting, given the instrumentals.  Which isn't necessarily a good thing; he could never sing, and this song is from his awkward 80's "oh shit synthesizers are a thing" phase, which was probably the low point of his career.  But I think the song actually lends itself pretty well to the scary metal vibe (especially with the "what happened to your sister" > "what happened to my sister" lyric change, which makes it even more sinister).

Mixed feelings.  Definitely like R.E.M.'s version better.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: BeoPuppy on 20 May 2014, 22:22
I think this band, which I like, should never have gone near any of this man's work.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: J on 24 Jun 2014, 18:28
Any time someone covers a song and changes the gender of who they're addressing. Annoying in general, because fuck it, can't you just be gay this one song?
What about Joplin's version of "Me and Bobby McGee"?  She gender-swapped it, but hers is practically the definitive version.

Well obviously my main issue is from a gender enlightenment perspective, and I can't be too sniffy about someone 45-odd years ago swapping the genders when even I was far from enlightened as recently as two years ago, admittedly.

It's more that you end up just destroying the lyrical integrity of the song a lot of the time, as in my example with 'Big Yellow Taxi.' I'd love to cover 'Video Games' by Lana Del Rey, and I absolutely wouldn't change the genders in that song, apart from anything else it references sun dresses and shit, not that it matters if cis-men want to wear dresses or anything, but the song is the song. It shouldn't need to matter in this day and age, particularly when changing it due to your own prejudices can ruin the lyrics.

while i totally get where you're coming from one the social politics angel, i have to disagree on the artistic angel. when adapting an existing work, i think that an artist should never be afraid to adapt it; keeping what they want to keep & changing what they need to change in order to make it their own. if i wanted a version that was 'true' or 'authentic' to the original song, i would listen to the original song.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: J on 24 Jun 2014, 18:28
Another category:  covers that mess up the rhyme scheme for no fucking reason.

Worst offender:  Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's cover of Somewhere over the Rainbow (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiU0mFnkHCo).  Listen to the first fucking couplet, then rage-close the tab.

a few things:

1) the version of the song you linked to is not actually Bruddah Iz. it is ironically enough a cover being sung by the owner of the youtube channel (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa9TdvjL3kTGKN-nHnn3agA), who really should have more clearly labeled it as such. Iz's (far superior) version is here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_DKWlrA24k)

2) the song in question (by Iz) is really not a cover, it's a medley; a creative blending of several different songs into one.

3) please refer to above post regarding my opinions on artists adapting things in their adaptations

4) it's a fucking beautiful song.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: IDMG on 24 Jun 2014, 19:00
Limp Bizkit's version of Behind Blue Eyes
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: Chad K. on 24 Jun 2014, 22:08
Sheryl Crowe's cover of D'yer Mak'er is pretty god awful atrocious. 

Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: A_S00 on 24 Jun 2014, 23:07
Another category:  covers that mess up the rhyme scheme for no fucking reason.

Worst offender:  Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's cover of Somewhere over the Rainbow (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiU0mFnkHCo).  Listen to the first fucking couplet, then rage-close the tab.

a few things:

1) the version of the song you linked to is not actually Bruddah Iz. it is ironically enough a cover being sung by the owner of the youtube channel (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa9TdvjL3kTGKN-nHnn3agA), who really should have more clearly labeled it as such. Iz's (far superior) version is here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_DKWlrA24k)

2) the song in question (by Iz) is really not a cover, it's a medley; a creative blending of several different songs into one.

3) please refer to above post regarding my opinions on artists adapting things in their adaptations

4) it's a fucking beautiful song.

1.  Well, that's embarrassing.  The version I linked isn't where I originally heard it; I was remembering it when making the post, then did a quick google to find an appropriate link, listened for a few seconds, went "yep, that's got messed up lyrics like I remember," and linked it.

2.  I just re-listened to the correct version.  I don't hear portions of any song other than Somewhere Over the Rainbow...?

3.  My problem is not that it's been adapted (that is, that it's different from the original), but that it has been changed in such a way that it no longer works as a song.  The sentences are no longer sentences, the rhymes no longer rhyme.  While there are plenty of non-rhyming, non-sentence lyrics that do work, these ones just sound painfully awkward and messed up, like an essay whose paragraphs have been haphazardly cut and pasted into a random order.

4.  As (3), I disagree.  I mean, dude can sing and play, no argument there.  He's a great musician.  But I think this cover totally fails as a song.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: Thrillho on 25 Jun 2014, 00:55
Any time someone covers a song and changes the gender of who they're addressing. Annoying in general, because fuck it, can't you just be gay this one song?
What about Joplin's version of "Me and Bobby McGee"?  She gender-swapped it, but hers is practically the definitive version.

Well obviously my main issue is from a gender enlightenment perspective, and I can't be too sniffy about someone 45-odd years ago swapping the genders when even I was far from enlightened as recently as two years ago, admittedly.

It's more that you end up just destroying the lyrical integrity of the song a lot of the time, as in my example with 'Big Yellow Taxi.' I'd love to cover 'Video Games' by Lana Del Rey, and I absolutely wouldn't change the genders in that song, apart from anything else it references sun dresses and shit, not that it matters if cis-men want to wear dresses or anything, but the song is the song. It shouldn't need to matter in this day and age, particularly when changing it due to your own prejudices can ruin the lyrics.

while i totally get where you're coming from one the social politics angel, i have to disagree on the artistic angel. when adapting an existing work, i think that an artist should never be afraid to adapt it; keeping what they want to keep & changing what they need to change in order to make it their own. if i wanted a version that was 'true' or 'authentic' to the original song, i would listen to the original song.

I don't agree with that entirely. You can adapt a song to have a different meaning to make a point - say, The Cribs' cover of 'Back To Black' which seemingly turns it into a murder ballad just by tone - but arbitrary lyrical changes because 'oh shit! I'm not a girl' are completely different. That's not adapting it. That's laziness, that's stupidity, that's ignorance - and perhaps most damningly of an artist, it's not very artistically daring either.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: Jimor on 15 Jul 2014, 15:02
Any time someone covers a song and changes the gender of who they're addressing. Annoying in general, because fuck it, can't you just be gay this one song?

This gives me an excuse to post the video where I took the ridiculous footage from one of the band's music videos and re-edited it (badly) to go with their ridiculous cover of Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl". Credit where credit is due, however, they didn't change the gender in any of the lyrics. Sadly, this will probably be the most popular video I ever upload, currently at 2.6 million views.

Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: BeoPuppy on 14 Jan 2015, 02:04

I'm on a Cohen cover trip.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: Edguy on 14 Jan 2015, 03:25
Limp Bizkit's version of Behind Blue Eyes
Hate limp bizkit or not, that cover is actually pretty good imo!
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: BeoPuppy on 14 Jan 2015, 04:57
I agree. Better than the original.

But then, I don't like ... that band.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: Thrillho on 14 Jan 2015, 06:03
Limp Bizkit were actually quite good at covers, at least when it came to making songs distinctive and making them sound like themselves instead of being a by-the-numbers cover that may as well not have happened.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: osaka on 15 Jan 2015, 12:41
I am still battling myself over this one, but considering that the original was trash AND the cover is purposefully made trash and similar to the original, I'll put it here. It's what Astrud would've liked.

Now, there are some really really subtle lyric changes on Astrud's cover (http://youtu.be/VEnHqFyEQlA) of Paradisio's "Bailando" (http://youtu.be/xiWtqVtd1Oo). The ones that change the lyrics from "party craze" to "hard drug withdrawal". Two words change btw.

It's absolutely trash, but I love it. Plus, it's fun when you know both versions and know what both say.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: 94ssd on 16 Jan 2015, 10:32
Two shitty (in my opinion) covers that became more popular than the originals.


Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: A_S00 on 18 Jan 2015, 00:06

I like most things about this cover, but there are two lyric changes that really bug me:

"...in the 1970's" > "...in the twentieth century" feels pretty forced.

"...and I felt like getting high" > "...and I felt like I could cry" is just trying way too hard to keep it PG.  Is wanting to get high when feeling despair really so risque you can't say it, ladies?
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: BeoPuppy on 18 Jan 2015, 06:55
I kinda like turn the page ...
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: Edguy on 19 Jan 2015, 22:30
I feel like if we're talking about covers by Metallica, then I'd rather pick Whiskey in the Jar. Then again, the original is pretty bad as well, so..
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: hedgie on 20 Jan 2015, 03:28
I dunno, I'm pretty sure that The Dubliners did a good version.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: BenRG on 20 Jan 2015, 05:28
The myth, the legend, the Horror from Beyond Time and Space that is William Shatner's "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".

An actually only above-average song originally, compared to The Beatles at their best, Shatner's inability to carry a tune turns it into a strange, spoken word poem to a random music track like something out of 1950s beat poetry. Unfortunately, Shatner isn't able to stop hamming it up, making even the reading of the lyrics sometimes unintentionally funny and often physically painful to experience.

Immortalised in a Batman story by The Scarecrow: "My province is fear, and you have not experienced fear until you have listened to that record."
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: Aziraphale on 27 Jan 2015, 13:01
I feel like if we're talking about covers by Metallica, then I'd rather pick Whiskey in the Jar. Then again, the original is pretty bad as well, so..

I'm with Hedgie on this one; the Dubliners' version is good, and the Thin Lizzy version would've been good if it'd been by anybody but Thin Lizzy. I love Thin Lizzy, but their version of that song just seems... forced, maybe? Not as effortless, funky, or funny as, say, "Jailbreak" or "Dancing in the Moonlight." At least Phil Lynott doesn't sound as constipated as James Hetfield, though.

Regarding Rod Stewart: you have to differentiate between old-school (Faces, Jeff Beck and early solo) RS and the later, frankly awful, stuff he did. Some of the old covers may not have been better than the originals, but they definitely held their own (check out his version of "(I Know I'm) Losing You," for instance.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: BeoPuppy on 27 Apr 2015, 00:38
http://jezebel.com/do-you-want-to-listen-to-britney-spears-leaked-toms-din-1700002342#

You really don't, by the way.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: Thrillho on 27 Apr 2015, 01:21
The myth, the legend, the Horror from Beyond Time and Space that is William Shatner's "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".

An actually only above-average song originally, compared to The Beatles at their best, Shatner's inability to carry a tune turns it into a strange, spoken word poem to a random music track like something out of 1950s beat poetry. Unfortunately, Shatner isn't able to stop hamming it up, making even the reading of the lyrics sometimes unintentionally funny and often physically painful to experience.

Shatner has some good stuff to his name though. His cover of 'Common People' is majestic, and he did a skit on Monday Night Raw once doing a bunch of WWE wrestlers' theme songs that was fucking hilarious.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: Stryc9Fuego on 27 Apr 2015, 03:53
I was introduced to the GWAR version of "Cary on Wayward Son". They really should have picked a song that Oderus can actually hit all the notes for.

Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: Stoon on 09 May 2015, 09:03

I'll never understand the boomer's love and fascination with people who couldn't sing even a single note.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: doombilly on 10 May 2015, 07:32
Not a valid youtube URL
I'll never understand the boomer's love and fascination with people who couldn't sing even a single note.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: Akima on 11 May 2015, 06:00
I'll never understand the boomer's love and fascination with people who couldn't sing even a single note.
I feel the same way about Barnsey (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Barnes)...
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: 94ssd on 11 May 2015, 13:57
Any time someone covers a song and changes the gender of who they're addressing. Annoying in general, because fuck it, can't you just be gay this one song? But more annoying in examples where the lyrics have to get clunkily changed. Someone covered 'Big Yellow Taxi' and changed 'old man' to 'girlfriend' which doesn't even approach rhyming with the original fucking lyric.

People here in the theatre department do that all...the...fucking...time during auditions and it annoys the hell out of me.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: Thrillho on 12 May 2015, 01:04
Any time someone covers a song and changes the gender of who they're addressing. Annoying in general, because fuck it, can't you just be gay this one song? But more annoying in examples where the lyrics have to get clunkily changed. Someone covered 'Big Yellow Taxi' and changed 'old man' to 'girlfriend' which doesn't even approach rhyming with the original fucking lyric.

People here in the theatre department do that all...the...fucking...time during auditions and it annoys the hell out of me.

It makes me want to, should I ever get signed, make a whole album of covers in which I'm deliberately singing in a gender that isn't my own, as if to make the point 'THIS REALLY SHOULDN'T MATTER.'
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: KingOfIreland on 12 May 2015, 03:27
Love Buzz by Nirvana does this. Originally it was sung by a woman.

On the other hand, Queen of my heart really does sound better in terms of playing cards.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: Aziraphale on 12 May 2015, 12:51
Any time someone covers a song and changes the gender of who they're addressing. Annoying in general, because fuck it, can't you just be gay this one song? But more annoying in examples where the lyrics have to get clunkily changed. Someone covered 'Big Yellow Taxi' and changed 'old man' to 'girlfriend' which doesn't even approach rhyming with the original fucking lyric.

People here in the theatre department do that all...the...fucking...time during auditions and it annoys the hell out of me.

It makes me want to, should I ever get signed, make a whole album of covers in which I'm deliberately singing in a gender that isn't my own, as if to make the point 'THIS REALLY SHOULDN'T MATTER.'

That's actually a fairly recent thing, I think. Used to be that people would cover the song as it was written even if it was for a gender other than their own. Still happens quite a bit; Caetano Veloso did a covers album a few years back that included the Gershwins' "The Man I Love," among others (on the other hand, Caetano's unashamedly bi, so there's that, too), plus Lyle Lovett's take on "Stand By Your Man," or Tori Amos's "Strange Little Girls" album.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: Thrillho on 12 May 2015, 13:21
Someone has presumably also stolen my idea of doing acoustic versions of electronic songs too but dammit that won't stop me!
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: KingOfIreland on 12 May 2015, 13:36
I did an acoustic version of call me maybe with a girl once before I'd ever heard the real song.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: Aziraphale on 12 May 2015, 15:31
Someone has presumably also stolen my idea of doing acoustic versions of electronic songs too but dammit that won't stop me!


 :-)
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: BeoPuppy on 12 May 2015, 23:23
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: doombilly on 23 Dec 2015, 09:38
Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Bowie fan. But most of this should have never been done.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/be/PinUps.jpg/220px-PinUps.jpg) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pin_Ups)
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: thedevilissix on 29 Mar 2016, 19:18
Quote
Any time someone covers a song and changes the gender of who they're addressing. Annoying in general, because fuck it, can't you just be gay this one song? But more annoying in examples where the lyrics have to get clunkily changed. Someone covered 'Big Yellow Taxi' and changed 'old man' to 'girlfriend' which doesn't even approach rhyming with the original fucking lyric.

Largely I agree with this. You're referring to that well rammy (Cheshire-speak for 'nasty') cover the Counting Crows did, right? Where Vanessa Carlton got a guest credit for singing backup?

For me also, the Smashing Pumpkins cover of 'Soul Power'. The sound embodiment of Billy Corgan and his ego missing the point.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: sitnspin on 29 Mar 2016, 19:26
Quote
Any time someone covers a song and changes the gender of who they're addressing. Annoying in general, because fuck it, can't you just be gay this one song? But more annoying in examples where the lyrics have to get clunkily changed. Someone covered 'Big Yellow Taxi' and changed 'old man' to 'girlfriend' which doesn't even approach rhyming with the original fucking lyric.
I do this, but for the opposite reason. I'm a gay lady, the number of songs written for us and from our perspective is extremely limited. I see no problem tweaking a song slightly to better reflect your own perspective or who you are addressing the song to.

Edit - Although, I more often change the gender of the narrator than the addressee as I'm more likely to cover songs written by men given my personal style and vocal range.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: Tova on 29 Mar 2016, 22:27
Quote
Any time someone covers a song and changes the gender of who they're addressing. Annoying in general, because fuck it, can't you just be gay this one song? But more annoying in examples where the lyrics have to get clunkily changed. Someone covered 'Big Yellow Taxi' and changed 'old man' to 'girlfriend' which doesn't even approach rhyming with the original fucking lyric.
I do this, but for the opposite reason. I'm a gay lady, the number of songs written for us and from our perspective is extremely limited. I see no problem tweaking a song slightly to better reflect your own perspective or who you are addressing the song to.

Edit - Although, I more often change the gender of the narrator than the addressee as I'm more likely to cover songs written by men given my personal style and vocal range.

Not sure who wrote the OP here. But I agree with sitnspin. If the change is clunky, then it's annoying just like any clunky change would be annoying. But if it works, then I don't see why not. In fact, the more closely you can personally relate to the lyrics, the more convincing the performance is likely to be.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: Thrillho on 30 Mar 2016, 03:20
I wrote the original (two years ago I might add  :mrgreen:).

I have no issue with changing the gender of the narrator, because that is a part of inhabiting the song. Changing the gender of the person you're singing to though? I have an issue with that.

There are artistic reasons why you can get away with it. Due to the differing gender roles in our society you can really change the tone of something by swapping the gender of someone in the song.

Sometimes the gender is the point of the song. Like 'West Texas' by PWR BTTM is about an ex boyfriend who ends up with a girl, swapping anyone's gender in that without swapping EVERYONE'S gender in that would kinda take the crux of the lyric out.

I think part of this is because, while I absolutely believe in raw honesty in art, my songwriting upbringing was mostly your Bob Dylans, your Nick Caves, guys who create a character for a song and then inhabit that character, feel what they would feel in that moment, not feel what they, in real life, are feeling in that moment. Obviously both guys actually do shitloads of both and in my own songwriting I do the same. However both have flirted with homoeroticism before now also, especially Nick Cave, whose 'Easy Money' is as far as I can tell some sort of gay prostitution anthem (although I've not studied the lyrics in years).

It just irritates me, because it's so accepted that in visual media people can play a character and it is so much less accepted in music. A lot of people face controversy for their lyrics, when the lyrics may not be (in my case I can explicitly tell you that my narrators do not speak for me) a representation of how the singer actually feels, and it's because of that that I generally get annoyed when people gender swap a song. Is it you singing, or is it the character the song was built around?

This was a bit a jumbled so I hope it made some iota of sense. All in all, I completely understand there being occasions when swapping the gender of the narrator or the person being sung to is fine, but I think that the occasions on which it is are limited severely.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: Welu on 30 Mar 2016, 05:39
I once heard a female trio singing Fuck You by Cee Lo Green and they changed some of the genders but not all. I'm assuming out of lack of attention.

The way they sang the first verse was like:
I see you driving 'round town with the boy I love
...
I'm like,
"FUCK YOU!
And fuck her too."


"Boy" was a changed word, "her" was not changed from the original.

I'm guessing they didn't realise that specific Fuck You is aimed at the new partner, not the ex, hence the follow up of "and her too" at the ex. The way they did it made it so they were talking to the new partner, then suddenly to the ex, then back to the new partner.

Writing it out overcomplicates it, but I found it really clunky and distracting at the time because I couldn't keep track of who the narrator was addressing. That usually wouldn't be an issue but it catches attention when you know the original lyrics.

Edit:
HA! I already told this exact story in this exact thread in the first discussion.

I once heard a female group singing a cover of Cee Lo Green's Fuck Forget You and they did some gender switching but not for every part of the song which was really distracting.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: thedevilissix on 26 Apr 2016, 15:52
It's funny, this thread came to mind whilst listening to "I Wanna Be Your Lover" by Prince (RIP beautiful purple one :cry:) just now.
If you were a lady (and this I'm aware might be staying on predominantly hetero/cis lines, more possibilities are obv. available  :-)) and to change his lyric of "I wanna be your lover/I wanna be your mother and your sister too" to "father and brother too", it'd pretty well change the entire dynamic and underlying message of the lyrics. Thank gender stereotyping for that one.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: A_S00 on 29 Apr 2016, 20:43
The coffee shop I work at has been playing this version of White Winter Hymnal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOm0oRDx4h0

As audio-only, I found it cloying and a little irritating, but not the worst thing I'd ever heard.  The video is, like, viscerally offensive to me.  They have choreographed, synchronized bedroom eyes and I don't know what to do.
Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: mustang6172 on 29 May 2016, 20:20
Can we include sampling with covers?  Kid Rock took two songs I used to love and ruined both of them forever.

Title: Re: Worst covers thread
Post by: thedevilissix on 30 May 2016, 19:33
Yeah I reckon so. They aren't great treatments of the source material by aaany stretch.
 I remembered another cover I really dislike - Birdy's old cover of "Skinny Love" by Bon Iver. Don't get me wrong, she was about 14 then and has had some years to grow musically and expressively, and it's cool she had the awareness of the song, but for me it's just too sweet. There's no way someone that young can know the all-encompassing heart-rending hurricane of having your heart broken on the same level a songwriter like Justin Vernon can. Life experience I think counts for a lot.