and you know how i usually loathe covers.
i have waxed pretty regularly about my contempt for most cover songs. so many attempts are lackluster imitations of a perfectly good song. and to cover a beatles song takes massive cojones. that, or completely narcissism, i suppose. the sheer perfection of some songs doesn’t stop people from giving it a go. (yesterday is the most covered song. ever.)
that being said, from time to time, someone gets it right. and that one in this case is stevie wonder, no small talent himself. i was reminded of the truly awesome nature of this cover during the gershwin awards program honoring macca last month. Â so many of the people singing mccartney’s songs fell flat. (the jonas brothers? REALLY?) but steveland? he rocked the house.
so here’s my end-of-summer present for you. get down; get funky. and get back up again.
(just remember your motrin if that latter bit is challenging for you.)
I agree about the covers; often they’re poorly done. Just last night I ran into an old video (yes, we still have a VCR) of Blake Lewis’ cover of Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love A Bad Name.” I’m not a rap fan, but I thought the beatboxing element was highly creative and well executed. Now the pitch… hmm. It was *mostly* on. 😉 Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7cyExrijYs
hey julie,
thanks for sharing that. i don’t watch AI (i know; you’re shocked, right?) so i miss a lot of that stuff. the beatboxing element is interesting, but i confess that i still prefer the version by Mr. Big Hair From Sayreville 🙂
Wow, I hadn’t heard that version before! And yes, it’s a great end-of-summer track. Now how about sending me a suggestion for a get-off-my-duff-and-get-organized-for-fall track? Got one of those handy? 🙂
Happy almost end of summer!
hey cynthia – i usually blast some disco when doing housework. that, or punk 😉