So here I am relaxing after a good positive day. I catch a bit of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with my son, singing along to the theme tune with him. What could spoil such a great end to the day…surely nothing?
Well, I have just been shown this:
Jessica Simpson and David Bisbal singing Angels live. Yes, that is right, Jessica Simpson singing live.
You have to hope it is live, because if that is a backing track playing for her, then just imagine how she would sound live…
Listen and weep…really weep… I want you to have the same nightmares that I will have tonight…
Then here is a live performance from Arcade Fire and U2…
Then we have Nouvelle Vague’s take on it…my personal favourite for worst version
Now this is all subjective, but I think this version by Jose Gonzalez is very decent…
And citizen watt likes this version by Susanna and The Magical Orchestra from their excellent Melody Mountain album which also includes covers of Crazy, Crazy Nights by Kiss, and AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock and Roll) in the same style…
Based on my criteria posted on Number 3, I have no problem at all nominating this horror for the Hall of Infamy.
Cat Stevens wrote a lovely little song about the relationship between Father and Song, sung from both points of view. Clever structure, heartfelt lyrics, tender and sad all in one.
Then along came this monstrosity. Boyzone had a way with covers. No doubt they will feature more in this little chart of ours, but their version of Father & Son as much torture as I can bear:
Mind you, to lighten the mood, I found this by two young kids. I really think they lip-sync better than Boyzone…Fantastic…
I am trying to think of criteria for judging what is the Worst Cover Version of a Song Ever.
Here are some so far that artists sub-consciously must check through
1 Use the song to just make yourself lots of money
2 Sing/Play the song without giving yourself to the lyrics or the music.
3 Can’t be bothered with stamping your own personality over the song.
4 Try to sound like the original so you can make a heap of money on sync deals, so doing the original artist out of some money
5 Use a great song to cover up your own lack of talent
6 Misplaced loyalty to a fellow musician and idol
7 Always listen to your guru/producer/A&R person
However, some people judge a cover not by such criteria but more by being appalled that certain artists even go near a song of their idols.
Here is a case in point. Many seem to be not happy with this cover by Dolly Parton of Stairway to Heaven.
Now I am no big fan of Dolly Parton (really I am not), but cannot see how the criteria above fits with this version. It is either just plain awful or really rather good? (And here I realy start to worry about myself…)
So, after the horror of my recent post on AC/DC and the Celine Dion cover, I now keep thinking of artists who have covered a song and managed to destroy the beauty of the original on one step.
Now I am no big fan of early Rock n Roll. Not a huge fan of Elvis or Buddy Holly or Little Richard. However, I appreciate the debt many artists owe to them.
However, what gets me is how on earth Bill Haley and The Comets got away with it. The acceptable face of clean cut Rock n Roll in the 50s U.S. (i.e. white country boys)?
Maybe, but their version of Shake Rattle and Roll has to be entry number two in the Chart of Worst Covers Ever…
Here is their version…all nicely cleaned up (I hear Walmart again!)
So AC/DC, the scourge of the religious right in the U.S. and conservative parents everywhere, with albums such as Highway to Hell and Back to Black, have struck an exclusive deal with WalMart in the U.S. to distribute their music…and some of their hardcore fans are either furious or in shock.
The issue of WalMart’s stringent music policy is not a small one, but I will deal with that elsewhere.
Let’s not get all worked up on this one though. AC/DC have never to my belief taken any big moral stand against the corporate establishment. They have sold millions of albums and made themselves and the label rich. To my knowledge, they have not flown to Darfur or spoken out against gun running. I don’t think they are anti-fur. They just want to play rock n roll.
Their lyrics are not a rallying call for revolution either. I am no AC/DC specialist, but a quick read of their lyrics includes one about getting beaten up by the girlfriend, one tying the girlfriend to the railway tracks, one about their girlfriend overdosing. They might say that their songs focuses on the personal relationships between man and woman and ‘good ol Rock n Roll’. Some people might find some of the lyrics offensive or uncomfortable, others just wanna rock and sing along without reading much into the lyrics. Mind you, Walmart might approve of their commitment to monogamy (Girl’s Got Rhythm).
Those fans up in arms about ACDC ’selling out’ is an interesting position for them to take. It seems the fans are ok to sing along with the band to href=”http://members.tripod.com/acdcwillie/highway.htm”>’Go Down‘ and ‘Night Prowler’ but not ok to let AC/DC secure their pension?
Some bands start as revolutionaries then move to the right. Others flip-flop from one issue to another. Others just play music and keep their views to themselves. Not every artist is a revolutionary, not every artist has a high moral code on everything they do.
Now that artists are looking for new ways to distribute and market their music directly, there is no label to hide behind. They have to show their colours. Their fans will find out where they stand - and if it important to the fans, then they will react, and act, accordingly.
Artists now have to be clear where they draw the line. Radiohead and ACDC draw their own lines. One artist we know turned down a seven figure deal wit a brand, because the holding company is involved in arms trading. That artist draws the line very clearly. It is the artist’s choice. Yet the smart artists are also highly aware of the impact on their fanbase of any decision they take. Whether it is taking music to a new direction (Electric Bob Dylan, Christian Bob Dylan, ‘Before and After Martin Hamnett’ Joy Division) or signing up with WalMart, the artist takes the risk of losing fans. They also take the risk of gaining new ones.
AC/DC have made their choice. Maybe is is only about the money. If their fanbase collapses in the U.S. then they know the risk was too high. Somehow, I get the impression they have done their homework on this one.
However, Bob Lefsetz doesn’t seem to think so. He certainly is not happy. First, he mentions that 3 million copies of the Eagles album were shifted through Wal-Mart with no-one noticing. Three million people bought it, I think someone noticed. He suggests that these purchases were an impulse buy. Proof that it was purely down to impulse? None. I agree that supermarket shoppers make decisions on impulse at times. Supermarkets are experts at getting people to buy stuff they don’t need. Yet, shoppers in supermarkets make decisions for different reasons - their mood, time pressure, impulse, product positioning in aisles, shelf position and state of mind all affect the decision. However, to assume that all 3 million units were down to impulse purchasers is breathtaking in it’s naivety. The Eagles were never a ground-breaking act. They took what was a vibrant west coast sound in the 70s and packaged it up for the mass market. So it could make perfect sense from a consumer targeting perspective for The Eagles. A proportion of shoppers at Wal-Mart could be either those who bought Hotel California first time round or remember their parents singing along to it, or it could have been a gift purchase…or they might have liked the pretty picture on the cover.
On the one hand he seems to throw all Wal-Mart shoppers into the same trolley, then he champions the cause of the young fan who cannot get to the Wal-Mart store or cannot download it. On the first point, won’t the young fan just ask their mum/dad to buy it for them when she/her shops?
He is also stunned that AC/DC do not understand that the world is not about the album CD any more, and that it is about customer sampling digitally. He clearly is a fan of theirs and thinks they are making a big mistake. I agree wholeheartedly with him that musicians have to have a digital platform allow people to sample the music. Just one thing though, digital is global, and WalMart distribution deal is only for the U.S. Unless I am very much mistaken and unless a Chinese government style clampdown by Wal-Mart is underway, won’t the American kids will be able to find it online legally?
Maybe the hardcore AC/DC fans who have problems with this deal, but they could look at it this way: Imagine some soccer mom buying a WalMart AC/DC CD, then later getting into ‘Let There Be Rock’ as she heads off to pick up her 2.2 kids. Wouldn’t that be undermining the very fabric of society in one step?
Couldn’t that be AC/DC’s legacy to the RocknRoll revolution?
I leave you all with something to cheer you up…Celine Dion and Anastacia doing a cover of AC/DCs All Night Long…
Some might find this joyful, some painful to watch…
Just wait for the moment when Celine says to Anastasia “Come on Girlfriend, shook me…”
Well, we had fun in Dubai. The city is a fantastic example of the Adidas phrase “Impossible is Nothing”.
I have not been to Dubai for some years now and the transformation is incredible. Really enjoyed the visit.
I was kindly invited to speak to over 300 people at the OMD Creative Masterclass, organised by media agency OMD and my friends at CSquared. It was a really enjoyable conference.
The themes for the day were Mobile, Music and Movies, and there a few posts on the citizenbay blog over here.
My task was to address the new models of music and consider where brands fit into these new models.
The starting point was to challenge the audience on how much they contemplate the Sound of their Brands…
Very engaging audience. Back there soon…
Thanks to all at OMD ME and CSquared for the invite…
I have been enjoying the BBC programme Q: The many lives of Quincy Jones. I came across his name on albums back in the 80s, but then came across his name on some great jazz recordings and on film scores. True music legend. Part 1 can still be found on the BBC iPlayer for a few more days…part two coming soon…
As I write this post, I am thinking about the tagging of the post. How do I tag Q?
The problem is that he is not constrained by genre (Jazz, pop, classical, hip hop). He himself says in the programme that he hates being categorised.
A side benefit of this first part was an introduction to a fascinating character by the name of the influential French composer and music educator Nadia Boulanger
Revamped Last.fm boasts 'smartest' ads on the web I know that 50% of my ad spend is wasted; I just wish I knew which 50%? Or have the odds got shorter. It'll be interesting to see if record companies, who have been tradtionally shy of online advertising in the UK give it a go.
Music industry to tax downloaders It still seems like one of the better business models being pushed as a way of saving the record business. The only question is are the record companies, ISP's and mobile Networks prepared to do the deal?
BPI v ISPs - who's won on music piracy? The record industry get their own way, forcing the ISP's to act as the internet police! But will it stop the decline in CD sales?
