TDOS Tropical Island IPOD Cover Draft - Round 20

funkykingston

funkykingston

Super Moderator
Staff member
#91
#91
Alrighty then. I'll start of my pair of picks with a song that I didn't think would still be around. And coincidentally it's another cover of an Otis Redding song.

In 1965 The Big O recorded "Respect". The original was a thinly veiled euphemism from a tour weary Redding pleading for some nookie.


Two years later Aretha Franklin recorded the definitive version of the song so much so that when Otis Redding got his first big exposure to white audiences at the Monterey Pop Festival (also where American audiences got their first look at Jimi Hendrix and The Who - check out the live album from Jimi if you haven't heard it) he introduced the song as one "that a girl took away from me, a friend of mine, this girl she just took this song".


What makes Aretha's version so special is really two things. One is obviously the commanding vocal and added hooks (spelling out RESPECT, "sock it to me, sock it to me" etc) but the other just as important consideration was that by having a woman sing the lyrics they took on a wholly new meaning. And one that resonated both with the Women's Rights and Civil Rights movement. A strong, independent, black woman singing that she would treat her man right but that she demanded to be treated with respect made this song more than a hit, it made it an anthem.
 
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funkykingston

funkykingston

Super Moderator
Staff member
#92
#92
The hard part for me with a draft like this is that if they are still there for me, my absolute favorite cover songs will go in later rounds because they are a bit more obscure. Very hard to leave some of them up for grabs but strategically I have to guess at which songs will get taken earlier if I don't pick them. Here's one of those songs.

This one follows the most basic template for a successful cover song. You take a tune, slow the tempo, strip down the arrangement, simplify the instrumentation, give it more intimate production and focus on the vocal so that the previously glossed over lyrics become more relevant and poignant. Still, I just love this song. Gary Jules and Michael Andrew's version of "Mad World"

Here's the original from the 1983 Tears for Fears album "The Hurting"


And here's the cover version from the Donnie Darko soundtrack and later Gary Jules' own album "Trading Snakeoil for Wolftickets"


As a side note, I understand that this cover only came about because Michael Andrews (who was hired to create the soundtrack for Donnie Darko) didn't have the budget to get the rights for his first choice song, though he never said what that song was. Tears for Fears allowed the use of "Mad World" for a figure that he could afford and he called his friend Gary Jules to sing on the track.
 
Padrino

Padrino

All-Star
#93
#93
my previous pick was a lovely song, if a bit melancholy, so i've decided that my next pick should be substantially more upbeat:

Crystal Castles (feat. Robert Smith) - "Not in Love" (Platinum Blonde cover) [2010]:


Platinum Blonde were a minor Canadian new wave band through the mid to late 80's. like many bands of their ilk and era, they were deeply indebted to the Cure. Crystal Castles is a noisy Canadian dance-punk band, one whom also owes a bit of their influence to the Cure, and back in 2010 they decided to record a cover of a song by fellow canucks Platinum Blonde...

"Not in Love" is one of my favorite covers of the last several years, actually. it appears on Crystal Castles' second album with a simple, unobtrusive vocal track run through a vocoder, and it's an enjoyable enough song. but then it was remixed by Crystal Castles and re-released as a single several months later with a surprising guest feature from Robert Smith (lead singer of, you guessed it, the Cure), and that is the version i've provided above...

if you've never heard this cover before, and if you have even the slightest inclination towards moving your body along with the music, then i defy you to not dance to this song on repeat all. day. long. Robert Smith hasn't sounded this good since 1989, nor has he sounded this at home, in my opinion. it's vastly superior to the album version, and lightyears ahead of the original. Platinum Blonde wrote a catchy tune back in 1983. Crystal Castles and Robert Smith turned it into something special...

Platinum Blonde - "Not in Love" (1983):

 
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macadocious

macadocious

Starter
#95
#95
My second selection is a remake of a classic...The Boys in the Hood are always hard, come talking the trash, we'll pull your card. Ain't nothin in life to be legit, don't quote me boy I ain't said sh....nothing yet.

Dynamite Hack - Boyz N The Hood

Both songs have lyrics that are NSFW if you are not familiar for some odd reason.


Original Song

Eazy E (A.K.A Eric Wright) R.I.P.
Album(s): N.W.A and the Posse (1987) Eazy Duz It (1988)

Original


A quintessential rap song from the 80's that they loosely based a movie on Boyz N The Hood (Starring Ice Cube) 1991. Which is a little ironic since at that time Ice Cubs and Eazy E hated each other due to the issues with Ruthless Records and Jerry Heller. Eazy E was kicked out of NWA and then in the Early 90's NWA ended up disbanding and of the 4 original members both Ice Cube and Dr. Dre went on to great fame and fortune. Ice Cube with individual albums and movies, Dr. Dre with albums, producing records (famous for launching many artists, but his biggest prodigy is Eminen) and most recently for selling his company Beats by Dre to Apple for close to half a billion dollars.

Dynamite Hack did a soft rock rendition dressed as what the public would considered your typical suburban privileged white kid. Not only do they do a great job redoing the song, but the accompanying video adds a great deal of levity.
 
Bricklayer

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#97
#97
ah yes, one of the early groups and songs which firmly established my dripping disdain for Rap music/culture.

But that cover is pretty hilarious. Almost a parody with that video.
 
Chubbs

Chubbs

Starter
#99
#99
funkykingston said:
Alrighty then. I'll start of my pair of picks with a song that I didn't think would still be around. And coincidentally it's another cover of an Otis Redding song.

In 1965 The Big O recorded "Respect". The original was a thinly veiled euphemism from a tour weary Redding pleading for some nookie.


Two years later Aretha Franklin recorded the definitive version of the song so much so that when Otis Redding got his first big exposure to white audiences at the Monterey Pop Festival (also where American audiences got their first look at Jimi Hendrix and The Who - check out the live album from Jimi if you haven't heard it) he introduced the song as one "that a girl took away from me, a friend of mine, this girl she just took this song".


What makes Aretha's version so special is really two things. One is obviously the commanding vocal and added hooks (spelling out RESPECT, "sock it to me, sock it to me" etc) but the other just as important consideration was that by having a woman sing the lyrics they took on a wholly new meaning. And one that resonated both with the Women's Rights and Civil Rights movement. A strong, independent, black woman singing that she would treat her man right but that she demanded to be treated with respect made this song more than a hit, it made it an anthem.
Click to expand...
How this was still around is a mystery.
 
William Blake

William Blake

Bench
#100
#100
The Rolling Stones - Love In Vain [1969]


Original version: Robert Johnson [1939]


A beautiful recording from delta blues legend Robert Johnson turned, some 30 years later, into a trademark Rolling Stones coutry(ish) ballad. Those 30 years were so eventful for popular music that the two versions might as well come from two different planets.
 
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dukeswh

dukeswh

Bench
#102
#102
Going into the second round, my picks are dropping like flies... :(

I'm taking this song higher than I intended to for fear that it would not come back to me, especially because it's performed by a local Sacramento band who I believe is famous on this board.

For my second pick, i select:

Signs - Tesla


Album: Five Man Acoustical Jam
Released: 1990

Original Artist: Five Man Electrical Band
Original Released Date: 1970

This is the original song which was released as a B-Side:)eek:):



 
63royals

63royals

Bench
#105
#105
Detroit medley -- Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

This was a frequent encore song in the early years of the band. It's a medley of 4 songs that were done by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels (hence the name "Detroit") -- Devil With the Blue Dress, Good Golly Miss Molly, C.C. Ryder and Jenny Take a Ride. At least two of these sons were Little Richard songs -- I believe he recorded the original version of Miss Molly, and he's a co-writer of Jenny.

The video is from their first-ever show in London in November 1975. My wife and I saw them three weeks later at Georgetown in DC and they were AMAZING. It was shows like this that made their reputation. There's a video on YouTube of the entire show that I highly recommend -- search on YouTube for "bruce springsteen hammersmith odeon 1975".

 
VF21

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#110
#110
I've updated the draft board. Jespher is gone on vacation and I have been spending time with the little princesses so I didn't see his message asking me to monitor the draft until now. Dime Dropper has been on the clock but I do not know if he was going by the indicator in the draft or didn't get a PM or whatever, so I'm going to send him one right now. Keep in mind he is 8 hours ahead of us timewise so he's going into late evening right now.
 
Dime Dropper

Dime Dropper

All-Star
#112
#112
Sorry guys, I never got a PM and didn't realise I was up.


Without further ado, my pick:


Killing Me Softly - The Fugees (The Complete Score - 1996)
Original by Roberta Flack (1973)

This song brings back so many memories of my childhood growing up in the 90s. It's a classic in my mind and probably the first song people will think of when they hear of The Fugees. Lauryn Hill's voice is tailor made for this song. I toyed around with the idea of taking it with my first round pick so I'm delighted it's still here.

I have also messaged the next person in line!
 
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VF21

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#114
#114
As backup commissioner in Jespher's absence, I would like to strongly remind everyone to be sure to send the notification to the next person when you complete your selection. And for those new to these kinds of things, ALSO please list your pick with the name of the song first and the artist second. Maintaining the same format makes it much easier to do all those updates to the draft board. Thanks!

Capt. Factorial is on the clock.
 
Bricklayer

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#116
#116
Dime Dropper said:
Sorry guys, I never got a PM and didn't realise I was up.


Without further ado, my pick:


Killing Me Softly - The Fugees (The Complete Score - 1996)
Original by Roberta Flack (1973)

This song brings back so many memories of my childhood growing up in the 90s. It's a classic in my mind and probably the first song people will think of when they hear of The Fugees. Lauryn Hill's voice is tailor made for this song. I toyed around with the idea of taking it with my first round pick so I'm delighted it's still here.

I have also messaged the next person in line!
Click to expand...
one more sigh.

But realistically I knew it was going to go early and I had other things I wanted to make sure of, so figured my chances were low on such a famous cover.
 
Capt. Factorial

Capt. Factorial

ceterum censeo delendum esse Argentum
Staff member
#117
#117
For my second pick, I'm going to go with a song that a friend of mine once told was played while the bride walked up the aisle at a wedding he attended. Man, I wish I had been at that wedding!


Fever - Peggy Lee (1958)
Originally written by Eddie Cooley and Otis Blackwell and recorded by Little Willie John, 1956 (Wiki)

I would point out that the bass line in this recording just doesn't come through on my chintzy little computer speakers, but it's there.
 
VF21

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#119
#119
El Paljasso is on the clock. Since he's in Belgium (where it's currently around 2 in the morning), it might be a while before he posts his pick. :)
 
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