TDOS Tropical Island IPOD Cover Draft - Round 20

For my final pick I choose a cover by my favorite band of all time (my last 2 picks actually). I actually breathed a sigh of relief that GoGoGadget picked a different cover of this song.

Stone Cold Crazy - Metallica


Album: Rubáiyát: Elektra's 40th Anniversary
Released: 1990
Original Artist: Queen
Original Released Date: 1974
 
Hard to Handle -- Grateful Dead (1971)

I like the Black Crowes version of the Otis Redding song that dukeswh selected in the first round, and I like this one too. The Grateful Dead covered songs from all over the musical spectrum and that includes R&B songs, particularly in the early days when Pigpen was in the band. Ron "Pigpen" McKernan was one of the founders of the band and, with his background in blues and R&B, he was the counterbalance to Jerry Garcia, whose background was primarily in bluegrass. So, this version has more of an R&B feel than the Black Crowes version, and there's some great jamming in the middle.

The performance is from April 17, 1971 at Princeton. I know a guy who's major league Deadhead who says that this is, by reputation, Pigpen's best show. That's one of my reasons for selecting this particular performance; the other is that I was there than night. If I'm going to be stuck on a desert island, in addition to good music I'd like to have something that reminds me of good times. In April '71 I had recently finished my second season of watching Pete Carril's basketball team and I got to see the Dead! It wasn't perfect -- the guy behind me was tripping and spent most of the show pounding on my seat yelling 'Hot S**t' -- but I'm glad I was there. If you're so inclined, you can listen to the show in its entirety (along with just about any show they ever played) at the Grateful Dead archives:

https://archive.org/details/gd1971-04-17.sbd.sirmick.88760.flac16


Here's Otis Redding's original version from 1968:

 
For my final pick, I will select:

Baby, Please Don't Go - AC/DC (originally by Big Joe Williams?)

Early AC/DC classic from the Bon Scott days... love the song and the video is a riot.

 
Could have gone a few different directions here, but remembered this cover at the last minute. The original is one of my favourite songs ever, so I was shocked when I first heard the cover and found that it did it justice. Especially considering I'm not a big fan of the artist who covered it, but here, she just gets it completely right, and it's beautiful.

Lily Allen - Somewhere Only We Know (2013)
Original by Keane (2009)

Really amazing video too, but the song is about a good a cover as you're going to find.
 
Entity needs to make-up picks for round 18 and 19, and will be skipped for the time being.

Dime Dropper is on the clock :)
 
For my final pick in the Covers draft I'm going to select a pick that I pre-cleared with Jespher to make sure that it fit the definition of "cover"...


Run On by Moby (on "Play", 1999)

Original is traditional, but this is a cover of Run On For A Long Time by Bill Landford and the Landfordaires (1949)

The original song here has varying titles, not only "Run On" and "Run On For A Long Time", but also "God's Gonna Cut You Down". There are numerous versions of this song, but Moby's is a bit unusual in that his vocals are entirely sampled from the Bill Landford version (link here). However, Moby did re-cut the lyrics and added the piano, the beat, and the additional instrumentation on the song. I had another song pegged in this spot, but felt it was maybe a little too downbeat and decided to go with something with some nice tuneful harmonies to it instead.

This puts El Paljasso up...
 
Legend has it that the compact disc was deliberately designed to have a 74-minute playing time in order to accommodate the length of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

Beethoven's Ninth Symphony - Furtwängler and the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra (1951)
In 1951 Wilhelm Furtwängler and the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra reopened the Bayreuth Festival with a performance of the symphony, after the Allies temporarily suspended the Festival following the Second World War.

-- The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 (sometimes known simply as "the Choral"), is the final complete symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827). Completed in 1824, the symphony is one of the best-known works of the repertoire of classical music. Among critics, it is almost universally considered to be Beethoven's greatest work, and is considered to be one of the greatest pieces of music ever written. (Wikipedia)

Most famous parts at 1:03:13 and 25:58.
 
Well its been a long time coming, with the last pick in the draft for myself I want something to reflect everyday.. the appreciation of the little things.

Various Artists - Perfect Day (BBC Children In Need Version) 1997


Original

Lou Reed - Perfect Day 1972

 
Chubbs said:
Rush-The Seeker (original by The Who)
Click to expand...

I was just unable to find room in my 20-song list for anything off of Feedback, hard as I tried. 25 songs, and I would have grabbed something for sure. That, or if you guys had decimated my list a bit more. Either way, The Seeker is a good one.
 
Capt. Factorial said:
I was just unable to find room in my 20-song list for anything off of Feedback, hard as I tried. 25 songs, and I would have grabbed something for sure. That, or if you guys had decimated my list a bit more. Either way, The Seeker is a good one.
Click to expand...
It was The Seeker, Crossroads, or Summertime Blues. Being as we hadn't seen The Seeker and both other songs had been represented, why not?
 
Chubbs said:
It was The Seeker, Crossroads, or Summertime Blues. Being as we hadn't seen The Seeker and both other songs had been represented, why not?
Click to expand...

I thought Shapes of Things and Mr. Soul were good tracks too.

Come on, after all the grief you've given others you're not going to time out are you Bricky? ;)
 
Okay, yes, sorry, did not get a PM from Chubbs initially, and obviously was not checking in.

Also can't seem to find the file with my little list of potential covers, so just going to wing it.


Imagine -- Avril Lavigne (2007)

Other than the unlikely source never understood the negative reaction to this one. Delicate little version, and I've always preferred the piano/violin treatment.

original = same as jespher's
 
Bricklayer said:
Also, GGG takes these guys with her final pick:
Click to expand...

1. If anybody thinks that maybe this is a sublime joke and halfway through they'll actually start playing it well and be like, "Oh, man we totally trolled you!"...they don't.

2. Still, this had to be this bad on purpose, right? They just really hate Guns 'N' Roses and they're trying to make some sort of ironic statement, right? Right?

3. Nuke it from orbit; it's the only way to be sure.
 
I'll put together a more formal post tomorrow, but I don't want to leave everyone waiting until then. My last pick is:

"Fever" -- Sam Butera & The Witnesses, 1959
 
And that makes it complete. Great draft everyone!

We still need 3 make-up picks each from Entity and macadocious. I'll give them 24 more hours to submit before locking the drafting halls.

Following make-up picks, please submit your draft rankings (excluding your own lists) in order of best to worst (1-15), via PM/conversation with me. Playoffs will follow with these seedings.
 
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Oh, and I considered taking this one at various points. I enjoy it. Hope someone else does. A bunch of kids covering Tool 46 and 2.

 
I got you updated macadocious. Thanks!

Great draft everyone, and some nice lists to peruse! I'm gonna try to sneak a kayak to my island so I can split some listening time with my neighbors :)

The draft is now closed. Please PM your rankings to me within the next few days as able.

I plan to begin the playoffs Wednesday, 10/29/14, just in time to nab an opening night rush.
 
 
There are quite a few Grateful Dead covers that I really like, but I limited myself to two. Their cover of Bobby "Blue" Bland's Turn on Your Love Light was a staple throughout their career and the foundation for some outstanding jams. They had a really nice version of Smokey Robinson's I Second That Emotion. I like Patti Smith's cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit better than Tori Amos'.

The story I want to share here is about a performance by a band I saw while I was in college. I didn't want to select it in this draft because (a) there isn't a video that comes close to matching the performance I saw, and (b) I think it would be more appropriately called a mashup rather than a cover. The band was called The New York Rock and Roll Ensemble. The band members were students at the Julliard School (famous performing arts school in NYC), and they performed Roll Over Beethoven in a unique way. They sat down as a string quartet (two violins, viola and cello) and started out with some Beethoven. Then one of them picked up an electric guitar and played the riff that starts the Chuck Berry song while the others switched to electric instruments. They switched back to string quartet for the instrumental bridge in the middle, and then back to rock band to finish the song. I must admit that I'm more familiar with the works of Chuck Berry than I am with the works of Beethoven :) so I couldn't tell you what piece they played, but I'll always remember how awesome the performance was.
 
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I had a few lists of covers left.

Songs that weren't necessarily at the top of my list but that I'm somewhat surprised weren't drafted:
  • 311 - Love Song
  • ZZ Top - I Thank You
  • Harry Nilsson - Everybody's Talking At Me
  • No Doubt - It's My Life
  • Wilson Pickett - Hey Jude
  • Counting Crows - Big Yellow Taxi
  • Toploader - Dancing in the Moonlight
  • Bruce Springsteen - Jersey Girl
  • Manfred Mann - Blinded By the Light
  • CCR - I put a Spell On You
  • Joe Cocker (or Tom Jones) - You Can Leave Your Hat On
  • The Doors (or Patti Smith) - Gloria
  • Jack Johnson - Badfish/Boss DJ
  • Stevie Ray Vaughn - Voodoo Child or Little Wing
  • Eddie Vedder - Big Hard Sun
  • Chris Cornell - Billie Jean
  • The Band - I Shall Be Released
  • Three Dog Night - Mama Told Me Not to Come
  • Christina Aguilera and whoever else it was - Lady Marmalade
  • Dr. John - Accentuate the Positive
  • Arctic Monkeys - Hold On We're Going Home

The list of unlikely but surprisingly good covers:
  • The Cure - Purple Haze (this was the song that barely missed the cut - if you like the Cure it's definitely worth checking out)
  • The Flaming Lips - Borderline
  • Dave Matthews Band - All Along the Watchtower
  • Fiona Apple - Pure Imagination
  • Wilco - Any Major Dude Will Tell You (how many people even attempt to cover the Dan?)
  • Tom Jones and the Cardigans - Burning Down the House
  • Paramore - Stuck On You (Pop metal darlings covering Failure? And doing a surprisingly good job)
  • Wang Chung (yes that Wang Chung) - 3rd Planet. The Onion's AV club covers project was pretty disappointing. Lots of indie bands doing coffeeshop level versions. But Wang Chung showed what decades on the road is worth by doing a very credible Modest Mouse cover
  • Richie Havens - Here Comes the Sun
  • Musiq - Miss You
  • Ellie Goulding - High For This

Then there were all the novelty level songs like but I didn't take (though I suppose Obadiah Parker's "Hey Ya!" is pretty close):
  • Chet Faker - No Diggity
  • Primus - Have a Cigar
  • Kate Davis - All About that Bass
  • Anything from Dread Zeppelin
  • Anything from the Lost Fingers. They are undoubtably the best French Canadian trio doing gypsy jazz (their name is a reference to Django Reinhardt) covers of 80's songs:

Then there are things like Beck's Record Club. They've done song for song covers of albums from Leonard Cohen, Velvet Underground, Yanni, Skip Spence and INXS. Lots of songs to choose from. I probably would have picked INXS's "New Sensation" or Skip Spence's "Afro/Grey"


Beck also released an "album" a year or two ago that was just sheet music so YouTube is littered with covers. And this year a proper album (for charity I believe) was done with Beck doing one song and guests doing all the others. I liked Norah Jones and Bob Forrests' versions a lot but it was Swamp Dogg's version of "America, Here's My Boy" that was the most surprising. It doesn't sound like anything Beck has ever written and Swamp Dogg really fills it with emotion.

Lots of random songs I can think of too:
  • Clem Snide doing Faithful
  • Tom Petty's version of "Something in the Air"
  • Bat For Lashes sexing up the Boss' classic "I'm on Fire"
  • A few different covers from K.C. Roberts and the Live Revolution - probably "Heart Shaped Box"
  • A few things off Live From Daryl's house - probably "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" with the guy from Train
  • A bunch of solo instrument versions of songs, mostly fingerpicked guitar like "Crazy" from Don Ross or this astonishing one from Jon Gomm:

And tons more great songs that I'm sure I missed.
 
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I love the opening drum and harmonica line in the Zepparella version. Vocals are a bit weaker, but if I didn't get the Zeppelin version, I was going to go with this one:

 
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