TDOS Tropical Island IPOD Cover Draft - Round 20

macadocious said:
Hugo is a singer-songwriter. Based in New York City and signed to Jay-Z's Roc Nation label, his musical style has been dubbed by Roc Nation as "gangsta-rock". He is best known for his bluegrass cover of Jay-Z's "99 Problems" - Wiki

Hugo - 99 problems - 2010

Pretty straightforward cover I believe.
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Sure, if you ignore the fact that it's bluegrass and he wrote entirely new verses, otherwise I could hardly tell the difference!:p

I liked Hugo's version quite a bit more, for what it's worth.
 
I wonder how many of us use Spotify. Because I was thinking I could easily create each user's playlist and share them all as a way of ultimately hearing the different collections of songs.
 
funkykingston said:
I wonder how many of us use Spotify. Because I was thinking I could easily create each user's playlist and share them all as a way of ultimately hearing the different collections of songs.
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I use Spotify daily. It was really helpful during the album draft! I highly recommend it as a free musc player.
 
sludge metal titans making mincemeat of much less heavy indie-pop fare? yes, please!!

Mastodon - "A Commotion" (Feist cover) [2012]:


appropriately enough, "A Commotion" comes from Feist's album 'Metals,' and it's propulsive groove lends itself well to being hijacked by a band that knows how to make just about any song completely riff-tastic...

Feist - "A Commotion" (2011):

 
At this point in the draft I have no idea what songs will come off the board next and whether a lot of my favorites will get drafted at all. Still, considering the original video of this next song had over 8 million YouTube views I suppose this is as good a song as any to take.

In 2003 Outcast released the critically acclaimed Speakerboxxx/The Love Below which was a double album that really a pair of solo albums from Andre 3000 and Big Boi. The first single "Hey Ya" came from Andre 3000's "The Love Below" was a hit and was only knocked off the top of the charts by Speakerboxxx's "The Way You Move".

In 2006 Mat Weddle, who was the frontman of the band Obadiah Parker (a named he's retained for his solo work after the group disbanded) played a solo version at an open mic night which was videotaped and became a viral sensation. This version gave the song an entirely different vibe. I assume that most people saw the original as I did, as a goofy, funky feel good tune complete with the fun video of different versions of Andre 3000 playing every instrument. Slowed down and with more focus on the vocal, the song was revealed as more of a treatise on love and whether it can last. Well, at least for the first half of it.

It's a real testament to Weddle's version that pretty much every subsequent cover of this song was a rip off of his arrangement, almost always without credit. Even Scrubs had the character Ted performing his version on the show.

Obadiah Parker
Hey Ya!
2006
Here's the studio version:

and the live video from the open mic night

The original
Outcast
Hey Ya!
from the 2003 album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
 
Michael Jackson covers are always an interesting thing. Sometimes you get the overwrought, schlocky versions from singing shows and the like, doing a relatively straight version minus the extraneous vibrato and vocal runs. But otherwise you get highly stylized versions, such as the Alien Ant Farm song (and a few others I won't mention in case people want to pick them) mostly because they lack the vocal chops to really pull it off.

But they are interesting in another way. Michael Jackson very often comes across as someone playing a character when he performs most songs. Whether it's doing an homage to scary movies in "Thriller" or playing the world's least convincing gangster in "Billie Jean" or "Bad" MJ seems like a kid writing scripts in the form of songs with the videos proving to be an extension of that same ethos. It's why he can sing a song like "Blood on the Dancefloor" or even "Scream" and have no one bat an eyelash. No one took those songs as serious. Just playing dress up in a manner of speaking. "Dirty Diana" is exactly that type of song. It's a song about a sexually predatory woman that we can be sure Jackson never knew who seemingly hangs out in the types of places we know Jackson never actually ventured into.

Now on the other hand, The Weeknd has thus far built his career on a dark and disturbing drug & sex infused template. If R. Kelly and the like took R&B from sexually suggestive to sexually explicit then The Weeknd took it to sexually menacing. His emergence in 2011 was meteoric as well as a study in building anticipation and viral marketing. Sounding like Bruno Mars on heroin, his atmospheric and narcotized beats are a match for his often disturbing lyrics. For that reason I vacillate on how much I like his music. But is an undeniably amazing vocalist. And in his hands "Dirty Diana" not only gets a vocal the equal of MJ's original, but with a lot more weight behind it. This cover came from the third of his 2011 mixtapes "Echoes of Silence" with all three mixtapes combined into one release "The Trilogy" on his major label debut.

The Weeknd
"Dirty Diana"
from 2012's "The Trilogy"


and the original
Michael Jackson
"Dirty Diana"
from 1988's "Bad"
 
Local Natives - "Warning Sign" (Talking Heads cover) [2009]:


Local Natives took an angular and arty post-punk song from a landmark new wave album and turned it into something much more melodic with their always-appealing gang vocal approach. Talking Heads were never the easiest band to sing along with, after all, but this cover carries "Warning Sign" to rather harmonious heights...

Talking Heads - "Warning Sign" (1978):

 
Karmin - Look at Me Now - 2011


Chris Brown - Look At Me Now ft. Lil Wayne, Busta Rhymes



I'm getting paper!

This chick kills this song, anyone who can replicate Busta Rhymes tempo is a lyrical stud.
 
Padrino said:
Local Natives - "Warning Sign" (Talking Heads cover) [2009]:


Local Natives took an angular and arty post-punk song from a landmark new wave album and turned it into something much more melodic with their always-appealing gang vocal approach. Talking Heads were never the easiest band to sing along with, after all, but this cover carries "Warning Sign" to rather harmonious heights...

Talking Heads - "Warning Sign" (1978):

Click to expand...

Local Natives have always struck me as a bouncy version of Fleet Foxes which isn't a bad thing by any stretch. I had this one further down my list and figured you were the only person that might snag it. I have to say that for me there is exactly one cover of a Talking Heads song that eclipses the original and while this one isn't it (with the full disclaimer that TH is one of my absolute favorite bands) it is a remarkably cool version that I really dig.
 
Straitjacket Fits - So Long Marianne [1988]


Original version: Leonard Cohen [1967]


Interesting contrast between the Fits' layered dreampop and Cohen's stark sound.
 
funkykingston said:
Local Natives have always struck me as a bouncy version of Fleet Foxes which isn't a bad thing by any stretch. I had this one further down my list and figured you were the only person that might snag it. I have to say that for me there is exactly one cover of a Talking Heads song that eclipses the original and while this one isn't it (with the full disclaimer that TH is one of my absolute favorite bands) it is a remarkably cool version that I really dig.
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that's a great way to describe Local Natives. i agree that their cover of "Warning Sign" doesn't necessarily eclipse the original, but it is, indeed, a remarkably cool version. it's infused with Local Natives' personality and departs from the source material enough to make it a worthwhile pursuit (covering any highly influential band comes with its share of pitfalls, after all). in fact, Local Natives' cover of "Warning Sign" is so well-adapted to their character as a band that it has fooled a great many listeners into believing it's an original!!
 
I select:

Der Kommissar - After the Fire (Originally by Falco)

Another 80's classic! I especially like the video when the guy yells "cha!".

 
Sorry for the holdup guys, I was quite busy for the past 24 hours and didn't have time to log in.

For my 10th pick of the draft, I select:

Easy - Faith No More


The original version by The Commodores


Album: Angel Dust
Released: 1992
Original Artist: The Commodores
Original Released Date: 1977
 
I thought the most interesting thing about the FNM cover was how straight they played it. I saw it on the track listing when I bought the album and thought, "that can't be a cover of the Commodores song, right?" and yet, there it was. And more or less true to the original. That and the theme music from "Midnight Cowboy" cemented Patton, Gould, Bottum, Bordin and Martin as the most eclectic of the alt-metal groups of the time period and definitely my favorite. One of my favorite bands period.

For anyone else who digs them, I just saw that they will be releasing their first album in 18 years next April. Pretty cool.

Oh, and as long as I'm sharing music news, Robert Plant's new album is (IMO) amazing. For me it's his best solo release ever, even including the very good bluegrass collaboration "Raising Sand" with Alison Krauss.

It isn't released until September 9th, but NPR has a first listen. I think I've played the whole thing 9 or 10 times already.

http://www.npr.org/2014/09/01/343144827/first-listen-robert-plant-lullaby-and-the-ceaseless-roar
 
Thanks to Jespher for making the pick for me while I was traveling. A couple of comments about the Phish cover of Fat Man in the Bathtub:

Phish likes to have special treats for their fans in their Halloween shows. In 2010 they played the Little Feat album Waiting for Columbus, one of the best live albums ever in my opinion, in its entirety. Fat Man is the opening number, but before that in the video Phish do a couple of things that preceded it on the album. The album starts with the band singing a cappella to warm up their voices as they walk through the tunnel to the stage. Then there's a 'FEAT cheer' (gimme an "F" ...) which was originally led by a Bethesda, Maryland DJ that I used to listen to all the time when I lived back there (that part of the show was recorded in DC). The song itself is a great example of the swamp boogie or country funk or whatever you want to call Little Feat's style. The lyrics are amusing:

Spotcheck Billy got down on his hands and knees
He said "Hey momma, hey let me check your oil all right?"
She said "No, no honey, not tonight
Comeback Monday, comeback Tuesday, then I might."
 
It's hard to cover Bon Iver as they're such a unique band. But this cover is great:

Birdy - Skinny Love (2011)
Original by Bon Iver - Skinny Love (For Emma, Forever Ago - 2007)

Birdy is a special talent, it's hard to believe at this moment in time, she's still only 18 years old. She was 14 in the above video which is pretty incredible when you see what a flawless rendition she made (yes, she also plays the piano). Very talented girl, with a beautiful soft voice. The original is a fantastic piece of music and Birdy absolutely does it justice, changing it up enough to make it her own. This girl is already doing big things but there's no doubt she has a huge future ahead of her. I almost forgot about this song and just remembered it - I probably would have taken it earlier had I remembered so I'm glad it's still here.
 
Jespher said:
With his 10h selection, 63Royals chooses:

Fat Man in the Bathtub - Phish (2010)

Original: Fat Man in the Bathtub - Little Feat
Click to expand...

63royals said:
Thanks to Jespher for making the pick for me while I was traveling. A couple of comments about the Phish cover of Fat Man in the Bathtub:

Phish likes to have special treats for their fans in their Halloween shows. In 2010 they played the Little Feat album Waiting for Columbus, one of the best live albums ever in my opinion, in its entirety. Fat Man is the opening number, but before that in the video Phish do a couple of things that preceded it on the album. The album starts with the band singing a cappella to warm up their voices as they walk through the tunnel to the stage. Then there's a 'FEAT cheer' (gimme an "F" ...) which was originally led by a Bethesda, Maryland DJ that I used to listen to all the time when I lived back there (that part of the show was recorded in DC). The song itself is a great example of the swamp boogie or country funk or whatever you want to call Little Feat's style. The lyrics are amusing:

Spotcheck Billy got down on his hands and knees
He said "Hey momma, hey let me check your oil all right?"
She said "No, no honey, not tonight
Comeback Monday, comeback Tuesday, then I might."
Click to expand...

"Waiting for Columbus" is an amazing live album. Hard to believe that three years later the band would break up and a year after that Lowell George would be dead from a heart attack at 34. But that album caught them at the peak of their career. So much energy and the band is at once incredibly tight but still able to have such a loose groove. And Phish does the song justice in their rendition. I love that Phish likes do full albums on their Halloween shows. If I remember correctly they did the same thing with the Beatles White Album.

Entity said:
Tool - no quarter
Click to expand...

Had this one on my list and almost took it with one of my last two picks. Perfect cover for Tool to do. Well, not quite perfect since it's in C# minor and Tool songs seem to all be in D minor. ;) They really make good use out of the atmospheric, loud/soft dynamics of the song. At one point I thought maybe I would only draft covers that were over 10 minutes long and then this song would have been higher up on my list. I figured my tropical island playlist would have to be the best if it was three times longer than anyone elses!

Dime Dropper said:
It's hard to cover Bon Iver as they're such a unique band. But this cover is great:

Birdy - Skinny Love (2011)
Original by Bon Iver - Skinny Love (For Emma, Forever Ago - 2007)

Birdy is a special talent, it's hard to believe at this moment in time, she's still only 18 years old. She was 14 in the above video which is pretty incredible when you see what a flawless rendition she made (yes, she also plays the piano). Very talented girl, with a beautiful soft voice. The original is a fantastic piece of music and Birdy absolutely does it justice, changing it up enough to make it her own. This girl is already doing big things but there's no doubt she has a huge future ahead of her. I almost forgot about this song and just remembered it - I probably would have taken it earlier had I remembered so I'm glad it's still here.
Click to expand...

The Birdy cover has always been an interesting thing to me. For me I think Birdy's version is impressive because she has a fantastic voice and it is impressive that she played piano and sang so well at such a young age. At the same time I think the issue I have with it is that at 14 I just don't get the sense that she's experienced the type of emotions or the type of relationship and heartbreak that the song is about. Still, no denying she covers the song really well.
 
funkykingston said:
I thought the most interesting thing about the FNM cover was how straight they played it. I saw it on the track listing when I bought the album and thought, "that can't be a cover of the Commodores song, right?" and yet, there it was. And more or less true to the original. That and the theme music from "Midnight Cowboy" cemented Patton, Gould, Bottum, Bordin and Martin as the most eclectic of the alt-metal groups of the time period and definitely my favorite. One of my favorite bands period.

For anyone else who digs them, I just saw that they will be releasing their first album in 18 years next April. Pretty cool.
Click to expand...

i saw that, as well. it's exciting news, though these reunion albums tend to be minor works at best, and reputation-damaging endeavors at worst. there are exceptions, of course (late-period Swans comes to mind), so here's to hoping that FNM can shatter my relatively low expectations...
 
For my next selection I choose:


One by Aimee Mann (made famous on the Magnolia soundtrack 1999, but originally released on For The Love Of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson, 1995)

Original written and recorded by Harry Nilsson, 1968

There are a lot of things I love about this cover - Mann's voice, the keyboard work, the way she briefly weaves in another vocal theme from another Nilsson song...on top of that it's just a great song to start with.

El Paljasso is up.
 
Padrino said:
i saw that, as well. it's exciting news, though these reunion albums tend to be minor works at best, and reputation-damaging endeavors at worst. there are exceptions, of course (late-period Swans comes to mind), so here's to hoping that FNM can shatter my relatively low expectations...
Click to expand...

True though there are some definite reasons to think it might be a good record. The first is that the band has been touring for the last three years or so getting their chops back and reconnecting musically. The second it that they are no longer signed to a label so they have complete freedom to do what they want. I mean, Angel Dust would never get released by a major label today anyway. And the last is that at this point they are better musicians with some pretty wide ranging post FNM projects. The band was always eclectic, but I'd expect something fairly expansive from them this time around. I actually have pretty high expectations. We'll see.
 
I wonder whether the denizens of this draft are all working men/women whom work for a bunch of outdoor companies concentrating time consuming and career making projects in the summer months before the rains come, or whether the denizens of this draft are mostly students fresh back to school who had their head really snapped around by that hottie in 9:00 Chem class who wore that tight blue sweater the first day of class, and now they can't think of anything else.
 
Back to me it seems...

Okay, so my list is lacking in music that will make you move and groove... something that inspires dancing. There is no better music to do something like that other than Latin American music, specifically in this case a fusion of rock and Latin American music.

With my next selection I select..

Oye Como Va - Carlos Santana (1970)

Live Version

Studio Version

Single
"Oye Como Va"
Released: 1971
Abraxas

Album cover from a painting by Mati Klarwein
Studio album by Santana
Released September 1970
Recorded April 17–May 2, 1970 at Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, California
Genre Latin rock, chicano rock, jazz-rock, psychedelic rock
Length 37:32
Label CBS KC-30130
Producer Fred Catero, Carlos Santana

Santana's arrangement is a "driving, cranked-up version"in a new style of Latin rock (attributed to musicians like Santana), adding electric guitar, Hammond B-3 organ, and a rock drum kit to the instrumentation and dropping Puente's brass section. The electric guitar part takes on Puente's flute melody, and the organ provides accompaniment (with organist Gregg Rolie's discretional use of the Leslie effect). There are several guitar solos and an organ solo, all of which are rooted in rock and the blues but also contain licks similar to those of the original arrangement.

Original

Oye Como Va - Tito Puente (1963)
"Oye Como Va" is a song written by Latin jazz and mambo musician Tito Puente in 1963 and popularized by Santana's rendition of the song in 1970 on their album Abraxas, helping to catapult Santana into stardom with the song reaching #13 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also reached #11 on the Billboard Easy Listening survey and #32 on their R&B chart.

Fun Fact:
Elaine Benes lists the song as among her favorites in the Seinfeld episode "The Checks".

If your island is lonely and the music is starting to get stale then come on over to mine and shake your booty!

giphy.gif
 
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I thought this song would get scooped up early, and as it has fallen I keep procrastinating and looking elsewhere. No longer! Although the Marvin Gaye cover is thought of as the penultimate version, I prefer this longer, rockier version. With my 10th selection, I choose:

I Heard It Through the Grapevine - Creedence Clearwater Revival (1970) Cosmo's Factory


Original: I Heard It Through the Grapevine - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (1966)


More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Heard_It_Through_the_Grapevine
 
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