Sure, the 99 cent download has put another deep crack in the monolith that is the album, but some albums still demand to be heard start to finish. (We’ll leave the discussion of whether the concept of “side one” and “side two” still has a place in this decreasingly analog era for another day, and perhaps another theme.)
Some albums open with a track that perfectly sets the stage for the songs to follow. Give us your openers!
At best, cover versions are loving tributes to the original song, or they add depth to a track by reimagining the original in unexpected and exciting ways.
And then there are the others…cover versions that leave you wondering just what the performers were thinking: not just bad, but beyond bad and on into jaw-droppingly bizarre examples of poor musical judgment.
Bring us your inappropriate covers!
A shared love of music can bring people together. Finding others who love Silver Apples as much as you do, or sharing stories about seeing Bonny Prince Billy perform is a joy that can fill many hours.
But there’s another side to music obsessives. There’s the copy of “MMMBop” that somehow has 487 plays logged in iTunes, or that White Lion CD that is mysteriously dust-free. There is the music that against all reason and better judgement you love. There’s your secret top ten.
Share your secret top ten.
Things that you love that nobody has heard. In this day and age thats a tall order, but I’m sure we all have something to contribute. (I know I do :))
It may be fun to use the comments to score just how obscure these tracks are. Maybe leaving a comment indicating whether you have heard the track and/or the artist before would work.
We’re music lovers because the notes and the spaces between touch us deep in our souls. When you think about why you love music, what fills your head? A breathtaking live performance? The first time you heard Jimi Hendrix wail on the guitar? The song you heard in the background during one of your happiest (or saddest) times?
These moments are different for all of us, but we relate. When a friend tells you about a time music stopped her in her tracks, you know exactly what she means. This is what brings us together. What are your most memorable music moments?
Themusic has already hit inappropriate covers, and sooner or later I’m sure that someone will give us a positive cover-focused theme, but this is something different: songs that are performed by the original artist, but with a take that’s different from the canonical version.
Jazz brings a world of examples, but any popular artist worth your listening time that’s had a reasonably long career has likely offered live or alternate versions of their tracks that are just as good as—but very different from—the version that gets regular play.
In time we’ll get to Autumn, Winter, and Spring, but right now it’s a sunny summer day in NYC and I want an excuse to post my seasonal favorites. As an NYC kid I never had the “summer cruising” experience, but there are still songs that only click for me during the summer months…
mash-up or mash·up (mash’up’)
n. An audio recording that is a composite of samples from other recordings, usually from different musical styles.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Re-use of other people’s work is nothing new in modern music. Musicians have been singing each others’ songs for as long as they’ve been singing their own. And sampling and remixing took off with the advent of magnetic tape recording 50 years ago. As my mom says, imitation is high flattery.
In the last decade, digital music has enabled the new wave of re-use and re-imagination: the mashup. At worst, a mashup is a worthless rip-off of what may otherwise be great music. At best, it’s a sublime creation that is all its own.
Sadly, while the paradigm has changed, the rules have stayed the same, making most mashups illegal. Let’s show our love for the RIAA by sharing our favorite (illegal) mashups.
You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension—a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas.
theMusic checklist:
While purists may complain that the shrinking canvas offered to designers by CDs—to say nothing of the (shudder) disassociation of sight and sound that came with downloadable music—have reduced album cover design to a sad state, it’s not dead yet.
Covers that are classics of design*, covers that are perfect for the album inside, or covers that are perfect despite the album inside: just bring on the stylish jackets.
* Yeah, yeah, we’ve all got a copy of Sticky Fingers—you’ve got to try harder than that, guys.
One performer, one instrument.
Some songs need big orchestration. The depth of sound and the play between instruments is an essential part of their character. Others just don’t need anything but a performer and some room to breathe.
They often come out of the many generations of singer/songwriters and traditional performers, but there are surprises out there: songs that were written for or recorded with full bands but take on a new life when stripped down to the very basics. Live performances, early recordings, re-recordings, and covers offer a world of beautiful examples.
What are your stripped-down favorites?
