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100 best covers: #33 Yoav ft. Emily Browning “Where is my mind?”

<< #34    |    #32 >>

Fifteen years ago or so, I was going out to the cinemas semi-regularly with a group of guys from work. All four of us were happily married but the films we often went to were ones that our wives would likely not have been interested in seeing so they gladly allowed us these nights out with the guys. The movies were all big budget action pieces that exploded off the screen, many were part of this MCU group of films that were just starting to get off the ground. To be honest, I wasn’t super familiar with all of the comic books that these films were based off of, but for me the actual content of the films were secondary, I enjoyed the nights out, the laughs, the goofiness, the popcorn and junk food, and the joy of being in the cinema.

One such night, we went out to see the film “Sucker punch”. I’m not sure which of the other three suggested it, perhaps all of them, but I had no idea what I was getting into, having no idea that it was based off of a graphic novel, nor had I read anything about or seen any teaser trailers. Without the weight of any expectations, I had a blast watching the film and was surprised afterwards to find I was the only one of us that enjoyed it* and in truth, might’ve been the only one in the world that didn’t hate it based on all the critical panning it received.

As poorly reviewed as the film was, it did receive some kudos for its visual effects and of course, its soundtrack was also universally loved, which is why we are here today. The nine tracks are a mix of covers and mash ups and remixes (oh my). The songs were used at key points in the film to add another layer to the fantasies of the film’s characters, blasts of technicolor musical numbers akin to the music video for Björk’s “Oh so quiet”. Indeed, many of the songs included vocal performances by the film’s stars. It’s probably one of my favourite ever soundtracks for how creates a specific feeling and atmosphere, reinventing the songs used specifically for this purpose.

The seventh of the nine is our song for today’s list and it features the film’s star Emily Browning dueting with Israeli-Romanian singer/songwriter Yoav on the Pixies classic, “Where is my mind?”

I first came across Yoav with his own cover of the track and liked the sound of it so much I checked out the rest of his debut album, “Charmed and strange”, which is similarly charming with his Cat Stevens vocals and use of acoustic guitar in inventive ways to create a sort of dance pop sound. I don’t know how he became involved with the “Sucker punch” soundtrack but it sounds as if his original cover became the springboard from which he and Emily Browning leapt, trading vocals over a miasma of industrial beats, feedback, and sonic screams. It builds from a place of quiet, an almost forgotten corner of the mind, each singer adding distinct voices from distinct experiences, and then the guitars kick in and the beat picks up, everything continuing to build until the machine guns fire, the full orchestra finale, and fireworks galore.

The Pixies original was featured on their debut album, 1988’s “Surfer rosa”, penned by frontman Frank Black (or Black Francis), a typically Pixie weirdo number that saw a resurgence went it was used at the end of the 1999 film, “Fight club”. It has become an anthem for the disaffected ever since and is a favourite at their live shows, which they perform in an unconventional way, kind of like a mix of “do I have to?” and “since I have to, I’m going to rock the hell out of it”.

The Pixies original exemplifies the eccentric punk edge of their early days and foreshadows where music will head in the 90s, slightly off-kilter guitar rock that was antithetical to the glam metal of the 80s. The cover is one and a half times longer and the mashup explosions exemplify what was popular at the beginning of the 2000s. Two very different sounds and each with very different moods and meanings, despite there being no change in the lyrics.

Both are fantastic and though the cover ‘gives’ just a little bit more** than the original and does everything a good cover should, I can’t in good conscience pick it over the Pixies’ original. Original being the operative word.

Cover:

Original:

*Interesting then, that this was the last film we would go out to see as a group, and often when we would see each other at work over the years, the film would be mentioned as a sort of inside joke.

**I always feel lyrics Pixies tracks could easily be longer but they always end just before they overstay their welcome.

For the rest of the 100 best covers list, click here.

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100 best covers: #34 First Aid Kit “America”

<< #35    |    #33 >>

I’ve written a few words on these pages already about First Aid Kit, the indie folk duo of Swedish sisters, Johanna and Klara Söderberg. I got into them shortly after the release of their second album, 2012’s “The lion’s roar”*, loving their stripped back sound and vocal harmonies, reminiscent of the folk music my parents had me listening to in childhood. I followed the duo very closely for next few years and one of the many things I noted about them was how active they were in posting cover songs they performed on YouTube. They really seemed to love putting their own spin on tracks that inspired them. In fact, it was their take on Fleet Foxes’ “Tiger mountain peasant song” that first got them international notice in the first place back in 2008. Over years they’ve posted covers of well known songs by Kate Bush, Kenny Rogers, The Kinks, Bob Dylan, and Black Sabbath**, and they even recorded a whole album of covers in tribute to their hero Leonard Cohen.

It completely makes sense then that First Aid Kit would eventually get around to a song by Simon and Garfunkel, another notable folk duo known for their harmonies. Given their penchant for reworking famous tracks, though, it’s interesting that they chose “America”, a song that was originally released as a b-side to single, “For Emily, whenever I may find her”. It was, of course, re-released as the A-side a few months later, perhaps the theme of young lovers hitchhiking across America resonated with their fans. The original was later introduced to whole new generation of fans when Cameron Crowe famously used it in his film “Almost famous”. Word has it that the Söderberg sisters first performed “America” at a ceremony honouring Paul Simon in 2012 and at the end, he gave them a standing ovation. So it shouldn’t have caused any surprise when they recorded a version and released it shortly after their third album, the magnificent “Stay gold”.

The original recording by Simon and Garfunkel starts with harmonized humming over acoustic strumming and the odd flourish and rim shot. Paul Simon is on lead and Art Garfunkel joins in halfway through, creating the harmonies that they are so known for doing. The song builds slowly so that by the end it almost feels symphonic, complete with crashing cymbals and a harpsichord outro. First Aid Kit’s cover is similar in structure but the harmonies are there, right from the beginning, and the sisters trade lines throughout. And this version feels a lot more melancholic in mood, even when it builds towards a climax just like the original. It’s like Johanna and Klara are looking back sadly rather than fondly, as Paul and Art were doing, more regret for what was missed than joy for what was experienced.

I love both versions and sentiments, appreciating both sides of the same story. However, I feel like edge belongs to Simon and Garfunkel on this one.

Cover:

Original:

*”Emmylou” from that album appeared at number three on my Best tunes of 2012 list.

**Their cover of “War pigs” is dynamite and probably belongs on this list of great covers as well.

For the rest of the 100 best covers list, click here.

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100 best covers: #35 Michael Andrews and Gary Jules “Mad world”

<< #36    |    #34 >>

I used to be a massive horror buff.

It started off with me reading “The Body”, one of four novellas in Stephen King’s “Different seasons”, because I learned that it was the story upon which “Stand by me”, one of my favourite movies at the time, was based. And because I flew through it in a matter of a couple of days and I still had a few weeks on my Bowmanville Public Library loan, I read the other three in the series*, loving those as well. From there, I read “The shining”, “The Dead Zone”, “It”, “The Stand”, “Christine”, “Carrie”, and when I finally ran out of King books, I moved on to Dean Koontz, Anne Rice, and Clive Barker. It wasn’t long before I was ploughing through the Horror section at our local video rental store. If it was scary, freaky, or even just a little bit creepy, I loved it. I even still distinctly remember lining up at the Cumberland theatres in Toronto with Ryan, my roommate at the time, to see “The Blair Witch project” and walking out dazed at the end, adrenaline still coursing through my veins.

It was “28 days later” that ruined me. I borrowed the DVD from the Ottawa Public Library and watched it alone** late one night, all the way to the end, even watching all the alternate endings. The fast moving zombies and almost credible storyline creeped me out beyond belief and stuck with me for months. I haven’t been able to watch anything else that was close to resembling a zombie film***, or any horror or otherwise supernatural film for that matter, that was released post 9/11.

I say all this in relation to today’s 100 best covers post because I have still yet to see the film “Donnie Darko”, the soundtrack for which this song was originally recorded, and more than likely, never will. I know that it was a small indie production with a great cast and though it didn’t make a lot of money when it was first released, falling victim to general unease about its content following September 11, 2001, it built up a cult following in the years that followed and is now considered a classic of the genre. I also know that its soundtrack was very well regarded, the score put together by songwriter Michael Andrews, whose only previous work was on a little known indie film and couple of television shows, most notably “Freaks and geeks”. Inspired by Ennio Morricone, Andrews wanted to include a proper song on the otherwise instrumental score and so enlisted his childhood friend and musician Gary Jules on a cover of the Tears for Fears single “Mad world”. The song was featured in the film’s closing sequence and garnered so much attention that it was released as a single a few years later, in 2003, and closed out the year on top of the charts.

Tears for fears’ original was also a massive hit when it was first released as a single, the band’s third, decades earlier, back in 1982. It is new wave percussive melody, sinister and eerie synths and industrial beats, over which lie the inimitable vocals of Curt Smith. It is slower and sombre at the verses but picks up at the choruses, just enough to dance to, much like the Roland Orzabal does on the dock in the music video. As austere as the original might sound, the Michael Andrews and Gary Jules cover is even more stripped back. A pure and simple, slowed down, melancholic piano at the beginning with Gary Jules’ soft touch on vocal, almost a whisper in the wind. The music builds slowly, more in scope than in tempo, but remains steadily haunting.

As much as I love the original, this cover is an example**** of where the remake doesn’t just copy, pay homage, or build upon the original, but it takes it to somewhere else entirely and it takes on a life of its own. Apologies to all the old fellow new wavers out there, advantage to the cover.

Cover:

Original:

*Also included in that book is “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank redemption”, upon which you all know the film that is based.

**Because Victoria, my girlfriend (at the time) and now, my lovely wife, was never able to watch scary films.

***Not even “Shaun of the dead”.

****And there’s going to be a few more of these to come.

For the rest of the 100 best covers list, click here.