Slightly’s Cover Blog…yea

A single song is the most malleable form of art. One artist can create a song, another can take that song, pull it apart and put it back together into something equally as beautiful and yet completely different. You can’t say that for film. Everyone hates hates hates a remake. A film remake will NEVER be as good as the original because the original creates such an attachment with the viewer that for someone else to come and recreate it in “their image” comes off as insulting. This is not the case with music. Artists are honored to have other people cover their work. The listening audience enjoys cover songs. They all are built under the same blueprint: here are the lyrics, create around them. A pre-selected pallet and a blank canvas. Use these colors, paint me something beautiful. And when an artist is able the keep the lyrical integrity of a song intact but build a totally different ambience musically, it’s a wonderful thing.

For instance, one of my favorite cover songs is a very simple one Mumford and Sons did with Vampire Weekend’s Cousins. Cousins is an upbeat, blistering, dance in the streets of Soho, kind of song that embodies everything that Vampire Weekend is.

Mumford and Sons released their cover shortly before The Cave took off and in my opinion it helps solidify and exemplify the folk rock sound that they’ve perfected.

It draws you in with a slow, almost woeful intro and explodes into that same fast-paced, upbeat sound packed into the original. You instantly feel like you should be at a hoe down in a barn in Iowa, drinking moonshine, dancing with the large breasted farmer’s daughter from down the street.

That to me is a perfect example of a well-executed cover. It is simple, it isn’t over produced, not meant for mass consumption, and most importantly it doesn’t come off as a gimmick. It isn’t an endeavor meant to jump start a career. It’s a showcase of ability, “I like your song, here’s how it is with my sound applied”. I hope to bring you guys more cover songs like this, and I hope you enjoy them half as much as I do. The phrase “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” never seems to ring more true than with cove songs.

Oh and if you think every blog post will be this long you are SORELY mistake. I am a lazy creature. If you have any cover songs you like feel free to send them my way .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) …Rock on folks.