Covers, Part 1

[urgencytobleed]

Well, after lots of painful decisions about which ones should stay and which ones should go, I'm down to 50 various awesome cover songs and it's become impossible for me to whittle it down anymore. Therefore, I'll be making five posts with ten songs each over the next week, just to keep from totally overwhelming myself and anyone reading with a ton of songs (and probably long descriptions) all at once. You'll find a little bit of everything - the serious and not so serious, completely altered and barely changed, even a couple of my "guilty pleasure" artists thrown in. I'll be honest, I haven't heard the original versions for a majority of them, but that aside, they're all great songs by my standards. And I tried to keep it down to one or two per artist, but some are just so good at covers that I couldn't help but include quite a few. So, with that said, here are the first ten! (Oh, and the original artist is in parentheses, if you feel like tracking down those versions or anything.)

• Amanda Palmer - I Will Follow You Into the Dark (Death Cab for Cutie)

I usually find it hard to sit through Amanda's extremely slowed-down covers ("Lua" anyone?) but this one works well, the more somber delivery allowing the lyrics to resonate deeper. Plus, Amanda's voice seems perfectly suited to it and her piano arrangement is gorgeous.

• Azure Ray - For the Sake of the Song (Townes Van Zandt)

I actually just found out this one was a cover, but it's a good thing it is because I love it and needed an excuse to post it. I just adore Orenda's voice - it has a really warm and comforting yet also sensual quality to it and, along with the always beautiful instrumentation, envelopes you completely in some sort of dreamworld. This is probably my second favorite song on the November EP, after the title track.

• Ben Folds - Bitches Ain't Shit (Dr. Dre)

Ben manages to turn a completely vile and profanity-laced rap song into a mid-tempo piano ballad that almost passes itself off as serious and meaningful. Almost, because with basically every other word being "fuck" or "bitch", it's hard not to laugh.

• Bright Eyes - Devil Town (Daniel Johnston)

Conor's cover of this is quite lo-fi, with his signature wail over a deceptively playful melody and finger snaps. Add in some beautiful harmony vocals from Maria Taylor and you've got yourself a great cover that doesn't stray too far from a Bright Eyes original.

• Cat Power - I Found a Reason (The Velvet Underground)

A scant two minutes of voice over piano that takes serious liberties with the original's lyrics and melody may sound like a recipe for disaster, but it's that simplicity that makes it so appealing. Chan's stirring pain-filled vocals over those hesitant piano chords hits me very hard emotionally, proving that sometimes less really is more.

• Charlotte Martin - Wild Horses (Rolling Stones)

This lone cover on Charlotte's proper debut album, On Your Shore, turns out to be one of the standout tracks. It proves her talent at tickling the ivories but even more so, her impressive vocal abilities. She sings so intensely, sweeping between quiet and loud in an instant, that it's almost jarring but also extremely beautiful. This is especially true near the end of the song.

• Christina Aguilera - At Last (Etta James)

I'll admit, I have a soft spot for Christina because she seems so much smarter and more real than the Britneys of the world and, well, she can actually sing - really sing. Some have problems with her constant vocal gymnastics but it usually doesn't bother me and this song is an amazing example of what she can do. That long note she holds at the end is complete perfection.

• The Ditty Bops - Sister Kate (jazz standard written by Williams/Piron)

Abby and Amanda are, put simply, terribly adorable and can harmonize like nobody's business. I don't even think of this as a cover most of the time because it fits in perfectly with their original material, which often seems like it's from an earlier decade anyway. It's just such a fun and catchy little tune; I remember when I saw them open for Tori Amos, they had a few audience members get up and dance along to it.

• The Dresden Dolls - Material Girl (Madonna)

Honestly, this isn't a mindblowing cover, though it is interesting to see an upbeat '80s pop song transformed into a touching piano ballad. I love it solely for one moment: after Amanda sings "some boys try and some boys lie but I don't let them play", Brian chimes in with an extremely amusing monotone "no way" which gets the whole audience in the recording - and me - cracking up.

• The Dresden Dolls - Pierre (Carole King)

This is fun to listen to, but it's best experienced visually (both the video and audio are from their In Paradise DVD). Their playful chemistry and hilarious facial expressions throughout, especially Brian's, are so great to watch. Specific examples of Brian awesomeness: 1:38, 2:17, 2:35, 3:02, 3:35-3:41, 4:28 - alright, the entire video, really!

Well, since it's just past midnight now, part two is coming either Tuesday or later today if I get bored (which I probably will).