In Atlanta, Friday night were always easy:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twgArtVqMlM[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7MK5Esy-L0[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ddnt_upvkFI[/youtube]
Category: Music Page 9 of 29
Occasionally a cover rescues a song that would otherwise be doomed to a life of treacly mediocrity. In this case, the embarrassing original is Savage Garden’s Truly Madly Deeply. This awful thing was probably the soundtrack to so many AOL-stock funded over-catered weddings in the late 90s that if I played it in Reston right now, it would immediately send a dozen people around me into tears:
Seriously, wasn’t that awful? I bet you didn’t even get 30 seconds through it. I sure couldn’t. But.
Check this out. Yes, it’s a commercial. But it is also approximately eleven thousand times better than the original, and evoked a big and genuine smile the first time I saw it:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgE5csAVPUE[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8CDERzun4k[/youtube]
I don’t pretend to have any legit claim on this song. Â It was well after that it was released that I first heard it. Â And when I did – flying down Highway 99 – it hit me like a ton of bricks. Â Placebo explains:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnZf0Ep57Rk[/youtube]
But it’s not Placebo’s song. Â We owe Kate Bush for its existence:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuLlwUaEyr0[/youtube]
And some have tried to expand it:
Running Up That Hill from John Forte on Vimeo.
But I think it’s been nailed. Â So much so that no one else should attempt it. Â The Chromatics:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUQaocQCMTs[/youtube]
The places, they call to me. Â A most excellent friend just brought up the possibility of returning to Argentina. Â I managed this snap on my first trip there:
Not bad for a furtive cellphone shot, eh? Â But really, it captures so much of what makes me really want to head back. Â As does the music of the Gotan Project:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZk-LJ_KCMg[/youtube]
And Tanghetto:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71G7sF1qun4[/youtube]
I have this silly habit of immediately imagining how I could make a life living in most places I travel. Â Pick up some clients in industry X, live in neighborhood Y, and have a Z kind of life. Â Predictably, that fades after a little time has been put between me and the place. Â But Buenos Aires – along with Hong Kong and Cape Town – has held on much longer.
Not sure if I can bring myself to resurrect the politics, but I’m bringing the music back. Â So, without any useful context at all, I present:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ihaOLOt29U[/youtube]
And the closing scene to the first season of Skins:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLxyrMDzanU[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kYTwxCi6b8[/youtube]
As as been noted before, we do not take requests. However, we occasionally indulge. Someone has been going on about the lack of coverage here, of late. So be careful what you ask for:
Belinda! Nice poppy sugary goodness.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOGEyBeoBGM[/youtube]
(Makes me think of exactly this spot on earth, btw)
So what do you do with an easy pop hit like that?
If you’re some cheaply assembled trio like Ultra Flirt, you mangle it:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SH3Psq7Z90Y&NR=1[/youtube]
Or if you’re some outfit named “Virus, Inc.”, you borrow a vocoder, try to copy Eric Prydz, and nearly kill it:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMgU1x88kqw[/youtube]
But thankfully, somehow, there are always a cappella groups like the Euphonics to keep it on life support:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDWwiajmhTo[/youtube]
Unholy Rouleur Jim’s feeling darkly – go check it out, and try not to feel guilty about enjoying the fruits. And in case you need some prompting, here’s some of what he’s digging up:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4sqishGuYw[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJKythlXAIY&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]