Saturday night we dined at a "chain" restaurant for our 7 year anniversary (it was Sunday, so we thought we would be good kids and eat out on Saturday), and I don't think I saw too many of Mark's restaurant bingo squares while we ate. Maybe it was because we got there at 8:45ish, and unlike NYC, restaurants in Minneapolis aren't as busy at 8:30 as they are at 6:30. Or maybe because it was P.F.Changs, and I kind of hold it a bit above the typical chain restaurant such as Applebee's or Fridays. Either way, I love the Mongolian Beef and would go there even if our server was the one with teased bangs, FUPA and a Harley Davidson tank top on.
As we were driving in the car the song Time After Time came on, although it wasn't by Ms. Lauper, it was a remake, and it got me thinking if there has ever been a remake that I liked better than the original? I had been contemplating this whole remake thing for a few weeks now, and then read Jeff's blog entries (here and here) on remakes (you beat me to the punch!), and it made me think about it even more.
I came to the conclusion that I can only think of one remake I like better than the original and that is Suspicious Minds - Dwight Yokam's version. Now this is odd for a number of reasons. First off, I don't like Elvis (he is the originator); second I don't like Dwight Yokam; and third, I don't like country music. The third has more to do with Dwight than the song, as I don't think it is very "country". 
I say if you're going to remake a song, REMAKE it, don't just repeat it, change it up!!
Mark listens to a band called Me First and the Gimme Gimmies and all they do is cover songs, but they turn them into punk songs. Most of the time you sit there listening to the song thinking "I know this song, but I can't think of the name" and then you find out it is Boyz to Men's End of the Road. You should check out there stuff and see how many songs you can recognize right from the start!
Anyone a Gimme Gimme fan? Have some remakes you like better than originals? What song do you wish was never remade? Or who is off limits to have songs remade? For me, that would be INXS's Never Tear Us Apart - that song is sacred.
5 comments:
Anyday my blog gets mentioned on the Smith's blog is a good day... especially when it's in reference to something awesome (like cover music). I agree with Never Tear Us Apart...
The other day in the car "Boys of Summer" came on and Tyler was telling me what a cool new song it is. I told him it's not new...it's old(er) and a remake. He totally did not believe me. But, I kind of like the remake more than the original.
Never Tear Us Apart getting remade would be almost as tragic as if INXS had a crappy reality show to name a new lead singer after Michael committed suicide. Oh, wait, that happened...
Covers: "I Fought the Law" has a wikipedia entry about how everyone covers it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Fought_the_Law
I'll take The Clash's version any day of the week, although I agree most covers don't bring much to the table.
Me and Devin LOVE Me First and the Gimme Gimme's! They rock! My latest favorite of their's is Goodbye Earl (Dixie Chicks). There are two re-makes that I love as much as the original, but they also have their own sound. One is New Found Glory's cover of Johnny Cash's It Ain't Me Babe and the other is Cartel's cover of Oasis's Wonderwall. Check 'em out, they are my faves!
I LOVE me first and the gimme gimmies. Also New Found Glory does remakes that are punk style. My favorite remake album is done in a swing, jazz, big band style and they do nirvana and "black hole sun", etc . I can't think of the name right now. Sorry. We play it at dinner parties and people always comment how much they like it. It's easy listening yet you know all the words and love the original artists. It's a great way to listen to a remake.
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