Call Me Jazzy
July 25, 2013 8:28 AM Subscribe
I mostly like this.
(it probably shouldn't bother me that it's more like "1920's style performed by a late-1940s style band")
posted by hanoixan at 8:40 AM on July 25, 2013 [10 favorites]
(it probably shouldn't bother me that it's more like "1920's style performed by a late-1940s style band")
posted by hanoixan at 8:40 AM on July 25, 2013 [10 favorites]
Postmodern Jukebox
I was curious if they could enliven even my most hated pop song of recent memory. They did OK:
Don't You Worry Child
Ke$ha was prob my fave, but I like Ke$ha: Die Young.
the orchestration is great and the voice is *almost* there to the point where it not being perfect is annoying
Yeah, would have been framed better as a group post. A lot of their songs are better than CMM. The instrumental Goyte cover is good too.
posted by mrgrimm at 8:41 AM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
I was curious if they could enliven even my most hated pop song of recent memory. They did OK:
Don't You Worry Child
Ke$ha was prob my fave, but I like Ke$ha: Die Young.
the orchestration is great and the voice is *almost* there to the point where it not being perfect is annoying
Yeah, would have been framed better as a group post. A lot of their songs are better than CMM. The instrumental Goyte cover is good too.
posted by mrgrimm at 8:41 AM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
Definitely a late-1940s style hairdo, but that's one of the things I love about it.
posted by Gelatin at 8:42 AM on July 25, 2013
posted by Gelatin at 8:42 AM on July 25, 2013
It's yeah a little too 40s - but - oddly- sped- up
Like, slow down lady, you're 80% there. Go listen to some Josephine Baker and get back to me.
posted by The Whelk at 8:42 AM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
Like, slow down lady, you're 80% there. Go listen to some Josephine Baker and get back to me.
posted by The Whelk at 8:42 AM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
To my untrained eye they look to be more 1940s with a bit of ragtime thrown in there, not 1920's so much. This could be because they were doing this project for fun and not with an anal attention to historical setting, which means I may not be the ideal viewer.
posted by Think_Long at 8:43 AM on July 25, 2013 [9 favorites]
posted by Think_Long at 8:43 AM on July 25, 2013 [9 favorites]
The whole time I was listening, I was trying to figure out why I hated this arrangement, and I think I've got it. "Call Me Maybe" is in G major, but you almost never hear the tonic, except in passing. It starts off with the pizz strings on G, but then you go right into the verse, which starts on C (IV).
I'm about as weak on theory as you can be, but it feels to me like that harmonic relationship is a big part of what makes the song sound the way it does, and when you completely ignore it (the progression in the verse here is ... what, I III IV ii V?), it just doesn't come across right to me.
posted by uncleozzy at 8:44 AM on July 25, 2013 [2 favorites]
I'm about as weak on theory as you can be, but it feels to me like that harmonic relationship is a big part of what makes the song sound the way it does, and when you completely ignore it (the progression in the verse here is ... what, I III IV ii V?), it just doesn't come across right to me.
posted by uncleozzy at 8:44 AM on July 25, 2013 [2 favorites]
IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE ANAL ABOUT HISTORICAL DETAIL THEN WHY DO ANYTHING AT ALL *hyperventilating, holding the re-created 30s wallpaper in his hands he's about to throw up on the walls of his 30s era apartment*
wish I was kidding sigh
posted by The Whelk at 8:44 AM on July 25, 2013 [21 favorites]
wish I was kidding sigh
posted by The Whelk at 8:44 AM on July 25, 2013 [21 favorites]
It's OK, but it needs a bit more Annette Hanshaw.
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:45 AM on July 25, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:45 AM on July 25, 2013 [3 favorites]
MetaFilter: fun and not with an anal attention to historical setting
posted by Gelatin at 8:45 AM on July 25, 2013
posted by Gelatin at 8:45 AM on July 25, 2013
"Suppose that Ke$ha was actually a product of an underground group of Luddite artists that spent their evenings lamenting the soul-crushing alienation from all things true and beautiful that modern technology had imposed upon them. Attention spans had withered, sophisticated news items were condensed into 140 characters or less, and the youth of the country had shunned a sense of purpose for outrageous displays of hedonism. A country founded on ingenuity and investment in the future had regressed to an unruly mob of pleasure seekers.
Enter their protege, Ke$ha (an acronym for, “Kantian Ethics [dollar sign placeholder for symmetry] Hold Authority”). An Ivy League philosophy major-turned-recluse, she nonetheless possessed the looks and necessary lack of social grace to appeal to such a constituency. It was soon decided that she was the only hope to revive the braindead from the lulling glow of instant gratification . But how?? By pulling a bait-and-switch–attracting a fan base with a facade of vapidness, then preaching important truths about the human condition??
No. She would force a paradigm shift by simply giving them what they wanted–an overload of insipid, thoughtless material that seemed to affirm a hedonist lifestyle beyond the point that most would dare desire. The most reliable route to reach the masses? Pop music. And so, the prophetizing began, and the party did not start until she walked in."
About Postmodern Jukebox (or: "The Hypothetical Artistry of Ke$ha")
posted by mrgrimm at 8:52 AM on July 25, 2013 [3 favorites]
Enter their protege, Ke$ha (an acronym for, “Kantian Ethics [dollar sign placeholder for symmetry] Hold Authority”). An Ivy League philosophy major-turned-recluse, she nonetheless possessed the looks and necessary lack of social grace to appeal to such a constituency. It was soon decided that she was the only hope to revive the braindead from the lulling glow of instant gratification . But how?? By pulling a bait-and-switch–attracting a fan base with a facade of vapidness, then preaching important truths about the human condition??
No. She would force a paradigm shift by simply giving them what they wanted–an overload of insipid, thoughtless material that seemed to affirm a hedonist lifestyle beyond the point that most would dare desire. The most reliable route to reach the masses? Pop music. And so, the prophetizing began, and the party did not start until she walked in."
About Postmodern Jukebox (or: "The Hypothetical Artistry of Ke$ha")
posted by mrgrimm at 8:52 AM on July 25, 2013 [3 favorites]
IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE ANAL ABOUT HISTORICAL DETAIL THEN WHY DO ANYTHING AT ALL
Yes, I'm afraid I can't fully enjoy the performance unless I'm convinced the singer at some point dated a guy wearing a raccoon coat. It's a curse, really.
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:53 AM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
Yes, I'm afraid I can't fully enjoy the performance unless I'm convinced the singer at some point dated a guy wearing a raccoon coat. It's a curse, really.
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:53 AM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
If the historical details are bugging you, pretend that this is actually part of a missing episode of Late 80s Doctor Who where Sylvester McCoy's Doctor is battling the renegade Time Lord, the Entertainer, who uses his TARDIS to kidnap people from different time periods and forces them to perform together in an attempt to rule the universe and/or the 31st century equivilent of Top of the Pops.
("Imagining things as being part of the Doctor Who universe but in our reality often makes them better for me," says MCMikeNamara, surprising no one.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:58 AM on July 25, 2013 [4 favorites]
("Imagining things as being part of the Doctor Who universe but in our reality often makes them better for me," says MCMikeNamara, surprising no one.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:58 AM on July 25, 2013 [4 favorites]
Mashable interview with Scott Bradlee (piano, arranger)
Sensible Reason interview with Robyn Adele (singer)
posted by mrgrimm at 8:59 AM on July 25, 2013
Sensible Reason interview with Robyn Adele (singer)
posted by mrgrimm at 8:59 AM on July 25, 2013
The Doctor, the cause of, and solution to, all of the universe's problems.
posted by The Whelk at 9:00 AM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by The Whelk at 9:00 AM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
I enjoy these covers, but that link mrgrimm posted to the rational for why Postmodern Jukebox is special and important and not just doing covers makes me like them a lot less.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:01 AM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by jacquilynne at 9:01 AM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
Hah thanks for the headsup jacquilynne, I don't want to like them less so I won't read it!
I love these covers in general. For me they're fun though usually only if I know the original song.
posted by Carillon at 9:03 AM on July 25, 2013
I love these covers in general. For me they're fun though usually only if I know the original song.
posted by Carillon at 9:03 AM on July 25, 2013
I suppose this is as good a thread as any to mention Mr. B the Gentleman Rhymer.
posted by Rykey at 9:05 AM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Rykey at 9:05 AM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
Is it just me, or are all the covers too fast?
It reminds me of when I was playing in country bands and I wanted to play every cover super fast, thinking it would get people up and dancing.
posted by elmer benson at 9:15 AM on July 25, 2013
It reminds me of when I was playing in country bands and I wanted to play every cover super fast, thinking it would get people up and dancing.
posted by elmer benson at 9:15 AM on July 25, 2013
I suppose this is as good a thread as any to mention Mr. B the Gentleman Rhymer.
And no mention of Professor Elemental? For shame!
posted by curious nu at 9:18 AM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
And no mention of Professor Elemental? For shame!
posted by curious nu at 9:18 AM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
jeebus help me, i'm stuck in a ke$ha cover vortex!
I enjoy these covers, but that link mrgrimm posted to the rational for why Postmodern Jukebox is special and important and not just doing covers makes me like them a lot less.
That makes me a little sad. (Don't worry. Just a little. I still have Ke$ha.)
I am curious why you didn't like it. Pretentiousness? People shouldn't have thoughts and ideas? Or no one should like themselves too much? I am curious ...
Also, rationale.
posted by mrgrimm at 9:18 AM on July 25, 2013
I enjoy these covers, but that link mrgrimm posted to the rational for why Postmodern Jukebox is special and important and not just doing covers makes me like them a lot less.
That makes me a little sad. (Don't worry. Just a little. I still have Ke$ha.)
I am curious why you didn't like it. Pretentiousness? People shouldn't have thoughts and ideas? Or no one should like themselves too much? I am curious ...
Also, rationale.
posted by mrgrimm at 9:18 AM on July 25, 2013
Also, the first transatlantic telephone call happened in 1927, so I feel like this should be mashed up with Prince's International Lover. (spotify link)
posted by elmer benson at 9:19 AM on July 25, 2013
posted by elmer benson at 9:19 AM on July 25, 2013
FelliniBlank: "Yes, I'm afraid I can't fully enjoy the performance unless I'm convinced the singer at some point dated a guy wearing a raccoon coat. It's a curse, really."
He must be very tiny.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 9:23 AM on July 25, 2013
He must be very tiny.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 9:23 AM on July 25, 2013
Bryan Ferry doing Amy Winehouse, jazz style...
posted by markkraft at 9:24 AM on July 25, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by markkraft at 9:24 AM on July 25, 2013 [2 favorites]
Now I'm picturing Bioshock Infinite playing Call Me Maybe somewhere on the boardwalk.
posted by Justinian at 9:24 AM on July 25, 2013
posted by Justinian at 9:24 AM on July 25, 2013
Man, I love this kind of thing, even if it's not period-perfect. I'm also in love with the Bryan Ferry Orchestra album right now, and there's a Hot Club of Cowtown cover of Love Is the Drug that I'm stuck on too. Thanks for posting it.
posted by immlass at 9:31 AM on July 25, 2013
posted by immlass at 9:31 AM on July 25, 2013
At 0:42 when she mimes talking into a phone, it would have been so much better if she'd used both hands to mime a 1920s style phone.
posted by oulipian at 9:33 AM on July 25, 2013 [11 favorites]
posted by oulipian at 9:33 AM on July 25, 2013 [11 favorites]
Because otherwise I was going to have to make it all the way to lunch without hearing this fucking song again.
(OK, it was actually pretty good. But still...)
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:45 AM on July 25, 2013
(OK, it was actually pretty good. But still...)
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:45 AM on July 25, 2013
One thing the video linked in the OP demonstrated very clearly is now nonmelodic much of popular music has become. A big reason it doesn't sound quite right is that singing the entire verse 80% on one note is not how it's done in that style.
posted by slkinsey at 9:49 AM on July 25, 2013 [9 favorites]
posted by slkinsey at 9:49 AM on July 25, 2013 [9 favorites]
I am curious why you didn't like it. Pretentiousness? People shouldn't have thoughts and ideas? Or no one should like themselves too much?
Speaking only for myself, I didn't like it that much because it seems to fundamentally misunderstand the nature of Ke$ha and what she's doing. 2/3 of her songs are basically gender-swapped Usher songs, and if her project has a direct intention like Postmodern Jukebox asserts, it's to show how absurd our society is if Ke$ha represents the terrifying frontier of youthful hedonism for writing popular songs about getting drunk and hooking up with people, only from a female perspective.
If it has another point, it's that the absolute most important thing about being a successful pop star right now is picking a strong aesthetic and committing to it wholeheartedly, no matter how silly or potentially tasteless. I love Ke$ha a ton, but it's hard to separate that from my love of goofy drunken exuberance in general.
posted by Copronymus at 9:51 AM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
Speaking only for myself, I didn't like it that much because it seems to fundamentally misunderstand the nature of Ke$ha and what she's doing. 2/3 of her songs are basically gender-swapped Usher songs, and if her project has a direct intention like Postmodern Jukebox asserts, it's to show how absurd our society is if Ke$ha represents the terrifying frontier of youthful hedonism for writing popular songs about getting drunk and hooking up with people, only from a female perspective.
If it has another point, it's that the absolute most important thing about being a successful pop star right now is picking a strong aesthetic and committing to it wholeheartedly, no matter how silly or potentially tasteless. I love Ke$ha a ton, but it's hard to separate that from my love of goofy drunken exuberance in general.
posted by Copronymus at 9:51 AM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
I am curious why you didn't like it. Pretentiousness? People shouldn't have thoughts and ideas? Or no one should like themselves too much? I am curious
The thesis mainly seems to be that there was no detectable artistic merit in Paparazzi or other pop songs until this guy came along and altered the context of those songs, and now, lo, he has discovered merit in these songs. Covering massive hit songs in different styles is not new and it's not profound.
It's a bit like Columbus discovering America, except instead of finding it when a few hundred thousand native people already knew where it was, he landed at JFK yesterday and was all shocked to discover that there was land under that there airport.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:51 AM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
The thesis mainly seems to be that there was no detectable artistic merit in Paparazzi or other pop songs until this guy came along and altered the context of those songs, and now, lo, he has discovered merit in these songs. Covering massive hit songs in different styles is not new and it's not profound.
It's a bit like Columbus discovering America, except instead of finding it when a few hundred thousand native people already knew where it was, he landed at JFK yesterday and was all shocked to discover that there was land under that there airport.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:51 AM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
Postmodern Jukebox is, at its core, simply the process of taking contemporary pop songs and transforming them in some manner. One could call the Jukebox’s output a “cover song,” but I feel that doing so ignores the fact that said transformation has some concrete, ideological underpinnings. In other words, I want to make this sound profound, so just humor me a bit.
I think they should explore this further. They could transform songs into just about anything but they seem to be focused on transforming a piece of music into another piece of music. It seems unnecessarily limiting.
Maybe they could transform a lady gaga song into a set of cryptographic hashes that can then be tatooed on to each band member. Perhaps mice could be cloned with Call Me Maybe encoded into their DNA, after several generations of natural reproduction the "song" could be decoded and played back.
I think they could be doing more with their transformations.
posted by Ad hominem at 9:52 AM on July 25, 2013
I think they should explore this further. They could transform songs into just about anything but they seem to be focused on transforming a piece of music into another piece of music. It seems unnecessarily limiting.
Maybe they could transform a lady gaga song into a set of cryptographic hashes that can then be tatooed on to each band member. Perhaps mice could be cloned with Call Me Maybe encoded into their DNA, after several generations of natural reproduction the "song" could be decoded and played back.
I think they could be doing more with their transformations.
posted by Ad hominem at 9:52 AM on July 25, 2013
Needs an "ahoy ahoy."
posted by drezdn at 9:54 AM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by drezdn at 9:54 AM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
Despite their best intentions their repertoire entire ends up a bit 'samey', though I did enjoy the Nickelback as Motown stuff primarily because it reminds me that a song is a like a paper doll and the arrangement is the outfit. Or something.
posted by Doleful Creature at 9:57 AM on July 25, 2013
posted by Doleful Creature at 9:57 AM on July 25, 2013
Perhaps mice could be cloned with Call Me Maybe encoded into their DNA, after several generations of natural reproduction the "song" could be decoded and played back.
The MouseDNA-a-ma-phone project was abandoned after PETA broke into their lab/studio and smashed all their tiny little needles.
posted by PlusDistance at 10:38 AM on July 25, 2013
The MouseDNA-a-ma-phone project was abandoned after PETA broke into their lab/studio and smashed all their tiny little needles.
posted by PlusDistance at 10:38 AM on July 25, 2013
Nickelback as Motown
Hey, my friend is their tambourine guy! He also plays music with kids! He is awesome!
posted by uncleozzy at 10:40 AM on July 25, 2013
Hey, my friend is their tambourine guy! He also plays music with kids! He is awesome!
posted by uncleozzy at 10:40 AM on July 25, 2013
Speaking of 1920's songs... a predecessor to Blondie's Call Me—but a bit more to the point and with more boa—You’ve Got to See Mamma Every Night. /selflink
posted by blueberry at 10:43 AM on July 25, 2013
posted by blueberry at 10:43 AM on July 25, 2013
Call Me Maybe" is in G major, but you almost never hear the tonic, except in passing.
Yes, the song would definitely not have been a mega-hit had it used the chord progression these retro dudes have gone for, and not the off-balance dizzy-feeling one we all know and love. That's how the song conveys a sense of excitement from everyday things suddenly changing so well.
Related: One Direction's new track, 'Best Song Ever' avoids the tonic even more markedly for its entire duration, building a mass of tension that only gets partially relieved with a sort of 'slamming on the brakes' feeling at the end of the refrain where it puts massive accents onto the off-beats.
posted by colie at 11:45 AM on July 25, 2013 [3 favorites]
Yes, the song would definitely not have been a mega-hit had it used the chord progression these retro dudes have gone for, and not the off-balance dizzy-feeling one we all know and love. That's how the song conveys a sense of excitement from everyday things suddenly changing so well.
Related: One Direction's new track, 'Best Song Ever' avoids the tonic even more markedly for its entire duration, building a mass of tension that only gets partially relieved with a sort of 'slamming on the brakes' feeling at the end of the refrain where it puts massive accents onto the off-beats.
posted by colie at 11:45 AM on July 25, 2013 [3 favorites]
The thesis mainly seems to be that there was no detectable artistic merit in Paparazzi or other pop songs until this guy came along and altered the context of those songs, and now, lo, he has discovered merit in these songs.
That wasn't the thesis. You're taking one perhaps poorly phrased sentence out of context a bit I think.
"What I found is that, despite my initial aversion to the stuff I was hearing, I was unable to truly categorize this as “bad music” without first defining a set of arbitrary, culturally-defined criteria..."
... here is the thesis, imo:
That wasn't the thesis. You're taking one perhaps poorly phrased sentence out of context a bit I think.
"What I found is that, despite my initial aversion to the stuff I was hearing, I was unable to truly categorize this as “bad music” without first defining a set of arbitrary, culturally-defined criteria..."
... here is the thesis, imo:
Songs can be twisted, shaped, and altered without losing their identities–just as we grow, age, and expire without losing ours–and it is through this exploration that the gap between “high” and “low” art can be bridged most readily.posted by mrgrimm at 11:54 AM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
Bryan Ferry doing Amy Winehouse, jazz style
Whoa, that's a great band.
posted by FelliniBlank at 12:10 PM on July 25, 2013
Whoa, that's a great band.
posted by FelliniBlank at 12:10 PM on July 25, 2013
I'm of the opinion that covers should always be faster than the original, and I don't have any qualms about it not being strictly era-perfect.
But the mix is killing me. It's all flat and treble-ly. I don't know why they even have the bass player there. Actual recordings from the 20's are much better than this. Maybe they were trying to capture the sound of a tinny radio speaker, but that's a terrible sound. They should have aimed for a phonograph. People need to hear snaps and pops and that shit.
posted by team lowkey at 12:15 PM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
But the mix is killing me. It's all flat and treble-ly. I don't know why they even have the bass player there. Actual recordings from the 20's are much better than this. Maybe they were trying to capture the sound of a tinny radio speaker, but that's a terrible sound. They should have aimed for a phonograph. People need to hear snaps and pops and that shit.
posted by team lowkey at 12:15 PM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
Carly Rae Jespen is SO 2012. I like the retro version of this year's summer hit.
posted by pxe2000 at 12:34 PM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by pxe2000 at 12:34 PM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
Cool work, though I think this and a lot of similar covers mess around too much with re-harmonizing the song. Sort of pulling the rug out from under that giant crack-rock of a hook.
posted by threeants at 1:15 PM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by threeants at 1:15 PM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
I would love to be the songwriter who could announce to an artist that I had a 'giant crack-rock of a hook' lined up for them.
posted by colie at 1:53 PM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by colie at 1:53 PM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
Also, I just realized-- the melody/chords of the chorus are really only half of the hook. The other half is that synth violin riff (or whatever that's supposed to be).
posted by threeants at 1:57 PM on July 25, 2013
posted by threeants at 1:57 PM on July 25, 2013
Surely the 'synth violin riff' actually is the chords in the chorus?
If any one thing makes the crack-rock hook of 'Call Me Maybe', it could be the strongly emphasised B that she reaches for on the word 'crazy' in the chorus.
I think this is because the B can be interpreted as a structural registral shift from a lower octave B heard earlier on the word 'I' in 'I just met you' and then again it's voiced in exaggeration (it's shockingly lengthened the second time) on 'baby'.
It's sung over a D chord so you get the colour of an added 6th in the vocal, something which is all over the place in early Beatles songs. The D quickly changes to Em so you get an anticipation/resolution moment which is sweet and in keeping with the song's yearning for connection/excitement/consummation (although not so quickly the second time when she elongates the B, so you get that bittersweet climax as it pushes over the hill of anticipation).
posted by colie at 2:23 PM on July 25, 2013
If any one thing makes the crack-rock hook of 'Call Me Maybe', it could be the strongly emphasised B that she reaches for on the word 'crazy' in the chorus.
I think this is because the B can be interpreted as a structural registral shift from a lower octave B heard earlier on the word 'I' in 'I just met you' and then again it's voiced in exaggeration (it's shockingly lengthened the second time) on 'baby'.
It's sung over a D chord so you get the colour of an added 6th in the vocal, something which is all over the place in early Beatles songs. The D quickly changes to Em so you get an anticipation/resolution moment which is sweet and in keeping with the song's yearning for connection/excitement/consummation (although not so quickly the second time when she elongates the B, so you get that bittersweet climax as it pushes over the hill of anticipation).
posted by colie at 2:23 PM on July 25, 2013
I really wanted this to be Jinkx Monsoon.
posted by lauranesson at 3:38 PM on July 25, 2013
posted by lauranesson at 3:38 PM on July 25, 2013
I wish this were half as lively as, say, a legitimate retro act such as the Flying Neutrinos.
posted by dhartung at 7:57 PM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by dhartung at 7:57 PM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
Hit Me Baby One More Time (Acoustic-Travis)
One of the earliest live covers of the song was by the Scottish band Travis, recorded during one of their concerts at "The Bay Tavern" in Robin Hood's Bay, North Yorkshire, England. The song was later included in the release of their 1999 single, "Turn". Lead singer Francis Healey said, "We did it for a laugh the first time. [..] And as we played it, the irony slipped from my smile. It’s a very well-crafted song. It [has] that magic thing." The Guardian said this cover showed a new and more "dark" side of the band, commenting "slowed down to a mournful crawl, it was amazing how ominous the couplet "This loneliness is killing me / Hit me, baby, one more time" sounded".
That's where good covers come from.
Credit where credit is due, Hit Me Baby One More Time (Original-Spears)
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 6:51 AM on July 26, 2013 [1 favorite]
One of the earliest live covers of the song was by the Scottish band Travis, recorded during one of their concerts at "The Bay Tavern" in Robin Hood's Bay, North Yorkshire, England. The song was later included in the release of their 1999 single, "Turn". Lead singer Francis Healey said, "We did it for a laugh the first time. [..] And as we played it, the irony slipped from my smile. It’s a very well-crafted song. It [has] that magic thing." The Guardian said this cover showed a new and more "dark" side of the band, commenting "slowed down to a mournful crawl, it was amazing how ominous the couplet "This loneliness is killing me / Hit me, baby, one more time" sounded".
That's where good covers come from.
Credit where credit is due, Hit Me Baby One More Time (Original-Spears)
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 6:51 AM on July 26, 2013 [1 favorite]
'Hit me baby' is a pop masterpiece and also a part of what cemented Simon Cowell's insanity, according to what it says in the Tom Bower biography.
Cowell heard the 'Hit me' demo and knew that it was one of the 3 or 4 dynamite songs each year that can guarantee a new artist success, but Max Martin had already sold it to Spears rather than Cowell's artists, Five. Despite offering Martin a Mercedes SL on the spot (got to love the music industry), he couldn't get it. When Five eventually did get offered a Cheiron/Martin stable song ('Bye Bye Bye'), the boyband members sneered at it and turned it down, enraging Cowell forever.
N Sync took 'Bye Bye Bye' to number one instead and Five began their decline, with Cowell vowing never to let his artists mess him around like that again...
posted by colie at 7:40 AM on July 26, 2013 [3 favorites]
Cowell heard the 'Hit me' demo and knew that it was one of the 3 or 4 dynamite songs each year that can guarantee a new artist success, but Max Martin had already sold it to Spears rather than Cowell's artists, Five. Despite offering Martin a Mercedes SL on the spot (got to love the music industry), he couldn't get it. When Five eventually did get offered a Cheiron/Martin stable song ('Bye Bye Bye'), the boyband members sneered at it and turned it down, enraging Cowell forever.
N Sync took 'Bye Bye Bye' to number one instead and Five began their decline, with Cowell vowing never to let his artists mess him around like that again...
posted by colie at 7:40 AM on July 26, 2013 [3 favorites]
The actual title of the song is "...Baby One More Time" and yeah, it was the most important and influential pop song of the 1990s. (Smells Like Teen Spirit being a close second.)
Britney performs a jazzy version of BOMT at the 1999 EMA.
FWIW, Max Martin is still killing it on the charts. Somewhat amazing.
posted by mrgrimm at 11:10 AM on July 26, 2013
Britney performs a jazzy version of BOMT at the 1999 EMA.
FWIW, Max Martin is still killing it on the charts. Somewhat amazing.
posted by mrgrimm at 11:10 AM on July 26, 2013
To my untrained eye they look to be more 1940s with a bit of ragtime thrown in there, not 1920's so much.
...pretend that this is actually part of a missing episode of Late 80s Doctor Who where Sylvester McCoy's Doctor is battling the renegade Time Lord, the Entertainer, who uses his TARDIS to kidnap people from different time periods and forces them to perform together in an attempt to rule the universe and/or the 31st century equivilent of Top of the Pops.
For Chip Thomas, this is Tuesday. That's him on the right. He's a pro, but you can see that at the start of the song he's just doing his job. It doesn't pay all that well, but if you watch him you'll notice that about thirty seconds in he likes what he hears and he remembers why he loves it.
Chip is a studio musician, the in-house drummer on Musical Master-piece, broadcasting live twice a week from the Doom Star in low orbit around Gliese-581g. It's different every time he goes onstage. Yesterday it was a catsuited theramin player, some guy in a silver jumpsuit playing neo-neo-neolithic airs on a bone flute and (no lie) P.D.Q. Bach playing harpsichord. This time last week it was toga-chick on lyre, Sontaran glockenspiel and a wannabe Grandmaster Flash covering something by the Monkees. Chip doesn't know how they pick 'em but somehow these nonsense acts never quite fall apart. They usually don't even speak the same language but somehow there's always at least a little magic.
Today: vocals from Earth-America circa 1940 plus turn-of-the-20th ragtime piano covering a 21st century song purportedly as 1920s jazz. Downright normal by Chip's standards, but it ain't bad. Someday Chip's going to back a boring act but it ain't gonna be today.
The Doctor can say what he likes, the Entertainer's not all bad.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 7:29 PM on July 26, 2013 [3 favorites]
...pretend that this is actually part of a missing episode of Late 80s Doctor Who where Sylvester McCoy's Doctor is battling the renegade Time Lord, the Entertainer, who uses his TARDIS to kidnap people from different time periods and forces them to perform together in an attempt to rule the universe and/or the 31st century equivilent of Top of the Pops.
For Chip Thomas, this is Tuesday. That's him on the right. He's a pro, but you can see that at the start of the song he's just doing his job. It doesn't pay all that well, but if you watch him you'll notice that about thirty seconds in he likes what he hears and he remembers why he loves it.
Chip is a studio musician, the in-house drummer on Musical Master-piece, broadcasting live twice a week from the Doom Star in low orbit around Gliese-581g. It's different every time he goes onstage. Yesterday it was a catsuited theramin player, some guy in a silver jumpsuit playing neo-neo-neolithic airs on a bone flute and (no lie) P.D.Q. Bach playing harpsichord. This time last week it was toga-chick on lyre, Sontaran glockenspiel and a wannabe Grandmaster Flash covering something by the Monkees. Chip doesn't know how they pick 'em but somehow these nonsense acts never quite fall apart. They usually don't even speak the same language but somehow there's always at least a little magic.
Today: vocals from Earth-America circa 1940 plus turn-of-the-20th ragtime piano covering a 21st century song purportedly as 1920s jazz. Downright normal by Chip's standards, but it ain't bad. Someday Chip's going to back a boring act but it ain't gonna be today.
The Doctor can say what he likes, the Entertainer's not all bad.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 7:29 PM on July 26, 2013 [3 favorites]
« Older Questions. Morbidity. Incept dates. | Crime is driven by proximity and opportunity Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
Like it feels to me it should be sung closer to Sophie Tucker then (or even Helen Kane, who'd be a better match for the style) then this.
posted by The Whelk at 8:39 AM on July 25, 2013 [11 favorites]