Project 38: Cover a song from a musical artist you hate
Backstreet Boys: I Want It That Way by By Neil Fasen, Kelly Duclos, Tom Stromsodt, and Brian Eveslage
We have a 2 hour window. I wanted to channel an aggressive Fugazi vibe and create a raw version of “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys. The guys were game, so we figured out a simple adaptation of the basic parts and ran it a few times. It was a lot of fun and admittedly fraught with imperfections. Quite a contrast to the pristine original.
Morrissey: Everyday is Like Sunday by Mike Bettison
What a great challenge! While I don't 'hate' Morrissey, I could never really understand his appeal other than his incredible good looks. I always felt like his songs and voice had a whining quality and he was always so contrived and morose.
So I decided to cover one of his more pessimistic titles about nuclear war and such :-). To start, I put together a music track using all the song's original instrumentation recreated from my Komplete Kontrol library. This included 80's Heavy Metal kit from AbbeyRoad, Icon Bass, Session Strings and Acoustic Sunburst Deluxe. I also slightly re-wrote the entrance to the bridge to give it a little more gravity. Then I tried to mimic the "drenched in reverb" 80's sound over nearly everything.
For the vocals, I enlisted my favorite Fiverr collaborator. She was amazing to work with as always. My only direction for her was to sing the lead and come up with some harmonies that sounded like Imogene Heap's Hide and Seek. She did the rest and produced a stunning performance including a lead track and 8-part doubled harmonies for the bridge and chorus! I was floored with the quality and options. I spent alot of time just trying different mixes for the vocal harmonies. There were a million ways to go on this and I'm super happy with how it all turned out.
Radiohead: The Bends by Kelly Duclos
Here's a rough folky version of one of their songs that didn't bug me as much as so many others. They never really did it for me but this project has opened me up to a bit of appreciation for them.
Grimes: Oblivion by KC McKee and Keith Bohnen
Hip to be Square (Huey Lewis and the News cover) and Lick it up (Ace Frehley Cover) by Grant Eull
Well this idea of covering songs we hate really messed with my head as I don’t hate much music. Sure I have a dislike for lots of songs, but hate that’s a strong word. Back in High School I have horrible memories of dances and everyone loving Tone Loc’s Funky Cold Medina and Can't Touch This by M. C. Hammer. But there was no way I was gonna put myself through that hell on purpose. So, I completely avoided the POP Rap stuff as I did my research. This aspect of the project again is normally a favorite phase; but this time it was like reliving a nightmare.
I found myself listening to Ylvis - The Fox, Hanson - MMMBop, Dave Matthews Band - Ants Marching and Brooks & Dunn - Boot Scootin Boogie and realizing I didn't really hate these songs… how was I going to find a song I hated?
Well my mind sent me racing back to my childhood and my absolute adoration of the band KISS. The make up, the blood, the stage antics, the pyro, the costumes and the classic songs like Detroit Rock City, Cold Gin, Shock Me and so many more I spent hours listening to in my youth become such a part of my bloodstream that it took a long time to appreciate other bands. Alive I and Alive II along with Love Gun, Destroyer, and Dressed to Kill were the records that were spinning on a midcentury Zenith record player console constantly. Anyway, then I remembered how hurt I was when Ace Frehley left the band and in 1983 KISS removed the make up, only to follow it up with what might be the worst song ever! I hate the song Lick It Up!
I had a major challenge during this project, in that my mother in law was in town for an extended stay at my house, so singing was not going to happen. I am way too embarrassed to do that when people are home. I went ahead and programmed the most simple drums (I think the recording was programmed too… because no rock drummer could ever keep it this straight). Then I recorded guitar parts and bass and did a search for isolated vocals… sure enough they were pitch shifted down and posted on the web. After I downloaded then, I pitched 'em back in key and … done! But the whole process was super boring and it went way too fast. Like one hour total. So, I started to think what else could I do… I’ll come back to this song later and try another one.
Back to the “hate” playlist. Heuy Lewis And The News songs were sticking out like a sore thumb but again, I wasn't that interested until I got inspired by the Heuy Lewis scene from American Psycho. Knowing I couldn't “sing vocals” with my mother in law around, I decided it would actually be super fun to try a mash up remix of Hip To Be Square. I sampled the movie scene and found a bunch of stems from The News (for horns and such) so the final is a mix of Heuy’s song, my recorded parts, and a screaming monologue of me recorded in my car on my Phone.. all mashed up and remixed to make a successful fun result! As you know, I don’t get all that creative on my sketches so if this hate song idea returns I’ll likely just pass. That said, I am really happy with how I challenged myself on Hip To Be Square and the end result was very satisfying for me as a sketch journey. Enjoy.
Back to that song I hate…could lick it up be better if Ace played shit lead guitar riffs all over it? The answer is NO, but I gave it a shot just to see.
Bon Jovi: Bad Medicine by David Cox
Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians: What I Am by Bill Fricke
Back in the late 80’s-early 90’s, I was a Cities 97 listener. There were so many bands that came out around that time that I had a dislike for. I didn’t exactly feel hatred, but came to grow to have more than a mild disdain. Counting Crows, Hootie & the Blowfish, Dave Matthews, etc., all ground on my nerves. Why did I keep listening? I guess I was a masochist.
But one band, one song, above all others, got on my last nerve. “What I Am” by Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians irritated every nerve ending and fiber of my being. It was ubiquitous, and annoying as all get out. It was twee, whiny, and too long. The ‘bonka-wonka-wonka” wah-wah guitar solo needs to be put in a box and buried, never to be heard again.
I’m sure they’re all nice people. They are talented, and, hey, they sold a lot of records, and that’s something I’ll never do, so good on them. She even snagged Paul Simon for a husband. Not too shabby.
Had a hard time finding the right way to do this song “justice”. Had some ideas that weren’t panning out. I was even nice and did a “respectful” version. Almost took a pass on this project, but, at the last minute, inspiration struck. Punky. Fast. Short. Sloppy. So, in one hour, this is what came out. It was played as it came, and if I screwed up, no biggie, just let it go and move on. We’re losing daylight.
Looking forward to hearing what others chose to cover. As always.
Bobby McFerrin: Don’t Worry, Be Happy by the Dirtpops
For this assignment we were initially turned off by the idea of doing a song that we "hated", and so considered not even participating. But after getting past the word (along with other members also taking issue) we happened upon this ear worm that haunted many of us in the 80's.
We decided to slow it down and make it forlorn and dreary in direct opposition to the original. It was largely conceived and recorded on the March 19th snow storm, due to a kismet snow day. It's done entirely with DAW Garageband synths and drum machines except for one guitar track.
If curious, Shelly also made a video which we aren't posting due to copyright issues.
