Indie acts doing covers of pop/rap/RnB songs: Classic or Dud?

Mind you, Johnny Cash covering "Hurt" or Depeche Mode or whatever pop that Rick Rubin can convince him to play is some interesting, but if someone covers Nelly, then they must be pandering.

Never mind that The Big Boys played Kool in the Gang, Urge Overkill did a Hot Chocolate cover, fIREHOSE covered Public Enemy, and Sonic Youth even did an entire record as an oddball tribute to Madonna, those must just be pandering.

It is not like the pop artists need credibility to sell records when they can just take off more clothes or do a soda ad or shoot someone.

It is only a song.

No, I definitely agree, it's just that the examples in question are not examples of such a phenomenon. The Jolene cover is good, I reckon.

that was pandering smarm which sonic youth are very good at, even tho I like 'em...

Covering a pop song 'ironically' (if/when that's whats happening) is a cop-out, a safe way of admitting to yourself and your fans that the song has had an impact on you but then neutering that impact instead of exploring it. Travis doing BOMT is saying "Hey beneath the pop veneer is a proper song" but their version done Travis-style then HAS to be leaden because otherwise it'd risk sounding better than Travis own songs, and part of the point is (maybe?) to prove that Travis' craftsmanship is better than Max Martin's.

It ties in with the question on that huge long thread Simon Reynolds' site linked to, about 'indie' not wanting to draw on 'black' music anymore. Cos the real question behind both of these is - how do you operate in a 50-year tradition where the music you make is very unlikely to be as good (in YOUR opinion, the audience likes it just fine) as the music you like? (Sampling is one answer) Converting pop songs into second-rate B sides is a way of positioning yourself on the heirarchy - if these pop songs were REALLY any good they'd shine through our versioning, right?

How much does our getting annoyed with covers of pop depend on our experiencing the originals as pop? If Coldplay covered the Crystals I wouldn't give half as much a fuck as if they covered B*Witched.

At the risk of jumping to the other side, I have to say I really agree with this. It reminds me a little of working in a record store in the late '80s and being disgusted when some "punks" (I think that's what they were called back then) came in the store and started mockingly dancing around to the Michael Jackson we were playing in the store. But (later on) I considered the possibility that they were actually tapping into something that maybe they subconsciously really ENJOYED but would never admit to. Well, it was a theory, sort of.

Haha, that's not risking jumping, that is jumping! Anyway yr theory is OTM. There's no such thing as liking things ironically, I reckon. It's just a safe way to like things without getting made fun of by your friends.

At best it's pandering. Though I'm sure there are some worthy exceptions.

There is an ironic way to say you like things though. Another subject, but you only need to look at the way dancehall has become "fashionable" in trendy, ironic London circles - this really ticks me off as I genuinely love it and always have done... these tossers essentially denegrating it is little short of infuriating

I actually think this is a core point. The whole 'snarf, ha ha, look at us' attitude is indeed crap, but essentially there's a weird no win scenario posited in all this:

INDIE PERSON: "I like this, that and the other popwise."
OTHER PERSON: "You're only doing that to follow trends/seem hip/to make fun of it."
INDIE PERSON: "No I'm not! Jeez! Here." *plays version of song*
OTHER PERSON: "That was shit and why did you bother?"
INDIE PERSON: "Fine, fuck you."

But you could expand this out if you like. Personally I think it's illustrative not of the power of songs or performers or whatever but ARRANGEMENTS. Which may seem strange, but consider -- I think there's a lot of (justifiable) fear and loathing over the idea of reducing a song down to a guitar jangle, ripping out whatever it is sonically that really captivates. Lingering fears of rockism, if you like, the whole 'argh, it's only validated because you can do a folk singalong to it? that attitude is crap!' And who can blame people for feeling that way?

Britney is cynical and transient AND hooky and thrilling.

See, it's funny you say that because I'm still amazed so many people have covered "Baby One More Time" when I think it's incredibly unmemorable and dull. "Oops I Did It Again" is the song that works, and as Kate St. Claire said once, it's all because of the bassline. And interestingly Fuck have in fact covered it.

As for Tha Irony: Beck is a big, big fan of contemporary R&B, I'd say it's pretty silly to just assume his "Cry Me A River" is ironic, especially considering he's been in such a boringly earnest mode lately, *and* "Cry Me A River" fits in with the songs on Sea Change thematically. Flaming Lips and Fran Healy of Travis have both been very public about their genuine admiration of "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" and "Baby One More Time". So that's that settled then (unless they have IRONY GUILT!)

Apart from that I can't comment because I've never heard any of these versions, except Travis' Britney cover which I remember quite liking at the time (mainly because I've never liked Britney's voice much.)

Yeah, I was about to say that whole assertion seemed strange. Too bad the song itself bites, but that's another matter. ;-)

POPISTS!

There should be something just interesting about the practice -- cross-genre covers are usually great, an old thing stylized in a new way -- but it seems as if there are just too many tensions and conflicts running between indie mores and pop mores for the acts to be able to do it without stepping, intentionally or not, right on some sort of mine. Unfortunately dud. The acts need to get it out of their systems in their teenage pop-punk band days, if at all possible. And if they're going to try it after that, I for one would like to see them really try it, awful and embarrassing as that would be in most cases.

Is Tico Tico who I think it is?

Nabisco - yes, almost certainly! There's a sensible reason for the identity-switch though.

The video you posted is private, so I can't see it... What is it?

yeah i can't see it either..

Make that three of us.

it's Chris Thile covering Kendrick Lamar's "Alright" on mandolin, substituting "brother" for the n-word. it is the most cringeworthy thing imaginable.

oh god I actually like Thile / Punch Brothers in general but there's no way in hell I'm listening to that

dang, it was public yesterday. maybe they read ilx. here's audio.

not any more, this cover-up goes deeper than we thought

Not listening to this, let alone watching it.

haha. how about this? http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/listen/?date=2016/02/06&identifier=apm_audio:/phc/segments/2016/02/06/phc_segment_12_20160206_128.mp3

Had press tix and saw Chris Thile host and play his Live from Here radio show yesterday. He named off folks having birthdays this week and covered their songs with a big band . Sarah Jarosz sang & he played mandolin on Labelle “ Lady Marmalade,” and Dylan “Twist of Fate.” They also did Miles Davis “So What.” Non-birthday cover of Vampire Weekend

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwHNeDwp77g

Dud

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I0zbAQbl2o

Dethroned Halloween, Alaska's "I Can't Live Without My Radio" for favorite track in this theme.

The "Jesus, take the wheel" line is such a mournful hook that's an aside in the original Thundercat track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8TdgBWEOP8