TS: "Don't Stand So Close To Me '86" by the Police VERSUS "I'm Your Man '96" by George Michael

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Also feel free to include in the contest any other remakes with dates stuck on the ends of their titles. P.S., not to stifle the brutal debate, but, George Michael is clearly the winner, as "I'm Your Man '96," while horribly dated and just as pointless as any other entry in this genre, at least manages to muster something like 1/6th of the energy and verve of the original song, whereas "Don't Stand So Close To Me '86" sets sail immediately for yacht rock waters, and not in a good way either.

― Doctor Casino (Doctor Casino), Sunday, 11 June 2006 16:58 (nineteen years ago)

I did indeed like "Don't Stand So Close To Me" quite well. I have never understood the ILM hatred against late-period Police.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Sunday, 11 June 2006 17:20 (nineteen years ago)

the latter, obv. the song is an irresistable force, overwhelming whatever point its singer is trying to make. the former...bah.

― my name is john. i reside in chicago. (frankE), Sunday, 11 June 2006 18:03 (nineteen years ago)

new order did a lot of this shit, didn't they? "blue monday 88" was bearable - top quincy jones guitar intro IIRC - but "true faith 93" et al sucked the dick of doom.

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Sunday, 11 June 2006 18:40 (nineteen years ago)

My intro to "Don't Stand So Close..." was thanks to the '86 version. It's ponderous and pompous, but the intro's nice. I do like Wham! more than the Police though, so Wham! wins.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Sunday, 11 June 2006 19:28 (nineteen years ago)

Teh Greek is horrid, so it's The Police!

― If not why not? (Dough Boy), Monday, 12 June 2006 03:55 (nineteen years ago)

"Freedom '90"

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 12 June 2006 04:31 (nineteen years ago)

"freedom 90"'s its own beast (and profoundly better than any version of the above if not as good as "freedom (84 or 85 whatever)"), there's probably a string of those also - wherein an artist records a song with the same title as a previous song and goes 'looky looky it is part of an arc see' about it. most of those new order 'cermemony 69' or whatever are just remixes right? how often did they actually go and rerecord it (obv sometimes they did)? the police were supposedly gonna rerecord all their hits but could only stand to be around each other long enough to finish "don't stand so close to me" (i can still see those fuxors spinning in the video) and a retake on "de doo doo doo de da da da" that apparently wasn't even up to "dssc2m86"'s already incredibly low bar - try to fathom how awful that thing must sound, art bell should do a show on it. has anyone here actually heard prince's "1999 '99"? r.e.m.'s vaguely done this too with their recent barrel-scraping right, though i guess 'act that rerecorded widely bootlegged table scraps from years back once the well ran dry' is a thread of it's own also.

― j blount (papa la bas), Monday, 12 June 2006 05:03 (nineteen years ago)

Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer '93"

― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Monday, 12 June 2006 22:48 (nineteen years ago)

two years pass...

Don't Stand So Close To Me '86:

Freedom 90:

Can't find "I'm Your Man '96," as it was a b-side and apparently not very widely heard...

― Doctor Casino, Monday, 29 December 2008 23:21 (seventeen years ago)

"Freedom" Vs "Freedom '90" is impossible

― billstevejim, Monday, 29 December 2008 23:55 (seventeen years ago)

Oh man, Styx "Lady 95". Why?

I bought their greatest hits cd because I didn't want filler. This crap is the first track on the album.

― Nate Carson, Tuesday, 30 December 2008 12:22 (seventeen years ago)

seven years pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSfe8J4xS3U

Joe Walsh - Funk 50

(not quite the same thing, but)

― walk back to the halftime long, billy lynn, billy lynn (Doctor Casino), Saturday, 10 December 2016 04:13 (nine years ago)

didn't put an 88 in the name but "25 or 6 to 4" vs "25 or 6 to 4" fite

― Neanderthal, Saturday, 10 December 2016 15:25 (nine years ago)

btw hearing Don't Stand 86 for the first time thanks to this thread, this is fucking GARBAGE omg

― Neanderthal, Saturday, 10 December 2016 15:25 (nine years ago)

yeah, few tracks from final, acrimonious recording sessions make a clearer case for "this band is over" than that one and the "de do do do" remake. apparently the "straw that broke the camel's back" was sting demanding copeland use a synclavier rather than a fairlight to program the drums? like, if you are at that point over a pointless shitty remake of one of your earlier hits, maybe there really is no reason to still be in the studio together.

― walk back to the halftime long, billy lynn, billy lynn (Doctor Casino), Saturday, 10 December 2016 15:48 (nine years ago)

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