Song Vs Song Thread

With lyrics such as "Gareth's lying there with spit on his head", "But she just wants to stick her finger in my derrr", "I can dance, I can sing, but you just want to call me a fat tic tac" and "Skinny spazmoid spilling piss on my shoes", this easily beats Genesis. No wonder nearly half the comment section on the Genesis video refers to Callum's Corner lol

I don't mind the Van Halen cover, it certainly has it's own unique appeal, but I wouldn't actively listen to it. The original is a timeless classic.

Really don't care for either track, but Good Morning Captain has far more going for it, so I'll pick that.

Mediocre Chuck Filler vs 2014 Chuck (don't have to watch all of it, just short bits of each song)



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I quite enjoyed the first number. Very dynamic track. The NIN song did nothing for me however. So easily the first one.



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In all fairness to Pharmakon, the dumbness comes from the fact that it's a cover. I quite like it though, very bizarre rendition of a song which most cover versions of are pretty conservative. Also it's memorable whereas the rest of the album which I really enjoy doesn't have much to hum. Pharmakon's to the very far end of the avant-garde spectrum and this is the most conventional thing she has ever done which says nothing. Anyhow I'm gonna have to go for Reading Rainbow. Hearing one of the most beloved children's show theme songs of the 80s done in the style of The Doors is quite a cool novelty and also makes sense given the obvious contemporary of Reading Rainbow's educational format (aside from the Australian equivalent play school) was Sesame Street and that was oddly psychedelic in it's heyday. Also Jimmy Fallon's impression here is one of his best. Fun, Fun, Fun is also believable as a pastiche but it's a one joke skit that runs out of steam quickly. Next up is themed after the North of Britain:



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As much as I like I Wanna Be Adored which I do (it's chilled out and mysterious) I totally get the dull criticism because like I said it's chilled out and it probably isn't gonna appeal to everyone. As for Ceremony I find it's a song that grows more over time. I appreciated it initially but couldn't get into it much, and now I think it's not only the best thing i've heard from New Order (who I really need to get more into), but is better than everything Joy Division have ever made (and I say that as someone who loves Joy Division dearly). The lyrics are heartbreaking (the last that Ian Curtis wrote before his suicide) and the arrangement is very entertaining but still suits the lyrics if you're in a down mood. It's absolutely incredible. Yet even though I agree that it's the best of the three, I really struggle to see how A New England could possibly be seen as dull. That surf rock style bass intro, the memorable hook, the all around energy. It's not a song that rocks real hard or anything but it's anything but dull IMO. Anyways on to your picks. I really need to get more into Louis Armstrong who despite sounding like a remnant of a bygone era (the rebelling against traditional standards that people like Armstrong stood for really is hard to spot in the music these days, it sounds really classy) is still enjoyable. I struggle a little more with The Original Dixielan Jass Band yet for some reason Armstrong just kind of works for me. Blind Willie Johnson is great but the vocal probably will grate on me if i'm not in the mood because it's so repetitive (it works, it's just not what I usually go to). So Melancholy Blues it is. Now for a mega round of cover vs cover of traditional songs. All relating to Pete Seeger




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I'm not planning too. Thoughts on the other Seeger tracks and covers/interpretations?

None of these versions do much for me, though I really want to understand Big Star's appeal given how influential they are. Maybe other songs will convert me, who knows? I think Cheap Trick is my favourite though if I had to choose.



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Youth Gone Wild is really the only good song off their debut. I like how the guitar builds during the bridge and that even though it plays by a lot of traditional rock rules, it's got a bit more of a buzzsaw edge to it. Some may argue hair/glam/pop metal is still metal, but regardless of whether or not it's metal, it's still a very much watered down and commercialised version of Top 40 Metal. I think even at their glammiest Skid Row were pushing it a bit further than other bands at the time and on Slave to the Grind (the song and album), it's bordering more towards thrash. I like both songs ultimately but Slave to the Grind is definitely off the better album. As for Dylan, i've always liked his vocals and they're not necessarily bad here but they're very bizarre. I don't quite understand what on earth he's doing. It just doesn't appeal to me. Definitely inferior to the original studio version. It still wins over willy bum bum which has a completely hideous vocal that doesn't take a tonal side unlike a lot of actually good extreme metal singers. Plus it's fucking willy bum bum, not exactly high art. Whatever though, screw that, forget about that, I don't want to think about anything like that:


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(A Waits song I think you'll actually get more into, or at least not fall asleep too)

I will fight you to the death on Waits' vocals but i'm glad you like it musically at least. He's got a great blues rock sound when he attempts it. I'd actually argue the majority of the first disc on Orphans is straight up blues, if with a slightly left of centre edge. I'm surprised you call Screamager typical early 2000s wankfest though since it was made in 1994, and definitely has a metal edge that early 2000s pop punk and the like don't. Excellent drumming and guitar tone. That said I get what you mean melodically so while I like the song I don't entirely disagree. I'm going for The Bob Hawke Drinking Song which is bloody hilarious in it's existence. I don't know if i'd ever find it on my iPod or anything but it's a fun little number and bizarre as anything. "Chug-A-Lug" is just too forgettable. While we're on a roll, I can't help but showcase Waits at his bluesiest. 



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If you're listening to Chocolate Jesus for excitement, then you're listening to it for the wrong reasons. It's a tribute to the more mellow blues of Robert Johnson and Charley Patton and the like. And it's a good one, with a modern twist. I also think Road to Peace has incredible guitar work, but I get why the rest of the song wouldn't do much for someone. The riffs are the centrepiece. As for The Stones covers, I like both of these quite a bit, but I have to go for Devo who just take the song in a completely radically different direction. Otis basically takes Keith's original idea for the arrangements and souls it up. Devo however are too inventive to deny the brilliance of. Also ever noticed how artistic MTV was in the early years? Not quite the pop sensation it would become.



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Unless someone responds before me, i'll submit my opinion on this match later but I will say now that the Celtic Frost intro adds to the surreal atmosphere perfectly. It's like something out of an opera.

I take it it's also because you don't see a rabbit on the moon and that eating raw fish is disgusting?