Strange or bizarre covers of Best Songs .

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The discussion centers around the concept of strange or bizarre covers of well-known songs, inviting participants to share their finds. One notable example is Gregorian's cover of Deep Purple's "Child in Time," which elicited mixed reactions, with some finding it strange yet enjoyable. The thread emphasizes that covers should not be simply poor performances but rather skilled interpretations that evoke a sense of incongruity. Participants discuss various covers, including classical musicians interpreting pop songs, and the subjective nature of what constitutes "strange." The conversation highlights the diversity of musical interpretations, with some covers being seen as creative while others may come off as awkward or unappealing. The thread encourages sharing links to both the original songs and their unusual covers, fostering a community exploration of music's eccentricities.
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Strange or bizarre covers of "Best Songs".

Occasionally, one hears a rather strange, even bizarre cover, of an older "best song". That's what this thread is for.

The idea is that if you find a strange, or incongruous cover of one of the songs in the "Best Songs Ever" thread, you can post it here. :biggrin:

Here's the case that made me think of creating this thread:

1) The original: Deep Purple, "Child in Time", which I already posted in the "Best Songs Ever" thread: https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=4280762&postcount=2717

2) The cover: Gregorian:


To my ear, it starts off sounding ok, but as soon as the first guy starts singing I think "whaaaaat!?". But then it kinda grows on me -- a bit. Still, I find it quite strange, although other youtube commenters loved it.

So... if anyone knows of other such strange covers, please post them here. But note the format: you've got to link to an existing post in the "Best Songs Ever" thread for the original, and then link to the cover version.

But note: this thread is not for versions that are merely performed by incompetent musicians.
E.g., the Gregorian guys above are obviously very skilled in their genre. Nevertheless, there's
a distinct strangeness about it (or so I think).

[Evo: if you think this should be absorbed into the "Best Songs Ever" thread instead of being separate, that's ok with me. I just figured the BSE thread was already rather large. :smile:]

P.S., the double-entendre between this thread title and my username is intentional,
i.e., "Strange Representations".
 
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmwpD79zATo
 
"Oy to the World, a Klezmer Christmas", by the Klezmonauts. (In actuality, jingle writer Paul Libman)
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSvFpBOe8eY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjlT3Q42gA8

No, it's not some elf from Santa Clause's toy factory. Her You Tube moniker is vkgoeswild. She's an award winning classically trained concert pianist from Kiev who interprets rock and metal.
 
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Vanadium 50 said:
"Oy to the World, a Klezmer Christmas", by the Klezmonauts. (In actuality, jingle writer Paul Libman)

Would they consider a cover of Oy Como Va?
 
ImaLooser said:
[The Residents "Can't get no satisfaction"]
:eek: Bloody hell!? That's way beyond bizarre. I can't even think of an appropriate adjective. :rolleyes:
 
SW VandeCarr said:
Her You Tube moniker is vkgoeswild. She's an award winning classically trained concert pianist from Kiev who interprets rock and metal.
Yeah, I noticed a couple of her other youtube covers previously. Obviously very talented, and parts of her interpretation sound quite good to my ear -- but other parts sound lame, even awful.
 
strangerep said:
Yeah, I noticed a couple of her other youtube covers previously. Obviously very talented, and parts of her interpretation sound quite good to my ear -- but other parts sound lame, even awful.

Covers of pop songs by classical musicians can be pretty lame. The trouble is that most pop music depends on lyrics for development. That is, the only difference between the verses is the lyrics. So lose the lyrics and all of the verses sound exactly the same.

There are some covers by classical musicians I quite like but I don't find them strange or bizarre.
 
strangerep said:
:eek: Bloody hell!? That's way beyond bizarre. I can't even think of an appropriate adjective. :rolleyes:


Thanks for the support! It's nice once in a while...
 
  • #10
strangerep said:
Yeah, I noticed a couple of her other youtube covers previously. Obviously very talented, and parts of her interpretation sound quite good to my ear -- but other parts sound lame, even awful.

Are you talking about this particular cover or others? Her covers of this group are quite popular for a YT poster. This cover has just under 2 million hits while "Toxicity" has over 4 million hits. I don't judge music by the number of YT hits (otherwise I would love Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift), but it is an indication she's reaching people.

ImaLooser said:
Covers of pop songs by classical musicians can be pretty lame. The trouble is that most pop music depends on lyrics for development. That is, the only difference between the verses is the lyrics. So lose the lyrics and all of the verses sound exactly the same.

There are some covers by classical musicians I quite like but I don't find them strange or bizarre.

I guess I didn't strictly follow the specifications for this thread. What's "strange and bizarre" to some is creative and original to others. I'm always interested in listening to something new and trying to to understand what's in their head.
 
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  • #11
SW VandeCarr said:
strangerep said:
Yeah, I noticed a couple of her other youtube covers previously. Obviously very talented, and parts of her interpretation sound quite good to my ear -- but other parts sound lame, even awful.
Are you talking about this particular cover or others?
My comment applies to the 3 I've listened to. In one of them, I couldn't even tolerate listening all the way to the end.

ImaLooser said:
[...]There are some covers by classical musicians I quite like but I don't find them strange or bizarre.
I guess I didn't strictly follow the specifications for this thread. What's "strange and bizarre" to some is creative and original to others.
Indeed, part of my reason for creating this thread was exactly that: i.e., to discover what other people find "strange and bizarre" (or which I find thus, but others don't).

Actually,... that means it should be encouraged for other posters to say whether they also find any particular post "strange and bizarre", or if you disagree and find it ok. So far, no one has said whether they agree or disagree with my sentiments in the original post. I'd be interested to know.
 
  • #12
strangerep said:
My comment applies to the 3 I've listened to. In one of them, I couldn't even tolerate listening all the way to the end.

Indeed, part of my reason for creating this thread was exactly that: i.e., to discover what other people find "strange and bizarre" (or which I find thus, but others don't).

Actually,... that means it should be encouraged for other posters to say whether they also find any particular post "strange and bizarre", or if you disagree and find it ok. So far, no one has said whether they agree or disagree with my sentiments in the original post. I'd be interested to know.

So far I seem to be King of the Bizarros. You've already got my best shot. You want more bizarritude, just let me know.
 
  • #13
strangerep said:
Actually,... that means it should be encouraged for other posters to say whether they also find any particular post "strange and bizarre", or if you disagree and find it ok. So far, no one has said whether they agree or disagree with my sentiments in the original post. I'd be interested to know.

Well, your first post doesn't sound strange or bizarre to my ear at all. Gregorian chants by Benedictine monks have scored popular success in the past as have electronic rock groups like Enigma.

 
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  • #14
SW VandeCarr said:
Well, your first post doesn't sound strange or bizarre to my ear at all. Gregorian chants by Benedictine monks have scored popular success in the past as have electronic rock groups like Enigma.
Umm, you listened to the Deep Purple original too, right?
 
  • #15
strangerep said:
Umm, you listened to the Deep Purple original too, right?

OK, so they are very different. What's strange about that? It happens all the time.

Wanna hear "Highway Star" by a middle-aged Japanese man with a pot belly and dressed like a king? He's pretty good.
 
  • #16
strangerep said:
Umm, you listened to the Deep Purple original too, right?

Yes.
 
  • #17
ImaLooser said:
OK, so they are very different. What's strange about that?
Interesting how different people have such different perceptions of what's "strange" or "bizarre". I wonder whether it's correlated with other psychological or personality traits.
 
  • #18
Big Yellow Taxi doesn't seem to be in the "Best Songs Ever" thread.
 
  • #19
This is one of the strange cases where the cover maybe better than the original.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXSmYHEpn7w
 
  • #20
George Jones said:
Big Yellow Taxi doesn't seem to be in the "Best Songs Ever" thread.
Hmm, well since you haven't posted it there I guess it's not on your "best songs" list? In any case, the format instructions in this thread need to be modified...

So... if the original is not in the "Best Songs Ever" thread, then it can be linked directly here, along with the "strange" or "bizarre" cover. :smile:
 
  • #21
BB Gabor's somewhat strange cover

e_m-KdRyX24[/youtube] of Joni Mi...rums.com/showthread.php?p=4361662#post4361662
 
  • #22
I'm not sure the original qualifies as a "best song" but Alanis Morissette covered the Black Eye's Peas "My Humps".

 
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  • #23
Choppy said:
I'm not sure the original qualifies as a "best song" but Alanis Morissette covered the Black Eye's Peas "My Humps".



Good Lord. The Apocalypse is upon us.

My Humps actually won some sort of song of the year award.
 
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  • #24
ImaLooser said:
Good Lord. The Apocalypse is upon us.

My Humps actually won some sort of song of the year award.

"Music critics responded negatively to the song, deeming it a repetitive and puerile form of "sexual titillation"". Wiki (Black Eyed Peas version)

Butt it won the MTV award for "Best Hip Hop Video".
 
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  • #25
George Jones said:
BB Gabor's somewhat strange cover [...] of Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi.
That sounds "strange" to my ear too.

Still... it was smooth enough that I was able to listen without difficulty all the way to the end. :smile:
 
  • #26
SW VandeCarr said:
"Music critics responded negatively to the song, deeming it a repetitive and puerile form of "sexual titillation"". Wiki (Black Eyed Peas version)


Actually it is quite wordy, and the words are pretty good. That's why AM sings it. It's a depiction of reality, like it or not. It is not endorsing reality.

That being said, I watch only South Korean videos these days. The dance is so much better. This AM video looks Stone Age in comparison.
 
  • #27
ImaLooser said:
Actually it is quite wordy, and the words are pretty good. That's why AM sings it. It's a depiction of reality, like it or not. It is not endorsing reality.

Hip-hop is wordy. It's all about the lyrics which are typically heavily rhymed and accented with the main beat or syncopated. The music is usually minimalist. The lyrics in this song are about exploitation. With Fergie, it's bilateral. She isn't slugging anyone although she warns about "drama". With AM, there's "drama".
 
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  • #28
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37dw2r45Xzg

Leon Russell wrote and first performed "A Song for You" in 1970. It has since become an iconic classic covered by numerous artists including soul singer Donny Hathaway, Ray Charles and Karen Carpenter. Amy Winehouse recorded her version in a single take in the attic of her London home in 2009. She never sang it in public. Her producer later added the music background and included it in her posthumous album released Dec, 2011. It has been described as "raw" and "drenched in emotion". You might or might not consider it strange or bizarre, but this particular YT poster matched it to a live performance, probably in 2007. That is strange and bizarre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjMmu6FpVDE
 
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  • #29
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApMSPx6lgio

Dread Zeppelin...Led Zeppelin covered by a reggae band who's lead singer is an Elvis impersonator. Everything sounds cool, until Elvis starts up.
 
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  • #30
The Beatles Covered Metallica??

Here's a weird one...

Did one of you guys build a time machine, because here's a video of the Beatles covering a song that was written over a decade after they actually performed it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mAht5X3Bhw
 
  • #31
I find this cover bizarre and hilarious, like the guy doesn't understand that, sung by a guy, the song loses it's whole edge. (Or maybe he does.)

 
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