(originally posted 6/22/20)
Hello everyone - this is a post that I wrote June 2020 for my previous blog (June 2020 was almost 3 years ago! wowee). I had this idea called "cover critic" where I would listen to a significant amount of covers and then rank/evaluate all the covers and articulate what I like/don't like the covers. Sounds like peak Covid boredom. I want to bring back these type of posts for this blog so this will be a small little start. Upon reflection my descriptions of the covers (especially the bad ones) is not great, so I hope to be more succinct in future posts, because there is no way I am going to go through this playlist again. I have three other old cover critic posts which I hope to put up throughout May and June.
So here we go...
Cover Critic - This Must Be the Place
So here are the rules that I worked with 1) Select the first 25 different versions of the song on Spotify 2) The only things I know about the musicians are their album art, artist name, album name, and the track itself. This way there is no secret background info might influence what I think of the track and how I rank it. However, as you see, occasionally preconceived notions do slightly impact my judgement, which I will note. 3) I’m evaluating these songs by my own tastes, so placements are subjective, but for the most part it is a reflection of the quality of the track. One can view these covers in three categories: good covers, unnecessary covers (e.g. they are redundant or boring), and bad covers. My descriptions make this evident.
Today’s cover ismy all-time favorite song “This Must Be The Place (Naïve Melody)” by Talking Heads. I would be shocked if you do not know it. The closing track on 1983’s Speaking in Tongues. Absolute jam. Repetitive instrumental with some superb synths in the intro and the most wholesome and simple love song written. Truly my “Happy Place” song. I was excited to listen to the choices that the artists make while coving songs, since it has a lot of room to get weird and groovy. Listen to it and we’ll get into the covers (worst to best):
25. Charisma (2020) – This Must Be the Place is a really well known song. Why would someone title their song this? It is simply not a cover. It’s bad. Tbh I maybe didn’t give it the time…but…yeah not good.
24. Chateau Pop (2020) – Um…there is a good chance Chateu Pop may just be karaoke and I don’t know how it’s legal. Like the vocals are just barely not David Bryne.
23. Fenech-Soler (2017)– This is likely the song that bugged me the most. I really hate the verses…but it does have a vibe to it, and it does sound decent at times. I feel like this one goes into the “Netflix original series soundtrack” type of category. Those synthed out “say goodnights” sound decent. But it’s bad on a primal level. It’s bad because a) it’s not a good cover, kinda missing most of the elements of Talking Head’s Version (I think they miss an entire verse, or repeat the first chorus b) the “say goodnights” become annoying after the first two times. Fenech-Soler makes the theme of the song “Say Goodnight”, rather than “love is simple and beautiful”. I imagine Fenech-Soler are more concerned about their Instagram followers than respecting the music. This could also be turned into a washed out EDM cover you might find at a chain fitness club. While other songs may be musically worse than this…this is just so offensive because it fundamentally undermines the song and what it is about.
22. Tabelland (2020)– it’s cool? But kinda hard to qualify as a cover…Like without that title there is nothing to connect this to the Talking Heads. And even with that…. But I do vibe with the song that’s for certain. It’s just not a good cover and maybe not even a cover.
21. Katy K (2012) - This is a very glamorous version of the sone. It’s not good. I feel like the glamour of this song undermines what the song’s about. And who is this for? I feel bad for Katy K a bit here.
20. Cherushii, Maria Minerva (2019) – this one kind of made me question “what exactly is a cover”? This is not one…but it’s still better than some actual covers. Until the singer came in I was convinced this was going to a creative cover to the song that I would have vibed with….but then the singer did some lounge-style vocal delivery about going out to clubs. Not David Bryne lyrics at all. I mean thematically and rhythmically it was good…a better cover than some of these others…but ultimately not actually a cover.
19. Kinothek (2020) – TRUMPET WAS SUCH A COOL IDEA, in David Bryne’s book he said synth has kinda taken the place of horns. So that was a vibe. But tragically the rest of it was not good. It was boring and mellow and I did not jive with the singer’s vocal delivery.
18. Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox, Sarah Neimitz (2015) - It’s in a gimmicky 1940’s jazz style. These type of covers are more about the style rather than the song, and while there is nothing wrong with that, I think that does lessen the value of the cover. And while it does sound cool, it doesn’t really do anything for me. his was originally higher, but then I noticed the album name is “Swipe Right for Vintage” and I hate that
17. Echosmith (2019) – The Echosmith cover feels a little like heartless, bad, country music.. Corporate pop maybe? I don’t know I really cringed to it my first listen. The reason it’s a Niave melody is because it’s simple and sincere, and this does not follow those guidelines. The bass breakdowns would have been super welcome had the rest of the song been good. However, after repeated listens I must admit it’s okay. It is not my style of music and that affects my judgment but I can see people likening this and I can’t hate that. But it still ranks low for me.
16. Arcade Fire (Mid 2000s) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-oVwECVXZs this is the most well-known cover of this song, but I have no idea why it’s not on Spotify (maybe because it’s embarrassing). Love the steel drum intro. But uhg…Arcade Fire. Honestly there is so much bias with the band, I don't know how I would evaluate it. Personally…I don’t like the voice, I think it’s so forced. But I do like the instrumentation, especially the steel drum/violin taking the synth line. The vocals really do not work though… in fact, if Ret Butler did a better job at dropping vocals it would be way up there. But it, like Arcade Fire as a whole, feels like forced sentiment.
15. Sure Sure (2018) – pretty poppy…at times I enjoy the vocal delivery, but for the most part the song is annoying. The production is decent. But ultimately super forgettable. I need to listen to this one every time I think about it just to remember what it is. And I think that mere forgetability is what makes this one place where it does.
14. The Daylights (2012) – the opening synth line either is whistling or sounds like whistling, and I really enjoy that. The beat is naïve and overall this is a proper cover. But the singer seems like he is almost out of breath. It’s a fairy traditional cover and that’s why it ranks mid-list. Although I do like the sound of this band and their album art, so they are one of the bands I may actually continue listening to their other music
13. The Lumineers (2012) I like this songs at times, especially in the choruses. Even though his voice is sometimes annoying. A strange occurrence with a lot of these covers is that very often the singers change the pronouns, like “me”s to “you”s, seemingly at random, and this happens the most in this version. I don’t know if that’s an issue per se, but it is something that happens and was very evident here.
12- M.O.F. Ghiz (???) – Dream-like and groovy! But this is a bit like the Cherushii, Maria Minerva cover, where it’s entirely possible the lyrics could not have been this must be the place and it would have been an entirely different song altogehte.
11. Trevor Green (2012)– So based on the image Sean Penn image on the cover of this track, I’m assuming this is for the movie named after the song (which I have not seen). I dug this track…but I kinda felt like the lyrics were thrown onto another song and it doesn’t necessary feel like a cover. And that’s fine. It’s a good song…just not a great cover. The inclusion of the digeridoo is pleasant. I waited for the song to pick up, but it never did and was relatively haunting the whole way through.
10. The Dead Leaves (2011) – Okay so this was one of my faves. Musically it was okay. But the way the vocalist delivered the lines with heavenlike reverb, the organ, and some of the musical ideas in the song – It sounds a bit like Christian rock. and I’m not convinced it’s not. It seems holy. It’s an okay cover in my opinion…but this song did make me reconsider the song as a religious song…and it shockingly does not fail with this perspective. Especially line’s like “Did I find you or you find me”. Maybe this is the intention? If the singer replaced the “she’s” with “he” I would 100% be sure they changed the song to be about Jesus, especially with “She lifted up her wing”. This one made me ask which songs originally about a romantic relationship can be about God when covered with different stylistic choices.
9 - Iron and Wine and Ben Bridwell (2015) – Uhggggggggggg. Again I never really like acoustic covers of songs. But It’s hard not to like Iron and Wine. I always vibe with cellos and slide guitar work, so I did like this quite a bit.
8- Kishi Bashi (2013) - I dig the stings for sure. But I don’t know how much it does it for me. I think this would absolutely be my favorite preformed. And you can tell the vocalist is just so into it! (2023 note: I feel like this cover persists to this day and is maybe more popular than the Iron and wine version - I've heard this version on the radio so it definitely reached some people)
7- Imaginary Future (2020) – Of the “folk”-y “acosustic”-y covers this is my fave, maybe only because of the unfamiliarity. But it seems really wholesome all in all. And I think best fits that pine tree forest feel that you want when listening to acoustic covers.
6- Exit clo-v (2013) – Exit Clo-v’s cover is instrumentally chaotic and the vocalist holds it all down. And I think this is the cover that best replicates the energy of the original. There are a lot of new and different sounds introduced throughout the song, chaotic choices that all work. And this is the best drumming performance on the list by far.
5- Brothertiger (2014) – Synth city baby!! For Running up that Hill (2023 -Running up that Hill was my first cover critic post on the old blog) there were three or four synthwave covers and this is the only one that comes even close to that. And it’s not even really synthwave. This cover is very atmospheric, has a solid beat throughout. It’s simply a great cover. It’s what Feneh-Soler so desperately hoped to sound like, but failed, Brothertiger made the right musical choices.
4- dad sports (2020) – They sound exactly what I expect a band called dad sports to sound like. And it’s that chill laidback vibe that I enjoy. Tight instrumentation, somewhat dethatched vocalist. Their album art is great. Personal tastes absolutely place this higher than an objective listen. But hey, that’s what listening to music is.
3- Miles Fisher (2013) – When it started it was going to be either good or bad because it’s just him speaking the first lines in a somewhat whiney voice! But then it delivers by chopping up that vocal sample and delivering some dirty synths. It’s weird. But that’s what makes it so good. Miles Fisher made a lot of choices that truly made this song stand out. My one complaint is that the voice is sometimes a little grating…but he’s covering David Bryne…so I can’t complain.
2- fanclubwallet (2020) – Okay. This ranking is probably my hot take, because I could see a lot of people not liking this version. It starts with a strangely industrial beat before the those famous synth lines join. And it sounds so mechanical. The vocalist has a bit of robot-like fuzz. Real lo-fi energy. When I’m listening, I envision a factory of moving pieces making little houses. The vocalist gets into it and more instruments are introduced including a nice swelling guitar strum and highly reverbed piano notes. And the delivery of the last couple of lines is just so intense and necessary before everything starts coming together with a beautiful swell of sounds accompanied by those “ooooooo’s”. I love this cover. I think it musically fits the theme and progression of the love story so well – a person trapped in a system of trying to have fun but not (the industrial beats in the intro), but then the person meets someone “make it up as we go along” (the first guitar strum), and they fall in love and that person feels at home (the music swelling, drowning out the industrial sounding beat). I think they did an amazing job of taking the themes of the OG and making a unique and thoughtful cover.
So fanclubwallet only had three songs on Spotify when I wrote this. If they get big you heard it here first!!!!
2023 note - fanclubwallet did in fact blow up! Ha! At the time of writing now, they have 232k listeners, several EPs and an album. Further, they are often featured on the Lorem playlist. Here is a screenshot from 6/20/20 as proof!
1-__Gloria (2003) – Is…is the synth line delivered by a kazoo? I think it is. This cover is simply what a cover should be. Loads of unique choices but keeping consistent with the original. There is a delay-ed guitar riff throughout that’s great. The bassist is grooving, Everything is tight. The vocalist delivers all the lines with passion and energy that shows they really care about the song; one can tell she personalizes the lyrics which is what a cover artist needs. And most importantly the energy in this song just makes me want to join in and sing along, especially “all those kinds of people” and “Love me till my heart stops”. There is so much passion and energy in this cover. Well done.
Overall I was impressed by these covers. And similar to Running up that Hill I was shocked by how many of these covers were released recently. Seven songs were released this year! Good golly!
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