COVER NERD! - Ben Folds 'Bitches Ain't Shit' & Barenaked Ladies 'Fight The Power'
I like my covers, some are good and some are bad, but to me I don't mind. I'm happy to find the obscure as well as the conventional. Here in my bi-weekly spot I hope to share with you some of my favourites.
Tell me what you think and please feel free to submit your favourite covers by clicking here
Ben Folds - Bitches Ain't Shit (2006)
I've always been a big fan of Ben Folds, with or without the Five, and enjoyed an excellent concert at the Hammersmith Odeon in January 2007 (it will always be the Odeon to me, as it was the site of my first ever gig for my brother's 10th birthday in 1979. The band in question was Showaddywaddy.... His choice, honest) where he played all of his hits and all of a sudden he started playing this. At the time, I knew that it wasn't a song I was familiar with from his extensive back catalogue, but I found myself singing along as I knew some of the words. It was only later when I got home and googled some of the lyrics that I remembered, I found out it was a Dr. Dre song. I'm sure he cringes at the thought of it. I don't though and think that Ben Folds has almost made the song his own.
Barenaked Ladies - 'Fight The Power' (1993)
I was a small-ish fan of the Barenaked Ladies when they hit the scene in England with their song 'One Week' in 1998 and as I had money to burn I bought a few CD's from their back catalogue. I still try and fail at singing along to the lyrics, but love the line about 'watching X-Files with the light's on'.
On a separate but connected note, I bought the soundtrack to 'Coneheads' which despite the film being utterly atrocious, the soundtrack is really excellent. It features some great covers, amongst them kd Lang & Andy Bell doing 'No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) which I vaguely remember them performing on a Brit Awards evening. Also Morten Harket's fabulous rendition of 'I Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You' which I liked so much I demanded it be on my wedding album (consisting of 7 songs.... details available upon request for the romantics out there). And this bizarre but brilliant take on the seminal classic by Public Enemy, it's jazz-tastic !! The live video isn't as good as the studio recording they made, which is worth a listen via our spotify link below. Enjoy y'all.
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Comments
However I really liked the Barenaked Ladies version of Fight the Power. Great delivery and fantastic instrumentation...I also like the bit where he fits in Buddy Holly as not being one of his heroes. Dope.