Cover songs versus the original track, which ones are better?

[Hornbein]

The Beatles' All You Need Is Love



Nowadays the Royal Liverpool Symphony Orchestra performs a more upbeat version of All You Need Is Love as an encore.

It took me over a month to put two and two together. The Beatles, Liverpool.... The orchestra was honoring their homeboys.

 

[Hornbein]

I went to a "popular music" concert at Suntory. This was played as an encore. Takamitsu is the most honored Japanese composer. He also wrote orchestral works and so forth. Too "modern" for me.

 

[Hornbein]

Like everybody of my generation, I love that song that was meant to be a call to arms: "The generation's apathy is getting out of hand. [I'm] pleading to the kids, 'Wake up!'" The inspiration for the song was a quote written on his apartment's wall by a friend of his then-girlfriend: "Kurt smells like Teen Spirit". This guy who has felt unloved, ridiculed, and persecuted for the major part of his life took that as a suggestion that he was an inspirational figure.

The sad side of this story is that after he wrote and recorded the song, he learned that the meaning of his friend's quote was meant to laugh at him. Because he was so in love with his girlfriend and followed her everywhere, trying to spend every minute with her, the quote actually states that the scent of his girlfriend's deodorant (of the Teen Spirit brand) rubbed off on him. Too late to do anything about it.

I dunno, that he loves his girlfriend so much her perfume rubbed off on him, that's romantic, touching. Nothing to be ashamed of. Maybe he could have had a more positive attitude towards such things. And life in general. But did he listen to me? Nah...

 

[robphy]

#1187

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smells_Like_Teen_Spirit (1991)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana_(band)

Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit (Live At The Paramount, Seattle / 1991)

Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit (Official Music Video)

(covers in #1187 )

Here's another cover...

by the drummer Yoyoka and, later, with her family
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoyoka_Soma

(2018) Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit / Drum Cover by Yoyoka, 9 year old

( #592 Yoyoka )

(2021) Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit / Covered by YOYOKA family (KANEAIYOYOKA) at Home
The singer is Yoyoka's brother Shido , who is also a drummer and guitarist.

(see Yoyoka and her mom in #673 Killing in the Name)

 

[Hornbein]

Orig



Cover

 

[Hornbein]

I met a man who was such a fan of Yoyoka he had dinner with her and her family in Los Angeles. They moved there from Hokkaido to further her career. She transformed him into a Japanese female fusion addict, away from his former alligiance to AC/DC and KISS. Not only did he attend every Jazz Avengers gig in the big island of Honshu, he was going to every individual show of the eight bandmembers. His goal was to get something signed by each one.

Another man walked up who resembled guitarist Etsuji Ogawa. It was close enough that I wondered whether it really was Etsuji but he wouldn't be hanging out in the audience. This man had gone to see the Jazz Avengers all the way up in Hokkaido so he was perhaps even more of a fan. I didn't have that sort of dedication but had been following some of the individual members for years before the JA even existed so that gave me senior status.

Etsuji Ogawa​