Guilty Pleasure: Cover Songs

I was never the biggest fan of Nine Inch Nails, but...

I really love me some cover songs.  I can't say that

 they are better than the originals, but more so the "new" artist's take on a song we are probably familiar with.  This past fall, I discovered Emerson Nogueira.  He is a cover artist extraordinaire. What is absolutley amazing is that here's this Brazilian musician with a very thick accent selling over 1 million records covering English songs.

Is he good?  That's the crux of the entire cover song argument.  There are those that contend that a cover song is never as good as the original.  In a recent SPIN magazine article, Oasis member Noel Gallagher stated that "Ryan Adam's version [of "Wonderwall"] is so much better than ours, but we can't exactly go around sing his version can we?"  I think that caputures the idea behind covers.  They can be done out of respect for the artist covered.  Garth Brooks covered Billy Joel's "Shameless" and they both made a ton of money.  But is one better than the other?  

A few covers that I absolutely love:

1. Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen wrote this song for his 1984 album, but it wasn't until I heard this song covered by Jeff Buckley during a season ending episode of West Wing did I fall in love with it.  Buckley rearranged a few of the lyrics, but the meaning and the emotion behind his version just stuck with me.  Cohen's version, again the original, is quite nice, but comes across brighter than Buckley's; it's due to Cohen's voice.  Not bad or in any ways negative, just my preference.
2. Across the Universe - A beautiful song.  Period.  Having said that, this is the song that help me fall in love with Emerson Nogueira.  Nogueira's version does not even compare to The Beatles, but there is something homey and comforting about a thick Brazilian accent singing those Sanskrit lyrics.  
3. Message in a Bottle - Sting at some of his finest, this 1979 song by The Police is simply a classic one for me.  Stuart Copeland really struts his stuff and shows he does have serious chops on this track.  It's a bit of an agressive song filled with a passion, but John Mayer covered it a few years back during an acoustic set.  I actually got it by accident and fell in love.  Mayer does the song justice with his fingerwork and and singing.
4. Whiskey in the Jar - Apparently, this goes back than even I realized.  Made popular in the 1960s by the Dubliners, I was first introduced to this song through Thin Lizzy.  Didn't care much for the intro solo, but the song was/is good.  Of course, I got my rock fix and permantly have a copy of Metallica's version on hand.  James Hetfield really makes the lyrics work.  Maybe that's why they won a Grammy, but that doesn't mean too much.  The video is pretty kick ass as well.

So, even with this short list of covers, you can see that a great many artists do their inspiration justice.  That's not to say that there are covers that just plain suck.  Period.  Fleetwood Mac had a great song titled "Landslide".  A few years ago, the Dixie Chicks decided to cover it.  Women crooned about how good the song was.  Didn't do jack for me; I hated it.  Keith Whitley has a song titled "When You Say Nothing at All".  Great song, worked with Whitley's timbre.  Alison Krauss covered it a few years, and as her voice lacks a male voices depth, she never quite did it for me (at least with that song).  The Randy Rogers Band released a song a while back titled, "Sombody Take Me Home".  Kenny Chesney covered the song.  Chesney's version is good (his voice really works and the arrangement is quite nice), but something about it lacks when you've listened to the original.

In the end, I think that cover songs are a valuable commodity.  They offer an outlet for artists to pay homage to their inspirations, a way to voice somthing that perhaps was done well already, and simply a way to expand to other genres.  It's kind of like any other industry:  there are good things about it and bad things as well.  Musically, covers are a good thing.  There are those covers that just plain suck, but it doesn't cast a shadow on those covers that are well done and still hold a ton of meaning.

Closing quote?  Something a bit lighter...

"I'll play along with the charade.  That doesn't seem to be a reason to change.  You know I feel so dirty when they start talking cute, I wanna tell her that I love her but the point is probably moot." - as sung by Frickin' A (originally by Rick Springfield)

Playing Guitar: Barre None

It's been about six months since I starting taking playing guitar as a serious hobby, with the intent of learning to play proficiently.  

As my teacher has been adamant about, Tom set me on a course to learn some basic chords (GCD and ADE mainly) and the addition of some other easy ones that make their way into songs.

Probably a few months ago, we broached the subject of barre chords a while back, it wasn't until about five or six weeks ago that Tom actually worked out and game me the chords for a really sexy number by Keith Urban titled Raining on Sunday.  I haven't mastered it yet (about 50% or so) but it's given me some new life right before you hit that proverbial rut when you're

 learning something.

Of the many performances that drives someone to learn guitar, one that I remember vividly was by a performing troupe I was privy to watch during a lunch break while attending Our Lady of the Lake University (my alma mater!).  They were performing that week, along with visiting with students and such.  This particular day, they were in the cafeteria on the small stage (actually just an area cleared out really).  Two acted out the scene, but it was basically a really cool acoustic version of Jessie's Girl.  It was the mannerisms of it all; for whatever reason, the singer nailed it with the facial expressions and the enthusiasm as he played his role in the whole acting out.

As I've been working on the barre chords, I've discovered the way of power chords as well.  This has allowed me to really tap into a great many power chords and those kick ass riffs that you can recognize from ten years ago.  Licks from Heart, Pat Benatar, Rick Springfield, Weezer and more are working their way into my little repertoire.  

I'm definitely still learning and taking inspiration from many places.  Almost daily, I hear about the haters on video game forums about "ditch the plastic guitar and learn a real one."  Well, I did that.  But only after feeling elated for doing well on the plastic one.  If music inspires you, go with it.

Just like Andrés Segovia said, "Lean your body forwad slightly to support he guitar against your chest, for the poetry of the music should resound in your heart."

Irish Texans Unite!

Okay, I'm gonna be a shill, but a nice one at least.

If you have an Irish heritage, Irish friends, Irish beer, or just like potatoes (I love me some potatoes!), then check out my buddy's website, Austin Celtic News.

Really good news, and more so, good writing about Celtic happenings in Austin (That's 512 for all you plugged in folks).

Check it out, subscribe, leave comments.  You know...all that good stuff.

So Good It Hurts

How often is it that one is so good at one's job, that it creates certain situations that one would despise?

I can't say that this is me, per se.  There are times I feel that maybe certain successes breeds instances where you just would have been better off having failed.

I remember really liking a particular baseball player in the mid-90's, as he was one I felt was decent and worked hard.  For all his success, he didn't really give back to the fans.  Let me clarify:  he hated/despised/abhored signing autographs.  It was once described to me that he "[used] his son like a shield when he would leave the stadium".  That really burst my bubble, but at the same time, I understand that his success on the field created problems for him once the 

game was done.  

I guess fame is a bitch, but that's not something that bothers me.

Don't get me wrong; this isn't about me being famous.  I am quite far from that.  In fact, I just recently made a huge decision that affects a great many people, in effect removing me from a certain amount of fame.

Do I have any regrets?  Absolutely not.  I put my complete self into the work I did.  Unfortunately two things happened:  1) I got burned out by another's selfishness; and, 2) I got my priorities in order.  This decision was a long time coming, but now was the time to make the commitment to my family.

I've looked forward to this decisision for some time, but even now, I'll miss that little extra duty that I did.  I'll miss the interaction with the people.  But for all that, nothing can replace being able to spend that extra time with my two boys and my beautiful wife.

Without regrets doesn't mean you can't reminisce.  But don't forget to realize where you're going.

The closing quote?  Well...

"When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us." - Alexander Graham Bell

Just Because...

I'm always amazed by even the most simple of things.

I'm perhaps one of the luckiest people out there.  I have a great job which I love, I have a gorgeous wife who loves me, and two great boys who are nothing short of miracles in my heart.

I was coming home after Dylan's baseball game today and, in an effort to get a bit to eat, took a slight detour for some fried chicken (don't go there; it's not often I have fried chicken...).

I happen to look up into the sky after departing the drive through and saw the mauve sky, the setting sun.  I couldn't help but reflect on the afternoon's events and the time I spent with my wife and boys.

As tomorrow comes, I don't want to make a practical joke on anyone.  I think I'll make a serious effor to be the nicest I can be to anyone around me.  God forbid, if something happens to me, I want to be able to depart with all my beloved family and friends knowing without a shred of doubt that I loved them and appreciated their companionship, friendship, and love through and through.

As much as I like to write, I actually found a quote that really summarizes my thoughts here today.  And no, it's not the Beatles.  Of course, Lennon and McCartney were right.

Love one another and you will be happy.  It's as simple and as difficult as that.  ~Michael Leunig