Under the Covers

There are several ways to cover a song. You can do a direct cover where the new song is essentially a copy of the original or throw the whole format out the window and use the lyrics to build a totally new sounding song. And covering a song isn't a new thing BUT it seems to me that in today's world where music comes and goes at the speed of light, that some people have started to abuse the cover.

In the past covers were a rarity. Most bands didn't even record them but would use them as a cool extra or encore song in concerts. Then slowly but surely more and more covers were added as "hidden tracks" or "bonus tracks" added to a re-release. Nowadays, there are whole albums of covers and even bands who built careers doing covers... but that's not always a bad thing.


Two of the biggest "cover bands" out there have got to be Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine and Me First And The Gimme Gimmes. Richard Cheese takes popular rock and metal songs and twists them into a lounge/swing style. Me First does the same but with a punk sound instead of lounge. Both acts have built careers on covering other songs in their respective styles but both do it with a tongue-in-cheek attitude that makes it more about having fun than making money off someone else's ideas. Here's a sample from each:

Then you have albums that compile covers like Fearless Records' Punk Goes... series. Each album focuses on a genre like pop, 90s rock, and hip hop and modern punk and metal bands cover songs from that genre. Some bands stick more to their personal style and others stay more true to the original track with a touch of their own style mixed in. These are also more about having fun as the artists doing the covers all have active touring and recording schedules and make plenty of their own music. Here's an example:

Then you have bands like Puddle of Mudd or Counting Crows who, after years of making original music, crank out a cover album and start releasing singles like it's a new album. This is where my love of covers ends. Covering a song to honor the original artist or even to have fun and blow off some steam is all well and good, but just because you've run out of creativity, don't start trying to peddle someone else's wares as your own.