Smells Like Meme Spirit

Okay, so this entry has at least one foot in the "cheap and easy entry" category, but seeing as my more legitimate posting seems to have fallen behind somewhat over recent weeks this seems like a good entry to put together to get myself back into a blog writing mindset.

With two of my more eclectic musical interests being mash ups and cover versions, it's hard not to notice which musicians and songs occur again and again in both of these fields. For example, in the world of mash ups, the acapella version of Eminem's Without Me has been used so much that it's now become almost unusable (the fact that it seems to fit over almost any other song has also put off those who wish to produce something that will be seen as skilled and credible). Without Me is an extreme example; there are other songs and artists that crop up again and again in both cover versions and mash ups that always sound fresh and original, or at least demonstrate the craft that went into the original version. And the song that comes to my mind as a prime example of this before any other is Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit.

Smells Like Teen Spirit is a song that is ingrained into the zeitgeist of the mid-1990s. Whether you love the song, loathe it, or couldn't be more indifferent, it's hard not to see it as part of the soundtrack of (at the very least Western) culture and society of the time when it was released. And it endures, and has endured, through its Louie Louie inspired guitar riff, Kurt Cobain's indecipherable lyrics and the general aura that it seems to ignite around it. Even the music video has become a cultural reference point. Smells Like Teen Spirit has become a musical meme.

So, here's some of my favourite versions of the song, both mash ups and covers. Neither definitive nor exhaustive, and almost certainly incomplete, as I doubt very much that SLTS is likely to go away any time soon.

1. Dsico That No-Talent Hack's cover version

2. DJ Lobsterdust - NirGaga (mashed with Pokerface by Lady Gaga)

3. 2 Many DJ's - Smells Like Booty (mashed with Bootylicious by Destiny's Child)

Click, hear

4. The Ukulele Orchestra Of Great Britain's cover version

5. The Moog Cookbook's cover version

6. Paul Anka's cover version

7. Weird Al Yankovic - Smells Like Nirvana

see el eye see kay

8. Patti Smith's cover version

9. The Flying Pickets' cover version

10. And finally, more for comedy value than musical excellence, this is teh fuhnehz

So yeah, enjoy. And if anyone knows any other decent versions/mashes of SLTS, let me know.

Five cover versions I've enjoyed recently

1. Born Slippy by Barefoot (original by Underworld)
2. Freak On A Leash by Richard Cheese (original by Korn)
3. Jump Around by Moonbootica (original by House Of Pain)
4. Yellow Submarine by Roots Manuva (original by The Beatles)
5. Roses by Hayseed Dixie (original by Outkast)

I've mentioned cover versions on the blog before (only in one or two posts from what I can remember), but they are an area of music that I'm very interested in. I "collect" interesting covers, either mentally or by trying to get hold of them in some form. Some are good, some are average, some you really can't see the point of the cover being released as it's so similar to the original. But some just work so well they stick, occasionally even replacing the original. I don't know if any of the above five have replaced the originals for me yet (in the case of number 2 I heard the cover first anyway, and I'm not a huge fan of Korn and love Richard Cheese, so that one kind of had a head start), but they all bring something to the song that makes it the artist's own. And yet in each of them there is a faithfulness to, or at least appreciation of, the original. Whether the purpose is comedy or originality, or both, each of these cover versions has a spark of the original version in there, whilst creating an incredibly worthwhile alternative version.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy them at least some of the amount that I do.

Blogathon score: 5

How to make Coldplay more interesting

I don't have anything against Coldplay as such. Their music isn't for me at all, but that's not to say that I don't respect them as a successful band. Chris Martin seems like a nice bloke. I saw them performing from a festival on TV once, and thought they put on a decent show. But I will never buy a Coldplay album, and to date I none of their songs that I've heard have ever done anything for me. "Not my cup of tea" I think is the correct idiom to sum up what I'm trying to say.

So, for someone like me, who isn't a Coldplay fan, how does one make Coldplay more appealing? Well, like this, actually.

Add a Prodigy track to a Coldplay track creating a more energetic mash-up. Maybe have another artist cover one of their tracks, such as Pendulum or Mark Ronson, or maybe Richard Cheese or Moped if you fancy something a little more humorous. But probably not Avril Lavigne, at least not for me.

Just a few suggestions. I'll share some of my other favourite cover versions (and maybe some more awful ones too) in the future. But for now, enjoy Coldplay as they never intended.