5 Killer Cover Songs--By Meredith

I’ve been threatening Amber with a guest blog since Weekend Fat launched. Today, I’m finally making good on at least one of many promises. I’m diving in with a good old-fashioned list (lists perform exceptionally well as blog titles and topics) and an evergreen topic: The cover song.

There are tons of cover songs out there – lots of opinions - so I feel it’s necessary to lay down my ground rules for today’s post:

1. No covers originating from American Idol, X Factor, Glee, Nashville, etc.
2. Similarly, no teens with a guitar or piano, playing covers for their YouTube fans & followers (as talented as they may be – go Annelise).
3. All covers included in the list must be true “covers.” No “samples” or “mash-ups.”
4. No Beatles covers. No jazz, bluegrass or folk rock standards. There are just too many to process. 
5. Also, no Fleetwood Mac covers. There are some good ones out there, but Fleetwood Mac is hallowed ground.
6. No holiday-themed covers.
7. All originals must be good songs to start; so it follows, all cover songs must be genuinely notable. We’re talking either a complete reinterpretation or a completely different style of music. 
8. Johnny Cash’s cover of NIN’s “Hurt” is too easy. Excellent - but easy. I’m angling for more obscure on one or both tracks within the grouping.

Obviously, these are my completely arbitrary rules – mostly in place for the sake of brevity. Without further ado: five awesome originals and their equally awesome covers.

Immigrant Song

Original: Led Zeppelin 

Cover: Karen O w/ Trent Reznor & Atticus Rose

I’m starting with my favorite because, well, it’s just badass. I was in middle school when NIN was at its apex. The boys sported grungy NIN and Stone Temple Pilots t-shirts. The girls were all about bubblegum and The Backstreet Boys. I was woefully misguided by my sex. NIN is the shit. And Karen O can do no wrong in my eyes. Maps and Gold Lion are on my multi-generational, cross-genre “classics” playlist. 

Running Up That Hill

Original: Kate Bush 

Cover: Placebo 

Kate Bush is a quirky, English powerhouse that frequently ousted 80s-era Madonna when she was at the top of the charts. She’s worth revisiting. Kate is a definite reference point for many artists enjoyed now. Bjork and Florence & The Machine borrow heavily from Kate’s pop-opera delivery. I’ll get you started: Cloudbusting, Breathing and Hounds of Love.

Placebo, on the other hand, is Placebo. Admittedly, I’m not terribly well versed in their work but big props on the cover.

Kate Bush Cover Song, Honorable mention: This Woman’s Work (Maxwell) I don’t know who has the cheesier video, but Kate and Maxwell are melodrama at its best.

It’s My Life

Original: Talk Talk 

Cover: No Doubt 

No Doubt follows Talk Talk’s arrangement; and yet, these are two strikingly different songs. 80s-era British pop-rock or Gwen Stefani? It’s a draw.

Can We Still Be Friends

Original: Todd Rundgren 

Cover: Mandy Moore 

Rundgren is a prolific singer-songwriter and record producer, with a significant hand in the 70’s and 80’s pop scene. Rundgren is the real deal. And I maintain, Mandy Moore is an under-valued entertainer. I wish she did more. She has a solid voice, she stuck to her guns during the over-sexed Britney Spears / Christina Aguilera era and she also happens to be a decent comedic actress too (Saved!). Anyway, this is my hidden gem.

I Will Always Love You

Original: Dolly Parton 

Cover: Whitney Houston 

Cover: Jennifer Hudson 

Get ready to turn on the tears. 

Everyone knows Whitney Houston’s amazing version of Dolly Parton’s original. In fact, even Dolly admits that David Foster’s arrangement for ‘The Bodyguard’ floored her and she’s thankful the song turned into the iconic hit that it is. In both versions, “I Will Always Love You” is all about sweeping, romantic love and saying goodbye.

And then, Whitney Houston died tragically, a day before the 54^th Annual Grammy Awards. As a former live television producer, I can’t imagine what those 24 hours between the news hitting and the curtains coming up were like; but the Grammy team did an excellent job. A night of tasteful tributes and awards was capped with Jennifer Hudson’s memorial performance - and she’s the reason I get to break Rule #8 concerning obscurity.

You can’t find J-Hud’s live cover of “I Will Always Love You” on any album, but it’s a heart-wrenching and wholly original take on the epic song. Jennifer mutes the crescendos, goes with a bit more staccato and translates a song about bittersweet romance into palatable, general grief.  She can sing at my funeral.

Share your favorite cover...but make sure you follow the rules!

Ch-Ch-Changes!

If you're a Weekend Fatty and keep up with this blog on a regular basis, you've probably noticed we have some repeat offenders, er, bloggers. I think it's time to introduce them and to let you know about a few changes here at Weekend Fat.

Amber (For those of you who don't know, that's me.)

I started this blog back in May for a few reasons:

1. I am living in China this year and found myself with a MASSIVE amount of free time. 

2. I am a pop-culture junkie and found myself wanting to start conversations about things I was reading. 3. I noticed that the things I wanted to talk about were being written about on other blogs, sometimes with the exact same angles I had in mind. I didn't want to stand on the sidelines anymore.

4. I have another blog that's more personal, more about me and my life. I noticed when I blogged about Glee or music or Helen Mirren, the readers for those posts were TOTALLY different than the ones who normally read. Market discovered.

5. My friend Meredith gave me a boost of encouragement one weekend that inspired me to stop talking about it and just do it.

It's been 6 months and I gotta say, I am very pleased with the results so far. The average post gets about 90 readers. The most read (my friend Julie's rebuttal/defense to me about Jennifer Aniston) has over 400 hits. The next few most popular (ringing in at over 300 hits) were the ones about Magic Mike and Honey Boo Boo. The total number of individual readers that have come into contact with the blog and stayed for at least a minute, is around 12,000 from what I can tell, though I think it's safe to say that we have a steady following of about 250. Considering I only have about 750 Facebook friends, I think it's safe to say that the Google machine is putting Weekend Fat "on the map." Of course, the world of pop-culture is big, and while I will never run out of topics, I know (hope) that my schedule will change once I go back to America. 

In preparation for that, I will be cutting down to 3 posts a week. But my friends will be contributing, and you, are more than welcomed to do the same. Just email me your post (or ideas!) at catidwell222@gmail.com and we will go from there.

Now...here's who you might see blogging in the future:

Vicky

Vicky-Timing is everything, and I met Vicky through an awesome organization back in Auburn, Alabama that we both got to be a part of, The Layman Group, before it disbanded. We hit it off. Vicky is a theater junkie and super talented with all things related to it. She and her husband now live in Tallahassee, Florida. In my mind, Vicky likes pretty things and laughing a lot. 

Julie

Julie-I met Julie through The Layman Group too, though when I was working at Starbucks in Auburn, she was a regular, so it's hard to know how we actually became friends. In all honesty, she reminded me of someone (no clue who) so it felt like we'd been friends for a while. Julie is a brilliant event planner who has an appreciation for all things Jennifer Aniston, fashion, and Greyhounds. The dogs, not the bus. I cannot imagine Julie on a bus. You can find her blog here.

Sandi

Sandi-I met Sandi in New Orleans when she was 12, but now she lives in Boone, North Carolina and works as a nanny while finishing her degree in Child Development. Sandi devours a lot of really thick books and TV, her greatest fault is that she doesn't like scary things. Her take on pop-culture is fresh and transparent. She is just as likely to be seen watching Game of Thrones as she is Ina Garten. I'm not sure how she'd do in a sword fight, but I know she's a great cook.

Carmen

Carmen-I met Carmen while working at a camp in my teenage years, and though we might be as opposite in personality as two people can be, I liked her snark, her honesty, and the way her hair was always perfect. Now she lives in North Alabama and we have shared pop-culture interests for well over 10 years, including the summer we spent in Montana speaking in movie quotes over long distance calls across the state. She is quite possibly the biggest Veronica Mars fan on the planet, but I have heard her perfectly quote entire episodes of Friends. I pick on her about liking Kristen Stewart, but she does make a convincing case. And that's the thing about Carmen, she can always defend, justify, and explain in detail her reason for liking whatever is that she likes. 

Romelle

Romelle-Romelle is a fellow blogger/wanna be writer who lives in North Carolina. She would want you to know that she has 6 children (one who was married in May and one who will be married in a few weeks) leaving her 4 at home that she Home Schools. She errs on the conservative side of life, loves British drama, hates Anne Hathaway and other shallow ridiculous things, and is probably one of the most quickly clever people I have ever met. We are currently in a stand off about my never having watched Freaks and Geeks. (I will get to it!) You can find her blog here.

Vanessa

Vanessa-Vanessa lives in Fresno, California and is the youngest contributor to Weekend Fat. Since graduating from high school last year, she has been working like crazy on her photography. She has a brilliant eye, and I am convinced she has potential to be the next Annie Leibovitz or National Geographic photographer. You can find her photography on her Facebook page, Vanessa D. Photography. Her pop-culture tastes are black and white, meaning she either loves things or hates them. She is a huge HIMYM fan, and recently called me crying at 2am because she finally finished Six Feet Under. 

Meredith

Meredith-I met Meredith when I worked at Starbucks in Auburn, Alabama, she was a fellow Barista, relocated from New York. She was also heavily involved in The Layman Group. I knew instantly that we would be friends, but she was slower on the uptake. Eventually we found ourselves making the shifts at the 'Bucks' fly, by talking non-stop about pop-culture. She's got a unique perspective on pop-culture, usually laser focused on what she likes, but unpredictable all the same. Though she hasn't written an actual guest post yet, she promises me that there's one (or more) coming. Even if it never materializes, she gives me lots of my ideas for posts and positive feedback that keep this blog going. You can read some of her insights at Verge Pipe Media's blog.

Um, first of all, aren't my friends supermodels? Yeah, I think so too.

Ok, so from here on out, you'll be hearing from me, mixed in a little more with these gals (and possibly even my mother!). I will put a "By" line in the subject when anyone other than me writes, and they will also be tagged in the labels so you can find more of their writing if you like what you see. And trust me, you WILL like what you see.

Thanks for reading, it's been a super fun 6 months. I'm looking forward to many more!

Amber