I’m Going To Throw Up

I’m Going To Throw Up

Please, please, please help me understand!

Why do bands/musicians take a perfectly (in most cases) good song and screw it up. What is the obsession with covering songs? Okay, I can understand when you may take a song that is not that good (maybe this is all relative) and you make it better or at the least, don't trash it. Apparently this is too much to ask for a lot of bands. I know that imitation is one of the highest forms of flattery or maybe the original musicians don't really own the songs and that is how they end up getting raped, for lack of a better term, by some girly hip-hop band.

I just recently listened to a cover of "Such Great Heights" - Postal Service, by some group, if you want to call them that, called Iron & Wine. Terrible (said like Charles Barkley for added effect)!!! Don't take a great poppy, electric, entertaining and up beat song and turn it into a funeral procession. Why, why, why must great songs be ripped from their original genre or worse yet, put on some commercial about mood enhancing drugs. I always used to hear that music was not for the money, but for the music. I don't think this exists any more. I am not a musician. I have no musical talent. I have not been on the inside of any bands or around the business, so I am not informed at the least. I still want to understand why this happens. Is it just about the money? Is it because you are flattered that someone likes your song that much? Is there some sort of musicians' code that makes you okay with this? What is it?

For those that cover songs. Is it because you are not able to come up with songs of your own? You want to create some early notoriety? I once heard a band say they did a cover, because they were a huge fan of the band/song they were covering. What the HELL!!! Are you serious!?! You just slaughtered the song of the band you claim to be a big fan of? WOW!!! If I were a fan, I would want to do some kind of justice to the song/band I say I am a FAN of!

Please someone help me obtain some answers. Are there any musicians or someone that is more in the "know" than I am, that can help me with this struggle? I just don't understand. I bet I am blind to a lot of cover songs that are played by some of my favorite bands, but at least they sound good. Is it just my own bias toward my favorite bands and musical tastes that makes me see past this? All I know is when I hear bad covers, I hear BAD covers. Please let me know what you think.

- Dr. Worm

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