Is it time to ban cover songs?

Encourage original talent. There are very, very few covers better than the original. These newbies come along with the advantage of already having heard the original, which is a big advantage. They can nitpick every oldie and maybe make it sound better than the first issue. The first bands had to start from scratch and do the hard ground work for them. :wink:

Some covers are better than the original, some aren't.

May I remeind all that we have only been able to record sound for a century (+ some). So the idea of one band's being the definitive version of a song is a relatively new one. No one, but no one, knows how J.S. Bach's Brandenburg Concerti sounded when first publicly performed. All that could travel from place to place was the score.

Whenever you cringe at some band doing a poor rendition of a Lennon/McCartney masterpiece, remember that the Beatles learned their chops playing covers of American R&B in the Cavern Club and in Munich.

Face it, there are more musicians than there are good song writers.

But... each time I hear Drift Away (?) or Big Yellow Taxi or I'm a Believer on the damn pop radio station playing at the other end of the lab... Grrr!

Music is not static, once it's released into the ether it's not really yours anymore. If covers suck, don't listen. There is plenty of original music/musicians that most people never hear. People listen to radio stations that play the same drivel day in, day out and then complain when a song is rehashed, go figure.

I'm listening to a cover that I particularly dislike right now, Sheryl Crow doing First Cut is the Deepest, but my vote has to be "i love covers", because every time I go to a performance of music by Mozart or Boccherini or Lully (and on and on), I'm listening to covers, and I am NOT willing to give those up.


(hmmmm that was a long sentence, I musta meant it)

I just found out Cat Stevens wrote that song, who knew?

Ceili dont you mean Yusuf Islam?

I think it would be a disservice to music to ban covers, as ebeth said when you listen to Beethoven you are listening to a cover.

I think covers if done differently from the original are great. Afterall the bands pay tribute to the old greats.

Well, El-Diablo, that's true on a tribute album. But when some hare-brained put-together band from a casting show doesn't have any good material, or good songwriters, they often "try" to "lively" up a perfectly good song, and that pisses me off!!

I voted yes, but wanted to vote YES YES!

Well, beth, now girl, that's not really "covers" in that commercial sense, is it?

And to calm BiPolar Bear down, I loove to see a good coverband! My best buddy back home in Sweden is actually making some money with three! bands, and they only play covers! Three bands, three musical directions, more or less.

But the managers and A&R guys of today are putting out a lot of cover crap, pardon my french, for commercial reasons and that I disapprove of!

I could have voted for encouraging original talent, yes, that's true, next time, mebbe!

Well I like it when they make the cover cross into other genres. For example Red Hot Chili Peppers did a cover of Stevie Wonders' "Higher Ground". This cover crossed genres and sounded VERY different from the original. I guess I like original covers. (oxymoron intended)

Ok, you little devil, you got me there! But I think you know what I meant... damn, I wanna be able to do oxymorons that easy! Kudos, man!

I agree with you there. But I don't agree with banning covers. I love the vocals of Ms. Leanne Rymes. She does a lot of covers, but they sound great. I am now hearing bands on the local metal staion doing covers of old classic rock songs. Those I don't like. So I guess it all depends on how the song turns out after being re-made (for me anyways) It does get crazy when you hear the same song covered by many different bands.

While driving last night, I heard Hootie and the Blowfish singing "The Goodbye Girl" done eons ago by Bread. Never would have guessed who was singing if it hadn't been announced. Interesting rendition, but I'm wondering if it was just resurrected for a made-for-TV movie? Sounded a lot like Muzak.

I think cover songs help young people learn about older bands, and therefor learn about what has made today's music the way it is.

A few years back.. this issue didn't really concern me.. Until Shery Crow re did Sweet Child Of Mine...
I like the new Drift Away
I liked the new Cats in the Cradle
so, my vote is... sometimes they're great, but should encourage originality.