Huffy Flounce

You wanna see a fucking travesty? Watch this:

Joan Jett covering Nirvana when it should be the other fucking way round?

I watched that a while back. I remember either liking or being fine with every performance. I guess I liked the Lorde one least, but I didn't really dislike it. I especially liked Kim Gordon's. That's the one that stood out for me most.

I have a feeling Kurt Cobain would have liked the idea of only women covering him. He's dead, of course. There's no real way to know. I don't speak for him. Also, clearly, whether or not he would have liked it has no bearing on whether or not a person finds it listenable.

I thought it was a clever move. It kept people from comparing the voices too much to Cobain's. It was a better decision than assembling a bunch of aging grunge singers. It was better than grabbing some of those kids from the new guard with vaguely Cobain-like vocals. Most of 'em are plain awful.

I guess they could have pulled in some folks like Jack White or some other alt rockers who might have done the songs justice, but it works for me the way they did it. They got someone who made it big pre-Nirvana, someone who was big-ish more or less at the same time as Nirvana, someone who got her start with the generation after Nirvana, and someone who's only now getting her start.

I thought most of them sounded appropriately raw. Nirvana often sounded like a just-barely-held-together train wreck when they played live. At least, that's the impression I've gotten over the years when watching videos and listening to bootlegs.

I tend to prefer the studio versions of the songs I like. There are some genres of music where something special can come through with the live performances. For me, a lot of it depends on whether or not the performers decide to noodle, jam, or showboat on stage. The ones who tend to try to preserve the song's structure while still making things feel alive come off best for me. Punk and grunge lend themselves to that. Live rock, blues, and jazz can get insufferable. Most live country and pop feels like it might as well be the studio track.

It didn't bother me that all the songs were performed by women. Like you said, that may have been an idea that would have appealed to Cobain as well. Where I disagree with you is the raw sound. What made Cobain's vocals so appealing to me is that he was usually screeching one way or another, but it didn't feel like he was off and most of the songs were actually "listenable." Even in his live performances where it sounded like he was struggling for air, he could still manage to pull off something you could listen to.

As much as I respect Joan Jett, I thought she really butchered "Teen Spirit". Her voice was often shaky and sounded kind of dull (not dull as in "boring"; more dull as in "not sharp," if that makes sense). "Aneurysm" sounded all right. The screechy voice suited the song. "Lithium" wasn't raw enough for my taste. St. Vincen'ts voice somehow didn't feel strong enough for it. And Lorde... it sounded like she had heard "All Apologies" for the first time five minutes before she went on stage and decided to put her Lorde-y spin to it, which didn't fit the theme and tone of the song at all, in my opinion.

What almost bothered me even more were the shots of the audience. I was like, "Who the fuck are these aging hipsters bobbing their heads to this?" Maybe that's a bit hypocritical of me, since I'm sort of an aging hipster myself (some might disagree that I'm a hipster, but I'm certainly aging), but that's actually the part that I thought Cobain would have hated, and not the performances themselves.

So. Canadian music. I have indeed neglected this thread.


One of my favourite songs right now is from a Maritime band named Wintersleep. The song is named Amerika .

However..., my American friends and relatives should in no way interpret this as some sort of Canadian leftist anti-American polemic.

To be honest, I have no real idea what it's about. Only that it sounds really cool. Especially the last minute.

I have yet to listen to it (I have to wait for the kid to go to sleep), but it could be a Kafka reference.

It's just a cool song. Good for dancing.

If it's not a Kafka reference, and if it's not a reference to a Germanic language's spelling of "America," then it's probably missing a couple Ks.

I was somewhat drunk last night, so after reading your post I wandered around youtube (as one does) looking for Amerikka references. Imagine my puzzlement when I checked my yt viewing history today...

Nothing good ever comes from any internet history.

A song to appeal to Goiter:

Ol' Goiter's a sucker for hand-clappin' pop.

So. Going to see Loverboy with some old buddies in August. Paid 70$ for premium seats. Mile Reno better loose the beef or its going to to a short show. Apparently the man can't do a whole set when he is above fight weight.

Not all bad though. I'm seeing Burton Cummings for free at the end of July.

Works out

The Swollen Goiter of God wrote:Ol' Goiter's a sucker for hand-clappin' pop.

The best part is, you can't get the clap from using your hand.

Aw, yeah.

Loverboy Burton Cummings.

Scotia wrote:Not all bad though. I'm seeing Burton Cummings for free at the end of July.

Apparently he's very well endowed.

And unlike Alan Cumming, he's always good for at least another go.

Gord Downie, lead singer of The Tragically Hip, has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. The Hip are a hugely respected band up here, very attached to the country and it's people, especially Ontario. I kind of personally lost touch with their newer music some years ago, but they have continued to define a certain small-town/working class/rural/urban bar band sensibility throughout their long, successful career. The fact that Downie has terminal cancer is news enough on it's own; but the fact he is planning one last tour in spite of it... is an example of the title of the first song posted here.

Space Tycoon wrote:Gord Downie, lead singer of The Tragically Hip, has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. The Hip are a hugely respected band up here, very attached to the country and it's people, especially Ontario. I kind of personally lost touch with their newer music some years ago, but they have continued to define a certain small-town/working class/rural/urban bar band sensibility throughout their long, successful career. The fact that Downie has terminal cancer is news enough on it's own; but the fact he is planning one last tour in spite of it....

Sad news indeed. I remember seeing them live in Halifax many years ago. Me and a bunch of idiots I went to school with road tripped to the city. Had a ball. One of my buddies actually shit his pants waiting in line to get tickets. We told him it was ok. Then ribbed him for the rest of his life.

Oh, you have to remind him forever. You can't just let that one go... so to speak.

No worries. He is still Oliver poopy pants.

Excellent.

Good Ol' Fatboy Roberts did this thing more than half a decade ago, but I only just listened to it yesterday:

https://soundcloud.com/geekremixed/a-fi ... -legend-of

It's good stuff.