The Day that Music Cried
This occurred last night at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, when one Miley Cyrus launched into a cover version of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” because, she told the crowd, it was one of the songs that inspired her.
Cover versions are nothing new and bad cover versions happen all the time. Some are just laughable (Celine Dion doing AC/DC for instance). Some constitute offences against music: Shannon Noll and Natalie Bassingthwaigthe covering the Peter Gabriel/ Kate Bush classic “Don’t Give Up” was probably the day music held its breath, clenched its fists and stamped its feet.
(While conventional wisdom holds that the original is always better, there have been some notable exceptions. Jeff Buckley’s version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”; Regina Spektor’s take on “Real Love” by John Lennon; Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U”, originally by Prince; and “All Along the Watchtower” by Jimi Hendrix, originally by His Bobness – Dylan that is – seems to make it onto best covers of all time lists everywhere. Even if they don’t improve on the original, most don’t make you want to cover your ears and go “la, la, la” so you don’t have to hear them).
Back to last night’s travesty, does she know nothing about Nirvana? Sure it is well known that Kurt Cobain had all but disowned “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by the time he went back into the studio to record Nirvana’s third album, “In Utero”. While “Nevermind” had made his band’s name and forced the music industry to open its mind and cheque books to what is loosely termed alternative music, it rankled with him that it had been embraced by the very people and institutions he was raging against. He didn't seem to accept that you can't choose your fans either, hence the more abrasive and dark “In Utero” written and produced in part to shed some of those, shall we say, less discerning listeners.
That Miley Cyrus covered “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in the first place is unfortunate but the song itself is strong enough to withstand all sorts of treatment. What had me unable to work out whether to laugh or cry this morning was that she said it was one of the songs that inspired her. Then again, maybe that she misses the point entirely, and has never bothered to find out a bit more about the band that wrote it, tells you everything you need to know about Miley Cyrus. It could be that the joke is on her. In that case, I feel much better.
Yours musically
Cover versions are nothing new and bad cover versions happen all the time. Some are just laughable (Celine Dion doing AC/DC for instance). Some constitute offences against music: Shannon Noll and Natalie Bassingthwaigthe covering the Peter Gabriel/ Kate Bush classic “Don’t Give Up” was probably the day music held its breath, clenched its fists and stamped its feet.
(While conventional wisdom holds that the original is always better, there have been some notable exceptions. Jeff Buckley’s version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”; Regina Spektor’s take on “Real Love” by John Lennon; Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U”, originally by Prince; and “All Along the Watchtower” by Jimi Hendrix, originally by His Bobness – Dylan that is – seems to make it onto best covers of all time lists everywhere. Even if they don’t improve on the original, most don’t make you want to cover your ears and go “la, la, la” so you don’t have to hear them).
Back to last night’s travesty, does she know nothing about Nirvana? Sure it is well known that Kurt Cobain had all but disowned “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by the time he went back into the studio to record Nirvana’s third album, “In Utero”. While “Nevermind” had made his band’s name and forced the music industry to open its mind and cheque books to what is loosely termed alternative music, it rankled with him that it had been embraced by the very people and institutions he was raging against. He didn't seem to accept that you can't choose your fans either, hence the more abrasive and dark “In Utero” written and produced in part to shed some of those, shall we say, less discerning listeners.
That Miley Cyrus covered “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in the first place is unfortunate but the song itself is strong enough to withstand all sorts of treatment. What had me unable to work out whether to laugh or cry this morning was that she said it was one of the songs that inspired her. Then again, maybe that she misses the point entirely, and has never bothered to find out a bit more about the band that wrote it, tells you everything you need to know about Miley Cyrus. It could be that the joke is on her. In that case, I feel much better.
Yours musically
I take it you're not looking forward to the day that Justin Bieber covers "Imagine" or "Bohemian Rhapsody"? ;)
ReplyDeleteI think Britney Spears should cover "Lithium"...