I rarely if ever listen to country music, or country stations. If I am, its generally because I'm trying to find the traffic report as part of my am commute. I came across this the other day, and had to google to see who had done the harmonious remake of one of my favorite cryptic 1980's songs. What northern town is it? What does a northern town even have to do with any of the rest of the lyrics? Who cares. Its a good song, by Dream Academy or Sugarland. Much better than the pop drivel being put out now.
What other awesome 1980's song should be remade? Voices Carry? Stars on 45? Friends and Lovers? Shake You Down? Heart and Soul? Come on Eileen?
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Sugarland - Life in a northern town ( Live CMT 2008)
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6 comments:
Like you, "Life in a Northern Town" is one of my favorite 80s songs. When I heard the remake it didn't do much for me (although, to be fair, I've only heard it once, so maybe it will grow on me).
Remakes of my favorite songs always scare me because I figure they can't get much better and they will likely get much, much worse. Still, it's fun sometimes to hear remakes just to see if they give it a different twist than the original.
However, you asked for some possible remakes and I will throw a couple out at you (for all I know, maybe these have been remade already).
What about "No One Is to Blame" from Howard Jones or "A Girl Like You" from the Smithereens. Also, anything by Culture Club might make a good remake.
Good suggestions. Have you seen the movie "Waitress"? Its kind of a chick flick, but cute, especially for those of us who like to cook. Anyway, Emile Millar does a very good rendition of Howard Jones' "No One is to Blame". I searched youtube to no avail. I actually might like his version better. I know..blasphemy.
Anyway, I couldn't find a Smithereens cover, but Violent Femmes covered "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" by Culture Club. Again, youtube let me down, but I think its a good cover. It definitely has a different vibe than the original, unlike "No One is to Blame" which is more of a carbon copy.
Covers are like when someone else cooks you your mom's favorite recipe...sometimes they butcher it, but other times they add just enough of their own spices to make it different AND good.
Haven't seen "Waitress," but I'll have to check it out on Netflix now.
I found the Violent Femmes version of "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?" at earenjoy.blogspot.com. Listening to it now. Very different, but I like it. Guess they added just the right spices.
Well since you keep bugging me for a suggestion I will give you one. I thing that Death Cab for Cutie should cover DeBarge's - Rythm of the Night (1985). Keep bothering me a you get a dumb answer!
Mark T.
Damn Mark for putting THAT song in my head! (Yes, I'm ashamed to admit that I had an El DeBarge cassette tape when I was a kid. Sorry!)
And Damn YouTube for making this song No Longer Available. I'm going to head off and search for this version on YouTube...
Alright, I'm digging this cover. You're right, just enough like the original without trying to carbon copy.
I would totally say that 'Baker Street' ought to be covered, but the Foos satisfied my yen there. :) Other than that, the only thing that I would love to hear a good cover of is "In a Big Country" by Big Country. (Another cryptic 80s song!)
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