✘ How far does art go without the artist?And: Nebraska; A Black MIDI retrospective; Our preference for male tears; Wes Anderson's best needle drops
Remember “Yesterday”? The 2019 Danny Boyle film about a struggling singer-songwriter who finds himself the only person on earth who remembers the Beatles? Well, that’s essentially what happens after he gets hit by a bus… during a power outage… or something. Full disclosure: I’ve only seen it once, and that was enough for me. Anyways, Jack (Himesh Patel) finds all historical acknowledgement of the Beatles erased from existence. So, being the only one who remembers their being and their catalogue, what does he do to push his career forward? He starts singing their songs and passing them off as his own - and it works. It works so well that he becomes a huge, huge superstar basically overnight. “Yesterday,” “The Long and Winding Road,” “Help!”… they all pass off as Jack’s original compositions, and the crowds just eat it up. (Side note: YouTuber and Beatle aficionado Elliott Roberts has reviewed and discussed this film more thoroughly, so I suggest you check it out for an expansion on the argument). … but does it work like that?This film’s plot is built entirely around the premise that a song, especially as one as popular as any of the Beatles’ hits, could have the same sort of commercial, emotional appeal, and meaning entirely on its own merit. It entirely ignores who the Beatles were as international celebrities and pop stars, whose personalities shone through their projects and appearances so much so, that they’re still known just as well to this day. Instead, “Yesterday” claims anyone, like Jack, could make it, and again, I don’t see anything too appealing about his character. Of course, the struggle to break through with an artistic career and have actual impact on any sizable crowd is immense and probably harder than ever these days. Nevertheless, like I said before - character is an important element. Subjectively, some will argue that it’s more important than the music itself. When people hear “Help!” and “Yesterday," they associate them with the people who wrote and sang them - John Lennon and Paul McCartney, respectively. Same goes for “Here Comes the Sun” and “Octopus's Garden,” written by George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are very much Beatles songs: A staple of pop culture since the 1960’s. The four had their own identities and chemistry: Lennon was cheeky and outspoken, McCartney was charming but strict, Harrison was contemplative and gentle, and Ringo complemented the rest as a more passive member. They had a very clear chemistry that was evident through not just their films, television appearances, and media coverage, but also through their songs. And in return, their songs reflected who they were. Actually, sometimes it doesBasically, we may say that songs are the product of their creators/performers, the cultural context surrounding their inception, and a matter of timing, too. The Beatles were very much there to push forward what was laid down by Little Richard, Elvis Presley, Motown, and so on. Alternatively, an artist’s success doesn’t just depend on their materials, but also on their personalities combined with other mentioned circumstances. Basically, artists are their songs, and songs are their artists. That should be obvious, right? Then what do we think of cover versions, in this context? I’ve had a strange relationship with cover versions, where I would strongly object to the very idea of them for quite a lot of years. I only wanted to lend my ears out to the original, “pure” song, as it was mean to walk this earth. Then, I got into Hendrix, and his version of Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” kind of rocked my socks off. I was quite the Dylan fanboy at the time (high school), so the world back then just seemed like it was full of Dylan covers for me to hate. Everything sounded like this to me: Devoid of personality.
What Hendrix did so beautifully was turn Dylan’s original straightforward folk-rock arrangement into his own short, psychedelic epic: Multi-tracked, distorted guitars scorching away, swinging and powerful drumming by Mitch Mitchell, a new, pulsing bass melody, and that soulful, dramatic voice that was so unique to Hendrix’s attitude. All this, together with other elements, was enough to convince me that this version was, in fact, the original one. Move with a purposeThere is no rule of thumb in regards to making a successful cover version: Some prefer keeping it as close to the original vision as possible, while others prefer to go out towards an entirely different re-interpretation. What I like is a good middle ground, which depends mostly on how much the re-interpreter is suited to the song, or vice-versa. One singer’s vocal style can very well work as a substitute for another’s. Therefore, I appreciate Norah Jones’ version of the Kinks’ “Strangers,” especially with how she keeps the original’s drum parts in the mix (the original, by the way, is objectively the prettiest song ever recorded). Alternatively, Cameron Picton’s My New Band Believe’s version of Cameron Winter’s “Love Takes Miles” stands in stark contrast to the original’s tenderness, but Picton’s sharp revision introduces his own frantic and highly dynamic character to Winter’s composition. To me, it works. And then, some things just don’t work. I will say, again, that I’m really not one to tell anyone what to sing, play, or whatnot. It’s all subjective, as it’s always been (except for “Strangers” being the best song ever). But sometimes, a really bad mismatch can be painful for one’s ears, and I’m not talking about that Dylan musical. I’m talking about Puddle of Mudd’s curious cover of Nirvana’s “About a Girl,” recorded exclusively for SiriusXM’s Octane channel, which, by now, exists only through re-uploads on YouTube. Honestly, this is one of those performances where you may find yourself sitting down, watching the entire 3:16 minutes of it, and thinking: “How did no one stop this?”. Poor Wes Scantlin sounds like an elderly, limp cat that’s been caught in a trash compactor. Make it your ownBetween the Beatles and elderly cats on the verge of death, I’d like to recap here that my claim for this round has been that songs do not actually stand on their own. Sure, we can opinionate and discuss how some compositions or lyrics are objectively beautiful (“Strangers”😭), but it’s the right voice that bring these pieces to life. If you watch Dave Davies perform his song 67 years after recording and releasing it, and you realize that this is the same young man who wrote this emotional track at the age of 23, something just clicks. I pray every day that Scantlin never attempts his own go at covering it. LINKS🧞♀️ ‘Nebraska’: how Springsteen forged beauty from America’s dark underbelly (Steve Wright)“The huge success of The River essentially amplified Springsteen awareness of that division – between the star and the small-town working class, between the glitz of rock-and-roll and the everyday struggle of those left behind. It’s into that tension that Nebraska was born: an album of retreat, of confession, and of reckoning”. ✘ Huge example of unmediated character, right here. Really, if you know “Born to Run,” or if you don’t and you wanna listen to “Hungry Heart” for a minute, you will understand the impact that Springsteen’s “Nebraska” still holds to this day as a beautifully transparent recording and a biographical piece. 🧜 A Black Midi retrospective: Looking back on one of the most interesting recent experimental rock groups (Cassandra Donley)“Tracks like ‘Hogwash and Balderdash,’ ‘Slow,’ and ‘Dethroned’ all feature prominent moments that, if pulled out and put into Schlagenheim, would not sound out of place in the slightest”. ✘ Black Midi is (apparently) dead, but Geordie Greep and Picton’s projects are going and growing to be quite strong. It’s interesting to listen to any of the tracks recommended above, and then checking out Greep’s “Holy, Holy” or Picton’s “Target Practice” and seeing if we can spot each member’s influence on the band that once was’ sound. 🧚 Our preference for male tears: the case of Cameron Winter (Sailor Kabeary)“The internet has plagued us with the incessant need to prestige-ify something before we give ourselves the chance to enjoy it. The patience to allow art a moment to breathe before being admired has disappeared. With Cameron Winter, this makes him an instant genius. But this is only half an internet phenomenon; it’s also a gender phenomenon”. ✘ I’ll be honest: I’m a complete Winterhead (is that even a term?); I saw him last December and started bawling as soon as he sang his first words for that evening. Nevertheless, I think it’s worth stopping to think about how some of us may perceive an artist’s conveying of emotions based on their gender. And yes, I thought “Fetch the Bolt Cutters” was fantastic. 🧌 Wes Anderson’s best needle drops (Lindsay Zoladz)“But the songs in his films are vehicles of discovery, too. I’d never heard the Creation’s ‘Making Time,’ that garage-rock classic with guitars that rev like a souped-up engine, or the Who’s gloriously bombastic rock opera ‘A Quick One, While He’s Away’ until I saw ‘Rushmore.’ I learned about Nico from ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ and Seu Jorge from ‘The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou’. Anderson’s carefully curated soundtracks felt, to me, like eclectic, handmade mixtapes”. ✘ Yes, I got to “Strangers” through Anderson’s “The Darjeeling Limited” - a whimsically funny and touching film. It actually starts off with another wonderful Kinks cut - “This Time Tomorrow”. This one here is just a small recommendation to keep your ears open while going to your favorite local cinema for possible hidden (or popular) you’ve yet to encounter. MUSICSteely Dan! A band that’s rarely covered anything in their catalogue (save for Duke Ellington’s “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo”). A band I can never get sick of, and I can’t even explain why. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker somehow managed to write uniquely catchy jazz-pop tracks and record them with some incredible players. Bassist Chuck Rainey, who’s featured on the track below, is a personal favorite of mine. 
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