Here are two cover songs that are great to listen to anywhere, any time of day. Both covers' lyrics display a contentedness and confidence, whether in one's choices or in one's self.
Matisyahu adds a little bit of his own reggae style to John Lennon's lyrics. Lennon's lyrics discuss people criticizing him, probably referencing when he dropped out of the music business to raise his son, Sean. Lennon, content with his own decisions, nonchalantly brushes off the critical remarks: "I tell them there's no problem, only solutions". He talks about enjoying watching the rest of the world go about in its frenzy. Matisyahu covered this song for the album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. This campaign aims at alleviating the crisis in Darfur, and is part of Amnesty International's "Make Some Noise" project, which uses music by John Lennon to promote human rights. Instant Karma is a great album with a great cause. I have several other songs from the album in my music library and definitely reccomend checking out the rest of Instant Karma!
Sexy and I Know It - Noah
Noah is an unsigned, up and coming singer/songwriter from South Carolina. He shows off his soulful sound brilliantly in this cover of LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It". Noah says his influences are Dave Matthews Band, U2, The Civil Wars, Marc Broussard, and Ray LaMontagne. I can definitely hear Ray's influence in Noah's voice, especially in this song. Noah's YouTube channel hosts a variety of beautiful covers he's done, as well as some of his own songs. Super talented guy!!
It's interesting when we meet covers that we like better than the originals. I like Metallica's version of "Turn the Page" waaaay better than the Bob Seger version (and yes, I am approximately 812 years old). The BS version is whiny. The Alien Any Farm version of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" is better in my book. Don Henley versus The Ataris on "Boy of Summer" is a tie for me. Don't get me started on ColdPlay--their whole sound is pretty much one giant U2 cover.
ReplyDeleteI think so too! I have a lot of cover songs in my iTunes library that I enjoy so much more than the originals. I'll have to check out the songs you named! Also, I couldn't agree more with your Coldplay comment ... although I am a Coldplay fan, U2 is totally their mothership.
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