Jun 012008
Townsman Chickenfrank has thrown down the following Last Man Standing Challenge, with potential Battle Royale implications! This could be an historic occasion. Listen to what the man says:
I thought of this when The Spinners’ “Games People Play” video was posted.
When the song title popped up, I immediately thought of Joe South‘s song, “Games People Play”, and what a better song that is.
Can you name pairs of songs that share the same title (but aren’t covers of the same song)? Which of the pair is the better song?
I can also think of one title that’s actually a triplet, but I’m sitting on it as my coup de grace death blow.
“Fascination”, Human League
“Fascination”, The Undertones
WINNER: The Undertones
PINCE NEZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Song titles with parenthetical emendations don’t count. The Human League song is actually called “(Keep Feeling) Fascination.” However, you’re certainly correct that the Undertones song is better.
Similarly, the Spinners song is technically called “They Just Can’t Stop It (Games People Play),” although I think that was mostly because of the recent Joe South hit.
Petula Clark vs. Chicago:
“Color My World”
Winner: Petula!
PINCE NEZ right back at you, Great One!!!!! Petula’s version was originally released using the British spelling, “colour.”
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4e/Colormyworld.jpg/200px-Colormyworld.jpg
Two can play at this game! My apologies to Chickenfrank for all this pettiness from the git-go, but I’m sure he’d agree that it’s better we define the rules of the game now than later. Let the games continue!
HA! I led you into my trap! Because the Chicago song ALSO uses the British spelling! Gaze upon my massive Rock Nerd balls, Modman!!!!
That’s not what you typed! Beside…oh forget it! I should have expected you would have known the finer points of Human League, Petula Clark, and Chicago. Bravo, Great One, bravo!
The People are behind me yet. I will make sure to live up to the faith they are displaying, perhaps foolishly, so early in this Last Man Standing/Battle Royale.
“A Spy in the House of Love”: The dB’s, Steve Winwood, Was (Not Was)…and the winner, by Hobson’s Choice, is The dB’s version!
Another Hobson’s Choice: “Cocaine”, with Eric Clapton’s version edging the one that I know best by Jackson Browne. (Is that Browne version a cover of someone along the lines of the J.J. Cale, who wrote the Clapton version?)
“Bye Bye Love”: The Everly Brothers version beats the also-good song by the same title on the first album by The Cars.
I once sent a mate 2 mix cds with what looked like the exact same track listing but the 2nd disc was different songs with the same titles. I’ll see if he’s still got them, because I can’t remember what was on them other that 2 ‘Sweet Dreams’, neither of them the Eurythmics one.
I once sent him 3 cds of songs about being songwriters / bands, so he’s learn to tolerate my whims.
Definitely get ahold of that tracklist, Homefrontradio, and report back, one pair of matching song titles at a time. You may rule this Last Man Standing, even matching Chickenfrank, who’s got some stunning triple-play up his sleeve!
I’ll ask him – it was a long time ago.
I do remember another couple on the cd – ‘The Happening’ by The Supremes and ‘The Happening’ by the Pixies.
If you think that was obsessively weird – you should try doing what i call my ‘aural crosswords’. I occasionally amuse myself by trying to make a new song out a bunch of little bits of other songs and then seeing if my friends can guess what makes it up.
Problem is, it only really works with Top 40 stuff.
Don’t hate me.
‘Poor Boy’ by:
Steve Earle
Woody Guthrie
Cilla Black
Shocking Blue
The Master’s Apprentices
Split Enz
Elvis Presley
Supertramp
Nick Drake
and The Fabulous Thunderbirds
And yes, they’re all different songs with the same title.
Oh, and i’d go with either Split Enz or Nick Drake there.
No way I’m beating Homefront’s (what is that a deca-tuplet?). Certainly makes me think there are probably numerous triplets, too. I like this pair: The Beatles, The End and The Doors, The End. Not a fair fight considering the song lengths, but I’m still going Beatles.
I’ll sustain some parenthetical titles depending if they make me smile and nod in agreement.
Sylvia Plath
Peter Laughner or Ryan Adams
Winner: Peter Laughner
“My Love” – Petula Clark & Paulie Mc
“The Last Time”: The Rolling Stones vs Gnarls Barkley
WINNER: The Rolling Stones by a mile!
I didn’t see any restrictions for proper nouns/names used for song titles (I’m guessing “Michelle” has been used by more then just the Beatles) so:
Song: Victoria
Artists: The Kinks, Shane McGowan and the Popes, Old 97’s
Winner: The Kinks
“Temptation,” New Order
“Temptation,” Heaven 17
Winner: New Order
sorry, one more because I had the same thought about these two songs a few nights ago and just remembered again.
Song: Forever
Artists: The Beach Boys & The Explorers Club
Winner: (this is a bit of the limb I suppose) The Explorers Club
As The Explorers Club is a direct descendant bandwise of The Beach Boys, I thought it might be a cover, but it wasn’t. It seemed interesting to me that a band would choose a song title used by the band they are heavily influenced by.
This Last Man Standing could turn into an Ironman Match.
“Heartbreak Hotel”
Elvis Presley and Whitney Houston
This, perhaps more than anything else, was a clear demonstration of the need for a President of Music to be installed who could have stepped in and ruled this an invalid move, forcing her to change the name.
Get Up Stand Up is the opening track on The Wailers’ Burnin’ album, one of the few songs co-written by Marley and Tosh. On Toots & the Maytals 1979 album Pass the Pipe, Toots Hibbert actually wrote a completely different song called Get Up Stand Up. It’s hard to vote against the Wailers because their song is a stone (literally) classic, but I love the Toots song more, especially since it’s obscurity earns me rock nerd points.
“Learning to Fly,” Pink Floyd
“Learning to Fly,” Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Winner: Petty
Oats wrote:
To this I’ll add, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, “Temptation”…THE WINNER!!!
mac wrote:
NO Townsperson need apologize for one more in a Last Man Standing. Good one!
Velvet Underground, “Rock & Roll”
Led Zeppelin, “Rock and Roll”
WINNER: The VU song by that name
(Let’s get one thing straight: I will not accept the Pince Nez over the use of the ampersand.)
“Don’t Look Back” – The Temptations
“Don’t Look Back – Barry & The Remains
Winner: The “temptin” Temptations
I’m intrigued by your President of Music proposal, alexmagic. Would there be checks and balances on this person, or would the role be more unfettered, like that of a Tsar/Czar?
Is the personal pronoun ‘I’ essential in this fever-pitched Last Man Standing? If not, I would like to propose Love’s ‘Can’t Explain’ and the Who’s ‘I Can’t Explain’. The Who song would be the victor.
Triplet: “Action”
Clem Snide
Freddy Cannon (Boyce & Hart)
Sweet
Gotta go with Sweet.
homefrontradio: Are any of those Poor Boys the one I know as a Howlin’ Wolf song? Which I think is a traditional?
“I Need You” the Beatles, Kinks, Who, probably others, with the Kinks being best.
That’s the toughest fight so far. Put the “I Need You” fight on the undercard and I’d split ordering that PPV.
“Shangri-La” by The Kinks
“Shangri-La” by ELO
“Shangri-La” by Versus
“Shangri-La” by The Rutles and/or Innes
“Shangri-La” by The Four Coins
The Kinks win, of course, but it’s a great name to hang a song on. You’d have to work hard at writing a bad “Shangri-La”.
Good question. There would probably need to be some kind of system in place for appeal, but I think if you elected the right President, you have to accept that he or she might understandably demand some unilateral powers to do the job well, like Kenesaw Mountain Landis, only, you know, without that whole color line thing.
“Temptation,” New Order
“Temptation,” Heaven 17
“Temptation,”Elvis Costello and the Attractions
I’ll add:
“Temptation,” Tom Waits
“Temptation,” Stinking Lizavetta
“Temptation,” Charlie Parker with Strings
Gee, winner? Stinking Liz, maybe.
“Ain’t No Use,” Moby Grape
“Ain’t No Use,” Sarah Vaughan
Sarah by a long chalk.
“Amy,” Baby Flamehead
“Amy,” Elton John
“Amy,” Pure Prairie League
I’m biased, but I still like BFH’s best.
Here’s a tough one:
“Fire”
is it –
Jimi Hendrix Experience
Arthur Brown
Ohio Players
Pointer Sisters?
My preference of the moment is Jimi, but I know there will be disagreements.
I’m going with Jimi’s “Fire” by a flicker over Ohio Players’ version, only because I’m blanking on how the Ohio Players’ version goes, as I ponder which album cover of theirs I like best, the one with the honey or the one with the fire hose?
I agree that Baby Flamehead’s “Amy” is the best of that batch.
While we’re throwing our biases into the ring, someone named Keyshia Cole as well as Tim McGraw have songs entitled “Let it Go”. The song by that title by Nixon’s Head tops those newer ones.
Several people have written songs called Rockin’ Chair (with and without the apostrophe). Iam Gomm wrote a nice mellow instrumental that closes the Silver Pistol album by Brinsley Schwartz, and there’s a Hoagy Carmichael song that many people recorded, including Louis Armstrong with the Hot Five (or Seven?). But it’s hard to beat The Band’s song by that name on the brown album.
The mention of Jimi Hendrix reminds me of the Earl King song he covered called Come On. I can’t pick a winner between that and Chuck Berry’s Come On. (Is anyone going to pince nez me on the Pt. 1 thing?)
Ship of Fools
World Party vs the Grateful Dead
Winner: WP
I’ll do you “Ship of Fools” one better, CDM, although some may cringe: THE DOORS!
Come to think of it, I may do my own nomination of The Doors’ “Ship of Fools” one better: John Cale’s “Ship of Fools”.
Evangeline
Los Lobos vs
the Band vs
Matthew Sweet vs
Icicle Works
A strong field but the winner without question is the Band.
Let me get this straight, are you nominasting those other songs or are you saying that they are the winners?
CDM, all of the above. Thie is a Last Man Standing unlike any the Halls of Rock have ever seen. Stated clearly in Townsman Chickenfrank’s query is the need to choose the best of the song titles, which implies that there might be a best of the best of all these song titles. I’m not going so far with any version of “Ship of Fools”, but after adding The Doors’ and Cale’s version, I felt compelled to rank them as follows:
1. The Doors (upon further consideration)
2 Cale
3. World Party
4. Grateful Dead
That’s just my opinion, of course, but The People have had my back since early in this contest.
I’ll have to register a dissenting voice regarding your fine “Evangeline” showdown. I think Richard Lloyd’s solo in the Matthew Sweet version ultimately overpowers The Band’s version.
Here’s one that’s VERY important to me: “Hey Lawdy Mama”, Steppenwolf vs Cream. Steppenwolf’s dominating victory over the Cream song of the same name ranks up there with Secretariat’s 33-length margin of victory at Belmont.
Lloyd’s solo is nothing short of great but the song ulitmately loses out to the Band’s version because of MS’s embarassingly bad, comic book store guy lyrics
Prefab Sprout v. Cohen/Cale/Buckley (gack):
Hallelujah
Winner: Cale, although the brothers McAloon would have taken either Cohen or all-time Darwin Award finalist Buckley
“Do It Again” by The Kinks
“Do It Again” by The Beach Boys
“Do It Again” by Steely Dan
It’d probably be safe to go with the Kinks, and I am on record as a Steel Dan backer already, but I’m going with the Beach Boys on this one. I await any disputes.
“One of These Days,” Pink Floyd
“One of These Days,” Paul McCartney
“One of These Days,” Neil Young
“One of These Days,” Velvet Underground
All of these have their merits, but I like the Velvets’ version best.
I’m backing you up on The Beach Boys by a whisker over Steely Dan, a band I’m on record as not liking that much. Their “Do It Again” is a winner, however.
“I Don’t Mind”
Buzzcocks
James Brown
Badfinger
The Decemberists
Hugh Cornwell
Dr. Feelgood
Winner: Buzzcocks
“Morning Glory” Chairmen of the Board
“Mornin’ Glory” Bobbie Gentry
“Morning Glory” Duke Ellington
I go with Bobbie Gentry from an almost-phone-sex point of view.
“New York” Cat Power’s cover of New York, New York
“New York” Sex Pistols
Not a fave Pistols track, for me, so I’ll go with the Cat Power, which I’ve been enjoying.
“Night Flight” Affinity
“Night Flight” Led Zep
I’m not being an obscuphile here, but I really think the Affinity track works well, if you like that sort of thing.
And, can I get a glossary nomination for “obscuphile” from the choir?
“Oh Yeah” Shadows of Knight
“Oh Yeah” Roxy Music
“Oh Yeah” Los Lobos
The Roxy has always been a musical valium for me, but the Shadows’ tune works on several levels.
Gloria
Them vs
Laura Branigan vs
U2
Winner: Them
I’m with the Mod on Steely Dan’s Do It Again, which gets bonus points for having windchimes instead of drumfills.
WRONG, Slokie! The CoB totally rule the “Morning Glory” battlefield. For those who want to hear what we’re on about, you’ll find the MUCH BETTER version here:
https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/index.php/2007/03/05/thrifty_music_vol_2_a_buck_twenty_five_b#more340
HVB
Sorry, that URL got cut off. Anyhow, do a search for “morning glory” and you’ll find it on page two of the Thrifty Music, Vol. 2 sampler.
Alexmagic:
‘Do it again’ by Matthew Sweet
General slocum:
‘Oh Yeah’ by Ash
Sammy Maudlin – all of those ‘poor boys’ are original songs except for the Woody Guthrie song, also covered by Pete Seger and Joan Baez. It’s considered a ‘traditional’, so i imagine that would be the Howlin’ Wolf one.
Oh, i’ve long had this theory that any album can be ruined by a song called ‘In Too Deep’. For some reason, the pattern of syllables seems to lead to a very weak hooks, and songs that are noticeable filler. I’m looking at you Belinda Carlisle, Matthew Sweet and Dead Or Alive, but i’m sure there’s others.
I’ve got my next mix cd:
“Happiness” by
01. Michael Stipe and Rain Phoenix
02. The Blue Nile
03. Teenage Fanclub
04. Matthew Sweet
05. Grant Lee Buffalo
06. Robert Palmer
07. The Mavis’s
08. Regurgitator
09. Lisa Germano
10. Adrian Belew
11. Front 242
12. Built To Spill
13. Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci
14. Ron Sexsmith
15. Macy Gray
16. Allen Toussaint or the Pointer Sisters
17. Goldfrapp
There’s probably more.
I noticed listening to #07 that parts of it sound suspiciously like ‘There She Goes’ by the La’s.
WRONG, Slokie! The CoB totally rule the “Morning Glory” battlefield.
Hrrundie, you have your phone sex, and I’ll have my phone sex. I appreciate their tune, but come on! Bobbie’s inviting you back into bed the next morning, and I couldn’t deny such a request, when voiced that way.
“Heartbreaker”, led Zeppelin and Pat Benetar.
I’ll take the Zep version thankyouverymuch.
Dr. Art
You’ll came back loud and proud! Seeing how many multiples there are, I should have asked for at least triplets off the bat. I love the “Do It Again” troika. That triplet had me jones-ing for hearing all 3.
Since I won’t be close to ruling this throw-down, I’ll kick my triplet to the Hall to see who answers quickest:
What’s the song title shared by The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Elvis Costello??
“I Want You”?
GOOOOOAAAAAAAL! E.C.’s is OK from his “return to form” Blood and Chocolate album, Beatles’ is epic, but I think I like Dylan’s best.
Hey Dr Art – does that mean you passed your defense? If so, many congrats
yep. all passed and doctored up (well…there IS the small matter of formatting). thanks for asking.
we must add to the “Sylvia Plath” count.
Who can forget the Johnson’s song of that name? Or was that a cover?
there’s also a version by Witness (whose “Plath” features the unforgettable lyric “like white on Condalesa Rice”).
CDM – no mention or “Gloria” off Patti Smith’s “Horses”?
Isn’t the Patti Smith ‘Gloria’ based on the Them version?
The Johnsons’ Sylvia Plath is indeed a cover of the Peter Laughner song. It’s the only version of the song I’ve heard, and it was the real standout on the otherwise so-so Johnsons album.
I was going to add the Stones’ Heartbreaker to the list, but I double-checked and the name of the song is actually Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker). Hhhmmm.
And yes congratulations, Art. It’s going to be weird now treating you with deference and respect and all.
re: gloria (and now realized) Patti Smith’s extended cover:
DAMN YOU MORRISON MY ARCH NEMESIS. YOU AND YOUR LENGTHY CATALOUGE!!
Chickenfrank, I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of this Last Man Standing. I’ll have a few more to contribute after I get a decent night’s sleep. Dylan’s “I Want You” is definitely the best of songs by that song title.
I’ve been constantly amazed at how many “gimmes” that keep getting suggested that I hadn’t thought of, such as “Heartbreaker”. It’s funny, too, when you learn the real title of a song after first thinking that you had a pair. Bob Marley and Peter Tosh do a song called “Stop That Train”; there’s a song on The Harder They Come soundtrack that’s based around that lyric, but when I checked to see who the artist was I learned that the title is NOT “Stop That Train”. Now I forget both the artist’s name and the real title of that song – and I’m not walking into the next room to check the album cover again.
BigSteve, please DO NOT treat me with deference and respect.
“Wipeout” is a song by the Surfaris of course.
But there’s also the Original Sins song by that name, from their album called “Out There”. I think JT wrote in order to have a way of “granting” audience requests for “wipeout” without actually playing the song people *really* wanted to hear when they asked for a song by that name.
Here Comes the Night:
Beach Boys (from Wild Honey)
Van Morrison & Them (by Bert Berns)
Ben E. King (a Doc Pomus/Mort Shuman song)
“You’re Welcome”
Beach Boys
Undertones
Undertones hands down.
I forget that I’m supposed to pick one. Van Morrison and Them are hard to beat with Here Comes The Night.
Congratulations Doctor!
“Come Together”
The Beatles
Primal Scream
MC5
…I’ll give it to The Beatles.
Scoured my collection, remembering this was another common one.
“Heaven”
1 Better Than Ezra
2 Talking Heads
3 Psychedelic Furs
4 Rolling Stones
5 Men Without Hats
6 Eurogliders
7 Asia
8 Mutton Birds
9 Loudon Wainwright III
10 Suicidal Tendencies
11 Pere Ubu
12 Bettie Serveert
13 Sheila E
14 Pixies
15 Squeeze (UK Squeeze)
16 Joan Armatrading
17 Kristen Hersh
18 Live
19 The Chimes
20 Duke Ellington
21 Robyn Hitchcock
22 The Fire Theft
23 Golden Palominos
24 Louis Philippe
25 Eurythmics
Plus, not in my collection, but know they exist:
26 Bryan Adams
27 Warrant
28 All Saints
29 Captain and Tenille
All different songs. The Duke Ellington one is the standard. The Psych. Furs and Talking Heads ones are subject to frequent covers.
thanks kilroy!
“Just Like a woman” by Bob Dylan and bill Medley.
Sorry Bob, your song is lovely, but I’m more in the mood for Bill Medley’s scrappy little tune.
woah!!! I meant R.L. Burnside, not Bill Medley!
“they’ll do it every time!”
BigSteve, KEY pick re: “Here Comes the Night”. You chose wisely!
Homefrontradio, Townspeople want to know – no, need to know – your choices for the best of each of your overlapping song titles, especially for “Heaven”. I’d give the nod to Pere Ubu’s song by that title, just edging out the Talking Heads’ song. How about you? Great work on digging up some of the longest groupings of song titles!
Sat, how in the HELL did you mix up R.L. Burnside and Bill Medley? How fried are you after all the work you just completed. Congrats!
There She Goes Again
Marshall Crenshaw vs
the Velvet Underground
I love them both but I’ll give the nod to VU
“Heart of Stone”: The Rolling Stones vs Cher
WINNER: The Rolling Stones
“Shout”: The Isley Brothers vs Tears for Fears
WINNER: This one’s gonna bum some of you out, but…The Isley Brothers version.
Here’s my nominee for the shared song title with the biggest quality control problems. This one is all over the board, working with anybody who comes along. I’ll cut it off after it crosses the 20 mark (leaving on a key band), but I think there are at least a dozen more unique entries for:
“Hold On”
John Lennon
Badfinger
Tom Waits
Deep Purple
Yes
Kansas
Steve Winwood
Wilson Phillips
Triumph
Roseanne Cash
Herman’s Hermits
Santana
New Kids On The Block
Green Day
The Hollies
Elvin Bishop
Roseanne Cash
Sarah McLachlan
The O’Jays
Toots & The Maytals
The Rascals
and
The Sons of Champlin
I’m gonna give this one to Lennon on the strength of his Cookie Monster impression alone, but I have no doubt that Sam & Dave could have taken on this entire field by themselves in a Gauntlet Match if they’d simplified their song title.
thanks mod.
let’s just say my memory is shot to shit, it was early, and the “finder” function on my mac betrayed me.
Both Teenage Fan Club and Fu Manchu have songs called “Hang on” (It’s such a common combination of words, I’m sure many others do too…perhaps Bill Medley…).
I choose Fu.
Alexmagic, our friends The Sons of Champlin are sorely disappointed, but I think you made the right choice.
Changes
Bowie vs Moby Grape
Another close call for me but I’ll give it to Bowie.
Call me
Blondie vs Aretha
Winner: Aretha
Breathe
Maria McKee vs The Pink Floyd
Winner: PF
CDM badly wants to be the Last Man Standing. This is noble effort, but work harder, my friend:
“Photograph”: Ringo Starr vs Nickleback
WINNER: Was there ever a question?
You bust out a Nickleback song after I come up with a triple shot and then you tell me to work harder? The nerve…
oh…this is far from over.
Van Morrison and Ray Charles both have great songs called “It’s Alright” (and they’re not the same tune).
I like Ray’s.
and feel free to add artists to the title “it’s alright”…
Here’s another Hold On:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MW7dOhYHuYI
Ian Gomm actually had a minor US hit with this one.
There’s no such word as “alright.” Here are the Impressions doing Curtis Mayfield’s It’s All Right:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOmd-WkJrSI
“You’re No Good”
Linda Ronstadt (Betty Everett)
E.S.G.
I’m going with Ronstadt. Even over Everett. Flame on.
Mod said:”Photograph”: Ringo Starr vs Nickleback
To which I reply, Def Leppard!
“Carol”
Neil Sedaka
Chuck Berry
Winner – Inmate #5467823456
“I Need You”
The Beatles
Paul Carrack
Winner – I Love both versions but The Fabs in a closer-than-it-should-be vote
“Bluebird” by Wings
“Bluebird” by Leon Russell
“Bluebird” by ELO
“Bluebird” by Buffalo Springfield
Despite consistently lining up in the McCartney and ELO camps, and noting that “Bluebird” is the better of the two ELO songs with ‘bluebird’ in the title, the Leon Russell one is my favorite, hits all the right notes. I’m not familiar enough to throw any versions of the Charlie Parker one in here for judgment.
“Shooting Star”: Bad Company vs Lou Reed
WINNER: Would you believe Bad Company?!?!
“Wait”: Lou Reed vs The Beatles
WINNER: The Beatles
(My man Lou’s not faring too well as I scan the song titles on Street Hassle.)
“Kicks”: Paul Revere and the Raiders vs Lou Reed
WINNER: NOT Lou Reed! Come on, Lou!
“Surrender” Cheap Trick vs. ELO
It’s no contest. Jeff Lynne’s production skills are no match for a five-neck guitar.
Cracking up
Nick Lowe vs
Jesus and Mary Chain vs
Bo Diddley
The Brits don’t know Diddley
“Woman”
John Lennon
James Gang
Beau Brummels
Winner – James Gang
“She”
Gram Parsons
Wire Train
KISS
Green Day
The Hoodoo Gurus
Winner: GP
You forgot The Monkees’ “She,” which I believe narrowly beats GP’s.
cdm, how could you forget The Monkees’ “She”? Or is The Hoodoo Gurus, a ’60s-influenced band, cover the same one The Monkees did? I’ll put that up against GP’s version.
Oats and I were all over that one!
“Magic”
The Cars vs. Olivia Newton John vs. Pilot
Outcome: Mutual Assured Destruction
BigSteve,
first go here:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alright
then go to the iTunes music store and search the songs I mentioned. they’re listed under the single word.
besides, since when does it matter if a word in a song title is “actually a word”?
good lord….
Piling on, eh? That’s fine. I can take it. Iwas on the championship buck buck team in high school. Practically All State…
Congratulations, Dr. Art!
I’ll toss in Factory Girl.
Whiskeytown and The Rolling Stones.
Winner, The Rolling Stones! Ryan Adams may think he’s some kind of lyricist, but Waitin’ on a girl and her knees are much too fat is just a step out of Ryan’s league.
I think the Stones are faring well here.
If, by “I think the Stones are fariing well here,” 2000 Man means that the Stones are faring well in the majority of their head-to-head competitions, this could be a good statistic to track. We’ve seen how poorly Lou Reed has done in these battles, what is he, 1 and 3 so far?
“Go”
PearlJam
Replacements
Asia
Moby
blink-182
Eleventh Dream Day
Apples in Stereo
Eleventh Dream Day all the way.
“Abracadabra”
Winner: Steve Miller!
“Happy”
Stones vs Victoria Williams
Great call, Alexmagic!
Mr. Mod – if i was worried about looking cool, i’d say Pere Ubu. And although Talking Heads were a huge favourite during my childhood, if i’m being honest, I’ll have to point to the Psych Furs one, based purely on feelings of nostalgia. Was probably 13 or so, bought it on 7 inch vinyl. Love Butler’s voice, the tight pop construction, the gorgeous extended harmonics going on, (especially when his voice dips), and how shiny and new it seemed at the time. I feel so *old* whenever i hear it, for it instantly takes me back.
Like i said, not a Rock Geek answer, but a truthful one.
Or is The Hoodoo Gurus, a ’60s-influenced band, cover the same one The Monkees did?
It’s a Dave Faulkner original. I’ve been rediscovering my old Guru’s records in the last two years or so and I’ll place the Gurus against any of the 60’s bands they’re influenced by and claim them as vastly superior. There’s a run of about 20 soaring singles with great, hooky melodies from about ’83-’94 that easily surpass R.E.M., (who were considered the kings of this 60’s revivalism during the same period), but of course, the Gurus were Australian, so no-one noticed.
I saw them twice way back when and they were frigging great live. They just came through Philly a few months ago and I couldn’t make it. Did anybody go?
HFR, the TRUTH is what we seek! I shall not object to your version of it.
The Hoodoo Gurus are a band that time has seemed to have forgotten. They were pretty popular in the American underground/college rock scene of the ’80s, but they don’t get half the props that New Zealand bands that were a little more “artsy” get to this day. Are they better regarded on their home turf?
Saturn, I was trying to be disrespectful and non-deferential, as requested.
Magic is also the title song of Springsteen’s recent album, and it allows us an alternate choice to ONJ and Pilot.
thanks 2k!
“Since You’ve Been Gone”
Kelly Clarkson vs. Rainbow.
Apologies to all those cyberspace wannabe metrosexual RTH’ers who were expressing their mid-life crises by pledging their allegiance to the Kelly Clarkson song back in early ’05: suckers. I’ll take Rainbow’s tune as a nice forgotten gem over that ubiquitous Clarkson ripoff of “Collapse” era GBV any day of the week.
Oh good lord…i have to pince nez myself.
Kelly’s tune is called “Since U Been Gone”.
What’s this? “U” isn’t really a word? What should I do?
At any rate, James Brown also has a song by that name. I’ll take his over Rainbow’s!
God Save the Queen
Queen
Sex Pistols
Robert Fripp
Winner: The Pistows
I don’t want to derail the thread here, so skip over if the Guru’s don’t interest you:
You only really become highly regarded over here in Oz if you ‘crack America’ in a big way, even if the local scene considers you rubbish until the sales results come in. The moment the Americans like you, you suddenly are given enormous critical weight, so awful acts such as Kylie Minogue, Savage Garden, INXS, & Natalie Imbruglia are venerated here. The Gurus didn’t crack middle america.
You didn’t have the luxury of being ‘artsy’ in Australia until the mid-90’s. If you were artsy, as in the Birthday Party, the Go-Betweens or the Triffids, you decamped to London at the earliest opportunity. Otherwise you had to play tough, uncomplicated rock and roll to survive the ‘pub rock’ circuit here, or the bikers would show what a bunch of wimps they thought you were with violence.
A distinguishing feature of this is stiff, unswinging drumming – meat and potatoes beat keeping. And oddly enough, i’ve never seen that sound defended rock critics, which is why Replacements-worship confuses me, because the drumming on records like ‘Tim’ and ‘All Shook Down’ is pure mainstream ‘pub rock’ – nothing ‘artsy’ about it. They sound like Bryan Adams to me.
The Gurus have a sound that stems from 60’s garage rock, so can safely straddle pub rock whilst being hugely melodic.
It was only with the distance of time, and the ability to appraise their entire catalogue, that i’ve realised the top-flight songwriting ability on display. A frequent trick is starting off very low and then later parts of the song being sung an octave higher to increase the intensity, a trick i’ve heard Jason Falkner use a few times.
Even a song that i didn’t like at the time, such as this one, sounds fantastic after 10 years of dynamic range shrinkage. Wonderful build, especially those ‘hey hey heys’ at the end:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDlavnA1ck8
Basically, if the Replacements are venerated, these guys should be gods.
Try on youtube if you’re curious, for:
‘Come Anytime’
‘I Want You Back’
‘My Girl’
‘What’s My Scene?’ (i love how the lyric starts in the middle of the action – a big influence on my own lyric writing. Mr. Mod – note the first lines of ‘Unexpected’)
‘Miss Freelove ’69’ (an instant party starter)
‘Bittersweet’,
and ‘The Right Time’ (best garage song *ever* with a killer chorus).
Heh, I intentionally left the Springsteen “Magic” off that showdown. But I’m still backing Pilot on that one!
“Limelight” – Rush vs. XTC
Moulding in a rout for me. Any of you want to out yourselves as Canadian and go to bat for Rush?
‘The New Pollution’
Beck vs The Ark
The Ark’s perfect Ziggy-era Bowie pastiche wins hands down.
‘Carousel’ by
Petula Clark
Blink 182
Duane Dolieslager
Son Of A Plumber
Material Issue
Rik Ocasek
Mr. Bungle
Siouxsie and the Banshees
It’s really close here. ‘Son Of A Plumber’ is a wonderful dreamy work, but Duane Dolieslager’s is one of those ones you listen to about 10 times before your realise how considered the melody is – and Michael Penn fans should love it. I’ll go for Duane.
Feel Like Making Love
Bad Co vs Roberta Flack
BigSteve, don’t ever change!
“Who am I?”
D.R.I. vs. Petula Clark.
Tough call, but I’m goin with PETchula
btw, this thread is the first ever RTH thread where Petula Clark is mentioned as frequently as she is. What does that say about her body of work?
Speaking of the Gurus, I always thought I Want You Back was their finest moment, a classic single, but I’m afraid it loses going head to head with the Jackson 5.
“Hearts on Fire”
Gram Parsons and Bryan Adams
Don’t Ask me No Questions
L. Skynyrd vs
Graham Parker vs
Petula Clark
“It’s About Time”
Beach Boys
Pandoras
Goin’ with The Beach Boys
Alright, before I get Pince Nezed on the Don’t Ask me Questions post, I shall redeem myself with:
“Frankenstein”
New York Dolls vs
Edgar Winter Group vs
Petula Clark
Night Owl – James Taylor
Night Owl – Cliff Edwards (Ukulele Ike)
Well of course. Who would *you* pick?
Old Man – Neil Young
Old Man – ZZ Top
Neil’s got it here, but not by a lot.
On a Night Like This – Bob Dylan
On a Night Like This – Howard Lanin Orchestra
I guess I should give up on all this 20s and 30s stuff. Sorry. Catchy, though.
Sammy –
“It’s About Time” by the Lemonheads
Come on, everbody knows that John Cafferty’s “Hearts on Fire” from Rocky IV is the definitive song using the title.
A true heavyweight fight has been sitting out here all this time waiting to get the call:
“Jailbreak” – AC/DC vs. Thin Lizzy
I will take AC/DC on this one every time, but I suspect the only support I’ll get in this will come in offlist form. Cowards.
I think I know that AC/DC song, and I will support you, Alexmagic, ONlist! Thin Lizzy is a band I hope we can examine in depth some day. I sense they epitomize the mediocrity that was distinctive to ’70s rock, but they seem to get a free pass from hipsters. If someone wants to kick off a “pro” Thin Lizzy post on The Main Stage, go for it. Otherwise, I may have to kick off that discussion with a “con” point of view.
Looks like Lou Reed’s going to lose another showdown…”The Bells”: Lou Reed vs Laura Nyro and LaBelle
I Was The One
Elvis Presley vs.
Hoodoo Gurus vs.
Mayflies vs.
#1 hit or no, the King is dead, the Gurus have the answer.
“Feel”
Big Star vs.
Teenage Fanclub vs.
Syd Barrett vs.
The Church vs.
Chris Von Sneidern
(the spelled one by the Animals doesn’t count
Close match, a limping Big Star comes through on the basis of the guitar solo.
I’m digging deep here but:
“I Do”
Marvelows (and J Geils) vs
Scruffy the Cat
Winner: Marvelows
Potential future Last Man Standing: Albums which you are convinced that you are the only person to ever have spent money on. My first entry will be Scruffy the Cat – Moons of Jupiter.
Thin Lizzy was shocked that seemingly nobody came to their defense in that Jailbreak match against AC/DC, despite heading in heavily favored. So they demanded an easier fight to save some face:
“The Boys Are Back In Town”
Thin Lizzy vs. The Bus Boys
The Bus Boys have a lot of celebrity backing for this match – Eddie Murphy, Nick Nolte, Harold Ramis and even Aykroyd will all be in the crowd – but this is a must-win for Thin Lizzy and they improve their Last Man Standing record to .500, right?
“Call on Me”
The Four Tops
Captain Beefheart
Janis Joplin
Lou Reed
Winner – Beefheart (Sorry Lou)
“Big Sky”: The Kinks vs Lou Reed
LOSER: Lou Reed
“Modern Dance”: Pere Ubu vs Lou Reed
LOSER: Lou Reed
“I Saw The Light”
Hank Williams vs
Todd Rundgren vs
The Raspberries
This is a tough one because that’s one of my favorite Hank songs and although I am not a Todd fan, that song kicks all kinds of ass. As much as I love the Raspberries, their contribution unequivocally bites it.
I’m going to say that the winner is… Todd Rundgren in an upset!
“Somebody To Love” by Jefferson Airplane
“Somebody To Love” by Queen
Kind of surprised this one hadn’t come up yet. I prefer the Queen one, but would hear arguments for the opposition.
“Walk on the Wild Side”: Lou Reed vs. Brook Benton (written by Elmer Bernstein and Mack David)
WINNER: Lou Reed
[I didn’t want Lou to get a complex if he reads this blog … and I’ve gotta say I disagree that his “Shooting Star” loses to Bad Company, but in my world it’s impossible for anyone to lose to Bad Company in any sense]
“I See the Light”
Cracker vs
the Five Americans
Winner: the Five Americans. USA! USA! USA!
“Ice Cream Man”
John Brim vs
Tom Waits vs
Jonathan Richaman and the Modern Lovers
JB
from: alexmagic [Member]
“Somebody To Love” by Jefferson Airplane
“Somebody To Love” by Queen
Kind of surprised this one hadn’t come up yet. I prefer the Queen one, but would hear arguments for the opposition.
– My take, to tie two threads together, the JA one has Grace Slick defeating the levels on the vocals mic on the over-enounciation of the word “love” that happens before that guitar solo – that’s a good moment for me. It’s a pretty good tune, with a nice buried bass counterpoint to a ragged, raga song feel, playing off the lyrics trying to wake up the depressed hippy who is without that four-letter word.
The Queen song is overwrought in such a way that I equate the whole thing to some Whitney Houston number of the 80s penned by Dianne Warren and appearing in a movie you will pay NOT to see at a theater near you. The hundred-voice choir effect needs to be matched with something sillier or outlandish to entertain me. They have crossed that line the more “rock” Bohemian Rhapsody laughed at. Also, doesn’t Queen have enough fat-bottomed girls (or boys) around to satisfy them at that point?
Mockcarr,
I can respect Queen for their songwriting and performance abilities, but i’ve never been able to love them due to the over-the-top nature of the songs.
I undertand that they were aiming for the stadiums. It just seems to be an intense sound to try and get squeeze down into your living room.
Wow, Jefferson Airplane vs Queen…perhaps no two bands fail to satisfy me for such opposed reasons. These are both pretty good songs, as their catalogs go, so this is a tough one. I’m leaning toward Queen’s version. I find this to be a Queen song in which the melodrama fully supports the sentiments and humor of the song.
The guitar solo on the Airplane’s Somebody To Love rules. If nothing else, that would put it over the top.
Mockcarr’s interpretation of the lyrics on the Airplane “Somebody to Love” doesn’t seem right to me. There’s nothing in that song that suggests that it’s necessarily being directed towards someone who’s part of the counterculture; it’s about the process of disillusionment, which can happen to anyone. So I think it’s lyrical goal is broader than carr suggests: the song can also be thought of as a call to the disillusioned to join the counterculture.
Candy Man
Sammy Davis Jr.
Grateful Dead
Rev. Gary Davis
Gotta go with the Rev here, as much as I love the Dead song and having to admit that Sammy really sells his confection.
@homefrontradio – Great take on The Hoodoo Gurus! Would have made an excellent post on its own (since many don’t get that far down into reading the comments).
As much as I love the Hoodoo Gurus, I would still give the edge to The Replacements for writing songs that were more natural expressions of their attitude/place (i.e. songs that similarly aged American kids like me could really relate to in the 1980s). The Hoodoo Gurus pop tunes were a bit more affected and slightly novelty-ish. More of a craft, but less feeling. I guess it depends what you’re looking for. The critics who laud The Replacements probably aren’t the kind of critics who get excited about fancy drumming.
Oh, and the Gurus borrowed another Motown title:
“My Girl” – Hoodoo Gurus vs. Temptations.
Winner: Temptations.
Paul S –
I hear the early Gurus stuff as following in the same kind of surf / garage / trash aesthetic as American bands such as the Cramps and the B-52’s. I appreciate bands like the Beatles or XTC who are never too cool to be silly.
Maybe it’s a cultural or personal difference thing. I’ll try an explain here, i don’t mean to crap all over the Replacements, i’m just trying to explain how i hear things, and if you dont hear it that way, that’s fine with me.
At 14, I just couldn’t relate to Westerburg’s lyrics on ‘Tim’ at all. The Bryan Adams MOR sound to the drums really turned me off too – that kind of straightforward sound was for the boys at school would who call me a poofta for listening to Talking Heads or Elvis Costello.
Seriously, the only difference i hear between these two songs is that the Replacements couldn’t be bothered to fix their sloppy playing, which makes me think they didn’t really care about their song to make an effort, so why should I:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap0p7mhu4w0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRRqeXoAdRU
But one is critically-adored, the other is cited as the worst kind of MOR sellout. Hmmm.
I’ve often thought there’s two types of music: you either dream in black and white and only want to hear about what you know, or you dream in colour and want to hear about what you dont know.
The first type reinforces you what you already know, and leads to a resigned acceptance. The second type offers you things you were previously unaware of and makes you question things around you.
This is best illustrated by the difference between the Beatles’ “Revolver”, (colour) and “Let It Be”, (black and white). All the wonder, joy, intelligence and fun have gone, but it’s more ‘authentic’. So many of rock’s rules seem to be about narrowing everyone’s worldview to conform to the same ideas, rather than any kind of rebellion.
I always prefered artists who opened my eyes and ears and made me investigate the wider world.
So, let’s see… 1985. I could listen to ‘Here Comes A Regular’, and hear a mythologised, self-defeating drinking song that offers nothing but romanticising self-inflicted failure, (don’t get me started on Morrissey or the Sex Pistols ‘No Future’ Bollocks), or i could listen to this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRHA9W-zExQ
Which taught me about Wilhelm Reich, made me pick up ‘Don’t Look Now’ when i recognised Donald Sutherland at the video store, and is the reason why i learnt to score strings. Thanks, Kate.
The Replacements are B&W and think they’re far cooler than you. The Guru’s, in all their silly glory and tight songwriting, want everyone to come to their colourful party.
Does that make sense?
Paul S, good point about bringing Homefront’s Hoodoo Gurus post to The Main Stage. We can make that so. HFR, if you see this can you contact me offlist and let me know if you’d like Back Office privileges, to set something up yourself, or if you’d like me to set it up for you. Thanks!
I liked both bands at the time. Maybe part of my different reaction is the fact that I was 19 when Tim came out. Gettin’ drunk seemed pretty important to me then.
“Shine a Light”: The Rolling Stones vs The Apples in Stereo
WINNER: The Apples in Stereo, in an upset!
Rosie
Jackson Brown vs
Tom Waits
TW
I love the Gurus but the Replacements are part of my Holy Trinity of rock and roll. Maybe it’s a “time/place” thing but they just really resonate with me. I agree that their production is generally horrible but their songs are fantastic.
And as far as fixing their sloppy playing, while I don’t necessarily like it with other bands when I get the sense that its shtick, it seems genuine with the Mats. It suits the songs well and is part of the appeal. Look for the beauty in imperfection.
I’m surprised that this hasn’t been mentioned before, but what about The Kinks song by the same name?
Oh and The Dickies also did a cover of the song “She” that I think was written by Boyce/Hart (and hence The Monkees version).
As for the different versions of “Jailbreak”, I’ve gotta put in my vote for Thin Lizzy even though I like the AC/DC version, too.
“Evil Woman” – Sabbath vs. ELO
I’m surprised this hasn’t been mentioned before.
“Wednesday Week” – Elvis Costello & The Attractions
“Wednesday Week” – The Undertones
I love both songs, but the winner, by a nose, is The Undertones song.
Good call, Berlyant! You are, at present, the Last Man Standing.
Oh children, lest we forget “All Night Long”; one done by Lionel Ritchie, the other a fabulous screamer by The Dave Clark Five.
The prophet says, Dave Clark Five.
Now I put up for discussion, making no judgement:
“I Want You”. The Troggs or Bob Dylan – U decide.
All hail The Prophet, who currently shows his might by standing!
“Crazy”: Aerosmith vs Gnarls Barkley vs Patsy Cline
WINNER: Patsy
“Runaway” – Bon Jovi vs. Del Shannon
Another one where there should have been an authority to step in and say that title was already spoken for.
“Time”
Tom Waits vs David Bowie
Not the strongest showing by either contender. A toss up in my book but I’ll let the people decide.
I’d throw in “Time” by Floyd and the Alan Parsons Project, too. I actually kinda like the Parsons song, but I think even people on the outs with Floyd and/or Dark Side have to give ownership of this title to them, no?
Another loss for my boy Bowie:
“Days” – Kinks vs. Bowie; Kinks in a slaughter.
Not to whine about it, but a month ago when this thread started I said I Need You by the Kinks was the best of those. But go ahead listen to Velv if you must.
MWall, there’s stuff about flowers in there fer crissakes. I apply the term “hippy” as the type of person Grace or her brother would be advising as to needing this Somebody to love. Would they care about the establishment squares being happier and more adjusted as they applied their well-polished boot to the masses neck?
Enough of this! Albums with the same name.
“Let It Be” – Replacements vs. Beatles.
MATS!
I’ll throw in “Time (Clock of the Heart)” by Culture Club. I can’t remember if the pince nez applies to songs with different subtitles in parentheses or not. I don’t know the Alan Parsons Project song, but I like both the Floyd and Culture Club tunes. I’d call it either a toss-up or give the edge to Floyd.
I meant to respond to this one sooner as well. Of all the songs with that title, I’d have to go with The Beatles’ “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”. I know it may surprise some of you that I’m not going with the Elvis Costello song, but though I love it, it’s a queasy, uncomfortable song to listen to and it works on that level but I gotta go with the tune that inspired the riff for both “Party Girl” and XTC’s “No Language in Our Lungs”. This leads me to another recent topic, which is the rock trinity thread and specifically whether EC was a “descendant” of The Beatles. I say yes and that, amongst other things, is evidence to prove it.
Also, Squeeze recorded a song called “I Want You” on one of their later albums. Plus, I’m surprised the Marvin Gaye song on the album of the same name didn’t come up, either.
“Cold Sweat”: Thin Lizzy vs James Brown
WINNER: JB
“Bad Reputation”: Joan Jett vs Thin Lizzy
WINNER (Hobson’s Choice): Thin Lizzy
Knock On Wood – Dooley Wilson
Knock On Wood – Eddie Floyd
The first is the crowd sing-a-long number in “Casablanca.” Pretty dorky. So Eddie Floyd.
Please Please Please – Fiona Apple
Please, Please, Please – James Brown
James Brown
Pretty Girls – Neko Case
Pretty Girls – Joe Jackson
Neither one is terribly thrilling to me just now. I’d go with Joe.
Problems – the Everly Brothers
Problems – Sex Pistols
I like the Everlys.
Rain – the Beatles, José Feliciano, Madonna, Uriah Heep
The Beatles, natch.
The good general must be up to “P” in his list of songs 🙂
“Hold On”
The Radiants
Ian Gomm
Winner – The Radiants
The Prophet Proclaimed:
“Oh children, lest we forget “All Night Long”; one done by Lionel Ritchie, the other a fabulous screamer by The Dave Clark Five.
The prophet says, Dave Clark Five.”
I got my eye on you Prophet. Don’t cause no trouble here. Wheneever I drive by the Vince Lombardi rest stop – I feel your presence
There’s a totally excellent blues rocker called Pretty Girls on the first T Bone Burnett album Truth Decay. I’d vote for that one.
“Everywhere I go, there’s pretty girls there.
Everywhere I go, there’s pretty girls there.
They don’t say nothing, they just stand and stare.”
“Intro”
Kid Rock vs
The Meters vs
Tom Waits vs
Bele Fleck vs
James Brown
I’m going to go with James Brown.
“Lady” by Styx
“Lady” by Kenny Rogers
Who is the winner? I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to answer a question less.
Bad Reputation
dBs!
oh darling
beatles
supertramp
andyr is that a mouse I smell…
Devil Woman – Cliff Richard or Marty Robbins.
While I love me some Marty Robbins I have to say Cliff Richards’ rules.
“Don’t Be Cruel” by Elvis
“Don’t Be Cruel” by Bobby Brown
Elvis, but guess which one I know all the words to? Yeah, that’s right, both.
“On The Beach”
Neil Young vs
The Raspberries
Winner: The Raspberries
Marty’s “Devil Woman” was one of my mom’s favorite songs, but I accidentally ruined it for her when I was a teenager. I finally paid attention to the lyrics and said, “Okay, wait. This guy can’t keep it in his pants and that’s somehow HER fault?”
If the Prophet has arrived, it was fortold he would defend The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. It might be the Prophet and General Slocum vs. the universe.
So I stop smoking pot in 1983 and *I’m* the public defender for Lamb Lies Down? What kind of potheads *are* you people?! I’ll just nip this one in the bud, and say that *the* genre defining concept album survives as such without my help, and will weather the scorn and indifference of RTH without trouble.
And yes, Mr. r, I alone among RTH had the insightful prescience to list my iTunes by title to find multiples! Ha ha ha ha! Sooooper Geeeeniuss… That’s why the words “the good General” fall so trippingly upon the keyboard. The Homer Simpson jingle comes to mind, “I–am-so smart!!-S–M-RT!!”
And I don’t know who the prophet is, but just because he’s the only other fan of a seventies album I like doesn’t make us ghetto-mates.
And by the way, Mr. Mod, that frickin Rugby ad is killing me. I only understand a third of what he’s saying, but it is fucking funny.
Glad you’re digging the ad. I’d love to know where that thing runs and who it is that can understand it.
The momentous night we finally get around to hanging out in your Man’s Room, we should listen to The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Epluribusgergely gave me a handful of “classic” Gabriel-era Genesis albums about 2 years ago, and I was troubled trying to listen to them by myself. Perhaps with your guidance I will find a way in to more than a couple of their songs. But that’s for another thread, I’m certain…
Well, far be it from me, &c. &c., Mr. Mod, but I understand the term now is “Man Room.” Without the apostrophe s. I’m not sure how I feel about that, nor how I feel about its possible derivation from that TV show, was it “the Man Show?” Whether that or a simple implication of cro-mag idiocy, I don’t know. But come on up. We’ll help you understand the Silent Sorrow In Empty Boats, my friend…
That ad is from New Zealand.
“Every Little Thing” by the Beatles
“Every Little Thing” by Jeff Lynne
The Lynne song is from his Armchair Theater solo album, and is a fine song on its own merits, but if anybody should know better than to re-use one of their titles, it’s him.
He also does a version of “September Song” on the album, which I should have nominated to the Mod’s topic about “bulletproof” songs that no one can ruin.
alex wrote:
Have you heard Lou Reed’s version?
Here’s one that came to mind thanks to Bo Diddley’s death:
“I’m a Man”: Bo Diddley vs Spencer Davis Group
Wow, tough one. Isn’t Muddy Waters’ version of “I’m a Man” known as “Mannish Boy”? In that case, we cannot accept the Waters version, in which case Spencer Davis Group’s version narrowly edges Bo’s version. In my humble and most respectful opinion, of course.
Fear not good general, for chickenfrank speaks the truth. The prophet comes from on high with his mojo hands to say that there is only one great 70’s concept album and it is “The Lamb”. Tommy? Quadrophenia? Bat Out of Hell? They are pretenders – and those that defend them will feel my wrath. Let notice be put to this board that the prophet is here and he is ready to uphold the righteousness of all things seventies Genesis to any who dare cross him. Of course I don’t take any responsibility for the pathetic, self congratulating, masturbatory joke they became in the eighties. Ride the scree, man, ride the scree!
Well, I stopped smoking pot at 19:59 and I, hey you said nip it in the bud. Bud. Awesome.
“Heartbeat”: Buddy Holly vs Chris and Cosey
WINNER: Buddy Holly
Words of Love: Buddy Holly vs, The Mamas and Papas.
Buddy Holly! Hey, his name has Bud in it. Awesome.
“Someday” – Los Lobos, Patsy Cline, Moby Grape, Johnny Otis
Geez. They’re none of them show stoppers, even show-stoppingly bad. But the Moby Grape is a good “soundtrack for a depressing scene in a crappy movie” number.
Gloria – the Cadillacs, Patti Smith, Tom Zé
I always like Patti’s version!
Oh, and another “Fire” is Koko Taylor, whose number has been in rotation around here, and rocks.
“Friends” – Bette Midler (Buzzy Linhart
and Whodini.
Congratulations, dbuskirk. Chickenfrank. and the rest of you! This Last Man Standing thread has now broken the RTH record for most posts ever!
“Stand” by REM
“Stand!” by Sly & The Family Stone
Sly earns the exclamation point. The “there’s a permanent crease in your right and wrong” line is one of my favorites.
“Rain” — The Beatles, Bishop Allen, Madonna
Winner: The Beatles
“You Belong to Me”
Elivs Costello vs
the Dupreees (“see the Pyramids along the Nile…”)
Winner: Sorry fanboys but I’m giving it to the Duprees
Also, Gen Slocum, Gloria was mantioned a while ago but Iforgot about the Caddilacs version which is probably my favorite due to that awesome vocal.
I can’t believe how long this has gone on. I’m in it to win it but I’m starting to get a little punch drunk.
With The People still behind me, it’s necessary that I carry on!
“Sunday Morning”: Maroon 5 vs Velvet Underground
A rare win for Lou Reed!
“You Can’t Take It With You”
Paul Kelly and the Messengers vs
The Hot Club of Cowtown
Winner: I’m okay with both but in the grand scheme of things, who really give a crap about this matchup?
Agreed on the Duprees. I saw some version of them, no idea how many of them were original members, do “You Belong To Me” on some oldies fest concert on the Jersey PBS station last year, and they still nailed it.
I still have some cards to play, but I may need an official ruling on the parentheses in this one:
“Words Get In The Way” by The Miami Sound Machine
“Words (Get In The Way)” by The Photon Band
I’ve been worried about bringing this one into the fight, for fear that making people choose a favorite would inevitably spark a Sound Machine vs. Photon Band showdown that would tear the Hall apart.
“Hard Way” — The Kinks (from Schoolboys in Disgrace) and Doug Sahm (from Texas Tornado)
I love the Kinks song, but I gotta go with my man Doug.
“What To Do”
The Rolling Sotnes vs
Buddy Holly
Winner: I have to give it to the Stones because at least they had the decency to steal from a bunch of black artist and not just one like that bastard Buddy Holly
“The Fear,” Pulp vs. Travis
Winner: Pulp!
“Without Love”
Nick Lowe vs Clyde McPhatter
Winner: the Jesus of Cool
“The Universal” Small Faces vs. Blur
I can see the Small Faces getting strong support here, but Blur for me.
“Why”
The Byrds vs
Leon Redbone (Jellyroll Morton song)
Winner: the Bone
Make it stop!
Hijack! The same song with two different titles.
The Yardbirds
“Stroll On” vs
“Train Kept a Rolling”
Winner: TKaR
Hijack! The same band with different members:
Angel
vs
Starz
Angel!
Hijack! The same band member name with different actual people, playing fundamentally the same band role:
Jerome the maracas player
vs
Jerome, Morris Day’s valet
Winner: Jerome, Morris Day’s valet
Hijack! The same band member name with different actual people, playing fundamentally the same band role:
Roger Taylor
Drummer for Queen vs
Drummer for Duran Duran
Winner: Roger Taylor
Hijack! Different bands I can’t remember clearly, except that they all annoy me in the same way: Foreigner, Journey, Kansas.
Winner: Me.
Hijack! The same rock facial hair on different band members in different bands that probably have about the same amount of soup stuck in them:
Ted Nugent
The bass player from Supagroup
Winner: General Slocum… or, wait, maybe Buddy Holly? I’m not sure anymore.
This has all gotten very silly. And so therefore I’m going to tell a joke.
Guy goes to a doctor. The doctor says “You have to stop masturbating.” The guy asks why. The doctor says “Because I’m trying to examine you.”
Thanks to those last three posts, I’m sitting in my cubicle laughing like an idiot.
“One of These Days”
Neil Young
The Roosters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMWZeCY1GSk
It’s one of my favorite songs on Harvest Moon, but I have to give the nod to these garage Byrds. Does anyone know if their song charted anywhere?
I don’t know if I can still post here, but if I can:
“Chicago”
Graham Nash
Sufjan Stevens
I’d give the edge to Sufjan Stevens.
Thinking this isn’t so active anymore but how about:
“Jolene” by Dolly Parton
“Jolene” by Cake
VERY different artists. VERY different songs!
Welcome aboard! The beauty of an open Last Man Standing is that a late entry can revive the thread