vincentw Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhanners623 Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 With all due respect to Jewel (who has sold more records than I could ever dream) that was just plain cringe-inducing. At least in the opinion of this correspondent. Part of finding your way as a performer is song selection. I think that was her first problem here. Maybe she was trying to sing against type (like actors who play against type) but this is just not a "Jewel" song. And it just seems like she over-emotes. That said, as of this writing, her video has been viewed 73,193 times, which is 69,525 more times than my most-watched video. So the marketplace has spoken and it has said, "David, you have no idea what you're talking about." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Singers really should not go against type. It belittles both the song, and the singer. Sort of like watching Pat Boone singing "Sympathy for the Devil". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wu0aEwhjj4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincentw Posted June 1, 2011 Author Share Posted June 1, 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wu0aEwhjj4 OMG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverside Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I didn't watch the Jewel vid, but really, could it be any worse than the original? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincentw Posted June 1, 2011 Author Share Posted June 1, 2011 I didn't watch the Jewel vid, but really, could it be any worse than the original? Yes...really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wu0aEwhjj4 I rest my case....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverside Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Yes...really. Well, I tried, but... To me NY always sounds like cats making kittens. Jewel just sounds like crap. It's a close call. Try this: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poisonfox Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Hmmm...was never a big fan of hers to begin with. This isn't helping her case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Hmmm...was never a big fan of hers to begin with. This isn't helping her case. Pop singers who look like high school cheerleaders dressed for a party probably shouldn't cover Neil Young songs about drugs. I got thrown out of an audition for the 1967 Mississippi Folk Festival for doing a cover of Buffy Saint-Marie's "Cod'ine". They stopped me halfway through and said "we don't want songs about drugs". I think they believed all folk music sounded like "Puff, the Magic Dragon" (heh, heh). They did let me do a version of Jimmy Reed's "You got me Runnin'....", but it was "don't call us, we'll call you". All the audition judges looked like Jewel's parents would look in my mind.... I sometimes struggle with listening to Neil Young's singing and playing when he goes on his spastic electric guitar binges....sort of like Joe Cocker on speed. He does write some great songs, however, and when he was kept on a leash during the CSN&Y recordings, his voice fit in pretty well, as long as his singing was mixed down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincentw Posted June 1, 2011 Author Share Posted June 1, 2011 Pop singers who look like high school cheerleaders dressed for a party probably shouldn't cover Neil Young songs about drugs. I have heard of singers trying to imagine characters in songs differently than the original, to gain inspiration. I know Jack White admitted doing this in his cover of Dolly Parton's "Jolene." I'd be interested to know what the song actually means to her, other than being a fun little guitar riff to learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 This all reminds me of that David Lee Roth album..... can't recall the name, but he took a bunch of hits and turned them into bluegrass songs. It was not a good move, IMO. Poisonfox, I'm with ya, I never liked Jewel much either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhanners623 Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I once read an interview with Leo Kottke in which he was talking about the horror of watching Ethel Merman (!) trying to sing disco on "The Tonight Show," and he said something I've used as a mantra ever since: People will forgive a wrong note, but they won't forgive an insincere note. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I have heard of singers trying to imagine characters in songs differently than the original, to gain inspiration. I know Jack White admitted doing this in his cover of Dolly Parton's "Jolene." I'd be interested to know what the song actually means to her, other than being a fun little guitar riff to learn. That's a fair comment. We tend to internalize the original version, particularly if the song has specific meaning to us. At the same time, there are some performances that just don't ring true, and I think this is one of them. And, of course, there is the nominal hypocrisy of people like me--white, middle-class, college-educated--doing songs written and originally performed by poor black guys from the depths of the Delta or East Texas or Alabama. They often struggled just to get by, and had little hope of getting ahead, while it was only a blow to my ego when I figured out I was never going to be a great performer. At least I was born in Mississippi.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhanners623 Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 That's a fair comment. We tend to internalize the original version, particularly if the song has specific meaning to us. At the same time, there are some performances that just don't ring true, and I think this is one of them. And, of course, there is the nominal hypocrisy of people like me--white, middle-class, college-educated--doing songs written and originally performed by poor black guys from the depths of the Delta or East Texas or Alabama. They often struggled just to get by, and had little hope of getting ahead, while it was only a blow to my ego when I figured out I was never going to be a great performer. At least I was born in Mississippi.... How true. In my area, there's a singer-songwriter of some distinction who plays the blues but lives off a trust fund. I've always wondered how you can sing the blues when you live off a trust fund, but I've never gotten up the nerve to ask him. If he wrote songs like "The Capital Gains Tax Blues" or "My Gardner Got Deported Blues," that would be one thing. But he doesn't. The real pisser is that he's actually pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincentw Posted June 1, 2011 Author Share Posted June 1, 2011 How true. In my area, there's a singer-songwriter of some distinction who plays the blues but lives off a trust fund. I've always wondered how you can sing the blues when you live off a trust fund, but I've never gotten up the nerve to ask him. If he wrote songs like "The Capital Gains Tax Blues" or "My Gardner Got Deported Blues," that would be one thing. But he doesn't. The real pisser is that he's actually pretty good. "I'm So Bored Blues" "Where Should We Eat Tonight? Blues" "Too Much Lobster Blues" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 "I'm So Bored Blues" "Where Should We Eat Tonight? Blues" "Too Much Lobster Blues" How 'bout: "My Champagne's gone flat, and my wife's run off with the gardener" Blues? or "The Dow's down 300 points, and my Porsche needs a set of tires" blues? Lordy, lordy, times are tough! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 How 'bout: "My Champagne's gone flat, and my wife's run off with the gardener" Blues? or "The Dow's down 300 points, and my Porsche needs a set of tires" blues? Lordy, lordy, times are tough! Maybe we should start a new thread: "Blues that can legitimately be performed by aging, white, college-educated ex-hippie part-time musicians waiting for Medicare and Social Security to kick in." That one could get too political, too fast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Does Jewel have a last name????.....lol......Although BAD, It is not as bad as Epic Fail #1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guth Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Ironically, I notice many of the critics on these fail threads never post up any musical contributions of their own. C'mon now, let's hear what you've got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincentw Posted June 1, 2011 Author Share Posted June 1, 2011 Ironically, I notice many of the critics on these fail threads never post up any musical contributions of their own. C'mon now, let's hear what you've got. I play bass for this band. This is our cover of Jim Carroll's "People Who Died." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 This all reminds me of that David Lee Roth album..... can't recall the name, but he took a bunch of hits and turned them into bluegrass songs. It was not a good move, IMO. .... Album - Strumming with the Devil . . . . . . . . . . . . . (from the Van Halen - Running with the Devil) Ouch! . . . . . . . . . . . . . Here's a brutal cut - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Olk8rZmlhY4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincentw Posted June 1, 2011 Author Share Posted June 1, 2011 Strumming with the Devil . . . . . . . . . . . . . (from the Van Halen - Running with the Devil) Ouch! I was gonna post Strumming with the Devil tomorrow in honor of GillianGirl...LOL! It is BAD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guth Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I play bass for this band. This is our cover of Jim Carroll's "People Who Died." Nicely done Vincent! I bought the "Catholic Boy" album back when it came out in '80 — still have that album actually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.