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The Purist
May. 18th, 2013 10:42 amFor most of my life, I've responded to music as a dedicated, if somewhat inconsistent, purist. Which maybe comes from a belief that, as a poet, only I can truly know what is at the heart of my poem. And I've extended that belief, to my appreciation of artists like Bob Dylan, through my disdain for musical covers. After all, who else could possibly know the soul of a poem born of the road, of the sights and sounds of Bleecker Street in the 'sixties, and embodied in the raspy realism of THAT voice?
Then Jimi Hendrix did his cover of "All Along the Watchtower." About which Dylan famously said that, ever since he'd heard it, he'd thought of it as Hendrix's song. And I decided that I could live with that. As well as certain other instances in which the covering artist extends the musical and emotional range of the original piece in ways that result in the creation of new art.
Even so, that reluctance to accept a newer permutation of an original work lives on, especially when it involves a personal favorite like Billy Corgan's "1979" - with D'Arcy Wretzky on bass, James Iha on guitar, and Jimmy Chamberlain on drums, of course. So when I noticed the clip of Bad Rabbits' cover of the song on YouTube this morning, I almost took a pass.
But for whatever reason, morbid musical curiosity, maybe (sorry, really should have resisted that), I didn't. And, once again, I'm glad I listened. Not that Billy Corgan is the sort to willingly share his ownership of, well, anything. But maybe this time it's between just ourselves and some unlikely, long-eared muse...
One final note. The cover clip, and the band which made it, may also affirm for us the potential of music for the positive expression and sharing of our diverse cultural identities. To quote Wikipedia, "[Bad Rabbits] consists of Fredua Boakye (Vocals), Sheel Davé (Drums), Salim Akram (Guitar), Graham Masser (Bass), and Santiago Araujo (Guitar). Sheel, Santiago and Fredua are first generation descendants of Indian, Argentinean, and Ghanaian lineage." The significance of which can hardly be overstated in the aftermath of the recent tragedy in Boston. Especially since the band was founded, and is currently based, in that city...
LPK
LiveJournal
5.18.2013
Then Jimi Hendrix did his cover of "All Along the Watchtower." About which Dylan famously said that, ever since he'd heard it, he'd thought of it as Hendrix's song. And I decided that I could live with that. As well as certain other instances in which the covering artist extends the musical and emotional range of the original piece in ways that result in the creation of new art.
Even so, that reluctance to accept a newer permutation of an original work lives on, especially when it involves a personal favorite like Billy Corgan's "1979" - with D'Arcy Wretzky on bass, James Iha on guitar, and Jimmy Chamberlain on drums, of course. So when I noticed the clip of Bad Rabbits' cover of the song on YouTube this morning, I almost took a pass.
But for whatever reason, morbid musical curiosity, maybe (sorry, really should have resisted that), I didn't. And, once again, I'm glad I listened. Not that Billy Corgan is the sort to willingly share his ownership of, well, anything. But maybe this time it's between just ourselves and some unlikely, long-eared muse...
One final note. The cover clip, and the band which made it, may also affirm for us the potential of music for the positive expression and sharing of our diverse cultural identities. To quote Wikipedia, "[Bad Rabbits] consists of Fredua Boakye (Vocals), Sheel Davé (Drums), Salim Akram (Guitar), Graham Masser (Bass), and Santiago Araujo (Guitar). Sheel, Santiago and Fredua are first generation descendants of Indian, Argentinean, and Ghanaian lineage." The significance of which can hardly be overstated in the aftermath of the recent tragedy in Boston. Especially since the band was founded, and is currently based, in that city...
LPK
LiveJournal
5.18.2013
