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PaperclipPerfector  5mo ago (text post)   2385 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for November 8, 2024

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I heard The Band cover of Atlantic City today in the car and it got me thinking, why did people stop doing covers? When did the cover begin to be treated as kind of corny and second tier? Is it just a Rockist thing where everyone has to kinda pretend to write their own stuff? When did the Great American Songbook go out of the mainstream as a concept? Was there any conflict over the way it faded out? Were there any efforts to revive the concept in a new form?

I don't think musicians do enough covers anymore. Fast Car performed by Luke Combs was the last one I can recall being a true hit, and there was significant attempt to delegitimize it as a performance by certain parts of the music media. And I have to wonder how we got there. Because honestly, I'd love to hear talented older performers do cover albums of new standards. I want Jay-Z doing a full album of classic Hip Hop, or Ke$ha doing 90s bubblegum pop.

Covers still live. But also sampling serves a similar function.

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