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PaperclipPerfector  5mo ago (text post)   2386 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for November 8, 2024

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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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.

I don't know a ton about the for-sale or streaming industry, but I can say that cover bands that do live performances seem to be pretty common and popular. It's a pretty good deal for everyone. If you want to see an actual big-time popular band, you probably have a wait a long time for them to go on tour, pay out the nose for tickets, especially ones that aren't terrible, navigate the hassles of going to and from some huge venue that might be far away, paying for overpriced food and drinks to maybe parking too, etc. Cover bands play the same songs, even a bunch of popular songs from various artists of the same genre, and usually do it for cheap tickets at smaller local places that are easier to go to and have much more affordable food and drinks, and do it regularly. If you just want to jam/dance/mosh/whatever to your favorite songs and aren't that concerned about exact musical quality or seeing the actual band in person, it's arguably a better experience.

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