Explore these three versions of “Victoria” written by Ray Davies. A good cover brings something original to the performance and gives the original song a new platform on which to shine.

Sonic Youth (recorded 1988, released 1990)

The Fall (1988)

The Kinks (original, 1969)

Eugene Hütz smacks of insincerity to me, but they’re really great live and it’s Spirit Day (wear purple today to raise awareness of LGBT bullying and violence and in honor of the kids who have taken their lives recently after being bullied), so wear some purple today, OK?

While the term emo has come to be applied to bands like AFI in the mainstream and seen as an outgrowth of the goth music scene, it’s roots lie in hardcore punk, centered around bands from Washington DC who wrote hardcore songs with emotional lyrics. Emo bands applied these sensibilities to the aggression of hardcore for a style of music that reflected the changing times.

Bands like Rites of Spring (Vocalist/guitarist Guy Picciotto and drummer Brendan Canty later joined Fugazi) and Jawbox (with J. Robbins of Government Issue) led the brigade of this post-hardcore movement.

-Viktor Phoenix

Watch (and listen) to some music by these influential artists:

Rites of Spring “For Want Of”

Jawbox “Savory”

Samiam “Capsized”

Yesterday, I posted about How Song Choice Affects Mood in film using examples of different choices of music in the opening scene of ‘Donnie Darko’. Using that as a springboard, let’s take a look at how cover songs are used against picture.

Using cover songs allows a filmmaker some creative options, as well as financial ones. A cover version’s mechanical royalties might be less expensive than the performance royalties of the original. The new version can be performed to match timing in the picture and creating a new version of a classic song that more closely matches the style of the film.

Yesterday’s post was about 2 pieces of music in the opening scene of ‘Donnie Darko’, and today I’m skipping ahead to the end of that film. ‘Donnie Darko’ is well-known for the Gary Jules cover of Tears of Fears’ “Mad World”, a brilliant choice which helped propel that film’s popularity. Richard Kelly (director) and composer Michael Andrews used a song originally released in the time when the film was set, but it was recreated in a style closer to when the film was released, which allowed them to achieve two goals. First, the song evokes feelings of nostalgia for the target audience of the film, which plays into the mood of the final scene, but by using an updated version against picture, the music also connects us to the timeless nature of the story.

Watch the final scene of ‘Donnie Darko’:

In Wes Anderson’s ‘The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou’, Brazilian musician Seu Jorge plays covers of classic David Bowie songs. Jorge plays Pelé dos Santos, a member of the title character’s crew, and performs these songs on-screen (diegetically). By having a character in the film performing the music in this way, Anderson brought the viewer deeper into the world of the narrative and by having the character perform those songs in Portuguese, the songs are given new life and connection to the setting and the characters.

Watch this scene from ‘The Life Aquatic…” where Jorge’s performance of a version of “Space Oddity” punctuates Zissou’s loss of touch with his world.

UPDATE

The trailer for ‘The Social Network’ uses a cover of Radiohead’s “Creep” from elgian Women’s choir Scala and Kolacny Brothers’ 2002 On the Rocks to great effect:

-Viktor Phoenix

The opening sequence to Donnie Darko features two different songs in the two different edits. In the theatrical edit, Echo and the Bunnymen’s “Killing Moon” plays over Donnie’s bicycle ride into town, linking to the giant bunny Frank and other story elements, as well as setting the tone and placing the time. In the director’s cut, INXS’ “Never Tear Us Apart” covers this same sequence. It also sets the tone and places the film in 1988, but connects to the story in a different way.

Watch both and discuss.

Theatrical Version

Director’s Cut

Nick Cave, best known for his work with Bad Seeds, is a busy fellow these days. First up, a new record from the dirty rock side-project to the Bad Seeds, Grinderman, is being released on September. This follow-up album is produced again by Nick Launay (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arcade Fire, Public Image Ltd., Kate Bush, Talking Heads, Gang of Four, Lou Reed, The Cribs, Supergrass and lots more) and you can expect more of the dirge and grind that the first album gave.

And it was announced at Comic Con that Cave will be scoring the  Guillermo Del Toro and The Jim Henson Company produced “Pinocchio”, directed by illustrator Gris Grimly. It wasn’t announced, but it’s presumable that Cave will be working aside Warren Ellis, with whom he scored the soundtracks for The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford and The Road.

Out of politeness, I’m not even going to cover the fact that Cave is also working on a rewrite of The Crow…

-Viktor Phoenix

Watch the trailer for the new Grinderman album

Brian Eno

Ambient 1: Music for Airports

Four subtle, slowly evolving pieces grace Eno’s first conscious effort at creating ambient music. The composer was in part striving to create music that approximated the effect of visual art. Like a fine painting, these evolving soundscapes don’t require constant involvement on the part of the listener. They can hang in the background and add to the atmosphere of the room, yet the music also rewards close attention with a sonic richness absent in standard types of background or easy listening music.

- Linda Kohanov

Take 1 part creole voodoo, 1 part garage rock, and 1 part whiskey and blood soaked Levis and you’ve got a right mess on your hands. In the proper hands, though, this recipe makes for a dark edged sound, if slightly campy at times. The southern rock tone that Music Supervisor Gary Calamar brings to True Blood has its roots in this genre, although traditional swamp rock is dirtier and spookier sound than southern rock.

With roots in TexMex and Creole music, swamp rock got its start in 1958 with Cookie and the Cupcakes “Mathilda”. The sound took off in the underground, and, like most underground trends, popular artists from Hank Williams, Sr. to Creedence Clearwater Revival  to the Rolling Stones, released songs influenced by the obscure genre.

You can draw a line from “Mathilda” straight through the rockabilly revival of the ’70s to punk rock bands like the Cramps and on up to modern psychobilly bands like the Nekromantiks. Along the way, you’ll veer off into the nether regions of the music world and find yourself in an unlikely place to give birth to artists influenced by this distinctly American sound; Australia.

Australia’s Beasts of Bourbon took the swamp rock torch and spit whiskey on it in a pub rock glory. Their 1984 debut, The Axeman’s Jazz. had gothic overturns and country tinges that has made it a modern swamp rock classic. Their cover of Leon Payne’s “Psycho” put them on the alternative charts and gave rise to a music scene that included Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Kim Salmon/The Scientists.

Read about the history of this band and singer Tex Perkins (born Gregory Steven Perkins on 28 December 1964 in Darwin, Australia) on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beasts_of_Bourbon

Watch a video of “Psycho”:

Need a dystopic sound for a project? Cold Cave is what you need.

If the sound of Joy Division inspired bands like Editors and Interpol are wearing thin on you, check out Cold Cave, an east coast based indie band that’s inspired by Human League and Fad Gadgets’s analog electronics for any projects you have requiring some dark and dystopic music.

Cold Cave “Love Comes Close”

See also Blank Dogs “Heat and Depression”