Modern Qualifier 51 – 21st COVERS 20th

The first of two groups based on themes voted for by participants, with tracks drawn from your suggestions. This one is 21st Century covers of 20th Century songs.

A cover of The Smiths’ “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out”. Released as a single in 2000.
A cover of Nirvana’s “In Bloom”. From the 2016 LP A Sailor’s Guide To Earth.
A cover of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”. Released as a single in 2019.
A cover of DJ DMD’s “25 Lighters” from the 2012 LP La Futura.

Modern Qualifier 52 – THE INTERNET

What Is A People’s Pop Poll (And Can We Eat It)?

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j_e_l

26 May 2023 13:14

I liked Schneider TM, but you know, I don’t know the source material, so it doesn’t strike me as a cover, just another glitchy Morr Music song. Same for ZZ Top, just sounds like a ZZ Top song, but I’m probably in a minority not knowing who DJ DMB is?? 🙂
Really liked Sturgill, it was a good version of In Bloom – and there’s no way I’m opening the door for anything Dave related

wmterhaar

26 May 2023 19:39

Reply to j_e_l

Party hiphop from the southeast does not travel well over the Atlantic Ocean, so you are certainly not in a minority here in not knowing who DJ DMB is. I even believe ’25 Lighters’ was mainly just a huge Houston-area hit, but I might be completely wrong about that. Still, cool that the geezers in ZZ Top picked a local classic and turned it into something that is 1) acceptable to other geezers 2) still cool.

j_e_l

26 May 2023 13:24

Reply to j_e_l

I don’t think so, if it’s not been in a poll, then definitely not. Would I like it?

Last edited 1 year ago by j_e_l

Arron Wright

26 May 2023 16:29

Reply to j_e_l

Your lack of self-consciousness about this is refreshing, when the same admission leads you to being blacklisted by some corners of Music Twitter 🙂

By contrast, I was deeply embarrassed that the first I ever knew of TIAL… was aged 19, when our lecturer used it to explain trochees in first year Eng Lit.

j_e_l

26 May 2023 18:30

Reply to Arron Wright

Yeah, I guess I just didn’t come across the Smiths – have an older sister but she liked Duran, Madge and Wham. Kids in Acton were not listening to the Smiths in the late 80’s/90’s – it was stuff like Shamen, Soul 2 Soul, bit of rap, bit of metal, in high school there was a block of self-styled cool kids who liked Ned’s Atomic Dustbin and the Dead Kennedy’s – the Music Twitter faves were not really ‘there’ – they were sort of the past already, and we’re talking fine margins. Weirdest school change was the mate who loved Elvis discovering Nirvana. Oh, and of course Michael Jackson, he was the prevailing star of my youth.

Last edited 1 year ago by j_e_l

Tom

26 May 2023 14:10

Reply to j_e_l

It was my favourite Smiths song (and possibly favourite song EVER) at 15 so this certainly tracks. I don’t know if removing the campy grandiosity and playing it completely sadboi straight strips out the problem or makes it worse – sonically TL3000 is pretty adorable for me but I’m probably going to vote ZZ Top.

j_e_l

26 May 2023 13:36

Reply to j_e_l

(It’s alright, pleasant enough – I guess maybe people like the Smiths and whatnot for the lyrics? Never been big on lyrics)

mondosalvo

26 May 2023 18:58

Reply to j_e_l

As time passes, I return to The Smiths to reverse engineer what Johnny Marr was doing most of the time and find Morrissey being out in front of everything quite an obstacle, and I think that may be the case even if Moz hadn’t become a public enemy irl.

Last edited 1 year ago by mondosalvo

katstevens

26 May 2023 15:21

Voting for We Are King and their silky smooth voices (though I immediately put on “The Greatest” afterwards)

Cumbrian

26 May 2023 16:21

One day I would be fully up for a deep ZZ Top run in these polls (1983? Songs about body parts?). I suspect they’d get out of this group on Twitter. Open question as to whether they do it here.

wmterhaar

26 May 2023 19:25

Reply to Cumbrian

Gotsta nominate ‘Gotsta Get Paid’ again for ‘Late Work’!

itinerantgeoff

26 May 2023 18:52

We are King are just beautiful here, lush and spacey and a beautiful cover. Now hurry up and give us that second album!

mondosalvo

26 May 2023 18:54

Maybe I just suffer from ILX-brain, but if I see We Are King I vote for We Are King.

ajjr82

29 May 2023 00:04

It’s a fine cover, and obviously a fine original, but “Space Oddity” is absolutely on the list of songs I’ve reached my fill of over the course of my life.