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seedarklyxeroWelcome to SeeDarkly Sunday DisCOVERies:
a weekly exploration of goth, industrial, & dark alternative cover songs!
First time here? Click here for details from first entry.
Today on our Third Sunday Throwback to the 20th Century we scope out a relatively underground late-nineties industrial cover of an early-eighties new wave punk novelty from a one-hit wonder band that had the meaning of their song appropriated by popular culture in a way they really didn't intend... and was entirely not politically correct:
16 Volt - Turning Japanese (The Vapors)
British new wave pub-rockers, The Vapors released their second single, Turning Japanese, in February 1980, months before its album, New Clear Days (from which it was the first single.) After its American release during the summer, a widely circulated belief about the song's meaning was that it was a reference to the faces made while orgasming during masturbation. As racially derogatory as that idea was (my theory is it's likely the product of a some radio shock jock vying for ratings), frontman and songwriter David Fenton has emphatically denied that as the song's meaning. He regards the track as a "love song" from the perspective of someone who lost their girlfriend, which may have made it auto-biographical as it was reported he had a lot of relationship problems at the time. He further assured that the song had to do with "all the clichés about angst and youth and turning into something you didn't expect to." Fenton, however, has shown some measure of humored gratitude for whomever started the rumor as he believed the song might not have been as big a hit without it. And it was a hit in several countries, most successful in Australia, then England, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. The band were certain the hit they had in this track would carry over to their following singles, but the next never made the UK top 40 and the one after that never even charted.
There have been at least a dozen covers of the track, mostly by punk or pop-punk acts. Some of the notable artists to cover it were Liz Phair, No Use For A Name, and actress Kirsten Dunst. Most are like the original in its characteristic kinetic and poppy style, but there's one that stands far away from them all.
In 1997, 21st Circuitry Records released the first of two various artists compilations of new wave covers by industrial acts titled Newer Wave . 16 Volt's rendition of Turning Japanese was the lead track on the album, introducing listeners to what they might expect from the rest of the covers in the collection. The comp also included covers by Assemblage 23, Kevorkian Death Cycle, Hate Dept., Collide, and ten others.
In 2012, 16 Volt re-released the cover, attached to their remastered 1994 album, Skin. Their discrepant interpretation of the track is vocalized gruffly over a strutting rock-industrial loop that shifts down in gear for the choruses. They completely exclude the "Oriental Riff" that opens the original and is often found in music when artists want to invoke an air of "far east" cultures. In fact, 16 Volt doesn't seem to allude musically to Japanese culture at all and presents the track with an entirely different energy overall.
Other covers by the band indicate a wide array of influences or some sense of their humor; they include, Freedom Of Choice (Devo), Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon (Neil Diamond/Urge Overkill), Ain't Goin' Out Like That (Cypress Hill), Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (AC/DC), Don't Blow Your Top (KMFDM), That's What I Get (Nine Inch Nails), Disarm (Smashing Pumpkins), and the theme of the 80's TV show, The Love Boat!
This is an exceptionally fun darkening of the original. At least, I really think so.:
The Cover:
The Original:
Next week:
More due to the nature of what appears to have been a strict music licensing issue than any other reason, I'm two years past giving proper tribute to the iconicly purple artist whose life and talent inspired many far beyond his own musical genre. Next week we'll delve into an industrial remake of one of his tracks that ALSO is NOT about masturbation... technically... though he's certainly done songs about that too! ¯\(◉‿◉)/¯
Feel free to tell me what you think about today's cover! Comments, suggestions, discussions, etc... welcome!
(You do NOT need a Dreamwidth account to comment, but all comments are screened for spam prevention.)
My next gig is on the last Friday of the month for a Vampire party in Western Mass. In May, I'll go back to my regular schedule. As always, check my schedule for details, the RSVP link on Facebook, and other upcoming events and news! ↼‿ಠ
Explore the darkness,
-Xero
Previous DisCOVERies
Apr 08 - Sun Goes Dark - I Know There's Something Going On (Frida)
Apr 01 - Alanis Morissette - My Humps (Black Eyed Peas)
Mar 25 - Night Club - Need You Tonight (INXS)
Mar 18 - Eva O - The Killing Moon (Echo and the Bunnymen)
Mar 11 - Grypt(w/Myrrh Ka Ba) - Naughty Girl (Beyoncé)
Directory of All Previous DisCOVERies
a weekly exploration of goth, industrial, & dark alternative cover songs!
First time here? Click here for details from first entry.
Today on our Third Sunday Throwback to the 20th Century we scope out a relatively underground late-nineties industrial cover of an early-eighties new wave punk novelty from a one-hit wonder band that had the meaning of their song appropriated by popular culture in a way they really didn't intend... and was entirely not politically correct:
16 Volt - Turning Japanese (The Vapors)
British new wave pub-rockers, The Vapors released their second single, Turning Japanese, in February 1980, months before its album, New Clear Days (from which it was the first single.) After its American release during the summer, a widely circulated belief about the song's meaning was that it was a reference to the faces made while orgasming during masturbation. As racially derogatory as that idea was (my theory is it's likely the product of a some radio shock jock vying for ratings), frontman and songwriter David Fenton has emphatically denied that as the song's meaning. He regards the track as a "love song" from the perspective of someone who lost their girlfriend, which may have made it auto-biographical as it was reported he had a lot of relationship problems at the time. He further assured that the song had to do with "all the clichés about angst and youth and turning into something you didn't expect to." Fenton, however, has shown some measure of humored gratitude for whomever started the rumor as he believed the song might not have been as big a hit without it. And it was a hit in several countries, most successful in Australia, then England, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. The band were certain the hit they had in this track would carry over to their following singles, but the next never made the UK top 40 and the one after that never even charted.
There have been at least a dozen covers of the track, mostly by punk or pop-punk acts. Some of the notable artists to cover it were Liz Phair, No Use For A Name, and actress Kirsten Dunst. Most are like the original in its characteristic kinetic and poppy style, but there's one that stands far away from them all.
In 1997, 21st Circuitry Records released the first of two various artists compilations of new wave covers by industrial acts titled Newer Wave . 16 Volt's rendition of Turning Japanese was the lead track on the album, introducing listeners to what they might expect from the rest of the covers in the collection. The comp also included covers by Assemblage 23, Kevorkian Death Cycle, Hate Dept., Collide, and ten others.
In 2012, 16 Volt re-released the cover, attached to their remastered 1994 album, Skin. Their discrepant interpretation of the track is vocalized gruffly over a strutting rock-industrial loop that shifts down in gear for the choruses. They completely exclude the "Oriental Riff" that opens the original and is often found in music when artists want to invoke an air of "far east" cultures. In fact, 16 Volt doesn't seem to allude musically to Japanese culture at all and presents the track with an entirely different energy overall.
Other covers by the band indicate a wide array of influences or some sense of their humor; they include, Freedom Of Choice (Devo), Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon (Neil Diamond/Urge Overkill), Ain't Goin' Out Like That (Cypress Hill), Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (AC/DC), Don't Blow Your Top (KMFDM), That's What I Get (Nine Inch Nails), Disarm (Smashing Pumpkins), and the theme of the 80's TV show, The Love Boat!
This is an exceptionally fun darkening of the original. At least, I really think so.:
The Cover:
The Original:
Next week:
More due to the nature of what appears to have been a strict music licensing issue than any other reason, I'm two years past giving proper tribute to the iconicly purple artist whose life and talent inspired many far beyond his own musical genre. Next week we'll delve into an industrial remake of one of his tracks that ALSO is NOT about masturbation... technically... though he's certainly done songs about that too! ¯\(◉‿◉)/¯
Feel free to tell me what you think about today's cover! Comments, suggestions, discussions, etc... welcome!
(You do NOT need a Dreamwidth account to comment, but all comments are screened for spam prevention.)
My next gig is on the last Friday of the month for a Vampire party in Western Mass. In May, I'll go back to my regular schedule. As always, check my schedule for details, the RSVP link on Facebook, and other upcoming events and news! ↼‿ಠ
Explore the darkness,
-Xero
Previous DisCOVERies
Apr 08 - Sun Goes Dark - I Know There's Something Going On (Frida)
Apr 01 - Alanis Morissette - My Humps (Black Eyed Peas)
Mar 25 - Night Club - Need You Tonight (INXS)
Mar 18 - Eva O - The Killing Moon (Echo and the Bunnymen)
Mar 11 - Grypt(w/Myrrh Ka Ba) - Naughty Girl (Beyoncé)
Directory of All Previous DisCOVERies