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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.
As mentioned in last entry's "prelude to Pride," for June, we'll focus on musical artists that speak to the LGBTQ experience in one way or another, though some entries may have less to say other than recognizing the original or cover artist for their identity. This week we feature a German-based EBM/futurepop group who covered a number of openly gay synthpop groups from the 80's, and one in particular that started their career with a declaration of the hardships they'd faced as homosexuals in Europe.:
And One - Smalltown Boy (Bronski Beat)
Bronski Beat released their first single, Smalltown Boy, in the early part of 1984. The single was included on their first album, The Age Of Consent, later that year. Both the single and album artwork prominently displayed the pink triangle that had been adopted as a symbol of pride by the gay rights movement in the seventies, upturned and appropriated from its original usage by Nazis to identify homosexual men imprisoned in concentration camps. In addition, the album jacket included a listing of European countries and their "laws regarding minimum age for lawful homosexual relationships between men" or the outright illegality of it, along with a phone number to a service providing "gay legal advice." This was part of the band's pronounced criticism on the UK's dissimilar age laws between heterosexual and homosexual sex.
The song itself is said to be autobiographical for singer Jimmy Somerville, describing emotionally the circumstances that forced him to leave his childhood home in Scotland. The song's video depicts seemingly more of that story: Somerville's attraction to a male swimmer who spurns his interest, the swimmer gathering his biker friends to chase Somerville down and beat him, Somerville's parents discovering his sexuality, and his departure from home for their lack of support.
While not a number one hit, the track was still a considerable success for the group and has been anthemic in the gay community for years. The song has been covered over a couple of dozen times since, with a surprising amount of them done (perhaps most oddly) by metal bands in a broad variety of styles.
In 2008, And One launched a tour called, "The Bodypop Cover Lover Supershow." It was reportedly the idea of frontman Steve Naghavi who had found the club scene at the time fairly uninformed about many of the trailblazing synth pop and new wave hits of the 80s that had such a marked influence on his own music. The "Supershow" was supposedly meant to educate their audience in those songs with the band playing covers in-between the original material from their own discography. Song covered included those by Depeche Mode, A-Ha, Madness, Billy Idol, Alphaville, Camouflage, The Cure, New Order, and several gay-centric bands: Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, Yazoo, and, of course, Bronski Beat. Nine covers recorded from that tour, including Smalltown Boy, were released on And One's 2009 Body Pop 1 1/2, which was presented as a kind of supplement to their 2006 album, Body Pop.
The cover is faithful musically to the original while simultaneously performed in And One's signature futurepop style. Its most notable difference is Naghavi's deeper vocals as contrasted against Somerville's countertenor/falsetto range. Naghavi may not be gay himself, but it's evident that gay artists had a profound impact on much of And One's music. Their cover reasserts a necessary story about how prejudice and violent hatred can drive someone to leave the home they know because the answers and love they seek and need may never be found there.:
The Cover:
The Original:
Next week:
Second Sunday Slowly! A dark and dreamy indie downtempo remake of an eighties post-disco R&B song by two "W's" as re-imagined by two gay "X's."
♪┌(ᐛ)┘♪
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 a new pan-alternative event in the Boston area, blending goth/industrial music with a wide range of complementary EDM. Check my schedule for details, the RSVP link on Facebook, and keep an eye there for news of other upcoming events!
Explore the darkness,
-Xero
Previous DisCOVERies
May 27 - MGT - Say Hello, Wave Goodbye (Soft Cell)
May 20 - Carbon 12 - Burning Down The House(Talking Heads)
May 13 - Aesthetic Perfection - Bye Bye Bye(NSYNC)
May 06 - Birthday Massacre - I Think We're Alone Now (Tommy James and The Shondells
Apr 29 - Celluloide - Precious (Depeche Mode)
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.
As mentioned in last entry's "prelude to Pride," for June, we'll focus on musical artists that speak to the LGBTQ experience in one way or another, though some entries may have less to say other than recognizing the original or cover artist for their identity. This week we feature a German-based EBM/futurepop group who covered a number of openly gay synthpop groups from the 80's, and one in particular that started their career with a declaration of the hardships they'd faced as homosexuals in Europe.:
And One - Smalltown Boy (Bronski Beat)
Bronski Beat released their first single, Smalltown Boy, in the early part of 1984. The single was included on their first album, The Age Of Consent, later that year. Both the single and album artwork prominently displayed the pink triangle that had been adopted as a symbol of pride by the gay rights movement in the seventies, upturned and appropriated from its original usage by Nazis to identify homosexual men imprisoned in concentration camps. In addition, the album jacket included a listing of European countries and their "laws regarding minimum age for lawful homosexual relationships between men" or the outright illegality of it, along with a phone number to a service providing "gay legal advice." This was part of the band's pronounced criticism on the UK's dissimilar age laws between heterosexual and homosexual sex.
The song itself is said to be autobiographical for singer Jimmy Somerville, describing emotionally the circumstances that forced him to leave his childhood home in Scotland. The song's video depicts seemingly more of that story: Somerville's attraction to a male swimmer who spurns his interest, the swimmer gathering his biker friends to chase Somerville down and beat him, Somerville's parents discovering his sexuality, and his departure from home for their lack of support.
While not a number one hit, the track was still a considerable success for the group and has been anthemic in the gay community for years. The song has been covered over a couple of dozen times since, with a surprising amount of them done (perhaps most oddly) by metal bands in a broad variety of styles.
In 2008, And One launched a tour called, "The Bodypop Cover Lover Supershow." It was reportedly the idea of frontman Steve Naghavi who had found the club scene at the time fairly uninformed about many of the trailblazing synth pop and new wave hits of the 80s that had such a marked influence on his own music. The "Supershow" was supposedly meant to educate their audience in those songs with the band playing covers in-between the original material from their own discography. Song covered included those by Depeche Mode, A-Ha, Madness, Billy Idol, Alphaville, Camouflage, The Cure, New Order, and several gay-centric bands: Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, Yazoo, and, of course, Bronski Beat. Nine covers recorded from that tour, including Smalltown Boy, were released on And One's 2009 Body Pop 1 1/2, which was presented as a kind of supplement to their 2006 album, Body Pop.
The cover is faithful musically to the original while simultaneously performed in And One's signature futurepop style. Its most notable difference is Naghavi's deeper vocals as contrasted against Somerville's countertenor/falsetto range. Naghavi may not be gay himself, but it's evident that gay artists had a profound impact on much of And One's music. Their cover reasserts a necessary story about how prejudice and violent hatred can drive someone to leave the home they know because the answers and love they seek and need may never be found there.:
The Cover:
The Original:
Next week:
Second Sunday Slowly! A dark and dreamy indie downtempo remake of an eighties post-disco R&B song by two "W's" as re-imagined by two gay "X's."
♪┌(ᐛ)┘♪
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 a new pan-alternative event in the Boston area, blending goth/industrial music with a wide range of complementary EDM. Check my schedule for details, the RSVP link on Facebook, and keep an eye there for news of other upcoming events!
Explore the darkness,
-Xero
Previous DisCOVERies
May 27 - MGT - Say Hello, Wave Goodbye (Soft Cell)
May 20 - Carbon 12 - Burning Down The House(Talking Heads)
May 13 - Aesthetic Perfection - Bye Bye Bye(NSYNC)
May 06 - Birthday Massacre - I Think We're Alone Now (Tommy James and The Shondells
Apr 29 - Celluloide - Precious (Depeche Mode)
Directory of All Previous DisCOVERies
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-04 06:48 pm (UTC)