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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.
Looking for something previously featured? Click here.
I've been sitting on this one for a while, and I don't have any particular reason for dusting it off for today's Second Sunday Slowly. It's just a beautifully dark and kind of astonishing downtempo cover of a triphop dancefloor favorite from a very unexpected (and yet oddly appropriate) source!:
Simple Minds – Teardrop (Massive Attack)
Massive Attack released their third studio album, Mezzanine in mid April 1998, followed a week later by their second single from it, Teardrop. The song's foundational element is a sample from jazz pianist Les McCann's 1973 song Sometimes I Cry. The lyrics were written and sung by Elizabeth Fraser, of the Scottish alternative rock band, Cocteau Twins. Madonna had been approached to take this role, (having worked with them just a few years prior on their cover of Marvin Gaye's, I Want You) but two of the three members of the project felt Fraser would fit the song better. Fraser wrote the lyrics under the inspiration of French philosopher Gaston Bachelard, but recorded her vocals while mourning her friend, singer/songwriter Jeff Buckley who had been found dead at the time of their sessions. In one interview, Fraser said that the "song's kind of about him - that's how it feels to me anyway."
Teardrop gained a significant amount its of widespread recognition beyond their platinum sales in the UK thanks to its inclusion as the theme song for the 2004-2012 television series, House.
Out of over thirty covers of the song, one of the first few tributes came from the Scottish alternative rock band Simple Minds. Sounds like a potentially ill-fit, unsuitable for the song, but the band does something surprisingly darker than their familiar repertoire would lead one to expect of them. Their version was released in 2009 on a deluxe 2-CD edition of their fifteenth original album, Graffiti Soul. The second disc, titled Searching for the Lost Boys, features nine covers (including songs by Siouxsie and the Banshees, Magazine, The Call, Neil Young, and more) all recorded in-between sessions for the original material on the primary disc. They describe the sessions as having gone "better than we hoped" and felt the need to keep playing and "go off message occasionally." They explain, "there was very little preparation. Someone spontaneously called the tune, and it was plug in, turn on the valves, tune the drums, and scribble down the lyrics." Continuing they said, "with zero time for deliberation, it was a free ride as we played out of our skins, and it was primitive - as we let the life force take over." They characterize that "life force" as the "spirit of The Lost Boys," "the boys we ourselves once were at the onset" [of their career.]
Their cover of Teardrop reflects that spirituality, drawing on deep sounds from their own past as well as elements of middle eastern influence.
So the thread flows... the result is a Scottish alternative rock band covering a trip hop song featuring a Scottish singer and samples from an African-American jazz pianist with a Scottish/Irish name. Sometimes the winding tale of a song takes you to unthinkable places just to lead home again.:
The Cover:
The Original:
Next week:
Third Sunday Throwback to the 20th Century!
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 reply below, but all replies are screened for spam prevention.
I have a gig tonight in Providence! Other upcoming gigs are in the works with a couple of very exciting announcements TBA, please watch my schedule for updates!
(And if, after 4+ years and 236 weekly entries, you find this blog of any value, consider leaving me a tip in the form of the gift of music and get me something from my wishlist on Bandcamp if you like. It'll go to good use! Thanks!)
Thanks for reading and keep dancing in darkness,
-Xero
Previous DisCOVERies
Nov 03 - Horrorfall – Juke Joint Jezebel (KMFDM)
Oct 27 - Panic Lift – Every Day Is Halloween (Ministry)
Oct 20 - Missio – Zombie (The Cranberries)
Oct 13 - 29 Died – The Addams Family (Vic Mizzy)
Oct 06 - Creature Feature – Grim Grinning Ghosts (The Mellomen)
. 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.
Looking for something previously featured? Click here.
I've been sitting on this one for a while, and I don't have any particular reason for dusting it off for today's Second Sunday Slowly. It's just a beautifully dark and kind of astonishing downtempo cover of a triphop dancefloor favorite from a very unexpected (and yet oddly appropriate) source!:
Simple Minds – Teardrop (Massive Attack)
Massive Attack released their third studio album, Mezzanine in mid April 1998, followed a week later by their second single from it, Teardrop. The song's foundational element is a sample from jazz pianist Les McCann's 1973 song Sometimes I Cry. The lyrics were written and sung by Elizabeth Fraser, of the Scottish alternative rock band, Cocteau Twins. Madonna had been approached to take this role, (having worked with them just a few years prior on their cover of Marvin Gaye's, I Want You) but two of the three members of the project felt Fraser would fit the song better. Fraser wrote the lyrics under the inspiration of French philosopher Gaston Bachelard, but recorded her vocals while mourning her friend, singer/songwriter Jeff Buckley who had been found dead at the time of their sessions. In one interview, Fraser said that the "song's kind of about him - that's how it feels to me anyway."
Teardrop gained a significant amount its of widespread recognition beyond their platinum sales in the UK thanks to its inclusion as the theme song for the 2004-2012 television series, House.
Out of over thirty covers of the song, one of the first few tributes came from the Scottish alternative rock band Simple Minds. Sounds like a potentially ill-fit, unsuitable for the song, but the band does something surprisingly darker than their familiar repertoire would lead one to expect of them. Their version was released in 2009 on a deluxe 2-CD edition of their fifteenth original album, Graffiti Soul. The second disc, titled Searching for the Lost Boys, features nine covers (including songs by Siouxsie and the Banshees, Magazine, The Call, Neil Young, and more) all recorded in-between sessions for the original material on the primary disc. They describe the sessions as having gone "better than we hoped" and felt the need to keep playing and "go off message occasionally." They explain, "there was very little preparation. Someone spontaneously called the tune, and it was plug in, turn on the valves, tune the drums, and scribble down the lyrics." Continuing they said, "with zero time for deliberation, it was a free ride as we played out of our skins, and it was primitive - as we let the life force take over." They characterize that "life force" as the "spirit of The Lost Boys," "the boys we ourselves once were at the onset" [of their career.]
Their cover of Teardrop reflects that spirituality, drawing on deep sounds from their own past as well as elements of middle eastern influence.
So the thread flows... the result is a Scottish alternative rock band covering a trip hop song featuring a Scottish singer and samples from an African-American jazz pianist with a Scottish/Irish name. Sometimes the winding tale of a song takes you to unthinkable places just to lead home again.:
The Cover:
The Original:
Next week:
Third Sunday Throwback to the 20th Century!
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 reply below, but all replies are screened for spam prevention.
I have a gig tonight in Providence! Other upcoming gigs are in the works with a couple of very exciting announcements TBA, please watch my schedule for updates!
(And if, after 4+ years and 236 weekly entries, you find this blog of any value, consider leaving me a tip in the form of the gift of music and get me something from my wishlist on Bandcamp if you like. It'll go to good use! Thanks!)
Thanks for reading and keep dancing in darkness,
-Xero
Previous DisCOVERies
Nov 03 - Horrorfall – Juke Joint Jezebel (KMFDM)
Oct 27 - Panic Lift – Every Day Is Halloween (Ministry)
Oct 20 - Missio – Zombie (The Cranberries)
Oct 13 - 29 Died – The Addams Family (Vic Mizzy)
Oct 06 - Creature Feature – Grim Grinning Ghosts (The Mellomen)
. Directory of All Previous DisCOVERies .