Posts Tagged ‘Kirsty MacColl’

Medleys: Chrissie Hynde, Kirsty MacColl & The Pogues, Sigi Pop

Posted: May 26, 2016 in THE CLASH of Cover Medleys
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Pots-Pourris du Jour: “Baby It’s You” / “A Message to Michael” (orig Burt Bacharach) – “Miss Otis Regrets” / “Just One Of Those Things” (orig Cole Porter) – “Seppi War A punk Rocker” / “Kumm Dantz”  (orig The Ramones)
THE CLASH of Cover Medleys: Chrissie Hynde vs. Kirsty MacCool & The Pogues vs. Sigi Pop
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Official Cover Me Impressed Medley Definitions:

 

For our purposes we will rely on medley standards as outlined at the 2012 Institute of Chartered Music Listeners Music-Medley Symposium, which identified and defined the following categories of

Broccoli For Miles And Miles And Miles And Miles And Miles ... Oh Yeah!

Broccoli For Miles
And Miles And Miles
And Miles And Miles …
Oh Yeah!

Music Medleys:

The Meager-Medley – a musical composition comprised of parts from two independent songs.

The Mini-Medley – a musical composition comprised of parts from three independent songs.

The Medial-Medley – a musical composition comprised of parts from four independent songs.

The Mega-Medley – a musical composition comprised of parts from five or more independent songs.

THE CLASH of Cover Medleys

 

Chrissie Hynde vs. Kirsty MacColl & The Pogues vs. Sigi Pop
Chrissie Hynde:
“Baby It’s You” / “A Message to Michael” – orig Burt Bacharach

Kirsty MacColl & The Pogues:
“Miss Otis Regrets” / “Just One of Those Things”  – orig Cole Porter

Sigi Pop:
“Seppi War A punk Rocker (Sheena is a Punk Rocker” / “Kumm Dantz (Let’s Dance)” – orig The Ramones

SPACE

Oh the disharmony! Much like Harlan County there are no neutrals here. It is your solemn responsibility to decide which medley of cover songs prevails. In other words … Which Side Are You On?!!?

 

Disclaimer: Votes cast from Florida may or may not be counted.

Billy Bragg: “A New England”

Posted: April 21, 2016 in THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
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Tune du Jour: “A New England” – Billy Bragg
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: Across the Border vs. The King Blues vs. Too Much Joy
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Broccoli Fields Forever ...

Broccoli Fields Forever …

 

 

The Original

 

 

Billy Bragg:

 

In Memoriam

Kirsty MacColl:

While not a huge fan of most of her work, it’s impossible not to admire Kirsty MacColl. Hell, any musician worthy of working with Billy Bragg, Talking Heads, The Smiths and, most of all, The Pogues, has earned my respect. And while on stage she always looked to be having a grand time, a sentiment that is foreign to many “important” musicians. “Fairytale of New York” is an enduring masterpiece and, of course, it is MacColl who expertly croons and trades barbs with Shane MacGowan in the song. If that were her only musical accomplishment then I’d still consider her a special talent for contributing to a pitch-perfect, raucous, yet sentimental ballad.

Billy Bragg’s “A New England” is far superior to any cover I’ve heard of the song. Still, it is worth noting that Kirsty MacColl actually enjoyed the most commercial success from the song. A year after Bragg included “A New England” on his 1983 album, Life’s A Riot With Spy vs. Spy, MacColl released it as a single. She obviously had Bragg’s blessing in that, at her behest, he wrote additional verses for her, which she consolidated into one closing verse. “A New England” became MacColl’s biggest hit, reaching number 7 in the UK Singles Chart and number 8 in the Irish Singles Chart. In 2000, MacColl tragically died while saving the life of her son during a boating accident. In tribute to Kirsty MacColl, Bragg subsequently began including the additional verse during performances of the song.

 

THE CLASH of Cover Tunes

 

Across the Border vs. The King Blues vs. Too Much Joy
Across the Border:

The King Blues:

Too Much Joy:

SPACE

Oh the disharmony! Much like Harlan County there are no neutrals here. It is your solemn responsibility to decide which cover song prevails. In other words … Which Side Are You On?!!? 

 

Disclaimer: Votes cast from Florida may or may not be counted.

The Pogues: “Fairytale of New York”

Posted: January 26, 2014 in THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
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Tune du Jour: “Fairytale of New York” – The Pogues
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: Billy Bragg & Florence + the Machine vs. Third Eye Blind
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"Free markets will not prevail without unfettered competition among cover songs." - Milton Friedbyrd

“Free markets will not prevail without unfettered competition among cover songs.” – Milton Friedbyrd

The Pogues’ Christmas masterpiece, Fairytale of New York, was released in 1987 on their album, If I Should Fall From Grace with God. The song, written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan, features female vocal accompaniment by Kirsty MacColl and string arrangements by Fiachra Trench. It was originally planned as a duet by Shane MacGowan and Pogues bassist Cait O’Riordan, but O’Riordan left the band in 1986 before the song was completed. At the time the Pogues were being produced by Kirsty MacColl’s husband, Steve Lillywhite. Lillywhite asked his wife to provide a guide vocal of the female part for a demo version of the song. However, the Pogues were so impressed with MacColl’s contribution that they asked her to sing the part on the actual recording. Fairytale of New York has correctly been cited as the best Christmas song of all time in various television, radio and magazine related polls in the UK and Ireland.

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The Original

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The Pogues with Kirsty MacColl:

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THE CLASH of Cover Tunes

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Billy Bragg with Florence + the Machine vs. Third Eye Blind
Billy Bragg with Florence + the Machine

Billy Bragg is a recipient of CMI’s universally coveted title of Uni Victor Melodious Maximus in Adversarial Replication. Among the title’s myriad of rewards and benefits, perhaps most desirous is that it bestows upon the recipient the eminently yearned for privilege of having one’s name appear in print media in bold yellow.

Billy Bragg’s triumphal performance in CMI’s THE CLASH of Cover Tunes competition is detailed below:

11/18/2013 – “Which Side Are You On?” (Almanac Singers) – Billy Bragg (57%) bests Dropkick Murphys (43%)

This is a live rendition of Fairytale of New York played on BBC Radio 1 on December 19, 2009. I read somewhere that Bragg and Florence got the idea to play Fairytale of New York about two hours before the Christmas special was to begin. Assuming that’s accurate then this is what they put together within a couple of hours. Brilliant!

Third Eye Blind:

I read somewhere that Third Eye Blind got the idea to cover Fairytale of New York precisely 12 seconds before the studio tapes began to roll. Not bad…

Oh the disharmony! Much like Harlan County there are no neutrals here. Only one cover tune will live to play another day and it is your solemn responsibility to decide which one prevails. So tell me … Which Side Are You On?!!?

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Disclaimer: Votes cast from Florida may or may not be counted.