Tune du Jour: “Can’t Seem to Make You Mine” – The Seeds
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: Johnny Thunders and Patti Palladin vs. Alex Chilton vs. Yo La Tengo
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The Original
The Seeds:
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
Johnny Thunders and Patti Palladin vs. Alex Chilton vs. Yo La Tengo
Johnny Thunders and Patti Paladin:
Alex Chilton:
Yo La Tengo:
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.
cover me impressed 
I was disappointed in the Alex Chilton version, and voted Yo La Tengo.
In the previous post I referred to “She Cracked” as “proto-punk”. Since we’re covering The Seeds on this post, I gotta apply that label to “Pushin’ Too Hard”, which dates to 1965.
Very interesting choice of song and combatants. This is a song of anguish and frustration. I liked the singing from Johnny Thunders. He was believable but the production was too bright to go with it. Especially the piano. Talk about two worn and jaded guys. Thunders and Chilton were nominated I think a total of 11 times at the MOFO (my own #&! opinion) Awards for most jaded musician. I thought Alex nailed it. The hiccup vocal, heavy reverb and echo, a bit over the top. You can hear how he produced the early recordings by The Cramps. Surprising they didn’t cover this. I could sense John Waters talking to David Lynch in the background. I knew Yo La Tengo would bring superior guitar work and general texture but Ira’s vocal not so convincing. The first two were legit weirdos. Ira may need a trailer to haul around his indie cred but he is a well adjusted guy and a mench’s mench. It didn’t help him here.
All 3 covers are a copycat of the original, adding nothing of interest in particular. Given that, I went with Chilton ’cause it is the shortest.