Tune du Jour: “Ca Plane Pour Moi” – Plastic Bertrand
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: Richard Thompson vs. The Busters vs. Manic Hispanic
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Always liked this song back in the day but never knew who did it. Now I do …
The Original
Plastic Bertrand:
Definitive Version
Sonic Youth:
What makes this the definitive version? Well Sonic Youth completely tears this song apart and, since it is my blog, I get to name the definitive version! And it doesn’t hurt that Mssr. Bertrand specifically mentions Sonic Youth in the song …
By the way, this Tannis Root Freedom of Choice release is one of the best new wave / punk tribute cds that you will ever find.
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
Richard Thompson vs. The Busters vs. Manic Hispanic
Richard Thompson:
The Busters:
Manic Hispanic:
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 
Never quite got the “genius” of Sonic Youth, yet, after listening to this cover for the umpteenth time, I may have to rethink my position on the band. Just fantastic!
Richard Thompson, ho hum, another first rate cover! Can’t wait to see him again in March.
I have really liked, hell loved, everything that I have heard from The Busters. Don’t know if they are still throwing it down, but if so, would travel to see them.
Manic Hispanic’s satirical delivery and interpretations of punk classics never fail to amuse and excite me. Makes me wish that I understood Spanish all the more.
All three covers are first-rate. The Busters on the strength of their fun video.
Easy choice for me today. The Busters did the only version I liked. The upbeat tempo, combined with accordion and French language, makes me crave a big bowl of gumbo.
I have always liked the exhilarating sound of this song since the early 80s when I first heard it and had no idea what was being sung. Very contagious! At first I didn’t see Sonic Youth up there and I was hey! what? until I spied that they received the valued “definitive cover”. They even wrote themselves into the lyrics which it seems two of these covers were very free with changing as well. Thompson stuck with the french. I have seen him do this live and it is a fun cover. Manic Hispanic lived up to the name with a high energy version that was catchy but The Busters took this to Louisiana and blew the doors off with horns, accordions, plenty of moving dance rhythms, fun, wild desire and cajun/zydeco mania.
I remember this song very well. I was living in NYC, and my friend Neil and I were deep into punk at the time. When this came out, we latched onto it immediately and pretty much filed it under “punk”, and that was that. He bought the single; I taped it (as one did). I hadn’t heard the Sonic Youth version until now, but I love it, and if it were one of the options here, it would’ve had my vote.
This song also has a truly bizarre and convoluted history. Plastic Bertrand’s version is basically him singing over a pre-recorded backing track. Meanwhile, a group called Elton Motello released Jet Boy, Jet Girl using that exact same backing track but completely different lyrics. And those lyrics, um, yeah. An older man, a 15-year-old boy, a sexual dalliance, plus the infamous “he gives me head” line—which got it banned all over the place. Plastic Bertrand’s version was a hit; Elton Motello’s went nowhere.
People often assume Jet Boy, Jet Girl is a cover of Ça Plane Pour Moi, but it really isn’t—it’s a separate song that just happens to share the identical backing track. (And just to make things even messier, The Damned covered the Elton Motello version soon after it was released, with slightly tweaked lyrics.)
So if we’re being sticklers on CMI: Manic Hispanic’s version here isn’t actually a cover of Ça Plane Pour Moi—it’s a cover of Jet Boy, Jet Girl. The video title hedges its bets and credits both (Jet Muchacho (Ça Plane Pour Moi)), but when you hear him sing “He gives me cabeza,” the lineage is pretty clear.
All that said… I went with the Busters. Easily the most fun version.
The Busters for the same reason everyone else did. They’re more fun. But the Jet Boy Jet Girl story is crazy because it really is the exact same backing track.