Tune du Jour: “Mandy” – Barry Manilow
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: Me First and The Gimme Gimmes vs. Drop Nineteens vs. Schlong
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The Original
Scott English (under the title “Brandy”):
Jesus, it’s just as bad as Manilow’s abomination … But why would I have expected anything less (better?).
Definitive Version (?)
Barry Manilow:
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
I long ago had this dark fantasy of producing a Barry Manilow tribute cd with the likes of Dinosaur Jr., Violent Femmes, Soul Asylum, Johnny Cash, Throbbing Gristle, Joe Strummer and, of course, Nick Cave (who I would have insisted cover Mandy). Alas, in the words of King Missile (who also would have been perfect for inclusion), “If Only …”.
Me First and The Gimme Gimmes vs. Drop Nineteens vs. Schlong
Me First and The Gimme Gimmes:
Drop Nineteens:
Schlong:
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.
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An intolerable song that cannot be rescued or redeemed. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes was bad; the only part I liked was at the end, when he sings, “and I need… YOOOUUUU” in an off-key growl.
The Drop Nineteens shoegaze version was nearly tolerable.
Shlong’s 14 second version wins for reducing the song to the shortest time possible.
I believe this is the first appearance by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes in this iteration of C.M.I. They were frequent guests in previous years. Not great, but enough to win today’s contest. As for the other two rivals, lemme just say a fourteen second cover of this will prevail over a version that’s five minutes plus.
Ugh! I know, I know … but I do sometimes enjoy when a bad song is mocked or at least done entirely differently. Sometimes it turns out to be quite good (Milo Binder’s brilliant re-creation of “Dancing Queen” comes to mind). So let’s see what we got here …
The Me Too guys were a complete letdown. Usually these guys get pretty creative with bad songs. But this was just essentially a sped up electric version of the song. What a disappointment! Utterly dissatisfied …
Now the Drop Nineteen guys had the right idea. I really liked what they were doing with it but, My God, they played out the satire waaaaaaaay too long. I thought when would this end?
But Schlong got it right! Proper treatment of the tune and precisely the appropriate length!
Damn! That original was so bad I almost had some admiration for Manilow. Tough call at first between Me First… who show how capable they are playing cleanly at any speed and understand how to construct and deconstruct any song and Schlong who said everything that needed to be said in 14 seconds. I chose Schlong, which is what my wife said when I asked her why she didn’t come home last night. Drop Nineteens version started off sounding like a TV sitcom theme before becoming even worse. Background story has it that guitarist Tad “Cheese” Peckerson was infuriated by a Denny’s incident whereby bandmate Norm Smutch ate his Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity when he went to the restroom. He refused to engage at the studio just twanging away, spewing feedback and ranting.