Gee, Hump Day Jam Post Hiatus! Sweet!

Blog world!  It has been far too long!  My big sister got married on Saturday, and my life has been nothing but a whirl of moving and changing since.  It was a beautiful event that went off without a hitch, but I immediately made my way back to SC the morning after.  This is my first chance to sit and reflect and indulge in a steady source of internet…and it is at the Clemson Starbucks.  Joy!

I immediately logged into the Hype Machine to check out the latest scoop on good tunage.  I was pleasantly surprised to find another phenomenal cover of Kid Cudi and MGMT’s “Pursuit of Happiness” on the popular play list.  I have already fallen for a live cover version performed by Lissie, but this one has slow, steady, almost beachy sound to it that is new and unique.

Once again, I am astonished by just how talented some of these cover artists are with these songs.  The original version of this song is already one of my favorites (in fact, it’s my default ringtone), but I am truly impressed by these reworks.  New twists and turns have taken this melody to new heights.

Gee, Cover Songs Can Be Magical

I will admit, cover songs can be frustrating.  I mean, are people just so unoriginal that they can’t come up with their own songs?  In some cases, yes.  But in other cases of pure genius, someone just sees a song in a totally different light, and has the creative imagination to completely reinvent a song into an unexpected masterpiece.

From this...

Take, for instance, T.I.’s “Whatever You Like” – a classic bump and grind song that instinctively made my hand jab at the buttons on my car radio to make it stop whenever the DJ’s chose to play it (which they did all the time last year as those obnoxious hit singles tend to do).

To be perfectly honest, the song creeps me out.  The gruff voice in the chorus sounds seductive in an evil way, like an older man trying to corrupt a young and innocent woman with the open-ended line, “You can have whatever you like” repeated over and over.

But then I heard Anya Marina‘s cover of the song, and my perception of the song was forever changed.  Her voice is soothing and quiet as she gives the rough rap song a completely new identity.  The beat is slowed, the lines delivered with a soft passion that is actually quite charming.

“Yeah I want’cho body, I need yo body
Long as you got me you won’t need nobody
You want it I got it, go get it I buy it”

...To this.

Who would have thought that these words could actually sound angelic?  It just goes to show you – sometimes, cover songs actually have the power to magically transform songs in ways that you never would have thought possible.