Comments on: It's Spock's illusions I recall

It's Spock's illusions I recall

bicyclefish — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:20:56 -0800

Leonard Nimoy ruins Joni Mitchell. Johnny Cash redeems Gordon Lightfoot. The Donnas render Men Without Hats ever so slightly less ridiculous. The CBC assembles a list of great (and sub-great) covers of Canadian songs. And a happy Canada Day to you.

By: spock

spock — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:23:30 -0800

Gordon Lightfoot requires no redeeming.

By: spock

spock — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:25:08 -0800

Oh gawd. That was not Johnny Cash's finest 4.5 minutes.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:34:37 -0800

They forgot to list absolutely anything by Carl Strygg in the awful section.

By: Oyéah

Oyéah — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:39:33 -0800

Yeah, but Lenny at least loves fat gals. I have to see how Johnny could possibly help Gordon...

By: Oyéah

Oyéah — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:42:41 -0800

Nah, Gordon is the man.

By: spock

spock — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:45:02 -0800

re: We Five Perhaps the worst lip-sync job of the decade. Couldn't they have at least put mics on the four guys who are allegedly singing along?

By: miss lynnster

miss lynnster — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:50:32 -0800

You forgot covers of Anne Murray and Helen Reddy. Thanks Canada!

By: bicyclefish

bicyclefish — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:58:03 -0800

Alright, alright, I know I've fallen on the wrong side of Gord's Gold here. Let me redeem myself, then. Sam Roberts is redeemed by Gordon Lightfoot. Sarah McLachlan is redeemed by Gordon Lightfoot. A remarkably long list of people with guitars reach out and touch the face of Gord.

By: loiseau

loiseau — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:03:52 -0800

I had no idea the Donnas still existed. Happy Canada Day!

By: Flunkie

Flunkie — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:12:20 -0800

Leonard Nimoy ruins Joni Mitchell.

I find this claim highly illogical.

By: not_on_display

not_on_display — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:16:43 -0800

Huh! Didn't know Men Without Hats was from Canadia. And just so that we can mention RUSH here, how about some 11-to-15-year-olds covering "Limelight"? and off topic, Trailer Park Boys is teh best TV show evar, eh? Happy canadia day!

By: pracowity

pracowity — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:17:31 -0800

And there's America doing Eddie Schwartz. But no one will ever cover Gino Vannelli's chest. Happy Cancon Day.

By: Durn Bronzefist

Durn Bronzefist — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:20:14 -0800

Johnny Cash redeems Gordon Lightfoot. Are you fucking insane?

By: dobbs

dobbs — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:24:31 -0800

And just so that we can mention RUSH here Carl Strygg covers Closer to the Heart.

By: Durn Bronzefist

Durn Bronzefist — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:29:05 -0800

And there's America doing Eddie Schwartz Holy crap. I had no idea what that was. The original got a lot of radio play in my childhood. Thanks, man. Here's another Toronto born rendition. Pukka Orchestra's take on Tom Robinson's Listen to the Radio. (no, I have no idea who "Pegs and Kath" are).

By: bicyclefish

bicyclefish — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:29:06 -0800

One more for the road. And from YouTube I drew an Hallelujah: Hallelujah, Hallelujah! Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah! Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah! ~~Hallelujah~~, Halleluja, Hallelujah, Hallelujah! Hallelujah, Halleloo - oo - jah.

By: Durn Bronzefist

Durn Bronzefist — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:35:10 -0800

From that CBC link: The Strange: Nazareth, This Flight Tonight (Joni Mitchell) Hold on now. That Nazareth version is a classic!

By: jimmythefish

jimmythefish — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:35:28 -0800

I have no clue as to why the Guns n' Roses (well yes and Bubbles) cover of Liquor and Whores didn't make it up there.

By: Durn Bronzefist

Durn Bronzefist — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:37:29 -0800

Huh! Didn't know Men Without Hats was from Canadia. Jenny played keyboard, johnny played drums, Called little baby and a big bonhomme Everybody tell me have you heard? pop goes the world. The big bonhomme? Oh yeah. They're Canadian. Oh, and yeah -- Happy Canada Day!

By: Meatbomb

Meatbomb — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:47:25 -0800

Gordon Lightfoot requires no redeeming. Interesting. I came in just to say that he was irredeemable - so I guess we balance it out, spock.

By: Turtles all the way down

Turtles all the way down — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:42:10 -0800

The Herbie Hancock and Corinne Bailey Rae version of River is sublime. Happy Canada Day!

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:55:11 -0800

This seems an appropriate place to put this link; I don't think it merits its own FPP: Canadians are proud of some things, and not others. Angus-Reid poll, perhaps two dozen things listed. Parliment: not proud of it. Our military: very proud of it. Etcetera.

By: an egg

an egg — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:24:12 -0800

This seems an appropriate place to post this before someone else does: Canada has a military?

By: Opposite George

Opposite George — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:24:18 -0800

Ah, Cash vs. Lightfoot. The battle of the ages. Johnny's hard to bet against, having done it all for the Lord and whatnot. OTOH, it's hard to think of Gord as anything less than the folky epitome of guyness. I mean, cripes, could anyone else write a song about drinking coffee, going on beer runs, lighting the barbecue and just generally Flintstoning it up on the weekend -- and sell it? May the spirit of June forgive me but gotta call this one a tie, I think.

By: Opposite George

Opposite George — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:29:05 -0800

And did anyone else notice that Nimoy bit the title of Gord's 2nd album for his own? Man, that Lightfoot gets around...

By: CCBC

CCBC — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:02:19 -0800

Some moron: Johnny Cash redeems Gordon Lightfoot. Are you fucking insane? Well said, Durn Bronzefist. But Johnny did do an excellent cover of "Bird On A Wire" that I think even Leonard would approve. This is a funny list. Can any Canadian who can remember the 60s... okay, forget it. I'm dated. But recall (if you can) We Five's version of "You Were On My Mind". Jesus! Didn't you want to strangle those imperialist American A-holes? And an egg, oh yes, Canada has a military. It's in Afghanifuckingstan cleaning up American miscues even as we speak. But, oh, I want them out by next Canada Day at least. And, in the meanwhile, I will continue giving what aid I can to American War Resisters who have fled to this happy land! Happy Canada Day, everyone! We mean you no harm.

By: chuckdarwin

chuckdarwin — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:05:48 -0800

I guess I posted my Canadian story a little too soon.

By: Jofus

Jofus — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:46:57 -0800

I like Gordon Lightfoot, but I don't understand what he's singing aboot.

By: Pope Guilty

Pope Guilty — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 03:08:38 -0800

I prefer Johnny Cash doing Depeche Mode.

By: pxe2000

pxe2000 — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 03:47:36 -0800

The Boston Celtics cover Gino Vannelli.

By: KokuRyu

KokuRyu — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 04:51:48 -0800

Nice post, bicyclefish. The godawful Tom Cochran cover you linked to really is horrible, horrible, horrible. My son, now five, loves the movie "Cars", and we of course bought the soundtrack for him. And of course he loves the wretched, wretched "new country" cover of "Life is a Highway", and forces us to play it and play it and play it. Ugh. My best memory of that song was driving to Cochrane (!), Alberta in 1990 or so. We were on the Trans-Canada, just east of Kamloops, and passing a long, long freight train, humming along to "Life is a Highway" which was playing on the radio. And I've been embarrassed about doing so ever since.

By: Phanx

Phanx — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 05:28:15 -0800

Making Men Without Hats less ridiculous is like repainting Dali's pictures so that they look a bit more sensible.

By: RockCorpse

RockCorpse — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 05:50:23 -0800

I love Gordon Lightfoot but Johnny's version is absolutely heartbreaking. Dude sounds like he's falling to pieces.

By: DWRoelands

DWRoelands — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 05:51:52 -0800

I like that cover of Lightfoot, but it needs no redeeming. Cash's cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" reinvents that song and makes the original sound like petulant teenage angst. It's a masterpiece.

By: caution live frogs

caution live frogs — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:07:13 -0800

The Cash version of the song is indeed pretty touching - but the idiotic, literal-minded video linked to makes it cheap and cloying. It's the YouTube equivalent of a Hendrix video that features nothing but cars driving because the lyrics are about "cross-town traffic". If you just open it in the background and listen, it's great. Watching it, not good. But I still like the Lightfoot version better. Gord is the man. Now I'm going to have to go play Canadian Railway Trilogy over and over... any song using the word "muskeg" has to be a great song, right?

By: RockCorpse

RockCorpse — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:08:02 -0800

the egg: Canada has a military? Canada has an Afghanistan?

By: inthe80s

inthe80s — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:08:42 -0800

KokuRyu: My 3 year old loves that movie as well, and every time that cover version comes on in them movie I cringe a little more. What's worse is Rascal Flatts was on "Live From Abbey Road" last week, and that's the song they lead off with. Almost like an admission that they're a crappy country cover band. Here's What It Should Sound Like and The Donnas covering "Safety Dance" was even more dreadful. I can't think of more than a handful of times when a cover is as good or better than an original. You want an interesting (and warped) cover of something a Canadian performed and made popular, how about Devo covering "Ohio". Made even more relevant by the fact that the key members of DEVO were students at Kent State during the shootings. It's not better than the original, but at least it's interesting why they would choose to cover it.

By: taumeson

taumeson — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:17:09 -0800

I'm confused as to why Gordon Lightfoot is referenced so many times. Is he a lot bigger in Canada than he was in the States?

By: caution live frogs

caution live frogs — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:17:11 -0800

PS: Hope our neighbors to the north (well, mostly to the north - in places you're south of us) have/had a happy Canada day. Please excuse us while we attempt to blow ourselves up again on the 4th. It's kind of a tradition with us Americans, we like things that go "boom" when we're celebrating stuff. Or bombing people. Whichever. Come on, "bombs bursting in air"! It's in our national anthem, for cripes sake*! Your song is nice and all, but where are the explosions? *Canadian friend of mine once pointedly expressed her distaste for a song about explosions as a national anthem. I can't help but think that I agree with her, and wish we had the good grace to choose something a little less bloodthirsty, like "America the Beautiful". Oh Canada, once again your goodwill and common sense have bested us! Just remember, you need us! Without us, your comics and actors would have no place to become famous, and your hockey players would no longer be able to play the game they love in such appropriate places as barren deserts and Gulf Coast states!

By: spoobnooble

spoobnooble — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:22:10 -0800

World's worst cover of Gordon Lightfoot: a "rap" version of Sundown by Elwood, an American studio project featuring Prince Elwood Strickland III (!). Listen and cringe... Sundown

By: RockCorpse

RockCorpse — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:45:17 -0800

caution live frogs: as a Canadian, I gotta say I actually really like the American national anthem (it is a bit long winded, though...reads like Alice's Restaurant Massacree). However, the English translation of the French version of Oh Canada involves swords! And brilliant exploits!

O Canada! Land of our forefathers Thy brow is wreathed with a glorious garland of flowers. As in thy arm ready to wield the sword, So also is it ready to carry the cross. Thy history is an epic of the most brilliant exploits. Thy valour steeped in faith Will protect our homes and our rights Will protect our homes and our rights.

By: srboisvert

srboisvert — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:54:29 -0800

Canada has a military? Don't make me trigger the devices codenamed Celine Dion, Cirque de Soliel, Brian Adams or Mike Myers. You will regret it.

By: MarshallPoe

MarshallPoe — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:01:41 -0800

Agree with spock. Gordon Lightfoot needs nothing.

By: zarah

zarah — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:20:25 -0800

Happy ~~Canada~~ Gordon Lightfoot Day! I'm confused as to why Gordon Lightfoot is referenced so many times. Is he a lot bigger in Canada than he was in the States? I would have to assume so, being that he's one of our own. I've never met anyone of any age in Canada that doesn't totally love the guy. Uhm, you know we have tv, and radio, and recorded materials here, right? :D We've given him 15 Juno awards, he's in the Canadian Hall of Fame, has a star on the Canadian Walk of Fame, and was made a Companion of the Order of Canada, which is the highest civilian honour here. hee! This reminds of the time my family was playing a game of charades & some joker (me) put "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" in the hat, and my god-mom picked it. Watching her work it out was the funniest thing I've ever seen in my life and I will never forgive myself for having not filmed it. And to this day, every so often she'll punch me in the arm, hard, and walk away humming that song, lol.

By: roystgnr

roystgnr — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:51:38 -0800

I can't think of more than a handful of times when a cover is as good or better than an original. Have you tried searching for covers where you don't like the original? For instance, listen (while ignoring the crappy video) to the Gourds covering Snoop Dogg. Hilarious.

By: oddman

oddman — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:07:55 -0800

That Donna's version sucked.

By: spock

spock — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:26:49 -0800

I'm confused as to why Gordon Lightfoot is referenced so many times. Is he a lot bigger in Canada than he was in the States? "Bigger"? I doubt it. I was introduced to Gordon Lightfoot (beyond his radio singles) by a cousin, who in 1979, dedicated "Song for a Winter Night" to my fiancé and I. I got Gords Gold shortly thereafter and it is still one of the 5 albums I would have to take with me to a desert island. I live in Nebraska and I don't like him because he's popular. But I've also gotten to see him in concert twice (and I'm not a big concert goer) where he was outstanding. I was surprised to see that the old bugger is still touring, and I hope to get to see him one more time. Gordon Lightfoot is a consummate singer/songwriter, and I think the respect he is given by other musicians says more about how "big" he is than his popularity among the general populace. The word is overused, but I find his songwriting and voice truly sublime. And if you want heartbreaking, listen to his "Circle is Small". Big (popular) beer: Budweiser Big (awesome) beer: Maudite (but a lot fewer people drink/appreciate Maudite).

By: spock

spock — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:29:01 -0800

I meant to say that I doubt he is bigger in the U.S. than in Canada.

By: DevilsAdvocate

DevilsAdvocate — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:37:18 -0800

I can't think of more than a handful of times when a cover is as good or better than an original. You may be interested in this AskMe thread.

By: ROU_Xenophobe

ROU_Xenophobe — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:39:56 -0800

For almost 30 years, Bryan Adams has delivered two kinds of product with ruthless efficiency... . No one wants to hear his canon ~~reinterpreted for the dance floor~~.

By: evilcolonel

evilcolonel — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:48:02 -0800

One glaring omission is Nicolette Larson's cover of Neil Young's "Lotta Love." (You can categorize it however you like, but it was a huge hit.) pracowity: But no one will ever cover Gino Vannelli's chest . Eugene Levy did just fine, lip-synching the song on SCTV as he turned into a werewolf. (It would have been much funnier to show it to you, but all the SCTV stuff appears to have been purged from YouTube.)

By: unixrat

unixrat — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:53:52 -0800

The dig against Lightfoot is unforgivable. That Cash version is an abomination. You have gained an enemy, bicyclefish. A small, powerless enemy.

By: pised

pised — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:18:37 -0800

Man, who knew Heart was considered Canadian?

By: aldus_manutius

aldus_manutius — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:25:18 -0800

Heh ... Beauty, eh? ~~ Go Red Wings, hosers!

By: jimmythefish

jimmythefish — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:35:43 -0800

Neko Case's cover of Lisa Marr's 'In California' is awesome.

By: regicide is good for you

regicide is good for you — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:42:41 -0800

Catherine Wheel does Rush. Joe Cocker sings Cohen. and, maybe Canadian on Canadian action doesn't count, but Sarah Polley covers the Hip.

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:56:12 -0800

O Canada! Land of our forefathers Thy brow is wreathed with a glorious garland of flowers. As in thy arm ready to wield the sword, So also is it ready to carry the cross. Thy history is an epic of the most brilliant exploits. Thy valour steeped in faith Will protect our homes and our rights Hm. Uh, hi, Quebec? Yeah, you know what? You can leave after all.

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:04:03 -0800

I must defend the Leonard Nimoy. The cover works. See, Spock is a Vulcan. Vulcans are logical and not emotional; they may examine love from many angles, but can never truly understand it. Also, he flies around a lot and probably sees lots of clouds and whatnot. That said, yeah, it's unlistenable. Let's face it, though: The original wasn't so hot to begin with.

By: Hoopo

Hoopo — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:06:31 -0800

H a p p y C a n a d a D a y ! I know they're not covers, but this day comes but once a year. Enjoy the Can-Con!

By: Mental Wimp

Mental Wimp — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:40:35 -0800

My favorite Canadian tune is one I can't imagine anyone else covering: Northwest Passage by Stan Rogers.

By: RockCorpse

RockCorpse — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:42:18 -0800

Hm. Uh, hi, Quebec? Yeah, you know what? You can leave after all. Swords, mthrfckr. I cut you!

By: Kabanos

Kabanos — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:39:43 -0800

However, the English translation of the French version of Oh Canada involves swords! And brilliant exploits! O Canada! Land of our forefathers Thy brow is wreathed with a glorious garland of flowers. As in thy arm ready to wield the sword, So also is it ready to carry the cross. Thy history is an epic of the most brilliant exploits. Thy valour steeped in faith Will protect our homes and our rights Will protect our homes and our rights.! Apparently (ironically?) the French version was the original. English Canadians just liked the tune and made up their own lyrics, creating a whole whack of different versions (as Peter Kuitenbrouwer briefly describes in this article).

By: gompa

gompa — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:11:23 -0800

You want an interesting (and warped) cover of something a Canadian performed and made popular, how about Devo covering "Ohio". Made even more relevant by the fact that the key members of DEVO were students at Kent State during the shootings. It's not better than the original, but at least it's interesting why they would choose to cover it. I can't remember the exact circumstances, but Neil Young was either in the same studio as or actually jamming around with DEVO around the time of the Trans sessions. As I recall, it was DEVO that provided him with the phrase "Rust Never Sleeps" - it was a line from like an Armor All ad jingle or something that DEVO were goofing on, and it stuck in ole Neil's memory, and so in some small way, we have DEVO to thank for Neil's masterwork. This has been your Canada Day installment of Great Moments in Expat Canuck History. For more information on the exploits of expat Canucks, consult the credits of your favourite comedy.

By: pyramid termite

pyramid termite — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 19:04:03 -0800

k d lang does bruce cockburn's one day i walk the stereophonics doing the hip's fiddler's green the black crowes do the band's the night they drove old dixie down and ick, lil mama remixes and raps avril lavigne's girlfriend

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 19:23:13 -0800

Gompa: See Human Highway.