Sunday, January 19, 2014

Bone-jarring cover fail!

Apparently, several people in my FB lifeworld are having issues with their digital music curations. Most are in Pandora...For example, a friend with a Simon and Garfunkle curation playing Peter, Paul and Mary no matter how many times you say no. Still no. No. 

I switched from Pandora to iHeart quite some time ago...more French music and live stations which I love. This is the first curation glitch I have had, and I blame the artist more than iHeart.

I love covers as much as anyone...especially if they are done well. I don't even need to like the singer's original pieces to see that they can nail cover songs. For example, I for some reason can't stand Alison Krauss but have been mesmerized by every cover I have ever heard from her. 

Now, perhaps my friends who are lovers of all things francophone can help me out here. I like Garou. His Berger/Plamondon stuff is phenomenal. Love a lot of his original hits. but I wanted to share my bone-jarring iHeart moment today on one of my curated channels:







I get that this may be a heartwarming tribute to Georges Thurston from an admirer sad to see him gone. Maybe this song has some meaning for him and Lorie (which is another story altogether). That having been said, what was he thinking? It sounds like a Tom Jones / lounge-lizard mutant trying to channel a Solid Gold funk moment. Please, compare Garou with Thurston's original and help me out here:


Is this just a "even Homer nods" moment, or is everything on Gentleman Cambrioleur this much of a miss? I'm sure the song sounds fine to most, but when you have any knowledge of the "Boule Noire", this cover is like nails on a chalkboard.