# Anomalies in re-doing of songs. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 8, 2004, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anomalies-in-re-doing-of-songs/268125 "2004-10-08T00:28:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anomalies-in-re-doing-of-songs/268125/21 "2004-10-08T16:28:58Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > In the 70s and 80s, it was routine for top 40 radio stations to play songs 5-10% faster than they were recorded. Thus, a three-minute song becomes 2:42. Two three-minute songs give you an extra half-minute that you can sell as ad time. > > In order to do this, the songs were rerecorded faster. I’ve actually noticed this in one song in particular: Afternoon Delight. I always thought it would sound better 5-10% faster. Maybe they recorded it 5-10% too slow so that it would be played in the proper speed! Come to think of it, I did think the recording I heard the other day of “Country Roads” sounded a bit too slow… ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anomalies-in-re-doing-of-songs/268125/22 "2004-10-08T16:44:15Z")
I’m not a big fan of Pearl Jam, but I really like that remake they did a while back. The original, about a car wreck and the singer’s love dying in his arms, just sounded waaaay to upbeat. The PJ version was much darker. It’s about the only song of theirs I like. ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anomalies-in-re-doing-of-songs/268125/23 "2004-10-08T16:48:30Z")
> [@kidchameleon](#): > > I’m not a big fan of Pearl Jam, but I really like that remake they did a while back. The original, about a car wreck and the singer’s love dying in his arms, just sounded waaaay to upbeat. The PJ version was much darker. It’s about the only song of theirs I like. funny, that’s just about the only song of their that I _dislike_ ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anomalies-in-re-doing-of-songs/268125/24 "2004-10-08T17:59:58Z")
One of the best examples of one artist covering another and defining the song forever is Aretha Franklin’s cover of Otis Redding’s “Respect.” It wasn’t that Otis did a bad job on his original version (#5 on the R&B charts), it’s just that Aretha killed when she did it (#1 R&B for **eight** weeks, #1 pop for two weeks!). As Otis himself said, “That girl stole that song from me!” (Of course, that “theft” put a bazillion dollars into Otis’s pocket!) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anomalies-in-re-doing-of-songs/268125/25 "2004-10-08T18:06:43Z")
Dead teenager songs (_Last Kiss, Teen Angel, Tell Laura I Love Her, Leader of the Pack_, etcetera, etcetera, ad infinitum, ad nauseum), are all stupid and insipid. They should never be covered by _anyone_. In fact, they should never have been recorded in the first place. Just my opinion, of course, but in this case, my opinion is entirely coincident with 100% established fact. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anomalies-in-re-doing-of-songs/268125/26 "2004-10-08T18:30:37Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Dead teenager songs (_Last Kiss, Teen Angel, Tell Laura I Love Her, Leader of the Pack_, etcetera, etcetera, ad infinitum, ad nauseum), are all stupid and insipid. Last Kiss, that’s right. For some reason all I could think of was _Last Caress_, and while a cover, not exactly in the same vein. 🙂 I wonder if Brownsville Station is bummed because everyone thinks _Smokin’ in the Boys Room_ is a Motley Crue song or if they’re happy for all the money the Crue made for them. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anomalies-in-re-doing-of-songs/268125/27 "2004-10-08T18:42:16Z")
> [@Labdad](#): > > As Otis himself said, “That girl stole that song from me!” (Of course, that “theft” put a bazillion dollars into Otis’s pocket!) Not that he got much time to enjoy it, since he died the same year Aretha had her hit with the song. (How long does it take a check for a bazillion dollars to clear, anyway?) ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anomalies-in-re-doing-of-songs/268125/28 "2004-10-08T18:46:33Z")
I love the version of “Nothing Compares 2 U” that Prince does on his Greatest Hits Set. He wrote it, but Sinead O’Connor released a version first. Prince’s is done as a duet with a fantastic singer, and it is bluesy and heartfelt and kicks the first version’s ass. I absolutely positively hate the (is it the cranberries?) version of that New Order song that starts with “Everytime I think of you…” It is bland and boring and awful! ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anomalies-in-re-doing-of-songs/268125/29 "2004-10-08T18:54:26Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Judging a version as “bad” according to how many ways it differs from the original is ENTIRELY missing the point of a cover song. That wasn’t my point. I am judging the _original_ as bad, compared to the cover. Not the other way round. All the versions of mad world I’ve heard are ‘better’ than the original. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anomalies-in-re-doing-of-songs/268125/30 "2004-10-08T20:34:11Z")
> [@Middlecase](#): > > Limp Bizkit {Have I spelt it right? Who cares?} bludgeoning The Who’s Behind Blue Eyes to death. Oh yeah, and they transposed Lalo Schifrin’s Mission Impossible theme into 4/4 time. A fatwa on them, sez I. Unless Limp Bizkit covered it more recently, there is a 4/4 version of the Mission: Impossible theme recorded by Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr., U2’s rhythm section. They released the more techno-ey version for the soundtrack of the first M:I movie during the '90s. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anomalies-in-re-doing-of-songs/268125/31 "2004-10-08T20:44:05Z")
Nina Simone did a version of George Harrison’s _Isn’t it a Pity_ that is absolutely stunning (as is the original). And I’ve gotta second (or third) the trash-talking about Limp Bizkit’s Who cover. They added nothing original to the song at all, and they took out the hard angry part. LAME!!! ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anomalies-in-re-doing-of-songs/268125/32 "2004-10-08T20:50:32Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Dead teenager songs (_Last Kiss, Teen Angel, Tell Laura I Love Her, Leader of the Pack_, etcetera, etcetera, ad infinitum, ad nauseum), are all stupid and insipid. They should never be covered by _anyone_. In fact, they should never have been recorded in the first place. > > Just my opinion, of course, but in this case, my opinion is entirely coincident with 100% established fact. Don’t forget “Run Joey Run”! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anomalies-in-re-doing-of-songs/268125/33 "2004-10-08T20:59:47Z")
> [@Roland Orzabal](#): > > Just a side note: the original Mad World was indeed by Tears For Fears. The cover version on the Donnie Darko soundtrack was done by Gary Jules, and aside from the lyrics, bears little resemblence to its source material. It has a different tempo and different rhythm, and omits a good deal of instrumental that was present in the original. I much prefer the TFF version of this song. Maybe because it’s the first version I knew, so I’m used to it and the fact that it is faster than the cover doesn’t seem at all odd to me. In fact, that whole album is great. ::sigh:: Oh, to be 13 again… I love Fountains of Wayne’s cover of Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time”. It’s the same thing as the “Mad World” cover. They did it as a much slower song. Just for the record, I hate the original. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anomalies-in-re-doing-of-songs/268125/34 "2004-10-08T21:14:08Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Unless Limp Bizkit covered it more recently, there is a 4/4 version of the Mission: Impossible theme recorded by Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr., U2’s rhythm section. They released the more techno-ey version for the soundtrack of the first M:I movie during the '90s. The other cover is more recent. And more sucky. ---
**Author:** ![Flipstrip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f6c823/32.png) [@Flipstrip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flipstrip)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anomalies-in-re-doing-of-songs/268125/35 "2004-10-09T00:00:59Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by **Ludovic:** > > Come to think of it, I did think the recording I heard the other day of “Country Roads” sounded a bit too slow… Ludovic, you should _definitely_ hear the Jason and the Scorchers version of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” on their “A Blazing Grace” CD. It’s faster and it rocks! And since you brought up “Afternoon Delight;” along with John Denver, “Country Roads” was cowritten by Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert of The Starland Vocal Band. (I just love it when a post comes full circle.) ---
**Author:** ![Winterwren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Winterwren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winterwren)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anomalies-in-re-doing-of-songs/268125/36 "2004-10-09T12:38:37Z")
There is a remake of “Take Five” that keeps popping up on lite-jazz stations, with a theoretically funky rhythm section added. In 4/4 time. Someone needs to be tarred and feathered and strung up with piano wire for that blasphemy. Just sayin’. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anomalies-in-re-doing-of-songs/268125.md?page=1)