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You are here: Home / Open Threads / I could never take the place of your man

I could never take the place of your man

by DougJ|  September 26, 20113:01 pm| 48 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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John is one AWOL motherfucker these days.

Unfortunately, this is one of the busiest weeks of the year for me, so I can’t pick up much slack. Here’s an open thread. I’ll give you a topic to get things rolling: this is the best cover of a Beatles song ever, agree or disagree, even if it was in the worst Beatles-themed movie ever.

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48Comments

  1. 1.

    Brian R.

    September 26, 2011 at 3:04 pm

    Nope.

    The correct answer is:
    Stevie Wonder, “We Can Work It Out.”

  2. 2.

    Dr J

    September 26, 2011 at 3:06 pm

    Joe Cocker’s “With a Little Help From my Friends” transformed a cute little Beatles song into a huge, kick-ass song.

  3. 3.

    singfoom

    September 26, 2011 at 3:06 pm

    Mers finally getting sued

    For anyone who cares about the whole financial meltdown/fraudclosure/Wall Street as a place where people bet but the filter hates the word, this is a big deal.

    MERS is the system the FIRE sector set up to get around recording titles with counties and localities. It literally has one or two employees.

    All of the bullshit mortgages flowed through MERS. Good luck to the DA in Texas who has filed this. Not an exciting moment as justice is a boring sport to watch, with lots of upsets, but at least something is happening…

    ETA: I always get tripped by the filter when talking about Wall Street.

  4. 4.

    wobblybits

    September 26, 2011 at 3:07 pm

    When I read the title of the post, the first thing to come to mind was Prince’s song. Now I can’t get it out of my head.

  5. 5.

    singfoom

    September 26, 2011 at 3:08 pm

    Sorry if this is a repost, but the filter hates me.

    Mers finally getting sued

    For anyone who cares about the whole financial meltdown/fraudclosure/Wall Street as a place where people bet but the filter hates the word, this is a big deal.

    MERS is the system the FIRE sector set up to get around recording titles with counties and localities. It literally has one or two employees.

    All of the bullshit mortgages flowed through MERS. Good luck to the DA in Texas who has filed this. Not an exciting moment as justice is a boring sport to watch, with lots of upsets, but at least something is happening…

  6. 6.

    Bob's Your Uncle!

    September 26, 2011 at 3:18 pm

    Not bad…but this here is, I think, the best cover of a Beatles song ever:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VKQKVbyQcs

  7. 7.

    Svensker

    September 26, 2011 at 3:18 pm

    this is the best cover of a Beatles song ever,

    Not even close.

    Joe Cocker wins hands down for me.

    Also, too, DougJ Green-Ellis, you sound a little testy. 4 interceptions will do that to a guy (not that we Jets fans have anything to be proud of, either).

    ETA: What DrJ said.

  8. 8.

    earl in CA

    September 26, 2011 at 3:19 pm

    10/31/94 – Phish covered the entire Beatles ‘White Album’ start to finish in one set. You may not be Phish fans, but they sure played a hell of a set that night. “While My Guitar…” was covered a few times more by the band and if you’re a fan and got lucky enough to catch them cover that one live – you definitely remember it.

    @ Brian R – Thanks for the Stevie link. That version is terrific.

  9. 9.

    Commenting at Balloon Juice since 1937

    September 26, 2011 at 3:19 pm

    Needs moar cow bell.

  10. 10.

    Elizabelle

    September 26, 2011 at 3:20 pm

    Sly Stone is homeless in LA. He’s living in a camper in Compton. Showering in some kind souls’ home.

    http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/09/soul-music-star-sly-stone-now-homeless-in-la.html

  11. 11.

    Roger Moore

    September 26, 2011 at 3:20 pm

    @singfoom:
    About fucking time. Too bad nobody thought to sue them before they had mangled the whole mortgage system and sunk the economy. One more piece of proof that lawsuits after the fact are no substitute for prospective regulation.

  12. 12.

    Dolbia

    September 26, 2011 at 3:24 pm

    Surely Across the Universe was a worse film than Sgt Pepper. Surely.

  13. 13.

    JPL

    September 26, 2011 at 3:25 pm

    MSNBC online has a computer game to see if you can live on 9 dollars an hour. It’s depressing. link
    You can do it if you do not have to pay rent.

  14. 14.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    September 26, 2011 at 3:25 pm

    @Elizabelle: “”I just do not want to return to a fixed home. I cannot stand being in one place. I must keep moving.”

    I don’t think this makes him “homeless”.

  15. 15.

    Dave

    September 26, 2011 at 3:32 pm

    Who Is John Cole??

  16. 16.

    UncommonSense

    September 26, 2011 at 3:36 pm

    Yep, best Beatles cover, absolutely. Followed closely by Cocker’s version of With a Little Help From My Friends.

  17. 17.

    Neddie Jingo

    September 26, 2011 at 3:36 pm

    I guess I’m the only person on earth who opines that Joe Cocker’s “With a Little Help” is overblown and bombastic, and rather misses the point of the original. That’s OK. I’ll just be over here stuffing figs in my ears and reciting Sarah Palin speeches.

  18. 18.

    johnsmith1882

    September 26, 2011 at 3:37 pm

    @Brian R.: Bingo. Stevie’s cover of We Can Work It Out is the only correct answer. It’s not even close. Personally, I have to play it every so often, to recharge the happ-o-meter. Stevie is the mathematical proof that human beings have souls. Ten internets to you, good sir.

  19. 19.

    Big Baby DougJ

    September 26, 2011 at 3:39 pm

    @Neddie Jingo:

    I guess I’m the only person on earth who opines that Joe Cocker’s “With a Little Help” is overblown and bombastic, and rather misses the point of the original

    Nope, you’re not, I think so too. I love his “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window” though.

  20. 20.

    dj spellchecka

    September 26, 2011 at 3:40 pm

    801 [phil manzanera, brian eno, bill maccormick, francis monkman, simon phillips and lloyd watson] live….”tomorrow never knows”

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Usb26HywtU

  21. 21.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    September 26, 2011 at 3:40 pm

    Diana Reeves and Cassandra Wilson, Come Together.

  22. 22.

    johnsmith1882

    September 26, 2011 at 3:41 pm

    @Neddie Jingo: You are not alone, Neddie. Listening to Cocker is akin to watching a stuck pig thrash around, dying. Unpleasant all around.

  23. 23.

    vawolf1974

    September 26, 2011 at 3:43 pm

    Jimi Hendrix’s cover of “Day Tripper” is pretty awesome too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qic4pjTE0hc

  24. 24.

    Brian R.

    September 26, 2011 at 3:44 pm

    @Big Baby DougJ:

    Nope, you’re not, I think so too. I love his “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window” though.

    Yes and yes.

  25. 25.

    Wannabe Speechwriter

    September 26, 2011 at 3:47 pm

    Don’t forget Brother Ray-

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eof2c5fTcI8

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq5Oyza1afg

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8fKPVF-r-Y&feature=related

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhVy3Tx07vA&feature=related

  26. 26.

    Neddie Jingo

    September 26, 2011 at 3:49 pm

    @Big Baby DougJ:

    I love his “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window” though.

    Concur. The man can sing. He just ran into a Taste Deficiency with “Friends.”

  27. 27.

    Svensker

    September 26, 2011 at 3:55 pm

    @johnsmith1882:

    You take that back. Right this minute. Or else!

  28. 28.

    johnsmith1882

    September 26, 2011 at 3:58 pm

    @Neddie Jingo: Cmon guys, we can do better than this. Ike and Tina: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j-8aLvs5jk

    Johnny Cash: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlhcyWLORes

    Al Green:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs9mkVMv830

  29. 29.

    johnsmith1882

    September 26, 2011 at 4:06 pm

    @Svensker: I won’t, but will give Cocker credit for singing his guts out. I can appreciate his earnestness. But shouldn’t a cover in some way be ‘better’ than original, or add something new, at least to be considered for this thread? Along the lines of All Along the Watchtower becoming Hendrix’s tune, rather than Dylan’s original? Maybe my criteria is too high, but I’ll take Ringo’s goofy stoned original over Cocker’s drunken thrashing about any day.

  30. 30.

    Garm

    September 26, 2011 at 4:13 pm

    For my money best Beatles Cover ever is Fiona Apple’s version of “Across The Universe” from the Pleasantville sound track.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ5WPXxNzPU

    Souxie and the Banshees do a fine cover of “Dear Prudence.” Not the best Beatles cover by a long shot but a good one.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25weBjXioB0

  31. 31.

    Svensker

    September 26, 2011 at 4:13 pm

    @johnsmith1882:

    But shouldn’t a cover in some way be ‘better’ than original, or add something new, at least to be considered for this thread?

    It’s a completely different song when Joe sang it. I love the original version for it’s goofy sweetness, but Joe…

    My problem is pretty much everything Joe did in that period just hits me straight in the heart.

  32. 32.

    Occasional Commenter

    September 26, 2011 at 4:18 pm

    My favorites.

    Aretha Franklin: Let It Be

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaNBCFXD9kw

    Chaka Khan: We Can Work It Out

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfa7NjQx5fk

  33. 33.

    dedc79

    September 26, 2011 at 4:22 pm

    She Said, She Said

  34. 34.

    JC

    September 26, 2011 at 4:24 pm

    I love Cocker’s version of With A Little Help From My Friends.

    Bombastic? Maybe. Overblown? Fine.

    Still love it though – not something you can listen to ten times in a row, but when the mood strikes, it’s a hymn of both mourning and exaltation.

  35. 35.

    johnsmith1882

    September 26, 2011 at 4:24 pm

    @Svensker: Well, certainly no one can take that away from you. That’s what music is all about, right? To reach right in your chest and show you your heart? Point taken. Different strokes for different folks and all that, like (the apparently homeless, sadly) Sly Stone said.

  36. 36.

    Stefan

    September 26, 2011 at 4:26 pm

    John is one AWOL motherfucker these days.

    I’d just assumed that this was one of those periodic episodes where he’d severely injured himself and knocked himself out while stepping out of bed/pouring a bowl of cereal/sitting on a white fluffy cushion, etc., and that he’d come to in a few days if, that is, he wasn’t eaten alive by Tunch first.

  37. 37.

    patrick II

    September 26, 2011 at 4:42 pm

    Some great covers here. I will just add Bono’s “I am the Walrus” from Across the Universe.

  38. 38.

    C.S.

    September 26, 2011 at 5:01 pm

    Rufus Wainwright’s version of “Across the Universe,”
    Aerosmith’s “Come Together,”
    Al Green’s “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,”
    John Denver’s “Mother Nature’s Son,”
    Allison Krause’s “I Will,”
    Emmylou Harris’ “For No One,”
    and Johnny Cash’s “In My Life” . . .

    . . . . all kick Joe Cocker’s spastic ass in too many ways to count. And all are at least the equal of that EW&F cover.

  39. 39.

    Vlad

    September 26, 2011 at 5:07 pm

    Some good suggestions in this thread. I also like:

    Wilson Pickett, “Hey Jude”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IFB9Q_3t_k
    The Diodes, “Red Rubber Ball”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vobi55NNnes

  40. 40.

    Vlad

    September 26, 2011 at 5:12 pm

    [This time without links, since my comment’s trapped in moderation.]

    Some good suggestions in this thread. I also like:

    Wilson Pickett, “Hey Jude”
    The Diodes, “Red Rubber Ball”
    The Brothers Johnson, “Come Together”

  41. 41.

    Elizabelle

    September 26, 2011 at 5:51 pm

    @Raven (formerly stuckinred):

    I hearz you. Sounds like some Pennsylvanians on the later thread would take Sly’s deal.

    Weird former residence of Mr. Stone: a few years ago, he was living in Ashburn, VA, which is near Dulles Airport and home to many IT folk and programmers who keep the DC area humming.

    Bunch of new homes and townhomes where fields reigned 30 years ago.

    Not where you’d expect to find Sly, and apparently not for that long.

  42. 42.

    moderateindy

    September 26, 2011 at 6:20 pm

    The Dead did versions of Dear Prudence that were simply amazing. Of course being the Dead they also did versions that were awful. The best version I ever saw was actually done by Bob Weir and his group RATDOG, at The Riviera Theater in Chicago. The energy of the tune just kept building and building, it was phenomenal, and I was stone cold sober!

  43. 43.

    piratedan

    September 26, 2011 at 6:21 pm

    gonna go off the grid and pick…. The Buckingham’s cover of I’ll be Back Again

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37CTnbCibZU

  44. 44.

    Gravenstone

    September 26, 2011 at 6:30 pm

    Going anti-fave. I absolutely detest the grossly overplayed Aerosmith cover of Come Together. Seriously, I will change the channel as soon as I hear it fire up. I can’t stand to hear it again, ever.

  45. 45.

    earl in CA

    September 26, 2011 at 7:00 pm

    @moderateindy: i was lucky enough to hear JGB tear that tune up on a few occasions. Gotta give the fat man props on that one.

  46. 46.

    C.S.

    September 26, 2011 at 7:22 pm

    @Gravenstone:

    . . . the grossly overplayed Aerosmith cover of Come Together.

    Which is played about 1/1000th as much Cocker’s abomination. In fact, I can’t even remember the last time I heard Aerosmith’s Come Together — even on classic rock radio — where I wasn’t the one making the decision to play it.

  47. 47.

    TG Chicago

    September 26, 2011 at 7:48 pm

    If you want more funk and soul covers of Beatles songs than you can shake a stick at, check this out:

    http://funky16corners.wordpress.com/category/beatles/

    It’s a great funk and soul blog overall, and he loves doing Beatles covers mixes.

  48. 48.

    Neddie Jingo

    September 27, 2011 at 6:19 am

    @Elizabelle:

    Weird former residence of Mr. Stone: a few years ago, he was living in Ashburn, VA, which is near Dulles Airport and home to many IT folk and programmers who keep the DC area humming.

    I think you might be mixing up Sly Stone and Wilson Pickett, who lived in Ashburn when he passed away.

    I noticed it at the time (shameless blogwhoring).

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