Suggested Covers

 Many times there are covers of songs, that were originally popularized by a different artist. A cover is a term used to describe a song portrayed by another band than the original, indidualizes it, or tries to recreate its deep meaning. My personal favorite covers are Beatles covers.

  The first cover I love is "Happiness is a Warm Gun". Originally done by The Beatles, and taken over by The Breeders. As opposed to having happiness be a warm hug or something less empty and cold, a warm gun was set out to symbolize the way society is. Many times there are more pessimistic ways to view the world, which the song was trying to emphasize. In the original song, ideas of cannibalism, death, breaking, and falling apart were illustrated. The rhythm included tambourine, and half way through the song it sounded all cheery despite what it was truly saying. Similar to many nursery rhymes that sound happy but really have a more broad and realistic messages, this song was trying to warn you about how trust isn't something you should have with another person, unless of course you are okay with falling apart and realizing the fact that things are not what they appear as. The reason I love this cover is because the instruments tell an entirely different story and make the song and it's meaning more powerful, in addition to the sound of a gun locking in the beginning.

"Pod" the Breeders Album that consists of this cover. Some covers are done live, but this one was recorded. It was on a song off of the Beatles "White Album".

Another cover I really love is one by Eddie Vedder. I love his music so much because his voice is so clean and powerful, and the fact he covered this song is incredible to me. Eddie Vedder covered "Imagine", by John Lennon. Imagine is a very peaceful and happy song in great contrast to "Happiness is a Warm Gun", depending on how you interpret it. "Imagine", is a song for very open minded people to give them a second to have an image of a world different than the one they surround themselves with. Political humor was embedded as he said "Imagine there's no country.. it isn't hard to do", in reference to the conflicts destroying peace at that time, along with opening eyes to the values of the listener. "Imagine no possession.. I wonder if you can". Both Eddie and John remaining entirely powerful artists, delivered the meaning of the song at an equal level of importance.  The song is a source to advertise tranquility amongst us, as we question,  or imagine what the normal is, and I still am amazed how well of a cover it was. 

There are so many wonderful covers done of songs by my favorite band The Beatles, but the last one I was in awe of was "Oh!Darling" by Florence and The Machine. "Oh!Darling", was a very sweet promise to a lover not to hurt them, and how empty their life would be without them. The original version had the emphasis of dedication to this lover in terms of instruments as the drums and guitar sounds heightened, however, Florence had used her voice to deliver the strong meaning towards the end as opposed to instrumentals. The second I heard that cover I fell in love with it.

 In conclusion, these are songs by The Beatles, that had extraordinary covers portrayed by other artists I love as well, allowing the meaning and beauty not to fade over the course of time.