I have a weird fascination with cover songs. I listen to a lot of them, more than most people, and I think I’m more open than my friends when it comes to messing with a familiar, often beloved song. That said, most of the time, they pale in comparison to the originals. That’s why cover songs are the stuff of shitty garage bands and wedding receptions. But sometimes, there comes a cover that is actually good. And sometimes, sometimes, I like them better than the original. (Gasp!)
What prompted this confession? Well, this week, I heard bluegrass version of Arcade Fire’s “Rebellion (Lies)” over at The AV Club. More often than not, I think the covers from that website’s “AV Undercover” program are pretty lame. No offense to the artists, but they don’t thrill me, whether they pick a song I don’t like to begin with or they just doesn’t do it justice. But this version, by Trampled by Turtles (who I had never heard of before), is unexpectedly awesome. It captures the essence of the original (which, by the way, is one of my all-time, never get sick of this, favorite songs) but it’s different enough that it sounds new and exciting. Check it out. I promise, you won’t be disappointed.
Other covers I love? You’ll make fun of me for this, but I really like Alien Ant Farm’s version of “Smooth Criminal.” There’s also José González’s “Heartbeats,” originally done by The Knife, and Cat Power’s “Sea of Love,” originally by Phil Phillips.
Oh, and I love these too:
Franz Ferdinand – “All My Friends” (Cover of LCD Soundsystem)
Florence + the Machine – “Postcards from Italy” (Cover of Beirut)
The Swell Season – “Young Hearts Run Free” (Cover of Candi Staton)
Finally, this one is just for fun. I hate Miley Cyrus, but this cover actually isn’t horrible. I apologize in advance for the fact that you’ll have this song in your head all day. I’m sorry.
Tokyo Police Club – “Party in the USA” (Cover of Miley Cyrus)
This week was a pretty slow one for tv in general, so there wasn’t any music that cried out to me. But I guess that’s a good thing because it gave me time to listen to the Hunger Games soundtrack, which isn’t so much the music used in the movies, but rather music inspired by the movie/book.
I’ll admit upfront that I really loved the books. They’re fast reads, incredibly exciting, and significantly better written than the Twilight novels (which I have also read – did I mention I work in a bookstore?). With that in mind, I went to see the movie last week with high hopes, and I was mostly pleased. But this post is not about the movie, or the books for that matter. Let’s get back to the music.
I’m enjoying the soundtrack very much, especially the songs from Arcade Fire and Neko Case. They have a pseudo-futuristic feel to them, but they are also Appalachian and country. It all comes together very well. And, on top of that, as I was listening to the music, I had an epiphany. Each song not only evoked District Twelve, but also the short-lived but much-beloved show, Firefly. Remember this?
Moreover, after listening to the Hunger Games soundtrack, I started to believe that the whole series, Katniss, Peeta, the Capitol, owes a whole lot to Joss Whedon’s creation. In fact, I don’t think the one could have existed without the other.
There are a lot of correlations here. The most obvious is the Capitol and the Alliance: two big bad central governments filled with wealth and frivolity controlling the outer realms, the districts or the colonies. (One could also argue that both these regimes are mutations of Oz or Oceania, but that’s a different essay entirely). In both worlds, the centralized powers control the rim areas, in turns ignoring and oppressing the people who live there. They also like to make examples out of the people who rise up against them, the Capitol with the Hunger Games, the Alliance with their bounty hunters, who hunt and torture people who threaten unity.
There are other similarities between the book and the tv show as well, especially when you delve into CatchingFire and Mockingjay. One could argue (as I’m doing here) that Katniss is an equivalent to River, especially in the later books. Both women are deadly when they want to be; they are inaccessible emotionally to most of the people around them; and both represent threats to the government and are wanted and hunted because they expose a weakness in the government’s power. Sure, Katniss isn’t crazy in the same way River is, but I’m not saying that these stories are exactly the same.
I also see that Haymitch is an offshot of Captain Malcolm Reynolds. Both are men reduced and hardened by their past experiences with the government who rise to the occasion when needed and help to save the day. Oh, and of course, District 13 could be seen as the Browncoats; it’s not much of a leap there.
I could also argue that Simon, the Alliance-bred, uptight protector of River, is not too far away from Effie, the Capitol-bred, fastidious protector of Katniss. And the games-keepers? The ones who control everything and are willing to drive children to their deaths? How about the blue-handed men who hunt down River, killing everything in their way, as a parallel? Interesting crossover, right?
Obviously there are differences between the Firefly and Hunger Games. And there should be. I’m not saying that they are the same story by any means. All I’m arguing is that one seems to have influenced the other in my mind, just they way great art inspires future artists. I love the Isaac Newton quote “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” I would argue that that is what has happened here. But I thought it was worth pointing out that Joss Whedon, even though he hasn’t had a show in a few years, is still out there, is influencing the world.
Finally, with all that theorizing out of the way, enjoy the two songs I liked most from The Hunger Games album. They are really quite good.
Mary the TV Maven 