Monday, June 21, 2021

Cover Me! - 21 June 2021 - Plague Journal Day 466

Micah 6:8
Psalm 96
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Cover versions of songs can be great or horrible. 

One worst case scenario is an attempt to simple recreate the exact same song. There's no more reason to do that than to remake an old movie - the only reason is lack of creativity. Making a new version based on the original, but from ones own point of view / artistic perspective / whatever is a perfectly reasonable endeavor; just using someone else's work is not. 

The cover of The Sounds of Silence by Disturbed is a great example of the right kind of cover. It brings out the same meaning as the original, but in a different way - one which apparently Paul Simon appreciates as well.
Then there's a rap/hip hop version of A Horse With No Name that I heard once - once! and it sticks in my memory for these twenty years or mor - and I can't find anywhere, and I have tried many times. It's kind of like the Cajun version of Rocky Top that I can't find either - teeth as white as mayonnaise - I still dream about that.

Anyway, I told you that to tell you this. When you're writing, singing, drawing, whatever, no matter what your inspiration might be, make the product your own, not just a copy of something that you like. Go ahead and be inspired, but don't be locked in - be yourself and let your audience know who you are by what you create.

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

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