Posts
Hey
guys! My name is Macie Biber, and here at No Cover Charge, you can expect the
unexpected. This blog will host your favorite songs, being redone by your
favorite artists. This isn't your typical music review blog, this is a blog
revolving around the world of covers and even the comparison of them to their
originals. Who sung “No Diggity” by Blackstreet the best? Did you even know
that “No Diggity” was originally sung by Blackstreet, and not by Anna Kendrick
of Pitch Perfect? This is the kind of stuff I'll be getting down and dirty
with, exposing the world of covers one album or song at a time.
This
blog is not only looking to expose quality to comparison, but shed light on the
importance of fresh takes on popular songs within a variety of genres. Acoustic
and indie artists covering hip hop and underground rap; and vice versa. Some
posts may even highlight multiple covers across the vast spectrum of the music
world. Whether the cover was played in concert (like Miley Cyrus’s famously
covered “Jolene”) or recorded professionally and posted up on Spotify, the new
and possibly even improved version will be talked about, and talked about in
depth.
Now
one may ask, what defines a cover? To answer generically, insert Wikipedia
definition here;
“In
popular music, a cover song... is a new performance or recording of a
previously recorded, commercially released song by someone other than the
original artist or composer.”
I
totally agree, but in my blog, we're going to discuss certain standards of
covers. The way I see it, covering a song is playing a song with prior
ownership in a new and inventive way. Same words, but different speed, rhythm,
and a possible different meaning. Same lyrics, different take. However,
something really special is found in a song that’s redone and made anew. A
reinterpretation rather than a reproduction; that’s what I like to see in a
cover and that’s the quality I'm looking for when reviewing songs for my
audience.
Some covers you may hear on this blog are literally godsend glory, and some
will be straight up badly done. Nevertheless, the cover's quality of creativity
will be deserving of mention. It’s not whether or not your personal taste
prefers specific genres over the other, but it's if the new artist did the
older piece justice. If one slaughters a classic Elton John “Rocketman”, not
only is it a crime against humanity, but a sin to whatever god one believes in.
You can’t just take beautiful works of art and mold them into something
completely shameful without being called out. On the flip side, you can’t just
take a new spin on Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” and have it work magically paired
with an acoustic guitar without recognition for the reimagined art you’ve
created. It's all about how the music makes you feel, how the music makes your
heart sing along and your body shake.
One
may ask why I have the right to discriminate between good or bad covers, and
that's justifiable. I’ve been playing violin since the 6th grade,
and basically all I play is music that somebody else wrote. Reimagined or not,
the sheet music wasn’t mine. Everywhere from Chopin to The Beatles was touched,
but I didn't write a single note of it. I didn’t make the music my own; I just
copied exactly what those famous composers created with a different artistic
medium. This background is what got me interested in the idea that I never
really made anything my own, and what it takes to make something new and interesting.
It's hard and creatively concentrated, which is why I repeat, covers on this
blog will have a certain quality about them that is recognizable.
I'll be straight up; I don't know what
you're going to hear. Covers are found anywhere and everywhere; and similarly
the original genre itself constantly be changing and different. That’s the
beauty in covers, the wildly entertaining spectrum of music does not define or
constrain them. The mixing and matching is beautiful and imaginative, whilst
doing something not so imaginative at all. The process is fascinating to me; I
hope that my passion shows and that you become fascinated with my viewpoint
too.
To recap, WELCOME! Please take your time and enjoy my endless spiels on the magic
world of covers. You should expect an eclectic sense of musicality and never
expect to be bored. You should expect nothing less than a reimagined rather
than reproduced piece of work. That’s what I think defines a well done cover
deserving recognition, and that’s what No Cover Charge is all about. I’d
like to end this first post with an encompassing quote by Kanye West:
"Creative
output, you know, is just pain. I'm going to be cliche for a minute and say
that great art comes from pain."
