In case you missed the Emmy Awards last night, here’s a quick recap of the highlights:
Neil Patrick Harris is AWESOME.
What’s that? People won awards? None of that matters when Neil Patrick Harris is hosting. He’s like William Shatner… he just gets funnier and funnier as time passes.
Anyhow, “Blister in the Sun” is a song that everyone here had better know. It’s one of those tunes that, no matter what genre you’re into, you should recognize immediately just by the riff. “Blister in the Sun” never made a dent on the charts, but who cares… a song’s worth is not based on where it lands on the top 100… or 1,000,000 for that matter.
Since we all know the song, it’s moot to say that you can find it on the Violent Femmes‘ self-titled debut album, right? Don’t have it yet? Well, go get it! Now, man, NOW! I’ll wait….
… ok, now that you have the record and have listened to it three times in a row because it’s just THAT good, let’s continue. These Bit O’ Covers posts usually feature some excellent cover versions, but there are times when the terror of a bad cover just can’t be ignored.
I’ll get right to the point. Those that visit here often know that I’m a huge Indigo Girls fan. They’re usually excellent with their covers… but this version of “Blister in the Sun” is awful. It’s a tough song to cover, not because it’s a difficult song to perform, but it’s those subtle nuances in the original that just can’t be duplicated. I know that, you know that, the guy standing next to you in the express lane at your local grocery store knows that, and the Indigo Girls should have known that.
For that reason, they deserve the “You’re a Dumbfuck” award, courtesy of Mr. Richard Dawson.
There’s a certain attitude that Gordon Gano of the Femmes has that is hard to duplicate… let’s face it, he doesn’t have the greatest voice, but in this case it’s to the song’s benefit. Gano’s voice has so much personality in the original recording that it makes up for his nasal delivery… the song’s FULL of character, and the girls of Indigo do NOT have it. Even Amy Ray‘s fake laughing at 1:52 during this performance can’t make the song any more enjoyable, or more fun for that matter… it almost feels like Ray knows it sucks. And sorry, but their whispering part is one of the worst moments in recorded Rock history EVER.
I’m not blaming the Indigo Girls for having fun with this at a show, but I AM blaming them for ever letting it get recorded AND released to the public.
Quality control, people… quality control.
And that’s really all that needs to be said about that.
Your Dig-It Downloads:
Download: Blister in the Sun (original)
Download: Blister in the Sun (live)
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