One of the magical properties of the Internet is that it gives us music fans access to so much more music than would otherwise be possible, access that is truly unprecedented in human history. This access can turn up so many wild and wonderful things, and every so often one of those things is radically re-imagined cover version of a well-known song.
Most cover version are not radical re-imaginings, but rather fairly faithful renditions that may reflect only a little of the covering artists' style, or none at all. Some cover versions are even note-perfect tributes, often performed in bars by "tribute artists", a.k.a. cover bands that look the part. But some covers are an altogether different animal.
Biffy Clyro's version of Weezer's "Buddy Holly" always comes to mind as my favourite example of this strange new beast -- a cover version of a song that bears so little resemblance to the original that it almost stands on its own as an entirely new piece of art. There is, however, a new contender for this crown: the Dead Letter Circus version of "Killing in the Name" that's been making the rounds online over the last couple of days.
"Killing in the Name " covers aren't that uncommon, but ones like this are. Aside from the familiar lyrics, you'd never know that this was a cover if you weren't told as much ahead of time. Dead Letter Circus just do that good a job of putting their own spin on things. (Incidentally, Biffy Clyro also does a pretty unique cover of "Killing in the Name", but what is this, a Biffy Clyro post?)
Some among you might argue that perhaps a song shouldn't be called a "cover" unless it bears enough of a resemblance to the original, and I can see you point. But, on the other hand, it's certainly refreshing to hear a cover that heads in some new creative directions and doesn't just sound exactly like the original. Have a listen to the Dead Letter Circus version of "Killing in the Name" and see which camp you fall in.
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