Battle of the Covers: Ordinary World (Request)

"Dusty Ventures" (dustyventures)
09/19/2014 at 12:34 • Filed to: Battle of the Covers, BOTC, Musiclopnik, Sorry Gamecat

The !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! continues it's close competition until Sunday night, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't continue with the regular cover battles as well. Today we get to annoy Gamecat some more by targeting his beloved Duran Duran, once again thanks to Jcarr.

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In the battle for best cover of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! we once again had to deal with a song where it's hard to decide what's the original and what's the cover. Following the precedent set by "Black Betty" and "House of the Rising Sun" (both basically Arch Duke's fault) the version by Old Crow Medicine Show was included. And, unsurprisingly, they won handily beating Darius Rucker by seven votes. Darius did manage to win the battle for worst, edging out Mumford and Sons by a single vote. Alas, our quest to have "best" and "worst" won by the same entrant must go on.

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I touched on the history of Duran Duran a bit when doing the write-up for !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! At the start of the 90's the band had fallen out of popularity, and their album Liberty had been a miss. They had one chance to remain relevant with their new self-titled album (nicknamed "The Wedding Album") and they hit it with a fantastic 1-2 punch. "Come Undone" was the 2, but "Ordinary World" was the 1. While "Come Undone," the second single off the album, was almost an accident, "Ordinary World" was designed from the start to be a hit. The drum work was done by Steve Ferrone, who had also provided drums for artists like Clapton, Chaka Kahn, Tom Petty, and Johnny Cash. The guitar solo was performed by former Zappa guitarist Warren Cuccurullo. To up the hype the song was "leaked" by the record company to a radio station in Florida. Ultimately the hard work paid off. The leak resulted in the song being so popular that Capitol records had to push up the official US release date. The single peaked at #1 in Canada, #2 in Italy, #3 in the United States, and #6 in the U.K. Duran Duran mania was back.

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I'm sorry, Gamecat. Truly. It's about to get ugly. Just be glad I didn't subject you to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! Or !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (Oops.)

Something for Kate - (1999)

Aurora - (2002)

Nicotine - (2004)

RUST - (2004)

Paul Anka - (2007)

Red - (2009)

Joy Williams - (2010)

Cary Brothers - (2012)

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DISCUSSION (21)

CB > Dusty Ventures
09/19/2014 at 12:37

Slight suggestion: would it be possible to put links to past Battles in the Google Doc?

ACESandEIGHTS > Dusty Ventures
09/19/2014 at 12:41

Dang, dude. I'm impressed. Paul Anka? Dude is still alive? You come up with the least-cliche covers ever. I mean... who would even cover this song? (note: rhetoric)

505Turbeaux > Dusty Ventures
09/19/2014 at 12:42

Kinja'd!!!

who is this fine looking woman here?

leicester > Dusty Ventures
09/19/2014 at 12:50

I would have totally voted for Dream Foundation....

Jcarr > Dusty Ventures
09/19/2014 at 12:58

Thanks for using my suggestion (again)! Some truly bad ones here a la Smells Like Teen Spirit.

Joy Williams and the Cary Bros are pretty decent, though, and Red does a passable job of doing a rock cover without mutilating it too much.

My vote for worst goes to Nicotine. I don't think a punk cover of a Duran Duran tune is a good idea. A bad punk cover is an even worse idea.

Lastly, what did they use to record Something for Kate's vocals? A Motorola StarTAC? An old cassette player?

Goshen, formerly Darkcode > 505Turbeaux
09/19/2014 at 13:25

I believe she's Joy Williams.

Dusty Ventures > Goshen, formerly Darkcode
09/19/2014 at 13:41

You believe correctly

Dusty Ventures > Jcarr
09/19/2014 at 13:46

Something For Kate probably used the same thing Fenix*TX used to record their entire cover.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Dusty Ventures
09/19/2014 at 22:12

Kinja'd!!!

Dusty Ventures > CB
09/19/2014 at 22:24

That's a great idea, I'll make the addition

Gamecat235 > Dusty Ventures
09/20/2014 at 01:03

Head Asplodes.

What. Are. You. Doing . To. Me?

Wow. Only one listenable. Eeeeeeeek

Gamecat235 > Dusty Ventures
09/20/2014 at 01:27

this could only be more wrong if it were this: http://rankings.gawker.com/prince-madonna…

Dusty Ventures > Gamecat235
09/20/2014 at 01:37

Verily, there are no winners in this battle.

Gamecat235 > Dusty Ventures
09/20/2014 at 01:45

did you look at the other list? (Prince, MJ, Madonna).

It made me feel better after this.

Dusty Ventures > Gamecat235
09/20/2014 at 01:49

I did, but honestly it didn't mean much to me. By the time I discovered music they were mostly on their way out, and aside from a bit of MJ's work they were never exactly my taste. Most of those songs I wouldn't be able to identify.

Gamecat235 > Dusty Ventures
09/20/2014 at 01:52

I'm old enough that this is relevant to me. And they got it WRONG. Like saying that the SVT Escort is the greatest Ford of all time level wrong. And then following that with the Sport Ka, the Fusion Hybrid and then getting to the Ford GT (not the OG GT40).

Gamecat235 > Dusty Ventures
09/20/2014 at 01:53

Also, did you just say that Prince isn't your cup of tea?

I don't even know how to process this...

Dusty Ventures > Gamecat235
09/20/2014 at 02:10

90's kid, man. I didn't really get into music until around '93. I was brought up by Cobain, Grohl, Keenan, Rossdale, and Reznor, with visits from crazy uncle Hetfield and cousin Billie Joe. My first concert was Stone Temple Pilots, my second was Ozzfest 2002 (at age 15). As I exited high school and entered college I started getting to better know the extended family: Daltrey, Page, Petty, Gilmour (so much Gilmour), Bon Scott, drunk uncle Jagger, etc. But Prince was always outside my wheelhouse.

Gamecat235 > Dusty Ventures
09/20/2014 at 02:37

I experienced these folks in my teens. I saw STP on one of their first ever tours when they opened up for Megadeth in 1992/93. Semi-related, I now feel old. Semi-other-stuff related. expect an email from me soon. If you don't get an email from me in the next... uh... let's say 72 hours, because I'm drunk and lazy at the moment. Remind me to re-read this thread.

Prince was important enough for me to really appreciate the noise which was Pretty Hate Machine (excepting Head Like A Hole, which was brilliant on it's own) and everything Ministry released until Mind.

Also, my first run-in with the works of Keenan was when Undertow was freshly released and someone played Opiate for me at a nightclub. =)

I think that Prince is likely an acquired taste, and possibly Madonna as well. MJ is still MJ. Even though, well, no one can remember him without the horror that came with the rest of his life.

This has been another exciting excursion with your drunk uncle Gamecat.

Dusty Ventures > leicester
09/20/2014 at 04:06

How about that Scott Moss version though?

I tried to make it all the way through, just to see if I could. I may have taken an ice pick to my ear drums during the second verse. It may have been a relief.

leicester > Dusty Ventures
09/20/2014 at 10:13

You're a stronger man than I...