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Andy Warhol’s Batman/Dracula (1964)
Since this came out before the Adam West Batman show, did the TV show steal its high “BATMAN!” bit from Andy? That seems like a pretty important bit of pop culture lore that’s been forgotten, although the film itself was lost until a few years ago so it makes sense people wouldn’t know about it. I can never get into Warhol’s film stuff, and the video quality isn’t great, but maybe someone else would like to take a shot at interpreting it? More excerpts are up on youtube, and there’s an unreleased Velvet Underground track in part 2.
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Beth Gibbons- Candy Says (Velvet Underground cover, 2003)
I’m gonna watch the blue birds fly
over my shoulder
I’m gonna watch them pass me by
Maybe when I’m olderwhat do you think I’d see
if I could walk away from me
I guess in addition to “Tori Amos covers classic rock” week, it’s also “Lou Reed” week, which is appropriate since he’s the “King Neptune” of this Saturday’s Mermaid Parade. I love Velvet Underground/Lou a lot, but many of his songs fall into that Leonard Cohen/Neil Young territory where they’re much better when sung by someone else. (I feel the purists about to descend on me with torches and pitchforks. Ah well.) Here’s a perfect example. Beth Gibbons takes Candy Says and ups the melodrama to just short of tears and excess, her completely heartbroken and defeated vocal bringing a different mood to the song that makes for a much more affecting and emotional performance than Lou’s hazy dreamlike version.
Audio post with 10 notes - Played 76 times
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]Tori Amos- New Age (Velvet Underground cover)
can you see it too for yourself
yes, it’s the beginning of the new age
oh, you little sick little fucks, yes
it’s the beginning of the new age
This is one of my favorite covers ever. For those who may know the original song and think the lyrics have been totally changed, this is a cover of New Age from the “1969 Velvet Underground Live” album, not the studio version from “Loaded”. This song starts out so gently, with just a Wurlitzer and Tori’s world-weary vocal, but once Adrian Belew’s squawking and droning guitar comes in, it gradually builds up to its dramatic and hypnotic finish, with Tori letting go and bellowing out the lyrics above in her deeper chest voice. You’d better believe it’s the beginning of a new age, the lady is not taking no for an answer. The tension and interplay between her vocal and Belew’s guitar is what makes the song so perfect, with both parts pushing the other to go further and ratchet up the intensity. The build-up feels completely natural in the song, but if you listen to the first 30 seconds and then skip to the last 30 you can really see how differently the song ended up from where it started, and it puts the song on a new level Lou Reed’s version never reached. The production work on this song is stellar as well, with the Wurlitzer having a real warmth and the vocal track front and center without burying any of the other instruments behind it. If you have good headphones, it is well worth downloading the song in 320kbps so you can pick up on all the intricacies and subtle sounds.
I would kill for Tori’s recent albums to have production this good (It could happen! She’s produced 9 out of her 11 albums including this one) and for her to work with Adrian Belew again. The Strange Little Girls album tends to be overlooked, even by fans, because it’s a covers record and thus it “doesn’t count” but all the songs are significantly reinvented so it’s not like it was a lazy cash-in and there are some real gems on there.
