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NeverHundred
You say anarchy, I say government you say temporary, I say permanent You say disillusionment, I say wonder You say talented, I say neverhundred.

Eric Chandel @NeverHundred

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DJASBIC: Don't cha wish your cover was hot like me?

Posted by NeverHundred - May 14th, 2014


It's been a while since I've written a Don't Judge a Song by its Cover.
I cover a lot of rock, and usually nothing that has you thinking pop music. I'm kind into the hipster indie stuff. Despite being a rural kid, am a fan of "mad beats" and I do like electronica like music. Maybe I haven't gotten into the club stuff, and today I'm going to be talking about more of modern R&B I suppose. It's from 2005, but I'm not sure there has been much evolution in pop music over the past decade. I'm just going to be talking about Don't Cha, it has quite a history. It's production actually is what initially cuaght my interest.
It would seem that the song takes it's main hook from Seattle based rapper Sir Mix-a-lot's Swass. Where he says, "Don't cha think your boyfriend was swas like me!" What does "swass" means? Swass definition: An adjective that is used to discribe Sir Mix-a-lot. Hmmm, well how about that.

Music industry is a weird thing, this song was written by Cee-Lo Green. He's known for singing Crazy, which is a song that I have a high opinion of. Alright, he's talented. But he's not going to be performing a song that's from the perspective of a woman trying to seduce a taken man. That is where little known singer Tori Alamaze comes in, she got first dibs on this song before the Pussycat Dolls got sloppy seconds. And they would cover this song the same year that Alamaze released her single with the song on it. Also because Alamaze music didn't move off the shelves fast enough, she got dropped from the label and quickly forgotten.





Tori Alamaze version:

Wow, the sound quality quality is not so great here. That may just be due to the fact that it's youtube and youtube tends to fuck with recording quality. But it's also possible that it actually was poorly produced. But it basicly starts in with that clap/snare and Tori Alamaze begins singing, her voice is powerful enough and the song has it's slow tempo. The chords are simple, they have them ring sustian and fade. musically much more attention was given to the rhythm. It's a very percussive song, the melody is completely up to the singer. There's this triangle bit that is a little bit annoying, it's obviously pitch shifted. But it's not a huge concern and I like the concept, it just doesn't quite work. The song is so simple and stripped to the bones musically, this gives more focus on the singer. And that's not a bad thing. I like back up singers echo repeating. I guess anything to fill in the blank space. I guess a little rapping(?) bit around the end. On the one hand that helps add a slight bit of variation to the composition. But all they do is take away all musical. Then there is no melody or change in key. It's just Tori Alamaze speaking slowly. It just takes a song that is slow, it's comfortably slow but then draws in into this crawl. But Tori is a good singer, so when she's singing it does manage to carry the song well enough. 

Pussycat Dolls version:

It starts in with similar percussion, and some rapper. It's Busta Rhymes,  I don't know much about rap music. In the Youtube video I see in the side a complete recording of his Anarchy album, so I assume he was involved in that somehow. That's the extension of my research today.
Now I know what you're thinking, could the Pussycat Dolls possibly be some how related to Monarch mindcontrol, specifically the sex-kitten mindslave branch of those conspiracy theories. Yeah, probably. With a name like Pussycat DOLLS, it's just... yeah Monarch isn't exactly known for its subtly.
Moving on though, to less interesting things. Other than Busta Rhymes what does this cover bring that it's failed predecessor didn't have. It brought a bit more, more melodic emphasis. Personally I really love the horns in the chorus, "bah bah bah bah-bah bah!" I just like silly little things like that, kind of reminds me of the original Tears for Fears Mad World, it kind of sounds like a slowed down version of the electro-trumpets in eighties Mad World actually, I dig it. there's more musical punctuation in the Pussycat version of Don't Cha, which gives more distinction throughout the song.
But what about the singer, Pussycat Dolls lead singer is Nicole Scherzinger. I don't think her performance is significantly different from Alamaze. They're both competent singers. I want there to be subtle differences in the way they express themselves, but I'm not picking up on anything significant.
Busta Rhymes has two verses in this one. And I am neither impressed no distressed by his presence too much. It's better than what Tori Alamaze did with her little rap bit. Even though both put the melodic and actual musical key on puase Busta's just quicker, has more energy and that makes up for the muted music. But lyrically he's just saying things I've heard in most other pop rap songs that are about relationships.

Which do I prefer?

Is there a better song here, or one that I prefer? Eh, this isn't exactly my vain of music. I kind of understand why the cover version did better. It's slightly more interesting, there's more going on here. The instrumentation helps define the song a bit more. In a way the previous versions sounds like a rough draft. Despite his, and perhaps because of it... I actually like the first version better. The song should be vocal focal. And I don't feel like Scherzinger surpassed Alamaze vocally.


Comments

Cee-Lo was well known before for being one of the members of Awesome Atlanta based Hip Hop/Rap group Goodie MOB along with Outkast dominating the southern scene of Hip Hop music, and then he went and formed the duo known as Gnarls Barkley along with Danger Mouse.

I'm not hip on the rap music, I know a bit more about R&B but mostly just older stuff. This isn't something I typically listen to either, but I felt I needed to try something different than what I usually do.

You soft yo! you soft!

Softcell. OH! The Tainted love articles I could write! So many covers, also Softcell isn't even the original, they covered Tainted Love.

I see, don't know neither, but then which one is the original tainted love?

Ed Cobb originally wrote it. He was in a fifities band called The Four Preps, but it was first recorded with the singer Gloria Gaynor.

FREE ZURBOIG

And why in the nine hells would I do that?

The 50's? that is one old song then.

Oh yeah, I could write about fifties music. And I think I have, the last two Don't A Song By It's Cover were songs originally recorded in the sixties. Spooky by the Classic IV is an amazing song, and I did like the cover I analyzed. The original was more interesting.
Immediately before that I was talking about Warpaint's indirect cover of Mary Wells', My Guy. Although they called it Billie Holiday for some reason.

I guess I haven't done a review that has involved The Zombies, be before those two reviews I wrote a blog just saturated in post break up gloom that was inspired by one of my favorite songs, She's Not There by one of my favorite bands The Zombies.

I've written a lot about music from the sixties, but I don't think I've done a fifties song yet.

Well i guess that the 60's is a little bit more accessible because is pre-funk era and Jazz is starting to get more into the outside scene, but the 50's, that is sincerely an obscure period for me musically speaking.

I like a few of the roc and roll stuff that came out of the fifties. Buddy Holly, The Champs, The Everly Brothers. But still, it's a distant decade when it comes to music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTYe9eDqxe8

Haha, oh man i am so sorry, i laughed for the whole video the guy on the rigth has face that screams constipation XD, maybe... maybe, he was constipated and he had to still make a presentation, or maybe he was just nervous, nevertheless dat face!

All I have to do is poop. Poop, poop, poop, poo-ooo-ooop.

So your girlfriend is great scott and you need to poop? wonder if that is a song too? haha.