Obsessively blogging about pop music, pop videos, pop stars, and pop culture from inside the MTV headquarters in Times Square. We also have a slight Jonas Brothers problem. And a little fixation with Tokio Hotel.
Most bands come loaded with so many cultural references and spawn so many spin-offs, that they may as well become genres of their own. Think about it. How many Pearl Jams have there been since the '90s (I'm looking at you, Staind)? How many Led Zeppelins have there been since the '70s (ask Jack White)? Can you even count?
The B-52s are a rare exception. By all counts a major mainstream success, they carved their names indelibly into pop culture's skin with off-beat hits like "Rock Lobster" and "Love Shack."
They were also a bunch of middle-aged (bang, bang, bang), Pee Wee's Playhouse-lookin', new wave Athens art weirdos (on the door, BABY!), with a style that's damn hard to identify in any other living band.
Who are the new B-52s? Katy Perry? Never Shout Never? Lady Gaga? Nope. Not at all. What's the modern equivalent of "Love Shack?" Does it even exist? Screw on your thinking caps (hurry up!), watch the classic 1989 Club MTV performance of "Love Shack" below (and bring your!), and do your best to come up with today's popular descendants of The B-52's (jukebox money!). I dare you to find one.
Pearl Jam is one of those bands that is so distinct -- with a sound so defined -- that, while it doesn't take a huge amount of courage to cover them, it does take a huge amount of talent to do it well. In fact, being able to approximate Pearl Jam without sounding like a loser is a legitimate basis for starting a new band. Look at Staind. Stone Temple Pilots. The list goes on.
William Beckett doesn't sound like Eddie Vedder, and he doesn't try to either. He doesn't make evil faces or scary hands or pantomime pottery with his eyes closed as he sings. He just sings "Jeremy" plainly, "Clearly I remember, picking on the boy," like earnest karaoke on an overnight choir trip. And I actually mean that as a huge compliment. He sings it as himself and sings it well, just like any deep down fan would. Only William Beckett's actually got a great voice.
P.O.S. isn't trying to do any impersonations either, although he is in flannel. The Minneapolis hardcore-kid-turned-Rhymesayer howls the lyrics to "Why Go," punctuated by the occasional hypeman's "Wooo," over a programmed beat, adding keyboard flourishes when appropriate. It's more a metamorphosis than it is a cover. Aside from the melody (P.O.S. apologizes for lack of auto-tuner -- ha!), the old "Why Go" is all but unrecognizable in the new.
Something tells me Pearl Jam would be way into that. Something tells me you will be, too. Watch William Beckett covering "Jeremy" below, and P.O.S. covering "Why Go," after the jump.
Most bands come loaded with so many cultural references and spawn so many spin-offs, that they may as well become genres of their own. Think about it. How many Pearl Jams have there been since the '90s (I'm looking at you, Staind)? How many Led Zeppelins have there been since the '70s (ask Jack White)? Can you even count?