BOC/Various Thoughts

[Ted O. Jackson]

Date sent:      Mon, 16 Oct 1995 12:42:29 -0400
Send reply to:  BOC/Hawkwind Discussion List <BOC-L at LISTSERV.SPC.EDU>
From:           Paul Mather <paul at CSGRAD.CS.VT.EDU>
Subject:        Re: BOC/Various Thoughts
To:             Multiple recipients of list BOC-L <BOC-L at LISTSERV.SPC.EDU>

Robert Kohl writes:

> Another problem I have with ANY band, even my beloved BOC, is doing covers of
> other songs.  I know, I know, "Born to be Wild" and "We Gotta Get Out of This
> Place" are BOC staples at concerts.  That's a real shame as far as I'm
> concerned.  When I see a band or buy a CD, I don't want other groups' songs
> on there.  If I wanted that, I'd buy the other CD in the first place.  I want
> originality!

Well, if the cover is done properly, it WILL be original!  (Check out
Laibach's cover of Queen's "One Vision" on _Opus Dei_, their Beatles
covers on _Let It Be_, etc. for details.)  Some covers are actually
identified more with the person covering than with the original
artist.  For example, most folks nowadays would identify "Hey Joe" as
being a Jimi Hendrix original instead of a cover of a Billy Roberts(?)
tune.  Jimi's cover of Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower" is similarly
distinctive.

Actually, I'd rather hear a band do a great cover than blatantly rip
off someone else's style.  Plagiarism has many forms...

Cheers,

Paul.

e-mail: paul at csgrad.cs.vt.edu                    A stranger in a strange land.


Right!  Better to do a cover than to just rehash your old material in
the hope that people who like the old stuff will continue to like it
re-packaged.  A cover is better than a formula tune.  Still, with all
the creativity in a band like BOC it seems crazy to do covers.

A lot of the traffic here suggests that a reason for no new BOC
material is a lack of good songs.  Yet we know that there are plenty
of good BOC songs from the past that never made it to vinyl or disc,
c.f. 'Wings of Mercury,' rejected from 'Club Ninja.'  It's safe to
assume that there are other great songs that didn't make it to an
album before, that the group only needs to polish up to have ready
for release...