Tonight, we’re looking at original music and another artist’s take on the song. Tell us your favorites. 😀
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U2 – Love Is Blindness
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Jack White – Love Is Blindness. I prefer Jack White’s version because the rage, pain, and passion in his voice is raw and real. It feels like Bono is gently reminiscing about a past relationship while Jack White is caught up in a turbulent maelstrom and you experience the wonder yet pain of love.
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Amy Winehouse – Back To Black
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Andre 3000 feat. Beyonce – Back To Black. This one is a tie for me. They’re both so good. The original filled with despair by the great Amy Winehouse and the funky take that has more spunk in it; besides it’s the freaking amazing Andre3000 from Outkast taking on an Amy Winehouse song. That just blows my mind.
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Rolling Stones – Sympathy For The Devil
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The Neptunes – Sympathy For The Devil. The original is nice but tame. I prefer The Neptunes take because the beats and arrangements make you understand why the allure of the devil and sin is soooo good and yet sooooo bad.
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The Band – The Weight
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Aretha Franklin – The Weight. The original is nice but kind of ho-hum. I prefer Aretha Franklin’s version because she turned the song on its head and gave it that beautiful soul vibe. That woman has a voice!
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The Obama Diary 
1st!
UT, anyone other than The Stones doing “Sympathy for The Devil” is sacrilegious.
Agreed:)
So not true. The Neptunes did it better than the Rolling Stones. The Stones didn’t convey the grittiness and allure of the song. Their take is tame.
I’m sorry, for a moment there I thought you said that one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time was somehow upstaged by Pharrell and Chad.
Truth is truth. I like the Stones but their take on Sympathy For The Devil was too tame for what the song actually meant. If you’re going to sing about the allure of the devil, then have beats and sound that draw people in; instead of making them yawn.
Well then by your logic any one of a hundred Heavy Metal bands would sound better than the Stones.
There are awesome heavy metal bands the Stones sampled from. Truth is truth. If there is no passion in a song that is trying to convey the allure of the devil and evil, then it failed. It’s a nice song, but it’s tame.
Listen pilgrim, I was there in the lab when break-dancing was invented. I had the first boot-leg copy of Luther Ingram’s “If loving you is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.” I was a twelve year old parking attendant working Teddy Pendergrass concerts with my older brother, I know music. Now “The Neptunes” they ain’t nothing to sneeze at, but they don’t belong in the same sentence with “The Stones.”
That just means you’re old. The Stones sampled from a lot of bands and acts. If you’re going to sing about the devil, then make it worth something. Not some tame song. The Neptunes captured the seductive allure of why people fall for evil. The Stones didn’t. The Neptunes have critical acclaim just like the Stones but the Stones version of the song is blah. There’s no weight behind it.
guessing i might be between you two in age, and not even that big of a stones fan, but i’m kind of in shock about what you’ve been writing here. ‘sympathy’ was a seminal song that helped change the entire direction of rock and roll. that’s not hyperbole. my god, there was someone actually killed within 20 feet or so of the stones shortly after they played it at a concert in altamont in 1968, and you’re suggesting the song is “tame?” (warning: graphic):
i have several n.e.r.d. albums which i like and i like pharrell as a person, but a remix is a remix. there’s skill in remixing but really, i don’t see how it can be compared to the artistic skill it takes to craft a song, musically and lyrically, from scratch which the stones did with ‘sympathy,’ let a lone a song that becomes an important part of history. i was confused for a second since at first i thought i accidentally clicked on the stones version. guess i should just sign off for the night and we’ll take up defending the obama family tomorrow from attacks from republicans and “the news.” FORWARD!
I don’t care what happened at some long ago concert. The Stones sucked the life out of Sympathy. The Neptunes gave it passion and life. Truth is truth.
N.E.R.D. is different from The Neptunes. They’re two different groups. Get it right.
uh, yea, sure…not really.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N.E.R.D
“N.E.R.D. (the acronym of No one Ever Really Dies, stylized as N*E*R*D) is an American rock, funk, and hip hop band. Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo were signed by Teddy Riley to Virgin Records as a duo, The Neptunes. After producing songs for several artists throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, the production duo formed the band with Shay Haley as a side project of The Neptunes in 2001”
by the way, pharrell and i are the exact same age to the month, so you might want to consider chilling out on all your dismissive “old” talk.
N.E.R.D. is different from The Neptunes. N.E.R.D. has three guys in the band. It’s an off shoot of The Neptunes. They don’t produce the same type of songs as the two guys – Pharrell and Chad – from The Neptunes. You might be the same age as Pharrell but you’re wrong on The Netpunes and N.E.R.D. and using Wikipedia? Really? Wikipedia? Which anyone can doctor?
N.E.R.D. is not The Neptunes. Anyone who truly knows the music and style of The Neptunes, knows that. It’s common knowledge.
Now, now. I think it’s a generational thing…I thought this video was good…I’m just partial to the Stones
I am 63 years old, not a big Stones fan until about 20 years ago when my son at about 19 re-introduced me to them (as he would subsequently do Springsteen). The Stones are the Stones! Nothing else to say!
They sucked the life out of Sympathy For The Devil. The Neptunes did better justice to the song.
the stones CREATED ‘sympathy!”
They sucked the life out of it. There was no passion behind the song. No reason why anyone would be drawn to doing bad. The song was tame. The Neptunes did a better job.
so the stones simultaneously gave it life, then sucked the life out of it, in your opinion. then 45 years later a couple of guys sitting in a room with a fancy computer, copy almost exactly what mick and the boys created from scratch and alter it slightly adding possibly no new musical instrumentation nor vocals, and put “life” into it for the first time. oooohhhkay. it’s getting a little weird for me, so over and out, for sure this time.
Your opinion is that they simultaneously gave it life. My opinion is that they may have created the original but there was no passion to it. Truth is truth. No matter how much you want to deny it, the Stones version is nothing to write home about. It’s tame. If you’re singing about the allure of the devil, the beats, tone, and musical arrangements have to have passion. The Stones version does not. The Neptunes gave it life. The Netpunes helped you understand why the allure of evil is so strong. The Stones gave the Neptunes permission and loved what they did with the updated version of the song. You might not like it, but the Stones version is slow and sucks. That’s reality.
Dammit UT, I had a John Cleese night owl chat ready to go! I’m going to have Jose glare at you! (Wait, you would probably like that.)
God, is it August yet? 3 months without Chelsea matches is becoming intolerable.
How’s that gimlet? Did the missus make it to IN alright?
As I tweeted, a quote from my missus: “I love my dad, but I might die of boredom before I make it back to L.A.”
Like she’s in another world….I totally get that:) Not much THERE there in IN !
Or as my husband says: We make allowances for family:)
Gimlet? Is that something like “yac” for the brothers?
Or “gin and juice”. 2 parts gin to 1 part Rose’s lime juice.
True, true.
Haha you got caught slipping……… UT Bogarted your ace!!! Karma for questioning my use of IE….
Actually, I got caught nipping. I knew I shouldn’t have had that second gimlet.
In honor of your affinity for gimlets….. a fun video.
Probably not LL; but since you like gin, as I do, have you had a “Red Snapper?” A Bloody Mary, but with gin? So much tastier. I make mine with Spicy V-8; that way you get vitamins etc. in your drink! I garnish with a celery stalk, cucumber, and sometimes a radish. Of course, I use some fresh lime or lemon squeezed over the ice and gin too. It is like a vegetable garden drink with gin!
Fixed that for ya, LL:
“3 months without Chelsea matches is a relief.”
yeah yeah yeah, just wait til Moyes has to start managing Wayne in a real match.
On that topic…… Wayne left his chat with United early today. 😥 I sense my beloved will be departing soon.
If Jose nabs him, would you change from red to blue?
Feels surreal to watch a crowd of millions cheering a military coup…
Just to make you chuckle after another stupid day of the lame stream media:
One man’s coup is another man’s parade.
Ah, yes, the profound comments come out during the night owl chats. Glad I remembered to check in.
A little live “Love is Blindness”
I prefer All Along the Watchtower as performed by Hendrix more than the original by Bob Dylan. Dylan loved it too and said that he does the song as a tribute to Hendrix. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLV4_xaYynY
Love is Blindness is not one of my favorite U2 songs and I’m not crazy about the Jack White version either.
Winehouse’s vocals are perfection and I’m not crazy about the arrangement from Gatsby of that song. I thought Winehouse’s version had a lot more attitude.
Stones over Neptunes. That whole Stones album is awesome and worth listening to on a really good sound system!
Wow do I love Aretha and her version of that song is killer–guitar is great too.
Hendrix doing “Watchtower” is on par with War doing “Gypsy Man.”
You’re wrong. The Stones didn’t do justice to Sympathy For The Devil. The Neptunes conveyed the true allure of what evil really is. The Jack White version of Love Is Blindess is kick ass because it conveys the raw consuming passion and rage that is love.
Amy Winehouse and the new version are a tie for me. They both have attitude but in different musical arrangements.
Thanks to UT, I’m on a U2 kick tonight:
Mose Allison (?) DONE RIGHT!!
Oh cripes, Love is Blindness always floored me, left me a shivering wreck. Gorgeous, haunting song.
i think Bono and Jack White were aiming for two different effects. As Jack White did his cover for Gatsby, it fit that he did it as a paean to all-consuming love, which is the central theme of the novel. Bono was aiming for, as you said, a more haunting effect, the ghost of love lingering, always haunting you, never leaving you. Just when you think you’ve moved on, there it is, taunting you, reminding you that you can never leave your past completely.
It’s nice no doubt, but I prefer the rawness of the Jack White version. The pain and rage in his voice as he struggles with all consuming love is just so wonderful.
I’m just an old fogie, I like Jack’s defiant, **** you version, but the melancholy of the original is hard to top.
I can see that. Bobo just felt a little too whiny and pining for me (love can be that way, true) while Jack was just as you said. His pain is raw but there is that sweeeet hint of f**k you defiance that just appeals to me on so many levels. 😀
Can never get enough of **** you defiance!! It’s just bringing it all back, remember being in a stadium in Dublin years back with 80,000 people singing along to Love is Blindness, chills. The live version was always more ‘aggressive’ than the recorded version. Reminded me of the old saying about Ireland, ‘their wars are merry, and their songs are sad’.
Wow. That must have been an experience. I now see where you’re coming from. Live versions can be powerful. I guess that’s why I relate to the Jack White version more because it feels live and the pain feels very present.
Am I the only one that didn’t know this?
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2013/07/kerry-washington-marries-nfl-star-nnamdi-asomugha/
WOW! I did not know that, congrats to the both of them.
Two beautiful people…I wish them all the best!
Epic Pic!! Ali descending on Chicago via https://twitter.com/BeschlossDC
Gotta be up there w/ the Rumble in the Jungle…. Ali standing over Forman in Kinshasa, Zaire
That’s not Forman, and it’s not in Zaire. It’s Sonny Liston, Miami Beach, 1965.
Ya I mixed them up…….. Forman was Zaire (Don King and Zaire’s President in cahoots) the epic pic was Liston…..on a side note there is a new Sugar Ray Leonard/Roberto Duran movie based on ” No mass” coming out… Usher is playing Sugar Ray Leonard….
Yep! I’ll never forget that fight!
my god. that’s not even remotely close to “rumble in the jungle.” that’s the photo senator barack obama had over his desk for years. it’s sonny liston on the deck, and there’s such an incredible story behind it that our president found it worthy of being his inspiration each and every day as he worked up to becoming the president. i’m noticing this since you and a certain other young person here act so dismissively and condescendingly toward us “old fogies” (yea, 40 is ancient, just like pharrell williams!), yet don’t seem to know basic historical context. what’s strange is that we’re debating things that existed many years before I, as an “old person,” was even born.
what a disheartening thread. at least my kids, who are even much younger than our pretentious friends here, exhibit no signs of this ageism, so i’m not too worried. they think president obama is the most amazing president ever, so at least “mission accomplished” i suppose for me.
Oh please, the woe is me attitude is a little bit too much. This is a music thread and you couldn’t stand the fact that people have varying opinions on music and decided to treat it like WWIII. Everyone here ribs each other about our ages. You had to make it sound as though it was the end of the world. You didn’t know the difference between N.E.R.D. and The Neptunes and have different views on Sympathy For The Devil. That’s not the end of the world. That’s life. LP made a slip on a picture and all of a sudden is cause for “ageism” and comparing him to your children and bringing Pres. Obama into the mix.
You came to the thread with a chip on your shoulder and now want to act like the whole world is against you because everyone has differing music tastes and everyone is of a different generation. No one but you has a problem with your age.
thank you for setting me straight. you are obviously a superior person. truth is truth, after all.
Wow! Amazing photos. Did you see the documentary When We Were Kings? If you haven’t seen it, it is incredible.
Have not seen that one yet, but will…… I saw this one a few yrs ago before Frazier died. Got some great Cosell footage in it as well…
Oh obvious one!
Incredible footage and narration by Doug Mills……. high quality video. Take 3 minutes….footage you have not seen from PBO in Africa.
AND he had nice things to say in his narration. Thanks,LP
Sure thing desertflower…….. the darn video embed in not compatible w/ WordPress or I would post a future thread……one of these days I gonna figure out HTML. Till then….Twitter will have to suffice.
I have to say, I do love how TODers are getting so into tonight’s Night Owl chat. We might disagree with each other’s choices, but it’s fun to have this debate about music. Yay!
I’m sorry, I can’t hear a thing your saying over the mental image of hairy Wayne Rooney which Chips unleashed upon Twitter.
BTW I am huge Neptunes fan UT… Ice cream, BBC, music and all…….. the old fogies are just hatin on skateboard P!
YES! YES! YES! So much win in this comment. A bunch of old people who don’t know music. The Neptunes killed with Sympathy For The Devil. The Stones are good but they are L-A-M-E in Sympathy For The Devil.
STARRRRR TREKKKKK!!!
Happy Independance Day!
Off to early bedtime…R/S at 4:30 am so I can get some yard work done before the heat overtakes me….night all
Do yardwork with a gin & tonic. Makes it more enjoyable.
A little something to think about. I hope it comes thru. Makes me shudder!
http://www.aclu.org/pizza/images/screen.swf
crazy scary stuff
It ain’t that far away.
Pretty ridiculous. Fact is, a lot of our information is already available to private companies, completely unregulated and available for them to sell. Every time I see the message that tells me if I log in somewhere with my Facebook or Twitter account, they’ll get access to all my contacts and will be able to send out messages from my account, I wonder what all the hoopla is about – as though this lack of privacy is the first people are hearing about it. We should have been outraged years ago – and not because of the government, but because of private industries that are benefitting from every aspect of our lives.
You got it 67.
Unfortunately most of this is all true, yet the emoprogs are all up in arms about the less personally intrusive NSA’s data mining.
Yeah and we’re really there already.
I love it!
Happy Fourth of July from the Midwest!
Greetings & Salutations!
Boy am I coming in late to the party! 😀
Wow, looks like nobody’s home! Oh well, guess I’ll just enjoy the music by myself for a few.
I’m still here, Dudette – for a little while longer, at least.
Hiya Theo! Good to see ya! U doing alright? 🙂
Yup – just trying to keep up with all the excellent posts. Not having a great deal of luck, though… How about you?
I hear ya. I’ve got tons of catching up to do myself. Will have to pace myself though. I’m exhausted. Wish I didn’t have to work this weekend, but in my case there’s no rest for the weary. I do get to rest a bit “today” though. Don’t even mind that thunderstorms are expected to drench us throughout the weekend. Hey we need the water. I’m gonna be laying like lettuce most of the day. Then it’s back to the slog on Friday.
Rest up while and where you can! I’m heading out for a bit of a road trip in the morning, so will fall even further behind on TOD… Oh well – that’s what Sunday will be for! Enjoy your Independence Day – try not to get too drenched. 🙂
New post to take us to Rise and Shine: http://theobamadiary.com/2013/07/04/night-owl-chat-john-cleese/