Baby, Can I Hold You Tonight?

You know, Greg's entry about Jack Johnson and the abysmal state of "Hawaiian" music - and not to mention a particularly scathing and foul-mouthed Honolulu Weekly story on Hawaii radio - got me thinking: Can we get a list of the Lamest Cover Versions of Popular Songs by Hawaii Bands?

My personal list of beefs on this topic, I'm afraid, is going to be a long one...

I've already singled out two offenders - "More Than Words" by Justin and Bitty McLean (come on, man - that song was already the height of corn mush when it first came out!) and Na Leo for "Just My Imagination (Runnin' Away With Me)" - and I'm still waiting on whoever it is that even bothered turning a certain Tracy Chapman song about a complicated relationship into a lame pickup line. ("Years go by, and still/ Words don't come easily..."). I mean, come on, some of these musicians can come up with halfway decent originals, but to make $$$ on covers is just somewhat insulting.

I mean, take Van Morrison's "Brown-Eyed Girl" - PLEASE. Is it just me, or was it the mark of every single new semester in UH whenever ANOTHER local band would do ANOTHER brand-new cover of "Brown-Eyed Girl"? I swear to God, there was a time when a new cover version would come out every four to six months. Then Star started playing the Everclear version, and that one just blew away all of the 10 billion other versions playing on all the other stations, at least in my opinion.

And then there are the bands who dare to mess with the classics: I remember this one time when I picked up a Pure Heart album and heard their version of "Let's Get It On." Oh, man. Let's face it, I like Marvin Gaye, but there's no way anyone (besides Jack Black) can mess with that song without getting egg on their face. And, unfortunately, they did - though they made up for it somewhat with some nifty instrumentals.

(Side note: They also covered "Turn Your Lights Down Low" on the same CD, I think, and... sorry, guys, but you're no Lauryn Hill.)

And the list goes on and on, unfortunately. Personally, I'm waiting for the day when somebody has the balls to cover something non-mushy...

Comments

You forgot Keali`i Reichel's Richard Marx covers. That was just waaay too much velveeta for me :)

Was it Willie K. who did that awful reggae version of John Lennon's "Imagine" some years back? I just remember my obnoxious neighbors blasting that damn album day in and day out, and when that song came on, I'd put on my headphones and play Kronos Quartet's "Black Angels" as loud as I could.

From what I can tell, local artists cover the music they grew up listening to, and if a steady diet of mainstream is all you're fed, then the quality of choice in covers reflects that.

Of course, I'm not sure I'm all that eagar to see the day Na Leo covers Midnight Oil's "Beds Are Burning".

I'm not a listener of anything but HPR, so I have virtually no qualifications to talk about this, but from what you folks are saying, the only conclusion one can draw is that there is no original song-writing being done locally. Can this be true?

Not at all, Linkmeister. There are still talented artists and musicians in the local community with unique styles. One person that immediately pops to mind is Jake Shimabukuro, who is, to me, a one-man electrified ukulele machine. :)

I do agree with Stella that there are WAY too many covers on local albums today, which is one reason I don't listen to the local "Hawai'ian" stations. Switch to KCCN and you're more likely to hear some fluff from the '70s than anything else. I think it reflects badly on the local music community, as a whole.

Vivi and Linkmeister: I definitely agree with you. Like I've said in an earlier post, there are a lot of other very talented musicians who come up with really great original material - Jake Shimabukuro easily pops up to mind (he was, IMHO, the best thing about Pure Heart, and I couldn't be any happier for his solo career on ukulele). Then there's Keahiwai: I still think it's amazing that they could come up with an entire album about bad relationships and still get played on island radio - it's definitely a switch from the "two-person party tonight" ballads on the radio right now. And,in some ways, Sudden Rush and Fiji.

Lisa: Aiyah! "Now and Forever!" How could I have forgotten about THAT??? That said, I just wish Keali`i would stick to his originals - it's no wonder that he has turned very cynical about the musical business (remember the infamous dis he gave to Rosie O'Donnell?)

Greg: I know Ryan is going to kill me for this because he likes Hapa, but I nearly wanted to kill them for covering "Pride (In The Name Of Love)" - until I realized that it's one of the gutsier modern songs that have ever made it on the radio. Well, at least it was better than that excruciatingly vanilla cover of "Master Blaster (Jammin')" getting played ad nauseam lately...

Steve, NPR (locally, KHPR and the BBC and CBC broadcasts on KIPO) is all I listen to, too. Well, and cheesy '80s stuff (for my wife). My dial wanders to 105.1 very rarely, and even then only for a song or two.

Fan as I am of overstatement, I have to say Jake Shimabukuro is probably the best thing these islands have going for them, musically. He's incredible. I was praying for a solo album from him, and was tickled when I finally caught him performing downtown at Bishop Square to promote such an effort.

As for "Hapa" - eh. Their debut album was great, and of course associated closely with our young love, but they went downhill fast. I didn't like anything, really, after that - not even "Manoa in the Rain." I have to admit my opinion of them was affected by frequent rumors about their... poor personal attitude.

"Brown Eyed Girl" - it certainly seems a requirement of every new local artist to do that one. Some renditions don't annoy me, though. It lends itself well to the island sound.

No one, though, should ever cover "Imagine."

Unrelated question, though: Does anyone know who did the "Aloha Airlines" jingle? It's cheesy, but my daughter loves it.

I like Jake, too. I had forgotten him, maybe because the few times I've seen him it's been strictly instrumental (and he is really good on that uke).

Ryan, drat it, you've got me thinking about ad jingles now. There's one I really like, but I can't think what product/svc it promotes right now (which means it fails as an ad, right?)...when I do, I'll ask. Might be Kuakini Health Systems.

A Hawaiian group covering U2. Scary.

I think what Hawaiian radio stations need is Petty Booka, a ukelele duo from Japan signed to a punk rock label. Here's a pair who have enough guts to cover Gomez and do a rendition of Blondie's "The Tide Is High", Okinawa style. (Haiiii-ya! Ha! Ha!)

I think they performed in Hawaii a few weeks back, just days after a rather hit appearance at SXSW.

That "Spread A Little Aloha" song - I sort of have an idea who sings it. The name of the band eludes me - my boss has the CD in her car - but I've read somewhere that the original song has already been around since the '70s or '80s, and Sean Na`auao was one of the members of that band. And, surprise surprise, before it was revived for Aloha Airlines, it was even covered by another group of musicians for a charity single.

Cute melody, I have to admit. "With a little aloha, I can learn to fly... A-L-O-H-A, a little aloha in our day/ Spread a little aloha around the world..."

Kuakini Health Systems - is that the one with the "We are `ohana" song? (or am I confusing it with Pearlridge?) Catchy. Another commercial jingle I couldn't get out of my head is the one for Hongwanji Mission Schools. It almost makes me want to put my future kids on the waitlist for admissions...

You know what's scarier than an island band covering U2? Island musicians covering Macy Gray. And yes, it has been done - again, I don't know who sings it, but I know it's a young girl and a young boy singing "I Try." (Lou Pearlman alert!) I remember hearing that last summer and couldn't stand listening to it all the way through.

Stella, it's definitely "we are 'ohana," whether it's Kuakini or not. Pretty choral arrangement.

Spread A Little Aloha, used by Aloha Airlines, is done by the Mana`o Company, and I can send you the mp3 if you want :)

Lisa? You rock. (With rock?) I would love to have the tune.

I don't listen to the Hawaiian stations much. Only a few covers are decent. (Marilyn Manson isn't from Hawai'i as far as I know but I have to admit that I like his version of Sweet Dreams.) It is sad that the industry doesn't seem to be as supportive of original music as it could be. Still, local covers are not as bad as some of the sampling for the rap "artists"--talk about killing a song!

Thanks, Lisa! Not only have I made my daughter's week, I've decided to share the love (er, I mean, aloha!) with the world.

At least until the lawyers get to me...

Ryan: Thanks for sharing the love! And thanks for the Mele.com link, too. :)

Ali: Ah, yes, rap - one of the few musical genres I know of that have generated more lame cover versions and heinous sampling than Island/Jawaiian music. There is, after all, a reason why Sean "P.Diddy" Combs is on the top of my list (as per Nick Hornby's High Fidelity) of musicians I want shot in the event of a musical revolution, just for being the tacky and untalented hack that he truly is. With most Island bands, however, you know that they're using real instruments, real singing, and a good background in musical tradition - as opposed to the cut-and-paste methods of most hip-hop DJs.

I know I'm veering off-topic, but I tracked down the link to the Honolulu Weekly article on Hawaiian radio that Stella mentioned in her post. Glad to see they're archiving their cover stories.

Stella, I know I'm going to hell for this, but I'm going to say it anyway. After an exhaustive side-by-side comparison, I've concluded that I like the Hawaiian cover of "Baby Can I Hold You" (Ale`a, I think?) better than Tracy Chapman's original.

Don't bother flaming me. Jen already kicked my ass on your behalf.

I love Tracy Chapman, I really do. But, speaking only for myself, obviously, in this case, I prefer the local interpretation. It feels stronger, at least to my local heart.

Point taken, Ryan. :)

Here's something to bring this thread up to date: As much as I love Sudden Rush, there are no words for me to describe how I really feel about what they've done to "Hawaiian Eyes."

Cover's are popping up like crazy these days! Let's take Robi Kahakalau's version "Kiss me" made popular by the Cardigans. I could've sworn Carson Daly just retired that video from MTV's TRL (Total Request Live) the other day! Hahaha...

"Kiss Me" was by Sixpence None The Richer - but, well, since you do mention the Cardigans, I'm waiting for Sistah Robi to cover "Lovefool."

"Mama tells me I shouldn't bother/ That I ought to wait for another man/ A man who truly deserves me/ I think you do..."

Yikes. Talk about flashbacks to my dorky freshman year.

Note to self: put up thread on "pop songs waiting to be covered by a local band" - and not a moment too soon.

I was in Oahu in december, and all they played on the radio was "Baby can I hold you tonight". It's kind of stuck on my brain, therefore: could anyone e-mail the damned song???? Thomas, Norway

sorry,but i just got in on this conversation. what is it about island music(or should i say vacation music for me) that sticks in your head? Just got back from kauai and fell in love with "spread a little aloha" when i saw a young man (11 yrs. old) dance to this song. i have it by manao co., but i'd like to go back to stella's comment from 4/3/02. who else has done this song? from the 70s, 80s? if anyone knows any other artists who have done this song, please share. thanks. sorry,thomas, can't help you with your song. hope someone else was able to.

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