HAND ME DOWN tuesdaY

• Tweet

Here at the Chicken we love two for Tuesday’s just about as much as we love a rollicking and worthy cover song. So, hell, we decided that mashing-up these two ideas was long overdue. I hereby present to you “HAND ME DOWN tuesdaY” in which we will post one song recorded by two artists. Most of the time we will start with a song recorded by the original performer and follow it up by cover version that shakes, rattles, or rolls just as hard. But as most of you know, someone can dominate a cover to the point that it becomes assumed their own (think “All Along the Watchtower”) in which case we will change it up a bit. Oh, feel free to weigh in on which version that you think better too. Comments are always welcome!

For the inaugural HMDt, I present to you a long time favorite of mine that I’m sure has made me feel a lot cooler than I am more than a few times, “I’m Waiting for the Man.” Originally recorded by The Velvet Underground for their debut album, Lou Reed tells the story of a fella looking to score heroin with five Lincolns and a Washington burning a hole in his paw. The bar room piano through out is mad jittery and frantic, the drums add a nervous twitch, and melded together they act out a drug induced accelerated heart rate. The guitar snakes around the pounced on and punishing keys while the bass groove glues it all together. And then there’s Lou sounding pointed, spaced, and autobiographically confident in his subject matter. VU and this song in particular are clearly bricks in the foundation of a lot of bands that make reasonably decent noise these days.

MP3: The Velvet Underground-I’m Waiting for the Man

And then comes the heavy hitter as Bowie lays down one of the nastiest and dirtiest covers that I have ever heard. As much as I love The Velvets, Bowie murders me here. The song is absolutely filthy. The bass is bigger, the guitar slithers the same but is fuzzier and brings the fucking ruckus. And the coup d’etat, Bowie’s vocals lead me to believe that he is not only looking for heroin but that he actually main lined it before, during, and after the recording. Unbelievable. One of Ziggy’s finest moments that can be found on the Bowie at the Beeb set. (Highly recommended)

MP3: David Bowie-Waiting for the Man