Kinda like Hendrix's cover of Dylan's All along the watchtower...
Bob is very clear that he likes Jimi's version better, and considers his own subsequent performances of the song to be a cover of Jimi's song. Of course he's done a dozen or more variations of that theme along the way, but it's very, very clear that he's not "covering" his own version of the song anymore. He's applying his variations to JIMI's theme! I love it!
Trent Reznor had something similar to say about his song "Hurt". At first he was upset that anyone took on his most personal song, until he saw Mark Romanek's amazing video...at which point he not only acknowledged that it's Johnny's song now, but came to embrace his own live performances of it as a tribute to Johnny in particular, as well as an acknowledgment that his most personal, private feelings are more generally applicable than he'd really considered....ironic to me, since I'd say that his super-power is in fact articulating his most personal experiences in relatable ways.
The point being that most artists are also fans, and this dynamic moves in multiple directions all the time. It's not one way, and it's not always fixed in time or space.
Just wondering, as Taylor Swift continues to crank out new copies of her own albums, is she turning herself into a “cover artist”?
Not quite, in that she owns the rights to the
songs -- they're hers, always have been -- but the previous owner of her
recordings was a complete nozzle. When he put the recordings up for sale, he not only refused to offer them to her at any price, he stipulated that any buyers could not include her as part of their consortium, and if they attempted to sell to her later, the rights would automatically revert to HIM.
I can't believe this is legal, but that's what he did. One of those vulture capital consortiums bought anyway, even after she pointed out to them, both privately and publicly, that she was trying to bring the value of their purchase to zero, nothing personal, but besides, why would they participate in this travesty? And she's right, imo.
This is a big deal, because when it comes to licensing -- use in movies, commercials, whatever -- what you license isn't the
song, but the
recording. So Taylor is making new
recordings of the songs that she has always owned, released on albums clearly labeled Taylor's Version(s) with tons of extras, selling them on a new label that's completely supporting this effort and willing to take whatever slice she's willing to throw them LOL and so far it's working out great for everyone. She's showing how many MORE people, including labels, benefit when ARTISTS control their own art.
I like her music fine, but as far as ferocious protection of their own rights and actively building community among fans and fellow artists, there's nobody I respect more...and that's before we get to the actual shows, which are works of art and community unto themselves. It also delights me no end that she's releasing a concert movie HERSELF next month, no studio involved (which is making them all apoplectic), and based on pre-sales, it's on track to open at over $100 million domestic. Go get 'em, TS!
btw, aside from playing ukulele herself in her solo acoustic sets (a TAYLOR of course, from that limited edition koa guitar/ukulele set Taylor released in 2012 or so iirc)....
...a lot of her songs sound
terrific on uke, and I've worked a couple into my repertoire.
Abby Lyons, a uketuber, teacher, and festival performer/workshop leader who many of us have expressed fondness for here has created dynamite uke arrangements of pretty much all of Taylor's recent discography (among many of the other things Abby does), and I can also recommend those as well. Abby's tutorials are HOW those songs wound up in my repertoire.
