Assignment 3a: Cover Songs

Not going to lie— good ol’ B. Spears has done some pretty cah-razy stunts:

Shaved her head. 

Married friends for fun in Vegas. 

Married Kevin Federline (and expected America to take it seriously). 

Attempted to act. 

HAD CHILDREN. 

But all of Britney’s faults aside, there is something about her music that hits the right chord in me. Almost… Makes me… Well… About to get up close and personal here… Confession: I like Britney Spears' music. Don’t laugh! Or look down your hipster nose at me—we all have guilty pleasures, right? And it’s not that I’m a die-hard, Britney-or-death fan. I just dig (some of) her music. So, when “Toxic” (my…uh, kind of my fav Britney song- like I said at the start of this post. I’m not going to lie) was released, it wouldn’t have been odd to find me guiltily turning up the radio when alone in the car. The girl may be cray-cray and in need of some serious, SERIOUS help, but her music isn't all bad.

When I first stumbled upon the band Those Dancing Days (TDS), I liked the gist of what I heard. But when I stumbled upon their “Toxic” cover, I was hooked. Linnea Jönsson’s deep, slightly raspy voice perfectly hit every one of Britney’s notes. While the lyrics and melody were essentially the same, the difference in timbre is evident. Britney’s rendition is full of high pitches and poppy sound effects. TDS had a much smoother approach to the song. Because Jönsson’s timbre isn’t as tonal and full of that syrupy flavor Britney dumps at the end of every word, the song seems more personal. It almost has the illusion that Jönsson is not performing for a large crowd, but more that the song is a message from her to one person. With Britney’s approach, as with all her actions, you get the sense that she’s doing it for a show. It lacks the personal intimacy that personally I crave in my music.

Playing at a slower tempo and inducing a softer intensity, the song loses its immediate pop-tastic flavoring. I believe that there is some type of strings in the core melody of Britney’s rendition? And there is definitely a synth with superficial sounds and beats being incorporated. As great as that plays out for Britney, I find myself attracted to more acoustic, natural-type sounds. TDS’s version of the song seems more rugged and sloppy—it is evident that the sounds are all human and all flawed. Which. I. Love.

Another thing that is different about the two songs is the maintenance of structure. It’s odd that the same song could seemingly be so different in its deliverance. Yet, Britney seems to keep the song at the same level, and doesn’t build up into the climax until a sudden burst into the collision. However, TDS take a more subtle approach, and slowly builds the entire song. That way, when they approach the same part of the song that Britney hits her collision, they also deliver the collision, but it makes more sense because the listener is anticipating the moment.

I much prefer TDS’ version of the song. Nothing personal against Britney. Er… wait. Didn’t I say I wasn’t going to lie? Sheesh.

Watch both videos here to compare for yourself (and try not to be too hard on B. Spears).

Original by Britney Spears:

Cover by Those Dancing Days: