FOREIGN COVERS

Pop culture without context is fascinating. I loved hearing stories about bands from Sweden and Japan who grew up discovering North American music, without the bias and marketing of MTV or Rolling Stone Magazine. Judging albums on their merits, dissecting symbolism in cover art, taking in all the details from liner notes; those are my romantic ideals. Typically songs that get covered in other languages have hit so deeply with the artists covering them that they fit these said ideals too.

NANA KINOMI & LEO BEAT – SUKI SA SUKI SA SUKI SA - This is a half cover, half re-appropriation of the Zombies’ “I Love You,” but poppier and, of course, Japanese. The Zombies were known for having some amazing organ lines, but this cover builds on that aesthetic. It’s something out of a Haruki Murakami novel – a perfect showcase of sixties culture in Japan – and well worth your time to listen to today.

SEU JORGE – QUEEN BITCH - Wes Anderson commissioned Seu Jorge to record a Portuguese love letter to David Bowie for his movie The Life Aquatic. He covered eight songs for an album released along with the movie. Most of it is definitely worthwhile, but in opposition to his subdued cover of “Rebel Rebel” is his emotional and bombastic cover of “Queen Bitch.” Well, at least as bombastic as one man with an acoustic guitar can get.

PORTISHEAD – REQUIEM FOR ANNA - The ill-fated and misconceived Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited, 2006, had a lot of lowlights. It was put together so a number of high profile artists could cover Serge Gainsbourg songs in English, but ended up losing a lot of what made the original songs so compelling. Portishead’s cover of “Un Jour Comme Un Autre,” however, at least gets the moodiness and groove right, and the dearth of the lyrics doesn’t allow much to get lost in translation.

DARA PUSPITA – TO LOVE SOMEBODY - Nearly everyone has covered this Bee Gees song. It’s tough to distinguish yourself from the likes of Nina Simone, Janis Joplin and Dusty Springfield, but one way to do it is to be Indonesia’s premiere, all-girl, sixties psych-pop band. This cover may not fit the criteria set for this list because most (all?) is still in English, but it’s just simply too good to ignore. Plus, the reverb-y, accented vocals might as well be in a foreign language.

DAVID BOWIE – PORT OF AMSTERDAM - Jacques Brel songs have been covered and translated into English by a host of legendary artists, but Bowie’s cover of “Port of Amsterdam” captures Brel’s ability to tell a story and build a world. Releasing this as a B-side to his single “Sorrow,” Bowie uses urgency to make this relatively stripped down cover soar above anything else released on Pin-Ups.

BLONDIE – SUNDAY GIRL - Another song that doesn’t quite fit my aforementioned criteria, Blondie’s cover of their own song doesn’t reflect some unknown artist toiling away in isolation from North American pop culture. However, in my imagination, the French release of “Sunday Girl” inspired a number of French teens to pick up guitars and try to emulate some of the best that CBGBs had to offer.

Illustration by Shannon Elliott