Current Musicians Take on Legendary Songs | Article by Indie Accent

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Current Musician’s Take on Legendary Songs

Writer Valerie Dante

Cover Image from RIOT Magazine

One of the greatest things about a song is the sense of timeliness it possesses, meaning how that specific tune can carry out its relevancy over the passing years. Thus, some songs stood out from others, earning themselves the title of a ‘classic’ or a ‘legendary’ song. It is true that nothing could compare to the original classics, music legends such as Madonna, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, until Bowie has blessed the people of earth with some out of this world tune that will continue to live on forever.

Songs by those artists can be appreciated by many generations; thus the legacy continues. The Indie Accent team has composed a list of legendary songs that could (or should) be covered by current musicians in our time.

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Monita Tahalea – God Only Knows (the Beach Boys)

This old tune was written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher and later released on May 1996 as one of the tracks from their album, “Pet Sounds.” This song has such a catchy rhythm to it and is about being in love. Furthermore, the songwriters wanted to deliver the message of “being blind, but in being blind, you are able to see more.”

While the original song was upbeat, Monita Tahalea is more than able to cover this song on a more slow tempo scale. As seen on a lot of covers on YouTube, this song mash well accompanied by a ukulele, and Monita, the sweetheart-like pop singer would fit perfectly. “God Only Knows” talks more than just love, and it’s about a plea, desperation, and what better way to deliver those message than through Monita’s soothing voice?

Mondo Gascaro – Hey Jude (The Beatles)

“Hey Jude” by The Beatles is one hell of a popular song, it still is and will continue to be. This song was written by Paul McCartney which he originally drafted as a gesture of care to comfort John Lennon’s son, Julian, during his parents’ divorce. The song showcased McCartney’s vocals and piano-playing.

Even though this song came out in late August 1968, “Hey Jude” could easily be one of the most covered songs throughout the years, but Mondo Gascaro could certainly do it justice. With his tropical-pop and bossa vibes, Mondo could transform this song into something else entirely. A song with a message so intense could be altered into a bossa song that lightens the mood.

White Shoes and the Couples Company – Our Day Will Come (Ruby & the Romantics)

“Our Day Will Come” is a song recorded by American R&B group “Ruby & the Romantics” in December 1962. This easy-listening song tells a tale of hope, love, and its perseverance towards high tides in life. With a bossa nova style and a mid-tempo arrangement, this song reached number one in the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1963. The funny thing is, a lot of widely-known artists has also covered this song and made it their own such as Frankie Valli, Pat Boone, and Amy Winehouse.

As a group that is known to deliver bossa nova-styled tunes, there’s no doubt that White Shoes will do a great job in doing a rendition of this song. Even so, with Aprilia Apasari’s unique vocals and the band’s arrangement, they could take this song to a whole new level.

Florence + the Machine – Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen)

This track was released over thirty years ago in 1984 by Leonard Cohen. It evokes not only rock and roll but also gospel music with its chords progression and hymn-like tune. The song contains a few biblical references from Samson & Delilah and King David & Bethsheba.

Florence, the vocalist from Florence + the Machine would perfectly fit the theme of this song. With her majestic and nuanced vocals, Florence could undoubtedly make “Hallelujah” a melancholic, fragile, joyous, and sorrow song. As she does, she’d brought new depth to this simple yet haunting tune.

Panic! at the Disco – Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)

No doubt that this song is a masterpiece from British rock band Queen that will live forever. Freddie Mercury, the genius that he is, broke the boundaries with this daring, fun, and bizarre song. It’s a beautiful combination of a ballad and operatic segment with hard rock. Released in late October 1975, “Bohemian Rhapsody” has quite the track record ranging from one of the ‘best-selling singles of all time’ until maintaining its righteous position at the ‘the UK singles chart.’

No one could perform “Bohemian Rhapsody” quite as Freddie did, but Panic! at the Disco’s Brendon Urie sure tried his best. Urie, a powerful vocalist with an astonishing range, did his take on this classic at ‘the Death of A Bachelor Tour’ back in 2017 and boy, did he slew. He kept the song right to its nature but was not afraid to pour a little P!ATD twist into it.

The Temper Trap – Life on Mars? (David Bowie)

Through David Bowie’s genius lyrics and Rick Wakeman’s piano “Life on Mars?” was born in 1971. And when it was released as a single, this tune consistently stayed at number three in the UK Singles Chart for thirteen weeks. Just like BBC Radio described, this song has some weird lyrics in it and even said it was as surreal as Dali’s paintings. Bowie himself said that “Life on Mars?” was about a young girl’s reaction to the media, knowing that there’s far greater life somewhere but not having access to it.

Bowie’s vocals on this particular track are somewhat similar to The Temper Trap’s own Dougy Mandagi. His vocal can creep up on you and take you by surprise, not to mention the band’s unique synth-infused arrangement that would blend well with Bowie’s song. The Temper Trap is more than eligible to take on Ziggy’s song and catapult us into outer space.