Showing posts with label Pete Townshend. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pete Townshend. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Cover: Harvey Danger, "Save It For Later"



The late 90's made a habit of revising the hits of the 80's, in a way few decades have ever been revisited. Things changed so much between 1989 and 1999 in popular music that a band could really get a lot of mileage out of picking any radio hit from that decade and giving it an updated treatment, stripping it of the trappings of its time and unlocking a more timeless element. This goes hand in hand with a plethora of late-90's movies that took place in, or otherwise referenced, the 80's, such as 200 Cigarettes, itself a pretty underrated film.

Harvey Danger does an excellent with The (English) Beat's "Save It For Later," replacing the 80's horns with strings, and replacing Dave Wakeling's very 80's vocals with Sean Nelson's very 90's ones. The strings actually work well to contrast with the upbeat poppy nature of the song, but not dragging it down. Love this version.

And hey, here's a bonus, extra-intimate version from Pete Townshend, who takes the song into anthemic territory (as he is wont to do.)

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Serious Contenders: Pete Townshend, "Let My Love Open The Door"



Cliche romantic sentiment aside, I think it's significant that Pete "My Generation" Townshend wrote and recorded this chirpy peppy ode to a spiritual kind of love. It's sung, not from the perspective of a lover, but from a kind, loving God, and regardless of your actual religious beliefs, I think that's a nice expression. "I have the only key to your heart / I can keep you from falling apart." It's very sincere, very earnest, and I like the idea of putting material pursuits aside and getting back to that all-encompassing feeling of spiritual love.

I dig it.