Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Like a lot of Spock's Beard stuff and also Yes, a bit self indulgent. I like both bands but only certain songs. It's the Rick bass tone that keeps me coming back for more!
And The Jam? Very in-yer-face bass tone. Love it!!!

The thing is, a cover is supposed to be one of two things: A)as close to the original as humanly possible, or B)a new twist or interpretation of the already existing song, though still in the same general spirit. Whenever I think of a cover song, I almost NEVER expect the band to do A, because they will only be criticized for how poorly they played the original song; usually, they have an entirely different take on the song, to make it somewhat their own . . . also, people tend to only cover songs they really like (unless, of course, you're in a gigging band, and then you play whatever the venue wants, a lot of the time). But, I think Spock's Beard did an admirable job of option B: they took a well-known, well-made song, and made it their own, as an homage to the man who wrote it in the first place. Yes did the same thing with Simon & Garfunkel's "America", and though I prefer Simon & Garfunkel's version more, Yes certainly succeeded.

The thing is, I don't see how this cover, and a lot of other music as well, is considered self-indulgent, yet, say, the Beatles' "White Album" is not. Or "Electric Ladyland", by Hendrix. Heck, how are the Sex Pistols not considered a self-indulgent band? Self-indulgence is not limited to odd time signatures and keyboards.

In my opinion music IS self indulgent. And being a musician is the ultimate self indulgence. You have to please yourself before everyone else. If you're not enjoying it, how can anyone else?