This March, we pit 64 Beatles covers against each other in what we call Moptop Madness.
Yesterday’s winners: Jonathan Coulton, “I Will” and Sonic Youth, “Within You Without You”
Two battles today between the restrained and the extreme. First, Sufjan Stevens’ delicate “What Goes On” challenges Spooky Tooth’s wild “I Am the Walrus.” Then, Junior Parker’s chilled “Tax Man” spoken word faces Peter Sellers’ comedic “She Loves You” spoken word.
Listen to each pairing below, then vote for your favorite. For added sway, try to convince others to vote your way in the comments. Voting closes in 24 hours.
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Sufjan Stevens – What Goes On
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VS
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Spooky Tooth – I Am the Walrus
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[poll id=”31″]
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Junior Parker – Tax Man
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VS
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Peter Sellers – She Loves You
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[poll id=”32″]
Click here for the current Moptop Madness bracket. Check back tomorrow morning for the next match-up. Follow @covermesongs on Twitter to make sure you don’t miss any.
The first pairing seemed pretty difficult to me at first since I quite genuinely didn’t enjoy either version. On a second listen, though, Sufjan’s way-too-preciously-twee approach on “What Goes On” ticked me off a lot more than the bad vocals on Spooky Tooth’s “I Am the Walrus”.
Junior Parker’s version on “Taxman”, while shockingly different still works, and arguably this style is more appropriate for the lyrics and gives a scuzzy 1980s ‘Me Generation’ vibe to the attitude. Basically, it’s a corrupt government employee trying to seduce you over to his side. Pretty fantastic when you think of it that way. Now, I still love Peter Sellers as an actor, but his version of “She Loves You”… well, I loathe it.