If you were to pose the question of what makes for a good cover I would cite Whiskeytown’s late ’90s re-tooling of Black Flag’s “Nervous Breakdown.” Yes, the group’s alt.country forbears Uncle Tupelo pulled a similar landgrab before them with their cover of the Stooges “I Wanna Be Your Dog”, but Whiskeytown take it a step further in that they (for the most part) forgo the good-timin’ joke vibe and really seems to own it. Back to back, the Black Flag original and its cover are incomparable both in spirit and delivery. We can only discuss in contrast. For the sake of argument let’s say there are three kinds of covers: 1) note for note replicas, 2) total and complete deconstruction/reconstruction, and 3) the “happy middle”, where Whiskeytown’s “Nervous Breakdown” resides.
In lieu of Keith Morris’s frenetic, amphetamine sneer, Adams’ drawl-laden delivery hearkens back to the yesteryear of Nashville’s music row. While Morris spits out the lyrics like a threat; an almost challenge to fuck with him, or hell, even approach him, Adams high cotton delivery is both plaintive and loose. In their individual contexts both work exceptionally well and in completely different ways. As a good cover tends to do, even the lyrics take on an added weight in Whiskeytown’s rendering.
When Flag laid this to tape in 1978 — their first recording ever and the first SST release — like the VU, it sparked multitudes to pick up guitars and form bands. In hindsight the majority of the members of Whiskeytown would have been between five and eight years old at the time…waiting a decade and half to lay down this cover.
Download:
MP3: Whiskeytown :: Nervous Breakdown(cover)
MP3: Black Flag :: Nervous Breakdown
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Amazon: Black Flag – Nervous Breakdown EP
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A must watch for Black Flag/Rollins fans. An early ’80s Rollins-era interview gone awry.
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Nice. Back in the late ’80s/early ’90s, Thelonious Monster would have Keith Morris jump on stage to sing “Nervous Breakdown”. Always awesome. Also pertinent to this discussion, the Tupelos used to cover Black Flag’s “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme”. You can find it on some radio shows around the time of their March album.
1 | LD March 27th, 2009 at 8:13 amThat video is incredible. Especially the burp as coda. Thanks.
2 | Glenn March 27th, 2009 at 9:33 amawesome! i hadn’t heard this cover, as a huge fan of black flag and ryan adams / whiskeytown – i guess i really dropped the ball.
thanks!
3 | scott March 27th, 2009 at 12:22 pmexcellent post. i’m going to think about this video when i am listening to henry’s new show on kcrw.
4 | theMike March 27th, 2009 at 12:36 pmgreat video, had never seen that.
This is a favorite of mine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZED7zgywVY
5 | uwmryan March 27th, 2009 at 3:27 pmnice, hadn’t heard that cover. i am a rabid black flag fan (to say the least) so i love hearing everything related, good and bad. thanks!
6 | Jason Feinberg March 27th, 2009 at 5:20 pm@ Jason, have u heard the Dirty Projectors black flag album?
7 | Satisfied '75 March 27th, 2009 at 5:35 pmHaha, Henry looks so young!
8 | MediaRuckus March 31st, 2009 at 9:36 pmHenry Rollins is such a badass, I love that he is still remains so matter of fact and straightfaced even when he is making fun of someone! Thanks, what a great video!
9 | eileen April 2nd, 2009 at 4:34 pmWow, this is AWESOME– the epitome of the perfect way to cover a song. Thanks so much for sharing.
10 | Katie April 6th, 2009 at 8:43 am[...] along with their tunes. Read about (then listen to) Whiskeytown’s “Nervous Breakdown” cover here, then check out their thoughts on Spoon doing Destroyer [...]
11 | Cover News: April 4, 2009 » Cover Me May 27th, 2010 at 7:01 pm