When is a cover song better than the original? Only you can decide. This week Sex Beet takes on Sonic Youth’s “Dirty Boots.” MAGNET’s Ryan Burleson pulls the pin. Take cover!
Say you adore Sonic Youth but nonetheless find yourself thinking the band spends too much time getting to the point sometimes. (Noise-rock tangents aren’t for everyone, I suppose.) If that’s the case, then this cover of “Dirty Boots” by burgeoning U.K. trio Sex Beet should sit well with you. Gone is the beautifully distorted ebb-and-flow that marks the latter half of the original, which lasted 5:29 (and a minute longer on the second disc of Goo‘s deluxe edition). Instead, Sex Beet crams all the song’s (how do I get around this?), um, meat into a blown-out, surf-rock-ish take that lasts less than three, every second of which is mighty.
Thurston Moore and Co. should be proud. More than simply condensing a piece of the legendary band’s work, Sex Beet is highlighting the very abrasive intersection of melody and noise that enhanced Sonic Youth’s stature in the late-’80s among among a growing, increasingly diverse fan base. The cover is an ode not an attack, a reminder that, despite what we’re led to believe by rock radio today, work produced by major-label artists wasn’t always so milquetoast.
Cast your vote wisely.
The Cover:
The Original:
[poll id=”171″]
One reply on “Take Cover! Sex Beet Vs. Sonic Youth”
Lord bless Sex Beet. They have what it takes to make it to the show. They have my blessing along the way. But ain’t no way should we compare a group a little green on the scene with a group that has clearly made its mark and still keeps making it even as we speak. Sex Beet does a nice rendition but let;s wait and see. Remember, the Beatles were on the way with Pete Best and Stuart Sutcliffe. Sonic Youth powers and blasts its way through and sustains it for five minutes. And that’s pretty much their trademark.