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Should One Direction be allowed to cover One Way or Another? Should One Direction be allowed to cover One Way or Another?
(7 months later)
Reading on mobile? Watch the video on YouTubeReading on mobile? Watch the video on YouTube
Many a musical atrocity has been committed in the name of charity. Take, for example, this Simon Cowell-masterminded cover of Everybody Hurts, on which music world A-listers Jason Orange, Susan Boyle, Joe McElderry and Westlife butchered the REM song to raise money for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.Many a musical atrocity has been committed in the name of charity. Take, for example, this Simon Cowell-masterminded cover of Everybody Hurts, on which music world A-listers Jason Orange, Susan Boyle, Joe McElderry and Westlife butchered the REM song to raise money for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
And then there was the 2004 version of Do They Know It's Christmas?, raising funds for Darfur by getting contemporary pop stars to do a weak approximation of the 1984 original, before tacking on a wildly misjudged rap from Dizzee Rascal just to make sure the whole endeavour was as awful as it could possibly be.And then there was the 2004 version of Do They Know It's Christmas?, raising funds for Darfur by getting contemporary pop stars to do a weak approximation of the 1984 original, before tacking on a wildly misjudged rap from Dizzee Rascal just to make sure the whole endeavour was as awful as it could possibly be.
The latest charity record to raise the ire of music fans is this year's Comic Relief single – a cover of Blondie's One Way or Another by boyband-of-the-moment One Direction, as performed at last night's Brits.The latest charity record to raise the ire of music fans is this year's Comic Relief single – a cover of Blondie's One Way or Another by boyband-of-the-moment One Direction, as performed at last night's Brits.
This particular abomination prompted the following suggestion from Comment is free regular SpectacledLangour:This particular abomination prompted the following suggestion from Comment is free regular SpectacledLangour:
"Is it time for a listing system for songs and films, like what there is for buildings?""Is it time for a listing system for songs and films, like what there is for buildings?"
It's an intriguing thought. Could we really have a list of protected songs to be preserved for posterity, never tarnished by association with the X Factor, never slowed down and turned into a syrupy jingle for a John Lewis ad?It's an intriguing thought. Could we really have a list of protected songs to be preserved for posterity, never tarnished by association with the X Factor, never slowed down and turned into a syrupy jingle for a John Lewis ad?
Just think of all the dreadful covers this listing system could have saved us from – no Ronan Keating version of Fairytale of New York; no Madonna interpretation of American Pie; no U2 cover of Neon Lights by Kraftwerk – expunged from history.Just think of all the dreadful covers this listing system could have saved us from – no Ronan Keating version of Fairytale of New York; no Madonna interpretation of American Pie; no U2 cover of Neon Lights by Kraftwerk – expunged from history.
As for films – do we really want to prevent certain films being remade? The world would certainly be no poorer without Jude Law's take on Alfie, or Nicholas Cage's extraordinary turn in the 2006 version of The Wicker Man.As for films – do we really want to prevent certain films being remade? The world would certainly be no poorer without Jude Law's take on Alfie, or Nicholas Cage's extraordinary turn in the 2006 version of The Wicker Man.
This is a bold proposition, but one that needs careful thought before we start petitioning Downing Street to get it implemented. Who decides what songs and films deserve protection? What if it turns out they have dreadful taste? What if all of this is just a case of us film and music fans being a bit snobby and precious about the movies and songs we love?This is a bold proposition, but one that needs careful thought before we start petitioning Downing Street to get it implemented. Who decides what songs and films deserve protection? What if it turns out they have dreadful taste? What if all of this is just a case of us film and music fans being a bit snobby and precious about the movies and songs we love?
To get a taste of the kind of things we can expect once this listing process gets up and running, we asked our Film and Music Facebook followers to nominate the songs and films that ought to have protected status. Here's the provisional list. What would you add to it?To get a taste of the kind of things we can expect once this listing process gets up and running, we asked our Film and Music Facebook followers to nominate the songs and films that ought to have protected status. Here's the provisional list. What would you add to it?
Songs that must never be covered: Africa (Toto), American Pie, Anarchy in the UK, Bohemian Rhapsody, Dock of the Bay, Fairytale of New York, Hallelujah, Heroes, Into My Arms, Jumping Jack Flash, Mad World, Maggie May, Should I Stay Or Should I Go?, Smoke on the Water, Stairway to Heaven, Smells Like Teen Spirit, Teenage Kicks, Tiny Dancer, Wonderwall.Songs that must never be covered: Africa (Toto), American Pie, Anarchy in the UK, Bohemian Rhapsody, Dock of the Bay, Fairytale of New York, Hallelujah, Heroes, Into My Arms, Jumping Jack Flash, Mad World, Maggie May, Should I Stay Or Should I Go?, Smoke on the Water, Stairway to Heaven, Smells Like Teen Spirit, Teenage Kicks, Tiny Dancer, Wonderwall.
Films that must never be remade: Absolute Beginners, Barry Lyndon, Blade Runner, Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Escape from New York, Gone With the Wind, It's a Wonderful Life, Lawrence of Arabia, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Psycho, Rocky, Scanners, Sunset Boulevard, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Usual Suspects, Tree of Life.Films that must never be remade: Absolute Beginners, Barry Lyndon, Blade Runner, Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Escape from New York, Gone With the Wind, It's a Wonderful Life, Lawrence of Arabia, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Psycho, Rocky, Scanners, Sunset Boulevard, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Usual Suspects, Tree of Life.
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