A good song is a good song no matter who sings it

Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones have done it again.

Unless you live under a rock, I’m sure by now you’ve heard that this week they produced a new version of “We Are the World” to benefit the earthquake victims of Haiti. The recording features many hot acts, old and new. Many music fans are upset that the recording did not include any of the artists featured on the original track. The reasons for this are clear to me. Why remake something if you’re going to use the same people? Sure, they could have kept a few of the originals but many of those people are not relevant to today’s youth. Think about it. If The Lettermen, Peter, Paul and Mary, or KC and the Sunshine Band had been on the original recording, would our generation have really thought it to be all that cool? In fact, to me, the part of that song that sucks the hardest is where Bob Dylan sings, even though I love his other recorded works. Young people are the target market for this song. They know people of our generation are probably going to dismiss it as “not being as good as the original,” no matter who sings it. They have to reel in a younger demographic.

Throwing a wrench into my whole theory are names like Tony Bennett, Celine Dion and Barbara Striesand, who reported took 76 takes for her part because she wanted it to be perfect. Fucking Diva. These names are not as trendy and don’t seem to fit. Although they all have great voices to their merits and hopefully will bring something to the song. Still, other big names seem to be glaringly absent – Madonna, Alicia Keys and Lady Gaga, who reportedly did not return calls to participate. They should have been there. Perhaps they just wrote big donations on their own.

I don’t mind remakes all that much. Some of my favorite songs are remakes. For example, Tracy Ulman’s version of the golden oldie “Bobby’s Girl” always makes me smile. I love when Ace Frehley covers “Do Ya,” “Fox on the Run,” and “Back in the New York Groove.” Come to think of it, my favorite Ace Frehley songs are all covers. Everclear does a great rendition of Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back in Town.” I love when newer artists cover 80’s songs, like when Killers do Joy Divisions’ “Shadow Play.” I love Gwen Stefani’s version of “It’s My Life.” The other night, an episode of One Tree Hill featured covers of The Cure’s “Lovecats” and The Thompson Twins, “If You Were Here,” among others. A quick glance at my iTunes playlists would show you some interesting covers such as MoZella’s version of “Say It Ain’t So” and Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt.” My all time favorite cover, hands down, would have to be Obidiah Parker’s interpretation of OutKast’s “Hey Ya.” Who doesn’t like “Hey Ya?” In this version, you can just imagine him sitting in a coffee house with his guitar asking the musical question, “If they say that nothing lasts forever, then what makes love the exception?” If the original wasn’t so bouncy, I might actually like this version better.

This theory does not apply to Tori Amos’ cover of Eminem’s “Just the Two of Us.” I suppose the argument could be made that it was never a good song in the first place. Still, cover songs should be given a chance and not hated before heard.

Now, will someone please explain to me why Vince Vaughn was at the “We Are the World” recording session? Is he the new Dan Akroyd?