I'm really loving the Radio 1 cover versions that are being played for the 40th birthday celebrations, but I'm starting to get worried about a cover versions backlash. Yesterday I was listening to Jo Whiley, and in the space of her 3 hour show, she replayed a 40th birthday cover from yesterday, played a previously unheard 40th birthday cover, had a live lounge cover from Jack Penate, and also played Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse's cover of the Zutons' Valerie. Is programming more than one cover per hour a good idea?
The other night, I was working on a radio programme's chat room, and we were asking listeners to tell us their favourite BBC sessions that they've heard throughout the years... the chatroom audience (most likely a fairly young audience) saw the word 'session' and interpreted it to mean 'cover'! The answers coming back were all along the lines of "oh I loved so-and-so's version of thingy". There are so many covers on the radio, that it seems it's now expected for a band to perform something other than their own work when they play live on the radio.
Three of the best selling albums of 2007 are looking like being Mark Ronson's Versions, Radio 1 Established 1967 (out october 1st) and Jo Whiley's Live Lounge album (out 22nd october). I'm thinking, and kinda hoping, that 2008 could be the year of the covers backlash.
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