One phenomenon I struggle to understand is the rise of drippy acoustic guitar versions of basically every song ever. You hear this stuff constantly now in cafes, hotel lobbies etc. Who needs or wants a breathy, plinky version of "Dance Monkey" or "Blue (Da Ba Dee)"? - ThreadSky

robfordmancs.bsky.social • 5 days ago

One phenomenon I struggle to understand is the rise of drippy acoustic guitar versions of basically every song ever. You hear this stuff constantly now in cafes, hotel lobbies etc. Who needs or wants a breathy, plinky version of "Dance Monkey" or "Blue (Da Ba Dee)"?

Comments

duncangill.bsky.social•5 days ago

All the fault of that ‘Mad World’ cover that one time

joemuggs.bsky.social•5 days ago

There was a brief moment during the nu folk movement of the 00s when it was good. Nouvelle Vague before they rinsed it to death were great, and this is sublime.

robfordmancs.bsky.social•5 days ago

Feel AI is somehow responsible for this

kajleers.bsky.social•5 days ago

Clearly, the blame is on José Gonzalez with his guitar cover version of The Knife's 'Heartbeats', which hardly anyone knew about until he covered the song for Sony Bravia.

This helped The Knife enormously as the group was able to buy its own recording studio thanks to the proceeds 🤷‍♂️

philedwards.bsky.social•5 days ago

You leave Al out of this!

https://slippedisc.com/2025/03/paul-simon-remembers-pierre-boulez/

emmavj.bsky.social•5 days ago

I blame film for this

rkemb.bsky.social•5 days ago

I blame John Lewsi

mccrum.bsky.social•5 days ago

Blame Wes Anderson, who used Seu Jorge playing Portuguese-translated acoustic covers of David Bowie for the soundtrack to Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou that, in 2005, was novel and cool

emmavj.bsky.social•5 days ago

yes! tho even earlier was donnie darko
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvPkLG-tvzM

se13ed.bsky.social•5 days ago

regretfully I must announce that Patient Zero for this trend was Fiona Apple's (excellent) cover of "Across the Universe" for the soundtrack of the film "Pleasantville" (1997)

drleonblack.bsky.social•5 days ago

avonduke.bsky.social•5 days ago

John Lewis, shirley?

jeremypattison.bsky.social•5 days ago

Yes, them.

benbarclay.bsky.social•5 days ago

I'm sure it's exacerbating it (cheaper to create), but dodgy covers have always been a stable of muzak/elevator music. Presumably something to do with royalties? Or just (wrongly) thought to be inoffensive? Syrupy versions of Hallelujah and Imagine are particularly grating.

benbarclay.bsky.social•5 days ago

staple ffs

poltroon.bsky.social•5 days ago

These versions are recorded with the performers paid a flat fee and no royalties. So they only have to pay songwriting royalties.

miketyl.bsky.social•5 days ago

Love to hear the drippy acoustic guitar versions of Sunn o)))….

miketyl.bsky.social•5 days ago

Or James Brown circa 1970.

spraindsquirrel.bsky.social•5 days ago

While AI is indeed a driver of the enshittification of many, many things, I think M&S Christmas adverts are more to blame in this case.

ldpuppy.bsky.social•4 days ago

As if the original for Dance Monkey wasn't already bad enough...

polkapiquee.bsky.social•5 days ago

It's all A-ha's fault for their beautiful acoustic version of "Take on me" (other options are available).

bashingon.bsky.social•5 days ago

I genuinely don't know how the trend survived at all after Gary Jules did such an excruciating cover of Mad World.

ruckman1.bsky.social•5 days ago

I was very disappointed with the lack of a Dutch guy shouting “Techno! Techno! Techno! Techno!” on the pared back version of No Limits

alanf.bsky.social•5 days ago

It's aural wallpaper.

jonnysixeyes.bsky.social•5 days ago

Nouvelle Vague have a lot to answer for !

deargodwhatnow.bsky.social•5 days ago

I read once that movie studios basically do it as holding music, for trailers, while their actual soundtrack is still in production. Perhaps downstream of that

cjterry.bsky.social•5 days ago

I think it's cheaper than playing the originals is a big part of it. And also Spotify is loaded with this stuff because covering a track is a very easy way for a minor artist to get found by accident

asneakypete.bsky.social•5 days ago

Bon Iver's 'Skinny Love'; a jealous behemoth, rage machine sung to the accompaniment of a dripping tap.

stejormur.bsky.social•5 days ago

To some extent it's a return to the old days of jazz standards and Tin Pan Alley, when there were maybe 50 songs and all you ever heard was new, jazzier versions

benstanley.eu•5 days ago

The johnlewisification of music. Like AI except actual people were involved.

ts-anselmus.bsky.social•5 days ago

We need to counteract it. Let’s have a death metal version Nothing Compares 2 U.

lokshin.bsky.social•5 days ago

Took 20 years https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nouvelle_Vague_(band)?wprov=sfti1

andrewkerr9000.bsky.social•5 days ago

With that, I feel the need to share Torre Florim's easy listening cover of Firestarter.

It's mind-blowing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPI3b9iPSN0

alexnurse.bsky.social•5 days ago

Taking it in the opposite direction, I decided to make a Metal cover of Pink Pony Club the other night, partially as a sop to my eldest.

(I abandoned it, partly as it's the same chord progression for 4 minutes - nothing interesting doing).

pojmasta.bsky.social•5 days ago

John Lewis advert kick-started it, but the most common need for these now is in shonky reality telly where they want the lyrics & familiarity of a 80s/90s hit, but maximally emotional vibe. I call it "Love Island Acoustic Slop"

teread.bsky.social•5 days ago

Gary Jules' cover of Mad World as Christmas number one. Desecration.

garethjdavies.bsky.social•5 days ago

Being in a wonderful Riverside restaurant listening to the breathy acoustic line 'Friday night in Outpatients, who said I'd lied to her' was a clashing cymbal of a low point

daveydoodle.bsky.social•5 days ago

Hopefully the Mark Robson cover rebalances the universe

garethjdavies.bsky.social•5 days ago

Thanks it's the first time I've heard the Ronson/Merriweather version and yes it's a creative interpretation with the addition of You keep me Hangin' On to finish

daveydoodle.bsky.social•5 days ago

I heard that version before the Smith's, one of those rare occasions where the cover was better than the original (imo)!

garethjdavies.bsky.social•5 days ago

And there we part ways, probably because the Smiths accompanied throughout Uni and the final album was pressed while I was in Manchester. Covers can be better than originals, I'm not that mush of a purist, my favourite being Dear Prudence by Siouxsie and the Banshees

daveydoodle.bsky.social•5 days ago

Fair enough - The Smiths entirely passed me by but the soundtracks to our lives get special status. I'd go for Spirit in the Sky and All Along the Watchtower as good covers, though an argument for anything by Bob Dylan could be made...

jakernory.bsky.social•5 days ago

Bank advert music

org-an-ic.bsky.social•4 days ago

Monkey(s)?

moiness.bsky.social•5 days ago

This is why people recording in their bedrooms is a bad thing.

dubdad.bsky.social•5 days ago

It was panpipes in the 90s.

solvognen.bsky.social•5 days ago

Gregorian chant to chillout beats as well. Perhaps some Enya for the unwary.

dubdad.bsky.social•5 days ago

Enya for the unwary😂😂😂

robfordmancs.bsky.social•5 days ago

Oh god you're right. I had somehow erased that from my memory.

dubdad.bsky.social•5 days ago

I love to see people heal and move on from trauma by forgetting about it😂😂

gregwtravels.bsky.social•5 days ago

Zamfir, master of the pan flute!

dubdad.bsky.social•5 days ago

Goddamn. A blast from the past. The Romanian Hendrix of panpipes 😂😂

gregwtravels.bsky.social•5 days ago

I remember endless adverts for Zamfir albums of covers as a kid in Canada in the 70s/80s. I think K-Tel label, but I may be getting my crappy album adverts mixed up.

dubdad.bsky.social•5 days ago

They were definitely on late night TV here in Ireland maybe late 80s/early 90s. But we were always a decade behind the rest of the world 🤣🤣

tomhannen.ft.com•5 days ago

Wonder what the first example of this was in cinema? Earliest I can think of was Scream 1996 - acoustic “Don’t fear the reaper” (no cowbell) https://youtu.be/KRjUQXz2tyg

gregwtravels.bsky.social•5 days ago

Sacrilegious!

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