Love it or hate it?

This is a bossanova-style cover of Blondie's "Heart of Glass" by Nouvelle Vague. My friends hated it and thought it was hard to listen to. I'm kinda fascinated by it. What do you think?

Nouvelle Vague – Heart Of Glass – Listen free at Last.fm

They were kind to say it was merely hard to listen to. It sounds like a 78 rpm record played at the wrong speed.

It's not bad and similar to Blondie's original version of the song.

I don't like it, much prefer Blondie original.

i like it, oddly. it's something they'd play in the Gap or Banana Republic or something.

I agree, as well as Bed, Bath and Beyond, Old Navy, H & M, Circuit City, Starbucks, The Container Store, Rite-Aid, Human Medical Emplacements and the Olive Garden, McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, Carl's Jr., etc., etc.,

I like it, don't love it.

I absolutely do not hear the Bossa Nova influence. Imitating Astrud Gilberto's icy delivery is not at all Bossa Nova. Bossa Nova is mainly a samba with jazz chords, I didn't hear the clave beat and I didn't hear any jazz chord voicings, so I can't associate it at all with Bossa Nova. Are they at least Brazilian?

This version defies description... it is quirky and strange... her vocals were kind of Chet Bakeresque and the band had a parlor vibe... sort of a "hobo band" feel to it.

I neither liked it or disliked it. I am a big fan of the original song, I definitely thought that it was very interesting though. Cool cover.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WifeOfBath i like it, oddly. it's something they'd play in the Gap or Banana Republic or something.

Pffftt. It's not good enough to be a Gap compilation mix. It sounds like that wretched jazz Christmas CD I bought at Starbuck's back in 98 or 99. I couldn't give that thing away...and I tried!

I like Nouvelle Vague, but not this particular song so much. Their covers of the Undertones "Teenage Kicks" and Tuxedomoon's "In a Manner of Speaking" are outstanding.

I agree; a lot of artists try to go out of their way to put their own footprint on a cover, but sometimes it can come out as sounding outright eccentric and pretentious.

Thanks for your thoughts, everyone. The general trend seems to be against it, but at least a few liked it a little, or at least found it interesting.

At first I thought your comparison to department store music meant you thought it was pretty bad, but then I thought that maybe you intended a positive evaluation by comparing it to the type of music played in fashionable stores. I wouldn't know; I don't shop in those places.

Human Medical Emplacements? I don't want to know...

No, they're a French group that does (supposedly) Bossa Nova style arrangements of punk and New Wave songs. I actually don't know enough about Bossa nova music to evaluated how well they interpret the style.

I agree with that assessment. (I like quirky and strange.) The vocalist is a man, by the way, but I can understand your confusion. Nouvelle Vagues's official Web site describes his voice as "feline, sensuous, deliciously ambiguous, male and female in the same inflexion." His name is Gerald Toto.

Nouvelle Vague : les chanteuses