Anka-fied
I just listened to a story on NPR about Paul Anka’s new record, Rock Swings. On it, he covers (in Vegas-lounge act style) such rock ‘classics’ as Eye of the Tiger, Blackhole Sun, Love Cats (although, since the original swings, Paul Anka’s version does not swing at all; I guess he just had to be contrary), and Smells Like Teen Spirit.
In the story, he talks about how Sid Vicious covered My Way, and how scandalized he felt at first. Eventually, he says, he managed to say “At least Sid honestly felt those words when he sang them. I’ve got to let the song live on its own.”
And so, Paul Anka is covering Smells Like Teen Spirit. Paul Anka, apparently, feels stupid and contagious. But I can’t flat-out mock him, because as sick as it sounds, it was catchy. I can’t get the swinging chorus out of my head, complete with brassy, big-band hits: “A mulatto, bam an albino, bam a mosquito, bam my libido, bam my libido…”
July 20, 2005 - 08:12 AM