Soul of Wit

My much older sister (cough) had the original on a vinyl 45. I love both the original and the cover.


Jimmy Cliff's signature vocal performance: and the , from a '70s reunion of The Animals.


I see what you did there. Personal trivia: My wedding date is the date that Marty goes back to when he goes back to the future.


That someone would be me. There are good cover bands, just as there are--apparently--good cover choirs. That's the point. Most people can find a choir version of a song that intrigues them.

Ben Lee is a good one to check out for singer/songwriter fans. I just checked, and his MM cover is his second most popular song on Spotify.

 

Generally agreed on covers, Goldenking. Some genres are so broad that two artists can technically be in the same genre but be miles apart. Once in a while, someone manages to pull off a "faithful" cover that adds something to the original. Often, this is simply a superior voice. I could always argue that the singer/songwriter with the barely passable voice is still better. Perhaps because their so-so voice (or "acquired taste" voice) adds flavor to the song. I'm thinking of much of Bob Dylan's singing here, but there are other examples.

A separate thread to discuss covers of other artist's music. All genres and general thoughts on covers are welcome.

 

As a possibly controversial starter, five Beatles covers that I particularly enjoy...

 

"Got To Get You into My Life" - Earth, Wind & Fire (one of my favorite Beatles tracks, and the EW&F treatment is a valid tribute--many a EW&F fan has no idea that this is a Beatles song)

 

"Here Comes the Sun" - Richie Havens (it's tough to compete with perfection, but the guitar work and soulful voice make this a gem in its own right)

 

"Dear Prudence" - Siouxsie & The Banshees (somehow, the same slow tempo and psychedelic trappings sound different in the '80s)

 

"Two of Us" - Aimee Mann & Michael Penn (a perfect track to be covered by the singer/songwriter couple)

 

And saving the best for last...

"T.N.K. (Tomorrow Never Knows)" - 801 (801 was a short-lived side project for Phil Manzanera, Brian Eno, et al.)

audio on YouTube

 

My attitude towards Beatles covers is that their music can stand up to any cover, good or bad. I might as well explore the wide breadth of covers available. For covers, in general, I feel that influential artists should be covered. That's one of the (lesser) ways that they are influential. Imitation (or variations, or even--gasp--sampling) is flattery.

I disagree. A less heinous bill will eventually be signed into law. How much less is debatable; the non-nil effect is not.

Another thought. It's way too early to actually predict the 2012 Senate/House elections. That's true, in most election years, but 2012 is an odd year. Wisconsin will be strongly affected by the (still undecided) timing of the Gov. Walker recall election. The rest of the Great Lakes region has similar mixed feelings over similar overreaching/mandate fulfillment (depending on the source of the description.)

 

The Super Pac money (Citizens United) has the potential to let under-funded candidates stay in races longer. Anyone who is still in the race has a chance to take advantage of the ever-changing whims of the electorate--which brings us back to the economy. A slow improvement to the economy continues to favor Obama and the down-ticket Dems. Any odd upheavals in the economy can have a huge effect. Any trigger for greater turnout (back to Walker, again) would favor the Dems. Continued efforts to reduce turnout, including poll taxes disguised as anti-voter fraud, favor the GOP.

 

This is also a new-decade/post-census election. District redrawing (still in progress for some states) will have odd side effects. This once-a-decade exercise has the general effect of disenfranchising voters. It does so by forging districts that are safely Democratic or Republican. Your House vote doesn't matter if your district is solidly blue or red. To a lesser extent, this is true for many state-wide and national elections. The primary factor to consider is who is in charge of the redistricting. That is (usually) the party in power in the state government. Due to the 2010 shift, that is often Republicans. It is safe to assume that they will aim for (or already have) maximized safe-Republican districts.

The polling on dysfunctional government is fascinating. 80% want more cooperation between the two parties. A slightly smaller number blame the Republicans for the divide. I'm among those who feel that Obama has been overall ineffectual in dealing with the opposition.

 

An argument can be made that Obama has been playing the GOP like a fiddle. Public sentiment is ripe for an incumbent run against Congress. It's decidedly cynical to give up what you believe in to further your reelection chances. It is brilliant, politically, to do so.

I really don't want a survivalist in the White House (see the WSJ link in another poster's response to you.) Your post ignores the ever-increasing power of the executive branch. There is much that a President can do without the assent of Congress. I railed against the abuses of W's administration, precisely because I feared what future Presidents would do with that power. Lo and behold, here is the guy I voted for (Obama) abusing that power and adding new abuses. I'll vote for Obama--as the lesser of two evils--but I cringe at what is coming. Obama has done a lot of good--and has signed bills into law that I cannot fathom. Paul would wipe out wide swaths of regulation on day one. Anyone who is living through the housing crisis (and has lived through the dot com boom/bust) knows that less regulation is not always good. Being back Glass-Steagall.

I understand the desire for a third party. Our two-party system was already ingrained. The added boost from Citizens United v. FEC has only solidified the power of the two parties. And please don't get me started on the ineffectual FEC.

I'm someone who believes that the federal government can be effective. I stress the "can be". Thus, I can's support a Libertarian or most Republicans.

 

Ron Paul can stay in the election because he has cash and loyal (cult-like) support. He and Romney are all that's left on the GOP side after the redacted finish voting in SC. Ron Paul can't win the GOP nomination for many reasons. The GOP won't stand for defense cuts or his anti-imperialism stance. Too many independents/moderates/seniors/soon-to-be-seniors won't stand for his stance on SS/Medicare. A third-party run would fail for the same reasons.

 

Romney is a true flip-flopper. Many have been painted with that label, but he really is. In this day and age of YouTube, anyone can create a before and after Romney ad, and many will. Romney is a true elitist. Many, including the sitting POTUS, have been painted with that label. Again, Willard is the real deal. Imagine him being asked any number of "how much does a gallon of milk cost?" type questions during a "debate". Lack of charisma is not his main problem.

 

How can Obama win? Hope the economy continues slowly upward and nothing strange happens. Use the word progressive a lot. People love that word. Run against Congress, a proven tactic. During "debates," bait Romney into revealing how out-of-touch he is.

 

How can the Dems retain the Senate (many, many Dems up for reelection--due to 2006 success) and retake/narrow the gap in the House? The economy is the main factor, particularly in the House. You would think that the utter lack of job creation ideas from the Republican-held House would work against them in 2012, but I gave up on fully understanding moderates/independents a long time ago. The GOP House has focused on social issues and Obama's defeat. That's not really the recipe for turning the economy around.

I believe Clinton is interested in retiring. That also means a new SoS for Obama's second term.

You understand SOPA/PIPA quite well. DRM can always be circumvented. The best that you can do is to slow people down. DRM does often screw over paying customers and casual users.

That is the point.

There is effectiveness in calling attention to potential legislation that most Americans have never heard of--including many who spend a lot of time on the internet. Sites like Wikipedia and Craigslist serve a diverse demographic.

Bear in mind that TV news has given zero coverage to SOPA and Protect IP. The media conglomerates support the legislation, but are wise enough to realize that an informed public will not.

SOPA and Protect IP are unworkable and need to be scrapped. Problems include ineffectiveness against pirates, interference with legitimate uses of the internet, bias towards the well-heeled, security issues with DNS, and lack of due process. There is a preferable (but still flawed) alternative, the OPEN act.

I assume that you are--at least partially--joking. Protect IP is not easier to deal with. Both pieces of legislation are unworkable. There is a (still flawed, but workable) alternative bill, called the OPEN act.

A3 is the only Avernum where the passage of time has any consequences (good or bad.)

You can also get a dread curse from Adze-Haakai in the ToM. I got one on the same turn that I killed the haakai. It didn't register, perhaps because of the timing of the killing. That would have been my second dread curse, so I can't verify that you can get a second.

And the 2012 Spidey, for best use of the phrase "I believe", goes to...

I find it amusing that the Avernum bridges behave like they're from a bad board game. The space just before a bridge should read "Move ahead 3 spaces".

I must be remembering E3.

I had to first return to Aydin to get this to work as intended. Either I missed a conversation option with Aydin the first time, or I did things in an odd order, or two visits to Aydin are required.

Everyone should try increasing the difficulty at least once. It tends to result in fights that are longer, but not really harder. A trio is not much of a challenge for someone who has already played once. A Priest/Tank combo is handy, and plays well into the fantasy of the cleric who likes to take the "good fight" straight to the enemy. Once you go duo, the trade-offs become more pronounced. Some, like chimp, go the "enhanced" route, or place restrictions on their party's usage of available resources. Restrictions allow for more of a role playing feel. This can be fun, even on normal difficulty and/or four-PC parties.

 

I'm guessing there are already threads on the smaller parties.

I'll allow for the effect of ancient monitor resolutions/grid size. I don't have a copy of Exile handy, but that is hard to believe. Could I be remembering E2 or E3--and they're significantly larger? It seemed like it would take forever to go hunting for some rare artifact. There were no towns anywhere near the "remote cave" where you'd find, say, Demonslayer.

With version 1.0.0, the early game was too hard without magic. The just-out version 1.0.1 has been nerfed somewhat (see the applicable thread.) Going no-magic with a duo sounds like a pretty hefty challenge for this particular game.

 

If magic makes the game too easy, why not raise the difficulty level from normal, instead of banging your head with a frustrating party? That's a somewhat rhetorical question, as I know some of the possible responses. My thought is that this game is not too friendly towards caster-free parties.

There are half-way decent laptop gaming machines, but most of them create enough heat to make usage on the actual lap a dicey proposition for any male considering future procreation. On that topic, Woot has a USB-powered cooling mat today, if anyone has this problem. It's a mostly anti-Apple site (the community, that is) but they do have the occasional good bargain.

 

Disclaimer: I have no connection and do not consider this to be spam, as it is tangentially on-topic.

Cool. This never happens to me.

Agreed. The "getting lost" sensation was thrilling. It also made the hunt for the rare objects (Smite, Demonslayer, etc.) that much more challenging. E3 will always be my favorite Spiderweb game, for just those reasons.

 

Jeff is a catering to the market, and I can't blame a guy for feeding his family. The newer games are still an incredible entertainment value.