Some people are just flat-out smart-asses.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing to be at times, mind you, but a good smart-ass pulls it off with a modicum of grace and might give you a chuckle for it. In the music world, there are relatively few of the latter. Instead of a wink and a nod, they just about knock you unconscious and then ask if “you saw that.” You can tell one from the other by their choices in the realm of cover songs.
A word of note to anyone who is not a music nerd accidentally finding themselves at this site: a cover song is when an artist records another artist’s song, hence covering it. The term ‘remake’ fits as well. The term ’smart-ass’, at least relative to this article, refers to those who decide to go all hipster and record something that bears no relevance, charm or wit toward their own sensibility. I’m thinking of Madonna’s cover of “American Pie” or that godawful A Perfect Circle CD where the songs weren’t just reworked, they were worked over, until all that was left was roadkill disguised as tribute. Then there’s the Bluegrass Tribute to Pink Floyd’s The Wall. More notoriously, I’m thinking of the late-’50s pop songs from black artists covered by teen idol white artists because, you know, if it comes from a white guy in a sweater, the subtext can’t be about sex. Right? Pat Boone? Tutti Frutti?
The dichotomy between artist and the art is often easily reconciled by the public. In music, artists of all religious persuasions exist, yet their choice of faith doesn’t negatively affect their music; it may inform their art, but they’re never called on the carpet for it. Bruce Springsteen, for example, was born a Roman Catholic, and aspects of his religion can be found in his music (I certainly hear it in Nebraska), but it doesn’t dominate its description: Springsteen is not a “Catholic rock star,” and you probably wouldn’t immediately make the association. George Harrison, on the other hand, went deep into Hindu spiritualism, which appeared blatantly in his work. Still, the public accepted it. (Former Beatles always get the benefit of the doubt.)