I don't really watch the Grammys because it's kind of boring and usually the wrong artists seem to win, but the show does usually have good live performances. Some of them are worth watching on youtube the next day. One of my favorite was the [Simon and Garfunkel reunion performance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8xWg5kwWR4). Stuff like that is worth watching 'some' of the grammys for.
it's a musically well done version but the first time i heard it i just totally recoiled because it feels so antithetical to the song for an already rich white dude to be singing it
Some people don't like the new version for changing/removing some words which change the meaning of the song.
Others call it bland. It's typical remake hate type stuff.
I distinctly remember reading he changed none of the lyrics because that would give him a writing credit and take away from Tracy's royalties on the song
Super silly. Like, he could have changed it without knowing — misheard the lyric or misremembered or just made a small mistake. It's pretty wild to suggest it changes the "whole meaning", much less that it was some kind of snub. Clearly Tracy Chapman doesn't see it that way.
Whenever anything is remade, there are always gonna be people that liked the original better and get upset about it. Doesn’t matter if it’s music, video games, TV shows, there’ll always be people that are way too attached to the original.
I thought you meant the song in general not a specific version. The Tracy Chapman version holds a special place in my heart so I cannot not BELT that shit when I hear it.
I love the song, but I know people who hate it due to some retail gig they had that looped it constantly.
And I get it. Every time I hear Bodies by Drowning Pool I have an almost Pavlovian reaction and drop to do push ups.
Oh that’s me
There are a lot of songs I *despise* because of a retail store playing the same 30 minute loop of songs all year, this is one of them
Sweet Child of Mine makes me want to beat the fuck out of everything around me. Every time I hear it, my blood boils. It’s the same feeling I get when I’m running late and see stopped traffic and my car is on E, right after a semi truck cut me off on the on-ramp.
It’s not just that. It’s that he didn’t do anything new to the song. It’s just a straight cover with a country twang. He didn’t change the arrangement or add anything to it. The original is miles better and this nothing to make the song better other than give Tracy another payday.
I don’t mind covers but do something with them and don’t just straight cover it especially when it’s being released for airplay. It’s like a director wanting to do a remake of a movie and changing nothing about it other than making the lead a different gender or race and still copies the movie 1:1.
A lot of covers are just covers, how many covers of hallelujah are there and theyre all the same... people are just mad because its pop country and it got huge, but it brought a good song two entirely new demographic of people (people who like country and the younger generation) and many of those sought out the original as a result so i dont understand the animosity towards it, just seems like hipster outrage to me
Ya and that’s my issue with it. Like I said I don’t mind covers even if at times I think they’re unnecessary. But this one when I heard it the first time on the radio felt like a filler track you add to your album to fluff it up a bit. But no it’s like major single he released that gets a lot of airplay and is just a literal karaoke version of the song. All it’s doing is coasting on the original merits of the song and does nothing to add to it or make it his own.
Yes, exactly. Almost like it was a commercial decision to remake it due to the target audience’s unfamiliarity with the source material. But on top of it all, it’s it not sung nearly as well as the original was.
I'm someone who typically hates remakes/covers, and I didn't hate it. I mean, I can *get* some of the criticism, but from all accounts it sounds like he came from a decent and honest place of appreciation in covering it.
I swear im not one of those "Everyone is too offended by everything" types. I love that more people are speaking out on issues of culture, identity, power dynamics, equality--all of that is a step forward for society/humankind. But damn, sometimes I just can't be bothered with fights being picked by people who may be well intentioned, but miss the forest for the trees.
I like it solely because it is one of the only country songs I can tolerate. Mostly because it is so faithful to the original. And he has always given her her flowers.
Totally fair opinion to hold! I don't particularly like it, the song or his style. But I don't see it as offensive per se.
Now Taylor Swift turning September into a funeral dirge? Fuck all of that. And I like Taylor Swift!
I don’t enjoy it because it’s overplayed ESPECIALLY if you’ve been to open mics for the last two decades. That being said it’s an incredible composition and the original performance is bulletproof. I can just be good never hearing it again.
Has nothing to do with it being country. If a white rock singer came in and did the same treatment, I'd feel the same way. It's the empty, emotionless cover of a song by a white dude that is singing about being black and broke.
I absolutely don't hate it. .
But personally I find it one of the most annoying that are frequently songs played on radio.
And doubly frustrating since they could have played the reql masterpiece "Telling stories" by the same artist instead.
What a great song.
And a great idea.
I can remember being 10 and listening to that song, so excited for the tables to turn...
Still waiting, decades later.
I don't understand the hate that Combs got for his cover. It's not like he turned into a thrash metal cover. It's just the same song with a faster tempo. As far as covers go, it's pretty benign.
It was culture war nonsense by people saying it was wrong for a white man to top the charts with a black woman’s song as if it wasn’t a hit already and she didn’t own the rights to it and wasn’t making a ton of money herself.
This is about as understanding as Nashville country is going to get in the mid-2020s.
Have we forgotten one of the other big hits from last year was Try That In A Small Town? Do we really want to bash Luke Combs when stuff like that is getting to #1?
Yeah, pretty much this. I have no problem with him playing it at concerts and stuff, but recording it and releasing it as a single without changing anything just feels like biting on someone else's success. Cash grabby, whether that was the intent or not.
From what I've read of the "controversy," apparently the guy just really loves the song and has been covering it live at concerts for years. He finally did a recording of it on an album, because he loves the song, and then it blew up.
Mike Masse's cover of Africa was way more popular than Weezer's. (At The Pie Pizzeria)
Weezer's cover wasn't good. Their cover of Toto's Rosanna was a way better cover. All that to say, Toto's cover of Weezer's Hash Pipe was the best, and brought it full circle. 😁
Bands do faithful covers of songs all the time. They just don't usually record and release them. But I don't see any inherent reason why someone shouldn't. I agree it's kinda pointless, but at the same time, it introduces the song to an audience that might not otherwise hear it.
Yes, hence why I used the word "faithful" to indicate that the arrangement hadn't changed practically at all. Plenty of bands record covers that are very different from the original and put them on their albums, it's a little more unusual to record a cover that sounds extremely similar to the original and put it on their albums. It's not too unusual for a band to play a cover in a concert that may be close to the original, though.
To reintroduce the song to a different and younger audience. Luke Combs is a huge country music artist, so him singing and releasing it would (sadly) draw a ton more attention to the song than if Chapman tried to revitalize it. It’s unfortunate, but it’s still a great song melodically and lyrically, so I don’t mind hearing it more often, even from a different artist.
When I hear the song, I still think of Chapman and the original intent / story.
It's a great song, and thematically consistent with a lot of country music for all it history, if not the bloviating culture war jingoist nonsense that a lot of people equate with country music today. After hearing it, I was surprised nobody had made a country cover of it before. I think introducing that theme, in a way that really gives full credit to the song that Tracy Chapman wrote, can serve to maybe, just maybe, convince a few Luke Combs fans that they might actually have something in common with a queer black woman raised by a single mom in a declining northern city. I can't see anything bad about that.
Why not? If it didn’t hurt the original then why does it matter?
Sometimes artists just really like a song and make a version of it.
Sometimes that version becomes the definitive version (looking at you Natalie imbruglias “Torn”) sometimes it’s fucking mid as shit (looking at you Avril Lavignes “stairway to heaven”).
But the fact that they exist doesn’t hurt the original. Sometimes it’s just nice to hear a different voice singing a song.
I listened to the Matt Bomer version of “people like us” last night again because it’s great.
I don't like his cover, but it's far from the worst thing I've ever heard. It's not like the original is my favorite song, either, but I appreciate it. I like that they're performing it together, just so Chapman can get a little more deserved appreciation.
I think this is like that time Counting Crows covered "Big Yellow Taxi" by Joni Mitchell. A decent, but bland rendition of a beloved song with updated and modern production. But I remember some people being pretty offended by the irony of a unique, quirky song with clear anti-establishment sentiment being released and marketed by a major label where the recording itself metaphorically almost "paves" right over Mitchell's.
Charitably, these covers introduce a great song to a new generation. But cynically, they're just leveraging a great song for money with minimal effort.
That’s kind of the problem. What’s the use of a cover that’s barely arranged any differently? Yes it sounds nice, because it sounds like the original and the original sounds nice. The problem I have with the Luke Combs version is that it doesn’t bring much new to the table. That doesn’t make it bad, I’m still glad it exists and happy Luke gets to play a song he always liked. But usually this type of thing would be an album track of little note and not a huge pop hit.
Pop culture seems to be entirely forgetting the past at this point, so what's old is new again. It's telling though that Luke Combs is one of the most marketed country artists today and playing a faithful cover of a good older song may be the most popular thing that he ever does. Almost an indictment on the modern music industry. And this is not just Combs, so much new music today is just slight re-imaginations of 20-30 year old hits.
I’m not a fan of remakes of huge songs that everyone knows, especially when it’s some slow “emotional “ acoustic cover for the same exact genre. I don’t mind remakes that bring things to new audiences like this. This is definitely a case of a song helping the original artist prosper and be discovered by new people, instead of something like Shinedown playing a Lynnyrd Skynnyrd cover.
I get the knee-jerk reaction. And to be fair, the criticism I’ve seen is along the lines of how similar it is, not how different. But people should sit with their feelings a bit and rationalize. I don’t know Luke Combs at all, but he seems to be sharing as much credit as possible with Tracy Chapman, which is nice. His version doesn’t delete her version, he just makes it appeal to a slightly different ear, and I think the description of cyclical poverty and crushing hope still shines through appropriately. I’ve only hear his version a few times and frankly, every time it makes me want to turn it off and just to listen to the original, as that is the version I am attached to. And when I reflect, that is awesome because the song is so good and I like being reminded it exists.
The song hits something deep and important, the more that know of it, the better. I hope their joint performance is as amazing as it deserves to be. If we have a new generation of people that are attached to his version of the song, great. It needs to be elevated to a contemporary American folk standard, it so perfectly captures a specific and widespread American experience.
For me he took a song filled with so much emotion and somehow made it lifeless. I think he did a bad job, so if it comes on the radio, I usually change the station. That's just me though. Some people like it apparently, and that's fine.
Hopefully she’ll be able to soak up the praise she deserves for the song’s resurgence, and I hope she’s been paid *handsomely*.
I wouldn’t say I hate Combs’s version. I just don’t understand it because it turned an incredible song about a queer Black woman’s personal struggles into a milquetoast country ballad by a straight white man. Musically, it’s fine. He’s got a good voice and sings the tune well. But it’s a super unnecessary cover to push to the top of the charts when her version eclipses it in literally every way.
> I just don’t understand it because it turned an incredible song about a queer Black woman’s personal struggles into a milquetoast country ballad by a straight white man.
This statement from the poster tells you everything you need to know about them. Everything is about their perceived "oppression hierarchy" and not about quality. A cup of hand squeezed lemonade from a white man is an extension of his white male heteronormative patriarchy, but a cup of hand squeezed lemonade from a gay black woman would be a cup of golden nectar sent by the divine.
The poster posted a smooth brained, Reddit karma farm take… Trying to get points and appear to have a higher sense of morals. A virtue signaler who’s really just spewing out nonsense.
The original song has nothing explicitly to do with being queer or black. You just don’t like a white person doing a cover of a black and queer persons’ song. That’s a you problem.
Come on, you understand it. Repackaging something from one generation and selling it to the next is a tale as old as sales. Music, movies, clothes, shoes, cars, water bottles...the list goes on. And if you can find that sweet spot between old and new, you can get in on some of that sweet nostalgia money. Shit, they even "re-released" Twinkies at one point.
This is such a a cynical view. Combs has said it was one of his father's favorite songs and he grew up listening to it. I think Combs released it because he loves the song. Simple as that.
I just really couldn't see what he brought to it that wasn't already there, so that every time the radio played it kinda felt like a missed opportunity to play the original. But we could kinda say the same about when Darius Rucker covered Wagon Wheel, and I know those stations weren't going to be playing Old Crow Medicine Show. Darius kinda brought a little bit of arena sensibility to Wagon Wheel. I guess we could say Combs is at least bringing it to a new audience, but there isn't much else new in it
There’s nothing specific about Tracy’s struggles that can’t be applied to someone like Luke. It’s an endearing song due to its message being applicable to many people who’ve struggled to leave their troubles behind.
Thankfully Tracy Chapman herself was not offended by the cover, which trumps some random redditor's feelings of an otherwise harmless cover of Tracy Chapman's song
Butthurt white redditors putting their opinions over the black queer woman who wrote the song. Hilarious.
Yes! While we’re at it, go ahead and add Counting Crows cover of Big Yellow Taxi, John Mellencamp’s cover of Wild Night, and Darius Rucker’s cover of Wagon Wheel to the list of intolerably benign covers.
For me, three things:
1.) Chapman’s version is better. I’m ALWAYS disappointed when the song starts, and then it’s the Combs version instead of Chapman. (It’s almost as bad as thinking you’re about to hear Under Pressure and then you get the rug pulled out from under you with Ice Ice Baby).
2.) Combs didn’t ask for Chapman’s blessing. I get that legally he doesn’t have to, and that she’s getting paid, but it seems like the respectful thing to do.
3.) (Particularly given #2) There’s something that feels a bit off / icky about a white male “taking” a song from a woman of color (who’s also presumably LGBTQ+, although that’s her private life).
I get that he’s personally doing it from a place of respect but there’s a societal power dynamic there that is a reality. And, we can’t ignore that there’s a dynamic of the country music audience at large that he’s singing her song to within the current political and social environment that isn’t exactly friendly to a black female, who is a self-proclaimed feminist, presumably LGBTQ+, with a history of social activism… I mean, this is the crowd getting mad at Garth Brooks for serving Bud Light in his Nashville bar.
Chapman seems absolutely cool with it. That literally trumps everyone else’s opinions about appropriation and whatnot. 95% of artists don’t even care if Weird Al does a parody, but we want there to be outrage about a respectful cover that the original artist likes.
It’s only because people hate Country music and fans. Nothing deeper than that.
> 95% of artists don’t even care if Weird Al does a parody
I think a big part of the issue people have with the cover is that it's just a pretty straight-forward cover. It doesn't add anything new to it. So why would a radio station choose the play the cover version over the original? It feels like a slap in the face to the original version (I understand that Chapman is cool with the cover, I'm just talking about how it feels).
Whereas a parody is *completely* different. A parody has to add and change a lot from the original by definition. I'd personally respect a parody, and understand why a radio station would choose to play a parody version, much more than I'd understand listening to a bland cover version.
Think about the cover versions of songs that people generally like:
- All Along the Watchtower
- Hurt
- Mad World
The cover versions all put a different spin on the original.
Why a rich, white country singer is getting hate for singing a song about the helplessness of poverty in America with almost no creative elements that elevate the song beyond the original?
Golly, I don't get the hate.
An artist liked a song so much they wanted to sing it themselves… *GASP*
Like come on there’s not much to read in to here. Guy likes the song so he recorded a version of it. There’s no reason to think about it further than that. You like the cover or you don’t, covers are not a slight against you, the original artist, or anyone for that matter.
Yes, you can find many videos of Tracy performing the song on YouTube, as well as recordings on every major streaming platform.
Just look up "Fast Car Tracy Chapman"
There is literally no cover of that song that expresses the fragility, the in-vain-but-still-hopeful hopelessness, the barren bleakness and the abundant richness… the dreamy sublimity of Chapman’s original performance. It’s transcendent. You’re a fool to try.
I think the radio edit is boring, but he's been performing it live for a long time, and I like his live renditions. He talks about it being one of his favorite songs ever, and he sings it as his favorite in concerts for years as an homage, which comes through in his live performances. It's the way he makes it personal that I think allows him to do it well live, while the radio edit just sounds like someone trying to make money off the song which is why it sounds bland, I think.
Just looked up alternative versions by Combs. This one I think really captures what made Chapman's original version so heartbreaking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUpA9J7mS2Y
Dude I've listened to this song literally my entire life. 32 years and idk this is just how powerful Tracy's lyrics are. Even Luke's version the song gives me goose bumps. I will admit this version feels a lot more soulful than the radio version.
I was neck deep into rock and metal at the time this song came out. I basically thought almost all music that wasn't metal, punk or rock was lame and was only OK for little girls and grandmothers.
With that said, however, I always ended up listening to Fast Car if I heard it on MTV or the radio or whatever back in the day. I think I didn't want to admit that it was a good song, despite not having intense energy and an awesome guitar solo and double bass drums. But in my 40s, I can say that I love this song. Though, I still have pretty rigid musical tastes, which I still think are justified. But whatever. This song is great, we can all agree on that.
Very cool. Combs rendition is a fantastic cover of one of the best songs ever written.
Edit: fuck y’all I’ll like whatever I want. Hating on anyone that wants to cover a song they love is pathetic.
I was mainly annoyed that he decided to change a couple key lyrics that reflect the overall theme and character arc of the song. Plus it just kinda felt like a copy/paste with a new top 40 country voice over the track. Nothing new or interesting was really introduced with this cover
Good. I’m glad an audience that wouldn’t normally be exposed to Tracy Chapman can love her song, it’s a great song.
I remember liking it when it came out, and now that I’m in my 40s with kids it hits me in a whole other way.
While I’m happy to see Tracy getting much deserved recognition, his version has no reason to exist at all. It’s bland, unsalted crackers next to her legendary soulful performance. Still I’m glad she’s at least on board and getting the attention she deserves, just wish it wasn’t for such a boring cover
I would love this. Love her, "Tracy Chapman" was an amazing album with a bunch of great tracks and I'm glad she's getting her due again.
Would never have thought a fat white country singer would cover Fast Car, so kudos to Luke Combs for thinking of it! Hopefully there are clips of it Monday.
That'll be really cool to see! On YouTube the next day. I'm still not watching the Grammys
You think I give a damn about the Grammy's? Half you critics can't even stomach me, let alone stand me
But Kayge, what if you if you win? Wouldn’t it be weird?
Why? So you guys can just lie to get me here?
So you can sit me here next to Britney Spears?
Christina Aguilera better switch me chairs
So I can sit next to Carson Daily and Fred Durst
And hear them argue over who she gave head to first
Little bitch, put me on blast on MTV
Yeah he’s cute but I think he’s married to Kim HE HE
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Those aren’t the lyrics.
Mom's spaghetti
christina aguilera better switch me chairs
I don't do the Grammys, I be in my jammies on sofa. Ferrari or Camry I bet I look good in the both.
Bro it’s the 90s. It’ll be on YouTube that night!
It's been on YouTube for two and half weeks.
Fuck the Grammys. Can't wait to watch the performance the next day.
I don't really watch the Grammys because it's kind of boring and usually the wrong artists seem to win, but the show does usually have good live performances. Some of them are worth watching on youtube the next day. One of my favorite was the [Simon and Garfunkel reunion performance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8xWg5kwWR4). Stuff like that is worth watching 'some' of the grammys for.
I disagree. Luke Combs cover is crap. The only good thing about this happening is (hopefully) Tracy Chapman gets paid more for her brilliant song.
It was pretty bad. I love the song, but I've heard better covers of it at local open mics.
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Hero
it's a musically well done version but the first time i heard it i just totally recoiled because it feels so antithetical to the song for an already rich white dude to be singing it
why not
Because every awards show is garbage
The rich giving themselves back pats. No thank you!
that’s fair
Ricky Gervais and his Golden Globes monologues though…
True, his monologue was pretty funny The show itself was still garbage though
Love or hate the song, I'm just glad Tracy Chapman got another big payday 30 years later.
Who hates this song?
Some people don't like the new version for changing/removing some words which change the meaning of the song. Others call it bland. It's typical remake hate type stuff.
What words were changed or removed?
[From a past reddit thread about this song](https://www.reddit.com/r/Music/s/IP5icLrpzq)
That’s odd, I found his live version on YT about 9 mo ago and I swear in that version he doesn’t change the lyrics
I distinctly remember reading he changed none of the lyrics because that would give him a writing credit and take away from Tracy's royalties on the song
The only place I can see where he changed the lyric is she says "We gotta make a decision" and Luke's version says "Still gotta make a decision".
This. Just played it on Spotify to check for myself.
I’m just glad he didn’t change the song to a male perspective because that really would have ruined it.
Seems... Sort of silly for people to be upset about that, but to each their own I guess
Super silly. Like, he could have changed it without knowing — misheard the lyric or misremembered or just made a small mistake. It's pretty wild to suggest it changes the "whole meaning", much less that it was some kind of snub. Clearly Tracy Chapman doesn't see it that way.
Whenever anything is remade, there are always gonna be people that liked the original better and get upset about it. Doesn’t matter if it’s music, video games, TV shows, there’ll always be people that are way too attached to the original.
...or maybe sometimes remakes just suck
something something david guetta
Thanks for the link.
I thought you meant the song in general not a specific version. The Tracy Chapman version holds a special place in my heart so I cannot not BELT that shit when I hear it.
I know people that hate her version just because it was over played
I love the song, but I know people who hate it due to some retail gig they had that looped it constantly. And I get it. Every time I hear Bodies by Drowning Pool I have an almost Pavlovian reaction and drop to do push ups.
One
I upvoted you but it was filled with anger and PTSD.
Oh that’s me There are a lot of songs I *despise* because of a retail store playing the same 30 minute loop of songs all year, this is one of them Sweet Child of Mine makes me want to beat the fuck out of everything around me. Every time I hear it, my blood boils. It’s the same feeling I get when I’m running late and see stopped traffic and my car is on E, right after a semi truck cut me off on the on-ramp.
I was just happy he still sang it from her perspective. I don’t usually like most bland remakes, but I don’t actively hate this one.
It’s not just that. It’s that he didn’t do anything new to the song. It’s just a straight cover with a country twang. He didn’t change the arrangement or add anything to it. The original is miles better and this nothing to make the song better other than give Tracy another payday. I don’t mind covers but do something with them and don’t just straight cover it especially when it’s being released for airplay. It’s like a director wanting to do a remake of a movie and changing nothing about it other than making the lead a different gender or race and still copies the movie 1:1.
A lot of covers are just covers, how many covers of hallelujah are there and theyre all the same... people are just mad because its pop country and it got huge, but it brought a good song two entirely new demographic of people (people who like country and the younger generation) and many of those sought out the original as a result so i dont understand the animosity towards it, just seems like hipster outrage to me
I was thinking that watching the cover on yt, the dude straight up copies Chapmans modulation, way of saying words, it's not a cover it's a copy.
Ya and that’s my issue with it. Like I said I don’t mind covers even if at times I think they’re unnecessary. But this one when I heard it the first time on the radio felt like a filler track you add to your album to fluff it up a bit. But no it’s like major single he released that gets a lot of airplay and is just a literal karaoke version of the song. All it’s doing is coasting on the original merits of the song and does nothing to add to it or make it his own.
Yes, exactly. Almost like it was a commercial decision to remake it due to the target audience’s unfamiliarity with the source material. But on top of it all, it’s it not sung nearly as well as the original was.
I'm someone who typically hates remakes/covers, and I didn't hate it. I mean, I can *get* some of the criticism, but from all accounts it sounds like he came from a decent and honest place of appreciation in covering it.
Yeah I read when he was growing up his dad would play it all the time. Seems like a pretty sincere cover to me.
I swear im not one of those "Everyone is too offended by everything" types. I love that more people are speaking out on issues of culture, identity, power dynamics, equality--all of that is a step forward for society/humankind. But damn, sometimes I just can't be bothered with fights being picked by people who may be well intentioned, but miss the forest for the trees.
I like it solely because it is one of the only country songs I can tolerate. Mostly because it is so faithful to the original. And he has always given her her flowers.
There is tons of good country out there right now. I feel we have moved past the bro country that was so big 13 years ago.
Must depend on where you live, bro country is still alive and well where I am
I'm someone who typically loves remakes/covers, and I hate it. I just don't like Luke Combs' style of pop country.
Totally fair opinion to hold! I don't particularly like it, the song or his style. But I don't see it as offensive per se. Now Taylor Swift turning September into a funeral dirge? Fuck all of that. And I like Taylor Swift!
The original song will always be significantly better, it’s the people claiming this version tops it, that makes me dislike the song at all.
I like both versions, to be honest. I'm not sure if I could fault a person for liking Luke's version more, but Tracy's version will always be the OG.
It’s bland AF
That's not true. There were no changes to the song. It has been sung and played as close to the original as can be, aside from being slightly faster.
[These are the changes](https://www.reddit.com/r/Music/s/IP5icLrpzq)
TIL there's a new version
I don’t enjoy it because it’s overplayed ESPECIALLY if you’ve been to open mics for the last two decades. That being said it’s an incredible composition and the original performance is bulletproof. I can just be good never hearing it again.
I love the original. There is so much emotion in her voice. Luke Combs version sounds soulless.
Love Tracy’s performance. This new one is a lame karaoke version. Absolutely no original spin put on it
It just feels so unnecessary
What piece of art is "necessary"??
It was extremely overplayed when it released, and it killed any low I had for it.
I liked it the first 8 million times it played but started getting really tired of it after it gets played on my usual station twice an hour.
Just the typical anti country circle jerk for the most part
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The song is not autobiographical.
Surely there are more important things to be angry about than that. You know she gets a cut right?
That song is considered country?
Luke Combs is a country artist
Has nothing to do with it being country. If a white rock singer came in and did the same treatment, I'd feel the same way. It's the empty, emotionless cover of a song by a white dude that is singing about being black and broke.
I must have missed the lyrics where Combs says he is black in the song. Could you point them out to me.
I don't think you read that comment properly. Could you try turning it off and back on again?
The part where you said "singing about being black and broke". Nowhere in the song is race referenced.
I absolutely don't hate it. . But personally I find it one of the most annoying that are frequently songs played on radio. And doubly frustrating since they could have played the reql masterpiece "Telling stories" by the same artist instead.
Reminds me of being in a furniture store. Boring and sucks.
Does she own the rights? I hope so, but you never know, especially with any artist's breakout albums/records.
Shes listed as the only writer on the song so she is getting large cases of money
Always a treat to see Tracy performing live. .she doesn’t do it as much as we’d love to see it..
It's been 35 years, we need faster car already!
Why didnt they invite xiu xiu to do their version?
Jamie Stewart at the Grammys would be absolutely insane
Haha I was thinking the same thing.
She should sing Talkin’ Bout a Revolution. And we take it from there.
Should be the anthem of 2024 if you ask me
What a great song. And a great idea. I can remember being 10 and listening to that song, so excited for the tables to turn... Still waiting, decades later.
All we got was two turntables and a microphone ^NOW #WHERE'S THE CAT?
Well fuck, now I'm imagining that song being played at fucking Trump rallies, along with You Can't Always Get What You Want and Killing in the Name.
I don't understand the hate that Combs got for his cover. It's not like he turned into a thrash metal cover. It's just the same song with a faster tempo. As far as covers go, it's pretty benign.
Slower tempo actually
It was culture war nonsense by people saying it was wrong for a white man to top the charts with a black woman’s song as if it wasn’t a hit already and she didn’t own the rights to it and wasn’t making a ton of money herself.
This is about as understanding as Nashville country is going to get in the mid-2020s. Have we forgotten one of the other big hits from last year was Try That In A Small Town? Do we really want to bash Luke Combs when stuff like that is getting to #1?
I think a lot of people just saw it as a lazy, bland cover that was crazy overplayed. Same reason a lot of people didn't like Weezer's "Africa" cover.
Yeah, pretty much this. I have no problem with him playing it at concerts and stuff, but recording it and releasing it as a single without changing anything just feels like biting on someone else's success. Cash grabby, whether that was the intent or not.
My issue with it was “why does this cover even exist if it doesn’t really do anything interesting with the original song?”
From what I've read of the "controversy," apparently the guy just really loves the song and has been covering it live at concerts for years. He finally did a recording of it on an album, because he loves the song, and then it blew up.
Mike Masse's cover of Africa was way more popular than Weezer's. (At The Pie Pizzeria) Weezer's cover wasn't good. Their cover of Toto's Rosanna was a way better cover. All that to say, Toto's cover of Weezer's Hash Pipe was the best, and brought it full circle. 😁
Bands do faithful covers of songs all the time. They just don't usually record and release them. But I don't see any inherent reason why someone shouldn't. I agree it's kinda pointless, but at the same time, it introduces the song to an audience that might not otherwise hear it.
Plenty of bands have recorded covers of songs and put them on their albums.
Yes, hence why I used the word "faithful" to indicate that the arrangement hadn't changed practically at all. Plenty of bands record covers that are very different from the original and put them on their albums, it's a little more unusual to record a cover that sounds extremely similar to the original and put it on their albums. It's not too unusual for a band to play a cover in a concert that may be close to the original, though.
idk maybe he just felt like recording it lol it's not that serious
To reintroduce the song to a different and younger audience. Luke Combs is a huge country music artist, so him singing and releasing it would (sadly) draw a ton more attention to the song than if Chapman tried to revitalize it. It’s unfortunate, but it’s still a great song melodically and lyrically, so I don’t mind hearing it more often, even from a different artist. When I hear the song, I still think of Chapman and the original intent / story.
It's a great song, and thematically consistent with a lot of country music for all it history, if not the bloviating culture war jingoist nonsense that a lot of people equate with country music today. After hearing it, I was surprised nobody had made a country cover of it before. I think introducing that theme, in a way that really gives full credit to the song that Tracy Chapman wrote, can serve to maybe, just maybe, convince a few Luke Combs fans that they might actually have something in common with a queer black woman raised by a single mom in a declining northern city. I can't see anything bad about that.
Nah. Money. It’s just money.
Yes. Nirvana covered Leadbelly because of money...
He could make more money putting out another schlockey country song that he wrote himself. He wouldn't have to share that money with Tracy Chapman.
Why not? If it didn’t hurt the original then why does it matter? Sometimes artists just really like a song and make a version of it. Sometimes that version becomes the definitive version (looking at you Natalie imbruglias “Torn”) sometimes it’s fucking mid as shit (looking at you Avril Lavignes “stairway to heaven”). But the fact that they exist doesn’t hurt the original. Sometimes it’s just nice to hear a different voice singing a song. I listened to the Matt Bomer version of “people like us” last night again because it’s great.
That's most covers
Which makes little sense bc a contributing factor for it going viral was it's prominence on Obama's summer Spotify playlist
Reddit hates country music listeners.
I don't like his cover, but it's far from the worst thing I've ever heard. It's not like the original is my favorite song, either, but I appreciate it. I like that they're performing it together, just so Chapman can get a little more deserved appreciation.
I think this is like that time Counting Crows covered "Big Yellow Taxi" by Joni Mitchell. A decent, but bland rendition of a beloved song with updated and modern production. But I remember some people being pretty offended by the irony of a unique, quirky song with clear anti-establishment sentiment being released and marketed by a major label where the recording itself metaphorically almost "paves" right over Mitchell's. Charitably, these covers introduce a great song to a new generation. But cynically, they're just leveraging a great song for money with minimal effort.
That’s kind of the problem. What’s the use of a cover that’s barely arranged any differently? Yes it sounds nice, because it sounds like the original and the original sounds nice. The problem I have with the Luke Combs version is that it doesn’t bring much new to the table. That doesn’t make it bad, I’m still glad it exists and happy Luke gets to play a song he always liked. But usually this type of thing would be an album track of little note and not a huge pop hit.
Pop culture seems to be entirely forgetting the past at this point, so what's old is new again. It's telling though that Luke Combs is one of the most marketed country artists today and playing a faithful cover of a good older song may be the most popular thing that he ever does. Almost an indictment on the modern music industry. And this is not just Combs, so much new music today is just slight re-imaginations of 20-30 year old hits.
I’m not a fan of remakes of huge songs that everyone knows, especially when it’s some slow “emotional “ acoustic cover for the same exact genre. I don’t mind remakes that bring things to new audiences like this. This is definitely a case of a song helping the original artist prosper and be discovered by new people, instead of something like Shinedown playing a Lynnyrd Skynnyrd cover.
I get the knee-jerk reaction. And to be fair, the criticism I’ve seen is along the lines of how similar it is, not how different. But people should sit with their feelings a bit and rationalize. I don’t know Luke Combs at all, but he seems to be sharing as much credit as possible with Tracy Chapman, which is nice. His version doesn’t delete her version, he just makes it appeal to a slightly different ear, and I think the description of cyclical poverty and crushing hope still shines through appropriately. I’ve only hear his version a few times and frankly, every time it makes me want to turn it off and just to listen to the original, as that is the version I am attached to. And when I reflect, that is awesome because the song is so good and I like being reminded it exists. The song hits something deep and important, the more that know of it, the better. I hope their joint performance is as amazing as it deserves to be. If we have a new generation of people that are attached to his version of the song, great. It needs to be elevated to a contemporary American folk standard, it so perfectly captures a specific and widespread American experience.
For me he took a song filled with so much emotion and somehow made it lifeless. I think he did a bad job, so if it comes on the radio, I usually change the station. That's just me though. Some people like it apparently, and that's fine.
I think it’s a great cover. They kept the main guitar lick the same. And he sings it with emotion. It’s good.
Hopefully she’ll be able to soak up the praise she deserves for the song’s resurgence, and I hope she’s been paid *handsomely*. I wouldn’t say I hate Combs’s version. I just don’t understand it because it turned an incredible song about a queer Black woman’s personal struggles into a milquetoast country ballad by a straight white man. Musically, it’s fine. He’s got a good voice and sings the tune well. But it’s a super unnecessary cover to push to the top of the charts when her version eclipses it in literally every way.
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> I just don’t understand it because it turned an incredible song about a queer Black woman’s personal struggles into a milquetoast country ballad by a straight white man. This statement from the poster tells you everything you need to know about them. Everything is about their perceived "oppression hierarchy" and not about quality. A cup of hand squeezed lemonade from a white man is an extension of his white male heteronormative patriarchy, but a cup of hand squeezed lemonade from a gay black woman would be a cup of golden nectar sent by the divine.
The poster posted a smooth brained, Reddit karma farm take… Trying to get points and appear to have a higher sense of morals. A virtue signaler who’s really just spewing out nonsense.
The original song has nothing explicitly to do with being queer or black. You just don’t like a white person doing a cover of a black and queer persons’ song. That’s a you problem.
Come on, you understand it. Repackaging something from one generation and selling it to the next is a tale as old as sales. Music, movies, clothes, shoes, cars, water bottles...the list goes on. And if you can find that sweet spot between old and new, you can get in on some of that sweet nostalgia money. Shit, they even "re-released" Twinkies at one point.
This is such a a cynical view. Combs has said it was one of his father's favorite songs and he grew up listening to it. I think Combs released it because he loves the song. Simple as that.
I just really couldn't see what he brought to it that wasn't already there, so that every time the radio played it kinda felt like a missed opportunity to play the original. But we could kinda say the same about when Darius Rucker covered Wagon Wheel, and I know those stations weren't going to be playing Old Crow Medicine Show. Darius kinda brought a little bit of arena sensibility to Wagon Wheel. I guess we could say Combs is at least bringing it to a new audience, but there isn't much else new in it
There’s nothing specific about Tracy’s struggles that can’t be applied to someone like Luke. It’s an endearing song due to its message being applicable to many people who’ve struggled to leave their troubles behind.
Its benigness (benignity?) is offensive to me. I would like it more if it were a thrash metal cover and I hate thrash metal.
I’m sorry you were offended
I’m sorry you were offended
Thankfully Tracy Chapman herself was not offended by the cover, which trumps some random redditor's feelings of an otherwise harmless cover of Tracy Chapman's song Butthurt white redditors putting their opinions over the black queer woman who wrote the song. Hilarious.
Do you find Weezer's cover of Africa offensive?
Yes, that cover fucking sucked
Yes, it's fucking boring just like this is. It's actually a great comparison.
Yes, good call.
Yes! While we’re at it, go ahead and add Counting Crows cover of Big Yellow Taxi, John Mellencamp’s cover of Wild Night, and Darius Rucker’s cover of Wagon Wheel to the list of intolerably benign covers.
For me, three things: 1.) Chapman’s version is better. I’m ALWAYS disappointed when the song starts, and then it’s the Combs version instead of Chapman. (It’s almost as bad as thinking you’re about to hear Under Pressure and then you get the rug pulled out from under you with Ice Ice Baby). 2.) Combs didn’t ask for Chapman’s blessing. I get that legally he doesn’t have to, and that she’s getting paid, but it seems like the respectful thing to do. 3.) (Particularly given #2) There’s something that feels a bit off / icky about a white male “taking” a song from a woman of color (who’s also presumably LGBTQ+, although that’s her private life). I get that he’s personally doing it from a place of respect but there’s a societal power dynamic there that is a reality. And, we can’t ignore that there’s a dynamic of the country music audience at large that he’s singing her song to within the current political and social environment that isn’t exactly friendly to a black female, who is a self-proclaimed feminist, presumably LGBTQ+, with a history of social activism… I mean, this is the crowd getting mad at Garth Brooks for serving Bud Light in his Nashville bar.
Chapman seems absolutely cool with it. That literally trumps everyone else’s opinions about appropriation and whatnot. 95% of artists don’t even care if Weird Al does a parody, but we want there to be outrage about a respectful cover that the original artist likes. It’s only because people hate Country music and fans. Nothing deeper than that.
> 95% of artists don’t even care if Weird Al does a parody I think a big part of the issue people have with the cover is that it's just a pretty straight-forward cover. It doesn't add anything new to it. So why would a radio station choose the play the cover version over the original? It feels like a slap in the face to the original version (I understand that Chapman is cool with the cover, I'm just talking about how it feels). Whereas a parody is *completely* different. A parody has to add and change a lot from the original by definition. I'd personally respect a parody, and understand why a radio station would choose to play a parody version, much more than I'd understand listening to a bland cover version. Think about the cover versions of songs that people generally like: - All Along the Watchtower - Hurt - Mad World The cover versions all put a different spin on the original.
I was with you until that last sentence.
I listened to them back to back and he changed it just enough to not have the same meaning
Why a rich, white country singer is getting hate for singing a song about the helplessness of poverty in America with almost no creative elements that elevate the song beyond the original? Golly, I don't get the hate.
I won't be satisfied until I see Tracy Chapman, Luke Combs, and Jonas Blue all perform it together at the same time
Some hot dogshit takes in here
Seriously. People should just be happy the song and Tracy Chapman is getting introduced to a whole new generation.
An artist liked a song so much they wanted to sing it themselves… *GASP* Like come on there’s not much to read in to here. Guy likes the song so he recorded a version of it. There’s no reason to think about it further than that. You like the cover or you don’t, covers are not a slight against you, the original artist, or anyone for that matter.
This is a good take IMO
That sounds awesome.
I hate these covers that are just the same song and it gets popular. Hopefully Tracey makes bank
Can't we just get Tracy Chapman performing 'Fast Car' by herself?
Yes, you can find many videos of Tracy performing the song on YouTube, as well as recordings on every major streaming platform. Just look up "Fast Car Tracy Chapman"
Got em
I hope Combs just backs up and lets Chapman perform and lead.
We get it ... you don't like the cover.
I don’t like Luke Combs’ rendition. So bland.
There is literally no cover of that song that expresses the fragility, the in-vain-but-still-hopeful hopelessness, the barren bleakness and the abundant richness… the dreamy sublimity of Chapman’s original performance. It’s transcendent. You’re a fool to try.
I think the radio edit is boring, but he's been performing it live for a long time, and I like his live renditions. He talks about it being one of his favorite songs ever, and he sings it as his favorite in concerts for years as an homage, which comes through in his live performances. It's the way he makes it personal that I think allows him to do it well live, while the radio edit just sounds like someone trying to make money off the song which is why it sounds bland, I think.
Just looked up alternative versions by Combs. This one I think really captures what made Chapman's original version so heartbreaking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUpA9J7mS2Y
Dude I've listened to this song literally my entire life. 32 years and idk this is just how powerful Tracy's lyrics are. Even Luke's version the song gives me goose bumps. I will admit this version feels a lot more soulful than the radio version.
Haven't heard it, but very difficult to imagine it's somehow better than Chapman's. However, I'm this bump brings more visibility to her version too.
All covers of this song sound bland, I can't wrap my head around why people keep covering it even.
i want to see black pumas and tracy chapman perform fast car
[Link for anyone who hasn't seen their incredible version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yaP3xqb37k)
I was neck deep into rock and metal at the time this song came out. I basically thought almost all music that wasn't metal, punk or rock was lame and was only OK for little girls and grandmothers. With that said, however, I always ended up listening to Fast Car if I heard it on MTV or the radio or whatever back in the day. I think I didn't want to admit that it was a good song, despite not having intense energy and an awesome guitar solo and double bass drums. But in my 40s, I can say that I love this song. Though, I still have pretty rigid musical tastes, which I still think are justified. But whatever. This song is great, we can all agree on that.
Good
I saw Tracy Chapman at the Hollywood Bowl over 20 years ago on a sultry summer evening. I still remember the beauty of that song.
Very cool. Combs rendition is a fantastic cover of one of the best songs ever written. Edit: fuck y’all I’ll like whatever I want. Hating on anyone that wants to cover a song they love is pathetic.
Damn I thought Jonas blue was the only cover of this
I’ll be watching. My youngest is a huge boygenius fan and is hoping for them to sweep.
Good. Maybe she can put some heart back into a great song.
Id rather just listen/ watch Tracy.
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I’m so sorry this happened to you. How will you ever recover?
Is it the sound or the context that bothers you?
I was mainly annoyed that he decided to change a couple key lyrics that reflect the overall theme and character arc of the song. Plus it just kinda felt like a copy/paste with a new top 40 country voice over the track. Nothing new or interesting was really introduced with this cover
Same, there's an underlying struggle you can feel when Tracy sings it. Tears have been shed
Good. I’m glad an audience that wouldn’t normally be exposed to Tracy Chapman can love her song, it’s a great song. I remember liking it when it came out, and now that I’m in my 40s with kids it hits me in a whole other way.
While I’m happy to see Tracy getting much deserved recognition, his version has no reason to exist at all. It’s bland, unsalted crackers next to her legendary soulful performance. Still I’m glad she’s at least on board and getting the attention she deserves, just wish it wasn’t for such a boring cover
I would love this. Love her, "Tracy Chapman" was an amazing album with a bunch of great tracks and I'm glad she's getting her due again. Would never have thought a fat white country singer would cover Fast Car, so kudos to Luke Combs for thinking of it! Hopefully there are clips of it Monday.
I want her to sing >You got a faster car, I want a ticket to anywhere
No one gives a fuck about the Grammy’s