Last time we did this, a couple of you down in comments said “I don’t know this song.” This little story is to demonstrate you don’t need to be familiar with the original song in order to enjoy the other selections here.
So on Wednesday evening, I was watching videos on YouTube, and at one point, over in the righthand sidebar of recommended videos, there were four girls in traditional folk costume of some central European country standing in a snowy field. And the title of this video was “Tulia – Nothing Else Matters.” This wasn’t a song I was familiar with, and it seemed like it would probably be a cover, but I figured it would at least be interesting.
And it was.
The original version is from Metallica, which is part of why I wasn’t familiar with it, because I’m not a metalhead. As a matter of fact, if you asked me to name any Metallica hit, I couldn’t do it. Metal isn’t my thing. But the cool thing about the OCD Jukebox is you can find versions of a metal song that don’t sound metally at all. (And to be fair, this is their ballad hit, which every hard rock or metal band releases to prove they’re actual musicians who can do a pretty song.)
So here’s Metallica’s original version, just for comparison to other versions:
Cover from First to Eleven, so this is probably the most straightforward cover of the song, only it features a girl vocalist:
An acoustic version with just her voice and a keyboard, from Jadyn Rylee:
Our first a cappella version from a group called Viva Voce. The way they use their voices to recreate all the guitar work of the original is amazing, and all in a cover which is reminiscent of a Gregorian chant. If you’re not a fan of metal, you can enjoy everything from here on.
Another a cappella version, this one from Psycho-Chor der Uni Jena. It looks like this is their socially-distanced performance. š
A typical choral arrangement from Chor des Herrn K. with voices and keyboard:
Interesting blend of choral with a hint of Gregorian chant, melded with orchestral accompaniment from the group Gregorian. Fitting, huh?
Let’s do a few instrumental versions, starting with this guitar (in the flamenco style) and cello duet from Mozart Heroes.
Another duet, this one from Golden Salt, featuring electric guitar and violin. It has a very haunting quality to it:
A duet with piano and cello from Brooklyn Duo:
Four cello version from Apocalyptica’s 1998 album “Inquisition Symphony”:
Hey, do you think someone’s done a Celtic harp version? Funny you should ask! Here’s one from Tamsin Dearnly. So ethereal!
Danish guitarist, Soren Madsen with his solo version:
Piano cover from Gamazda:
Which brings us into the jazz portion of the OCD Jukebox, with this jazz piano rendition from Malleck Ahmed. So cool.
Jazz combo with voice cover by All Can Be Jazz:
Post Modern Jukebox closes out the jazz portion of the show with their cover, featuring vocalist Caroline Baran:
And now we’ve reached the grouping which are a little out of the ordinary. First up, Steve’N’Seagulls with their bluegrass-infused cover:
A Celtic instrumental version:
A handpan and vocal cover from Mumi:
The group whose cover sent me down this rabbit hole, Tulia, with their version in a vocal style common in central and eastern Europe:
Ukulele quartet from Poland, PPNOU:
And to close out, this parody about everyone’s favorite breakfast dive, Waffle House, called “Scattered, Smothered, Covered” by Casey Kropp:
Well, that wraps up today’s OCD Jukebox. Let me know which version was your favorite, or maybe an unexpected fave.
Tomorrow’s film noir is “The Strange One,” which you can catch tonight at midnight eastern, as well as at 10:00 AM eastern on Turner Classic Movies (TCM).
As always, this is an open thread, so feel free to discuss whatever you like!