One
Look, I have no problem with Bono.
He takes me back to junior high. He is kind to poor people. Good lyrics. Catchy tunes.
But Margo Timmins kicked his ass this weekend.
I went to Snowbird’s Mountain Music Festival on Friday knowing almost nothing about the Cowboy Junkies. The boyfriend and I sat on the grass pretty far from the stage. Little Cottonwood Canyon is a setting that can salvage any experience, so I didn’t really care whether the bands were good, or whether I could see them.
That was a mistake.
As soon as Margo stepped onstage, I could tell I was missing a show. Even though I couldn’t see much more than this:
First of all, she faced the audience.
And she looked at them. Even in the middle of songs. While she was singing! As if she had something more joyous to communicate than “Let me convince you that I deserve to be completely self-absorbed on stage.”
Could this be rock?
But the most striking thing was how she sang words and notes: Attentively.
This must be really hard, because not a lot of singers actually do it. Most people just sing every line the same way. Same volume. Same ornaments. Same amount of time between breaths. Same, same, same.
I thought about this when the Cowboy Junkies covered “One.”
I don’t want to be too mean about it, as I would not have heard that song Friday night if not for U2. And they did it up nice and respectable. I always liked “One.”
But Margo Timmins made it so much more sincere.
She built her phrases around the grammar of the lyrics. For the first time I heard sentences with beginnings and ends. The intensity progressed from verse to verse, chorus to chorus. “One” took on a narrative quality I never appreciated before.
Maybe I was giving Margo too much credit. After all, she just had to compliment the knowledge I already had of the song. Bono started from scratch.
But then I went home and listened to the U2 version. The “chorus” (lyrics vary) is the same volume each time, and it’s consistently overpowered by the syllables that land on E: “ONE LOVE, ONE BLOOD, ONE LIFE (you got to) DO (what you) SHOULD.” All of those Es come out with repetitive strength and tone while the other syllables kind of get thrown away. Then Bono ends every line, already abbreviated and detached from its neighbors, with the same little exhale.
See, now I feel mean.
Hrmrmrm.
I guess any sensitive cover risks highlighting the deficiencies in the object of its tribute.
But it’s nice to hear a good song better.
music | Erin Alberty | 
July 14, 2009 10:52 am
11 Comments
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By Garrett, July 14, 2009 @ 12:07 pm
Exactly what I was hoping for, and then some.
A couple more for you:
Automatic Baby (Michael Stipe and Mike Mills from R.E.M., plus the other two guys from U2).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmuCrOwYsIg&feature=related
U2 and Mary J. Blige
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu72EZdVou4&feature=related
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By Manny, July 14, 2009 @ 1:10 pm
Now go listen to her version of “Sweet Jane.” it’s so much better than the original, crappy Lou Reed version that it isn’t even the same song.
I love Margo Timmons’ voice. Not a healthy love, either. More like an obsessive stalker-like infatuation. If I ever get sentenced to hard time for something, I want her to read the verdict. It’d make the whole rotting in prison thing a little more tolerable.
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Garrett Reply:
July 14th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
I am a staunch defender of Lou Reed’s voice. You’re right, though — the “Sweet Jane” cover is incredible.
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By Michael, July 14, 2009 @ 2:00 pm
I happen to have a deep and long-lived dislike of “Bono” and his “style”, and also a deep and long-lived love of all things Cowboy Junkies, so I’m not surprised they could improve on “One”.
If you’re not familiar with Townes Van Zandt you should check him out; the Cowboy Junkies took their name from one of his songs.
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By Summer, July 14, 2009 @ 2:14 pm
I had to YouTube “One” by Cowboy Junkies so I could understand. I have to say, I FREAKING LOVE the Cowboy Junkie version.
Thanks for turning me on to this.
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Erin Alberty Reply:
July 14th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
The live version was even better than that video version. The Cowboy Junkies sound better live in general, I think.
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The boyfriend Reply:
July 14th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
I agree. The video was far closer to U2 than the live version. They’ve a lot of live bootlegs available on their website, http://www.cowboyjunkies.com.
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By rassles, July 15, 2009 @ 12:00 pm
I actually know very, very little about U2. I didn’t even know “One.” I had to watch it on youtube, and then I was like, “Oh, this song.”
I get all those damn songs confused. Except for “Bloody Sunday.”
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By mongoliangirl, July 15, 2009 @ 3:16 pm
Oooooooooooohhhhh but how I long for the days of U2 circa 1983. They used to do exactly that.
Glad you had a good time.
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By Sra, July 19, 2009 @ 9:16 pm
You are great at talking about music, which is why I think you would be really good at music reviews. Maybe IN will let you in on some of that, eh?
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Garrett Reply:
July 22nd, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Yes. I think we all need to keep applying pressure.
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