Most of the cover songs on this list are here because they don’t simply re-create the song: they magnify and explore one of the emotions inherent, yet hidden, in the original. A thoughtful song becomes mournful. A song about loyalty becomes a song about utter, symbiotic devotion. A song about greed becomes an audio representation of order dissolving into chaos.
But Trevor James Tillery’s version of Blur’s “Song 2” doesn’t magnify something present in the original. It’s more like the photographic negative of the original.
The light parts of the image have become dark. Where there was abandon, there’s restraint. Guitar becomes piano. There’s still energy, but it’s a completely different kind of energy. It’s like watching a boxer remove his bloody gloves, sit at a piano, and play some Bach. It’s beautiful, but surprisingly so.
Surprising also is the fact that Blur’s “Song 2” became as popular as it did in the first place. It took alternative rock’s quiet-loud verse-chorus pattern to the level of parody, and within the context of the rest of the album, it really feels like a tongue-in-cheek joke.
And yet, despite being a very short track (two minutes, appropriately) it became the band’s most popular song. It rose to number two (again, appropriately) on the UK charts. And now, two appropriate decades later, it lives on, repeated at sporting events, frat parties, and other places that the members of Blur would probably never frequent.
So all things considered, I’m happy that Trevor James Tillery decided to take the song to a darker, more intense place. “Song 2” deserved it.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. With the vocals no longer yelled or infused with a thick British accent, you can finally engage with the lyrics. I honestly never knew the line went, “When I feel heavy metal, and on pins and on needles.” I suddenly love that line.
2. The all-out drums of the original become echoing, understated percussion in Tillery’s version.
3. The signature “woo-hoo” of the original becomes a melodic, arpeggiated minor chord, echoed by a synth in the background. What was once a reckless, toneless bit of vocal filler is now a meaningful musical hook.
Recommended listening activity:
Buying greasy take-out burgers for dinner, and eating them off your best plates by candlelight.