In the film Memento, Guy Pearce's character Leonard Shelby remarks, "We all need mirrors to remind us of who we are." The cover album, then, could be considered the musical-world equivalent of a mirror. Through other people's material, bands can show off their influences while at the same time reaffirming their own identity. I can think of no other justification for The Dillinger Escape Plan's disappointing new stopgap EP Plagiarism.
Off the bat, I should confess that I consider The Dillinger Escape Plan one of the most talented metal bands currently working. Since coming late to their song "43% Burnt," I've greeted their every release with a brand of excitement generally found in tweener boy-band fanatics. (Ain't no joy like geek joy.)
Furthermore, the band is responsible for one of the more astonishing covers I've yet encountered: On a Guns 'n Roses tribute album that was released a couple years back, the DEP unleashed a mind-blowing version of "My Michelle." They didn't cover the song so much as burrow deep into it and rearrange its DNA - what came out was still "My Michelle," but it was a ugly, screwy mutant iteration of it. I had hoped Plagiarism would be a whole EP of "My Michelle;" instead, what I got was closer in spirit to the note-perfect cover of Aphex Twin's "Come to Daddy" that closed out the Irony is a Dead Scene EP. So I admit up front that part of my reaction is due to thwarted expectations; if that invalidates my opinion, so be it.
There's another part of my reaction, though, that insists there must be a joke here I'm not getting. Reportedly, the four covers on this six-song EP are songs the band is fond of playing live. It's one thing to see a band, in the middle of their set, shift gears and bust out a note-perfect version of Soundgarden's "Jesus Christ Pose;" it's entirely another kettle of dead fish when you're listening to it at home and the original version is arm's length away.
Article comments
1 - Connie Phillips
This article has been placed at the Advance.net websites, a site affiliated with about 12 newspapers.
One such site is here.
2 - hi
i'd say that these guys in the band are laughable.
3 - Steve C.
Does it make me a dick to say that I agree with Greg?
I mean, really, though -- this interview can only come as a surprise if you've never read anything about these guys before. In every interview and article I've read about 'em, they make it clear that they consider themselves superior to the majority of their contemporaries. It'd be obnoxious if they weren't, you know, right.