Vamosbabe & Waitswatcher - Tango Till They're Sore

Since pretty much the advent of Youtube, cover songs have been the bread & butter for online media.  I actually try to avoid this huge section of the internet pretty actively.  It’s not that the covers are bad, as most of the sub-par covers wouldn’t fall into my radar anyways.  No, the problem is that the vast majority of the youtube covers are just so generic.  Acoustic and acappella covers are so common place that it has become an internet meme for me.  Like the internet porn rule #42, if you can think of any song there is probably an acoustic cover of it; and it is likely done by a semi talented late-teen.

Still, I did run into this cover of a Tom Waits song ‘Tango Till’ They’re Sore’ that really caught my attention for a few reasons.  Firstly, the cover is a male’s song done with female vocals, which is almost a troupe for song covers.  The introduction of the mandolin is an interesting addition to the song, but even this is done to death on youtube by subbing in a ukulele for a guitar.  Where the song really sets itself apart is the overall tone of the song.  By pacing the song slower and throwing in minimalist bass, the song takes the poetry of Tom Waits and does it justice.

VB and WW put on display what I feel so many cover songs lack.  Instead of taking a song and putting a gimmicky spin on it, ‘Tango Til’ They’re Sore’ reinvents the song and is done masterfully.