5 Biggest Musical Travesties

5. Children In Need€™s 1997 Cover of Lou Reed€™s €˜Perfect Day€™

Firstly, I€™d like to make one thing clear, I€™m not out to crucify the cause of such charity fundraising events. I deeply respect the ethos and activism behind Children In Need but at the same time, if a travesty can be defined as distortion, this star-laden (David Bowie, Elton John, Brett Anderson) and not-so-star-laden (Bono) update of Lou Reed€™s 1972 original belied the melancholia and sinister nature of the ex-Velvet man's lyrics. Commonly interpreted as an ode to heroin, a reading that Reed never strenuously denied, its usage as the main theme for an effort that focused on the welfare, rehabilitation and safety of vulnerable and disillusioned children was a glaring oversight from the BBC. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15cfs8z9PFI Of course, I don€™t want to deny the opportunity for a different interpretation of the song. One which, in this case, would be an upbeat and optimistic appraisal of a €˜perfect day€™ where people look out for each other and all is right with the world. But, as I hard as I want to believe that, it€™s just plain silly. Stripping the song of its desperation, irony and ennui grossly devalues its poetic exploration of substance addiction and the fact that each artist was paid a small sum (£250) to feature on the single, severely undermines the integrity of the charity€™s objectives. A pompous, short-sighted re-working of a classic. Even if Lou was complicit with this, for shame!
 
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A 22 year old English Literature graduate from Birmingham. I am passionate about music, literature and football, in particular, my beloved Aston Villa. Lover of words and consumer of art, music is the very air that I breathe.