Music With Michele – “Unglued”
Music With Michele – “Unglued” – Single Review
I assure ya…I’m doing my best to “follow the fun” but I am highly, highly protective of my Grunge tunes.
And that’s what we’re got for ya here in this chapter of our adventures with Music With Michele. As some of you out there would have certainly spotted from the title, “Unglued” is definitely the tune from Stone Temple Pilots that you likely assumed it was, even though it would have been a bit of a leap to assume it would have been the song you’d find covered by this duo. When you consider the sounds we’ve heard from Michele and her musical cohort Davey Munch so far, you just wouldn’t expect them to be out there rocking Grunge tunes, though you’ll find more than one of’em posted up at the official channel at YouTube. Just because you can doesn’t necessarily mean you should though…I’m honestly not entirely sure how I feel about whether or not the sound of Music With Michele fits the Grunge era.
What I definitely appreciate is Davey & Michele’s taste in music – I can say that with certainty. “Unglued” is a kickass tune and a great one to cover when it comes right down to it. So many artists and bands set themselves up for major disappointment by taking on someone’s massive number-one hit tune, but the savvier folks out there will often make the choice to grab a lesser known tune by someone they admire instead. It gives you room to pay the respect you’re essentially looking to in covering a song by someone you dig, while also giving you more freedom to do your own thing and having to worry less about the masses being butthurt about a new version not being exactly like the original. Which is a concept I’ve never fully understood really…I think there are elements of an original that you’ve gotta keep included for sure, but you should also have the creative courage to add something new to it too, pass or fail. To the credit of Music With Michele, I feel like this dynamic duo has checked both of those key boxes – and to be truthful, I also feel like musicians like Robert & Dean DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots would appreciate the way they’ve done things differently with “Unglued.” It’s the rest of us I wonder about…I’ll admit to being on the fence about this cover version, but I ain’t here to hate on what they’ve done. It likely depends on how familiar you are with the original to a degree…and of course it’ll help if you have been digging the oddly artistic vibes that Music With Michele has been creating lately as well.
I felt like with this particular cover, the more faithful spots they had in terms of comparing it to the original were probably the stronger moments to be found in “Unglued.” I thought Michele had one of her better turns on the microphone in the way she sings this song, and I felt like the way the backing vocals played a role bolstered her performance significantly too. I felt that was about the way she sang a recent original called “Five Friends” too…she’s smart with the placement of her backing vocals, and as a result of good choices, her voice makes a favorable impression on us as we listen. Now…it’s fair to say that with her natural cadence and alternative sweetness, this version of “Unglued” isn’t gonna have the venomous bite you’d find in the energy of Scott Weiland singing the original, but I’m alright with that trade. To be completely and totally fair to Michele, none of us are Scott Weiland – only he was. I also felt like the uniqueness we knew we’d find in the way that the music generated by Davey would create worked really well in the verses of “Unglued,” and creating an acoustic-based excitement we can dig on.
I don’t know that the chorus ended up working as strongly in their favor. It’s fair to say that it’s already a stretch to hear Music With Michele take on a Grunge cover, and I feel like we’re able to come along with them on this journey fairly easily when it comes to the verses…but the chorus starts to feel a little bit on the paint-by-numbers side of things, but like, when you choose not to follow the pattern as its intended. There’s a lot of choosing to color outside of the lines in the context of the picture we know, and a lot of artistic license being taken to how this cover moves on a musical level. Like I was tellin’ ya earlier – I genuinely believe that players like Robert & Dean with their immensely diverse musical skills and background would appreciate what becomes a much more avant garde approach to the music – but it’s a bit tougher to appreciate from a dedicated fan’s perspective, you feel me? So Davey and Michele end up in this kind of limbo space where we like…I mean…we’re interested in hearing the variation we find in a version like this, but I’m not 100% sure that continues to carry on past our initial curiosity. As in, anyone out there that knows “Unglued” would be quite likely to check it out – but I don’t know if that ends up translating into repeat listens, and that might be a bit of a concern here for Music With Michele.
This is where you haul out that smile and say good job – because ultimately you mean it sincerely, even if you don’t plan on going back for more. I suppose therein lies the difference folks…I spun “Unglued” by Stone Temple Pilots for what seemed like days on end…to the point where I’m still spinning it now as an adult, some thirty years after it originally came out. I don’t know that I can say with confidence that the sound of Grunge is necessarily a fit for what Music With Michele does if I’m being completely honest with them. I think there are fringe bands like The Breeders and Belly that would suit them perfectly – but even in those instances, it’s probably much more about finding the right song than it is about simply having female singers – make sense? When it comes right down to it, Davey gets way busy in the music of “Unglued,” and even the DeLeos would likely tell ya it’s one of their least complex songs…it’s very hard to add complexity where none previously existed without it feeling like somewhat of a stretch or strain. For the sound they have, they’d probably want to look at songs like “Pretty Penny” or even “Kitchenware & Candybars” if they’re dead set on doing a cover by Stone Temple Pilots, as opposed to taking on one of their most all-out electric rippers. That being said, Music With Michele has taken chances here with their own spin on “Unglued,” and I do respect them for adding their own uniqueness.
Y’all force me into a corner when you take on the Grunge era I tell ya. I’m very much NOT the guy to be like ‘the original is always better’ – because I don’t believe that, at all. In most instances, I barely even think it’s appropriate to compare, though I’ll readily admit it simply makes sense that we do in the context of human nature and how we think. It’s natural to compare the things we know – how could we not? It doesn’t mean that each version doesn’t have its own merit, and that’s really what you have to take away from any experience in that regard. I might still be partial to the original version of “Unglued” – and I mean heck, I’m fairly certain that Davey and Michele would only say the same – but that doesn’t need to necessarily take away from what they’ve done in making their own version of it to rock out to when they wanna. If you happen to enjoy it along with’em, it’s not required, but even better! They’re having fun finding out what they’re capable of as a duo, and I’d imagine that nothing any of us could say is going to stop them from continuing on that path. And rightly so! Make the music you wanna make because you wanna make it, regardless of what any of us have to say. If that applies to rockin’ cover tunes as well, have at’er I say – making music IS all about following the fun, wherever it may take you.
Find out more about Music With Michele from this handy multi-link: https://linktr.ee/michelethetrainer
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