As I noted when I proclaimed him pop music’s new Prince of Darkness, Lil Wayne has been doing everything possible in the past couple years to act like a rock star. He plays guitar (badly); he got a lip piercing; he joins Fall Out Boy and Kid Rock onstage at awards shows. But while the rock charts are just about the only singles charts his collaboration with Kevin Rudolf, “Let It Rock,” haven’t raced up, Wayne has finally seeped into Billboard’s Hot Modern Rock Tracks–as a songwriter. That’s because the Tennessee band Framing Hanley has recorded a cover of “Lollipop,” Wayne’s No. 1 single from Tha Carter III, and it’s currently at No. 37 in its second week there.
The video, which (spoiler alert!) drags on for two minutes of dialogue before the song even starts, below:
When I first heard the song several weeks ago, I immediately laughed at its ridiculous brooding arrangement. But my wife, who’s less familiar with the works of Dwayne Carter, was confused by my reaction; “Lollipop” sounded like just another crappy alt-rock song to her, and I can understand why. Even the lyrics, as sung by Framing Hanley, don’t sound that out of place, given the cock-rock resurgence led on those same stations by the likes of Buckcherry’s “Too Drunk To Fuck” and Hinder’s “Use Me.” The band’s arrangement conveniently skips past the many N-words in the second verse, although there’s just no smoothing over refrains like “shawty wanna hump, you know I love to touch your lovely lady lumps.” If “Lollipop” ends up being Framing Hanley’s first major hit, I’m willing to bet it’ll also be the band’s last.
There’s a long history of alt-rockers recording covers of pop hits; some have tongue in cheek, and others have a genuine affection for the song. Most have a mix of both. In recent years, it’s become something of a cottage industry for indie rockers to light up filesharing networks with tossed-off renditions of “Since U Been Gone” or “…Baby One More Time.” But the history of bands actually charting on rock radio with familiar covers is much spottier, and the source material is usually limited to revered ’80s hits–Alien Ant Farm’s version of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal,” the Ataris’ take on Don Henley’s “Boys Of Summer,” Orgy’s massacre of New Order’s “Blue Monday.” (And don’t forget the many covers to come out of the ’90s ska boom, most notably Save Ferris’ “Come On Eileen.”) There’s a whole subgenre out there of ironically mellow gangsta rap covers, but only Dynamite Hack’s “Boyz In The Hood” was a genuine radio hit.
The common denominator between all of those songs, you may notice, is that the covers are the only hits the bands in question ever had. And if there’s one thing less dignified than being a one-hit-wonder, it’s being a one-hit wonder whose one hit was a cover; no one cares about the other songs that your band actually wrote, and you’re getting substantially less in royalties than you would if you had a songwriting credit. Occasionally, an established band releases a cover as a single, like Disturbed’s fairly awesome version of Genesis’ “Land Of Confusion” or Fall Out Boy’s fairly lame recording of “Beat It.” But Marilyn Manson may be the only contemporary rock artist whose long line of radio hits kicked off with a cover. And after breaking through with “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This),” Manson continued to go back to the well of ’80s goth karaoke throughout his career, releasing his versions of “Tainted Love” and “Personal Jesus.”
The fact that Lil Wayne’s track topped the chart mere months before Framing Hanley’s cover, not way back in 1985, makes “Lollipop” kind of an anomaly. It doesn’t trigger nostalgia for the halcyon days of MTV, it’s just a goofy reminder of a song that’s still stuck in our heads from hearing it all summer. “Lollipop” is technically Framing Hanley’s second single, but its first, the dour “Hear Me Now,” wasn’t much of a hit. And if their Weezy cover does blow up, it will probably give the band enough of an afterglow to get a minor follow-up hit, but after that the band’s future career prospects will be slim to none. Like Alien Ant Farm or the Ataris, they’ll be known forever for a cover they probably worked up one day in soundcheck as a joke, and then made the mistake of letting their A&R man hear and get excited about. So here’s hoping Framing Hanley enjoy the next few months of fleeting fame, and maybe do something splashy like get Wayne to perform the song with them on TV, to make the most of it.
[Pic via WDKX]
@sXenester:
Should we add Letters to Cleo to this list too? Multiple offender! The Cars! Nick Lowe! Cheap Trick!
@Al Shipley: I love the Lemonheads. i love making fun of bands more.
also, I’m not old enough to remember that.
@spankyjoe: Definitely.
And does Soft Cell count if almost everyone’s forgotten it was a cover in the first place?
@spankyjoe: Letters To Cleo’s charting singles were all originals.
@natepatrin: Soft Cell predates the Modern Rock chart, and was more of a pop hit anyway.
If it wasn’t totally clear, people, this post was about hit covers of non-rock songs by rock acts in the past 10-20 years, not just any kind of cover ever.
@Al Shipley:
Point taken. From a strict chart standpoint, you’re totally correct. I’m just thinking in terms of current cultural awareness - I mentioned Letters to Cleo because at this stage of the game, I’m willing to bet more folks have heard them because of the media saturation Ten Things I Hate About You and The Craft have achieved via the magic of constant re-runs on TBS than during their original chart success.
I always really enjoyed the Fountains Of Wayne cover of “Baby One More Time”
@spankyjoe: Yeah, I see what you mean. Sixpence None The Richer is a similar example: they had one big original hit (”Kiss Me”), and then kept afloat for years afterward by releasing covers as singles (”There She Goes,” “Don’t Dream It’s Over”).
This one might be too obvious, but UB40? Ever since “Red Red Wine,” those dudes will cover anything, and they seem to do well with them…
@Al Shipley: I think I also remember Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn” (which was originally a cover) charting fairly well on the Modern Rock chart.
Orgy’s massacre of New Order’s “Blue Monday.”
Oh, man, WORD — I knew the music-industrial complex was nearing a peak in the late ’90s when these guys were taken seriously by a certain type of desperate Hot Topic goth fan. There was just no there there. I remember flipping through posters at a record store around 1999, and they had one of Orgy, and I thought to myself, Who the fuck would want to adorn their walls with a heavily made-up band whose only hit is a shitty New Order cover? It was like a metaphor for the tech bubble or something.
Al’s made it clear that he’s talking about post-1988 modern rock, but my all-time favorite mediocre rock band who couldn’t get arrested after scoring a single U.S. hit with a cover is Australia’s Pseudo Echo, who made the pop Top 10 in 1987 with a remake of “Funkytown.” (Yes, that “Funkytown.”) Had the Modern Rock chart existed a year earlier, I’m sure their “Funkytown” would’ve charted there, too.
Lil Wayne, please stay relevant for at least one more year so that I can re-use my rasta wig next Halloween. Thanks.
Between their still-current choice of cover and their Verbing Propernoun name, I’m banking on these guys having the shelf life of guacamole.
Limp Bizkit’s first hit was their version of “Faith.” That’s all I’ve got.
Damn this is awful.
@Chris N.: D’oh! I knew there was another big one I’d forget to mention.
And if there’s one thing less dignified than being a one-hit-wonder, it’s being a one-hit wonder whose one hit was a cover;
ooohhh, the Lemonheads?
@sXenester: Hey, the Lemonheads had 2 hits that charted higher than “Mrs. Robinson.”
@Chris Molanphy: To be fair on Pseudo Echo, they couldn’t really get arrested here in Aus after Funkytown either. Yes, they had a minor hit with You’re Not Listening, but really after that it was back to a life of performing in RSL clubs for a handful of meal tickets and free booze.
@Chris Molanphy: As a gigantic New Order fan, that cover is the musical equivelant to a war crime to me. It cuts out the build and creates a chorus out of thin air. And the screaming. It just ruins one of the best songs ever written.
Now, Cake’s cover of “I Will Survive”, Urge Overkill’s cover of “Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon” and Dynamite Hack’s cover of “Boyz in the Hood” are great alt rock covers of out-of-genre songs. But for every “I Will Survive”, there’s a middling cover of “Boys of Summer”.
@2ironic4u: “Torn” peaked at #12 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, and “Wishing I Was There” - cowritten by former Cure keyboardist Phil Thornalley - hit #26 on the same chart.
@Al Shipley: Into Your Arms was also a cover, though, albeit one by a band (The Love Positions) that were never popular.
@DocStrange: You like Boyz N Da Hood?!?! That song ruined a whole summer for me. Also, I think Orgy were sort of okay, in retrospect; and, you know, so does Rihanna, apparently.
Also, and I realize I’m commenting days later so nobody’s going to read this, but I think the Ataris and Alien Ant Farm songs are actually both way more interesting (and, frankly, better) than the originals.
@DocStrange: Ooh, Urge Overkill, good call. That’s probably the 2nd one brought up in the comments that I do regret not mentioning in the post (the other being Limp Bizkit).
I would say “Boys Of Summer” is one of the better covers we’ve discussed here, though, the little snare fill the Ataris drummer adds to the chorus really makes it.
Orgy did have a Top 10 modern rock hit with “Fiction (Dreams in Digital” in 2000. Just saying.