Bad Copy

This time around I’m taking a look at the song “Between Planets.”

The Original:

The original was recorded by Scottish indie rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain. I did a cover to cover of this band’s song “Head On” previously here on Radio Unfriendly back in February. You can read the short bio of the band that I did there.

The song “Between Planets” was originally recorded for the album Automatic. That was the band’s third LP and was released in October 1989. It was recorded at Sam Therapy in West London. Automatic was released on the label Blanco y Negro and produced by Jim and William Reid. “Between Planets” was the fourth track on the album. The LP reached #105 on the US Billboard 200 chart and #11 on the UK Albums chart.

The Cover:

The song was covered by Chicago-based pop punk band Noise by Numbers. This band was formed in 2008 by former Screeching Weasel/The Methadones/Sludgeworth alum Dan Schafer (aka Dan Vapid) and Jeff Dean, formerly of The Bomb and currently of Heavy Seas. Their first album was Yeah, Whatever… which was released in 2009 by Asian Man Records. Since this writing, the band has released three full length albums and a few singles and splits. Their latest release was 2015’s High on Drama EP which was released by Jump Start Records.

Their cover of “Between Planets” was released on a 2011 split with Cheap Girls. That split was released by Suburban Home Records.

The Verdict:

Prior to writing this, I had never heard the cover version from Noise by Numbers. Or maybe I have and just don’t remember listening to it. I am a fan of all of Dan Schafer’s projects. I will admit, however, that Noise By Numbers is the project of his that I have dove into the least. Not because I don’t like them;  mostly just because I’m mostly drawn to his Methadones and The Cheats material.

On that note, I really do like the Noise By Numbers version. I like the way Dan and company approach the song. I am a fan of Dan’s vocal style and really like the way that he vocalizes the song. The way the band plays the song I feel is, I dunno, more powerful than the original and comes across less… for lack of a better term… jaded than the way The Jesus and Mary Chain play it. I’m not sure if that’s the word I’m looking for to be honest. It’s the closest word to what I’m trying to convey right now.

The original, of course, is also really good. As I’ve mentioned before in the aforementioned issue about the song “Head On,” I am a fan of TJAMC. I like the guitars, the vocals, the programming, the nostalgic 80s feel that I get from listening to the band, and it is from what is quite possibly my favorite TJAMC album. The was the song is delivered by the band, however, feels a little… hmm… I don’t want to use the word jaded again… maybe unenthusiastic? Perhaps a bit lethargic? And maybe that is the tone the band was going for. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t feel like the way they sing it is completely emotionless and I do really like their version. It’s just something about the way they deliver it that seems a tiny bit dispassionate. Again, don’t get me wrong. This is a great song and I do like their version of it. I’m just saying that compared to the cover version, it seems less… fun?

With all that being said, I think I prefer the Noise By Numbers version. I think a lot of it has to do with the way Dan’s vocal delivery. I will say that I prefer the percussion on the original version and while I am a fan of the guitar style of the Reid brothers, I just happen to, with this particular song, prefer the guitar style of Dan and company.

But what do you think? Which version of “Between Planets” do you prefer?

That’s it for this edition of Cover to Cover. Thanks for reading. Comment are encouraged and highly appreciated.