Originally sung by a group called The Boomtown Rats in 1979, "I Don't Like Mondays" is a song about the shooting at the schoolyard of Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego, California, by a 16 year old girl named Brenda Ann Spencer. 2 adults were killed, and 8 students were injured, along with a police officer. When she was asked why she started shooting, she said "I don't like Mondays. This livens up the day." Struck by the thought of how weak her reasoning was, Bob Geldof wrote this song to try to understand it. In 2001, for her cover album "Strange Little Girls", Tori Amos recorded a cover of the song. But which is the superior version?
Both songs sound entirely different from each other. Bob Geldof sounds quite upbeat singing in the Boomtown Rats versions, especially considering the subject matter. However, he puts a lot of power in his voice, projecting his emotion quite well, even through the superficially cheery vocals. On the other hand, Tori Amos's voice is very low-key, giving the song a very haunting quality to it. However, due to her low-key performance, the song has less of an audible impact for the listener.
The instruments on each follow the same pattern. The Boomtown Rats version has a poppy backing, sounding like any other pop song. Nice and upbeat, right? Well, until you hear the lyrics. Again, though, Tori Amos uses a much more subtle backing piano, causing a very haunting sound to her version. It's honestly quite beautiful sounding.
So, which version is better? I'm sure this will surprise those who read my previous review of Johnny Cash's "Hurt" against the original NIN version, but I like the original more. Yes, the Tori Amos's voice is haunting, and the melody backing her is beautiful. And her version matches the mood of the lyrics more. But the Boomtown Rats' version has more of an impact on the listener. You are sucked into their version of the song by the poppy sound and the cheery singer, only realizing what the song is truly saying when you listen to the lyrics. And to me, that is a more rewarding listen.
Both songs sound entirely different from each other. Bob Geldof sounds quite upbeat singing in the Boomtown Rats versions, especially considering the subject matter. However, he puts a lot of power in his voice, projecting his emotion quite well, even through the superficially cheery vocals. On the other hand, Tori Amos's voice is very low-key, giving the song a very haunting quality to it. However, due to her low-key performance, the song has less of an audible impact for the listener.
The cheeriest song about a school shooting ever.
The instruments on each follow the same pattern. The Boomtown Rats version has a poppy backing, sounding like any other pop song. Nice and upbeat, right? Well, until you hear the lyrics. Again, though, Tori Amos uses a much more subtle backing piano, causing a very haunting sound to her version. It's honestly quite beautiful sounding.
So, which version is better? I'm sure this will surprise those who read my previous review of Johnny Cash's "Hurt" against the original NIN version, but I like the original more. Yes, the Tori Amos's voice is haunting, and the melody backing her is beautiful. And her version matches the mood of the lyrics more. But the Boomtown Rats' version has more of an impact on the listener. You are sucked into their version of the song by the poppy sound and the cheery singer, only realizing what the song is truly saying when you listen to the lyrics. And to me, that is a more rewarding listen.
It's definitely much better than her cover of Slayer's "Raining Blood", though. And no, I'm not making that up.
