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Cover Bands: What new (or newish) Top 40 songs are working for you?


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Quote Originally Posted by wheresgrant3

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just part of a long flowing medley we cover that's about 15 minutes long and full of modern dance stuff.

 

Most of our dance stuff we do in long medleys as well. A couple minutes of most of those tracks is usually plenty for the crowd and it's the transition into the next song that keeps the energy level up in most cases. Plus it helps us avoid having to deal with rap-breaks and other parts of songs that we might not perform as well.
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Quote Originally Posted by guido61 View Post
If we had the ability to rehearse more, we'd no doubt have many more modern dance tunes in our songlist. We just aren't in a very good position to transition a lot of current songs that are only going to be hot for a few weeks in and out of the songlist, so consequently, the number of newer songs we do is relatively small and we instead rely a lot on older "classic" tunes.

I've become gun-shy about calling a rehearsal to learn songs that might not stick. I'm pretty certain, for example, that we'd be getting a great response with something like "What Makes You Beautiful"---or at least we would have a few weeks ago. But "how long will it last?" always seems to be the million dollar question.

I made this analogies a few years back, if a setlist is like a menu then the standard fare never changes and the new pop-top 40 become like Blackboard specials. They change all of the time. Although I hate the effort to learn and test news songs I can't fault that effort since we're always trying to offer the crowd something new, which in turn keeps the audiences coming back for more.
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Quote Originally Posted by guido61 View Post
If we had the ability to rehearse more, we'd no doubt have many more modern dance tunes in our songlist. We just aren't in a very good position to transition a lot of current songs that are only going to be hot for a few weeks in and out of the songlist, so consequently, the number of newer songs we do is relatively small and we instead rely a lot on older "classic" tunes.

I've become gun-shy about calling a rehearsal to learn songs that might not stick. I'm pretty certain, for example, that we'd be getting a great response with something like "What Makes You Beautiful"---or at least we would have a few weeks ago. But "how long will it last?" always seems to be the million dollar question.

I made this analogies a few years back, if a setlist is like a menu then the standard fare never changes and the new pop-top 40 become like Blackboard specials. They change all of the time. Although I hate the effort to learn and test news songs I can't fault that effort since we're always trying to offer the crowd something new, which in turn keeps the audiences coming back for more.
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Quote Originally Posted by wheresgrant3 View Post
I made this analogies a few years back, if a setlist is like a menu then the standard fare never changes and the new pop-top 40 become like Blackboard specials. They change all of the time. Although I hate the effort to learn and test news songs I can't fault that effort since we're always trying to offer the crowd something new, which in turn keeps the audiences coming back for more.
If we were like your band---playing for a same audiences every week---we'd no doubt be forced to keep the songlist more fresh. In our case, since we rarely play for the same people more than once a year, it's more just a matter of making sure every song works for whoever-that-nights crowd happens to be.

The reason is we don't learn more new songs more often is just a matter of personal logistics: 6 people with day jobs and families spread out over 130 miles. Not exactly conducive to weekly rehearsals! So we make do with what we have. Which rarely involves a six of us rehearsing together at the same time. Luckily most modern pop songs are easy enough that trainwrecks can be avoided. And the medley format means that if nothing else, we can always drop back to just the beat if some stuff isn't working right on stage that first night or two.
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Quote Originally Posted by wheresgrant3 View Post
I've had this footage around for a while if anyone's interested in watching it.

I don't have Gangnam Style on video yet.... but Sexy And I know It, Party Rock Anthem and Dynamite... just part of a long flowing medley we cover that's about 15 minutes long and full of modern dance stuff. The footage is terrible, unedited and the cameras all over the place. But it's uninterrrupted and it gives a peak into modern dance music played by a band (no backing tracks, sequencing involved) the energy level and the crowd response. We wedged Gangnam in between Sexy and Party Rock Anthem.





I'd skip around through the video... but these songs and others mentioned here have been pure gold for us. It helps to have the additional lighting and players on board to help sell it too. We're also playing this stuff faster than the recordings.
Awesome! Love the crazy stuff you guys do... especially that zippy dude!

Here is the way There & Back Again put some pop tunes together.

raise your glass, party rock, dynamite & Club Can't Handle me.



Ostrich Hat does a bigger longer medley but I don't have it on video... yet.

That one goes:
tonight tonight, raise your glass, moves like jagger, what makes you beautiful, tubthumping, good feeling, dynamite, calle ocho, Give me everything.
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"What Makes You Beautiful" by One Direction (baaarrrrffffff!!!!!)
"Starships" by Nikki Minaj (baaarrrffffff!!!!)
"Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen (Carly Rae Baaaarrrrrffffsen!!!!)
"Brokenhearted" by Karmin (the name describes how I feel when I have to play this song)


...plus some other, more tolerable ones. But on the whole, the newer tunes SUCK compared to older tunes. Yet people consistently request them! I guess that's the name of the game in a top-40 band, though! smile.gif

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Quote Originally Posted by jeff42 View Post
Awesome! Love the crazy stuff you guys do... especially that zippy dude!

Here is the way There & Back Again put some pop tunes together.

raise your glass, party rock, dynamite & Club Can't Handle me.



Ostrich Hat does a bigger longer medley but I don't have it on video... yet.

That one goes:
tonight tonight, raise your glass, moves like jagger, what makes you beautiful, tubthumping, good feeling, dynamite, calle ocho, Give me everything.
Cool medley... I like how you take your time with it. Nothing is rushed. I always like hearing how another band approaches the same material. Your version of Party Rock is a completely different bpm and beat yet both versions are instantly recognizable. Like the break down after the main riff. Dynamite echos an 80's tune ala Jessie's Girl! thumb.gif
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Quote Originally Posted by jeff42 View Post
Awesome! Love the crazy stuff you guys do... especially that zippy dude!

Here is the way There & Back Again put some pop tunes together.

raise your glass, party rock, dynamite & Club Can't Handle me.



Ostrich Hat does a bigger longer medley but I don't have it on video... yet.

That one goes:
tonight tonight, raise your glass, moves like jagger, what makes you beautiful, tubthumping, good feeling, dynamite, calle ocho, Give me everything.
Finally, a video with decent vocals in it. Sounds good Jeff.
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Quote Originally Posted by wheresgrant3 View Post
I made this analogies a few years back, if a setlist is like a menu then the standard fare never changes and the new pop-top 40 become like Blackboard specials. They change all of the time.....
I LIKE that analogy.

Quote Originally Posted by wheresgrant3 View Post
......I hate the effort to learn and test news songs I can't fault that effort since we're always trying to offer the crowd something new, which in turn keeps the audiences coming back for more.
I actually enjoy that part of it, too. It keeps you on your toes. It keeps you fresh, keeps you from getting stale. Sometimes a song doesn't work, but the learning experience is worth it for your musicality IMO...
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Quote Originally Posted by stevmac1 View Post
Just learned "Locked out of Heaven" by Bruno Mars. I'd never heard the song and it's a little more "pop" than most of the set, but we learned it pretty quickly and it sounds good.
First gig will tell tho...
steve
Yep. I'm pretty sure we're gonna do that one, too.
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