Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

  • I teach yoga, Nia, and stretch online!

    ALL CLASSES ARE ON ZOOM AT 10:00 AM PDT

    Tuesday Gentle Yoga 

    Wednesday Nia

    Thursday Stretch

    Please see my website for details!

    I am also available for private Nia / yoga / Personal Training all virtual, of course!

  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

  • My Bloggey Past

  • ******

    Chose a month above to visit archives, or click below to visit a page.

Posts Tagged ‘Counting Crows’

Sometimes The Cover Is Better

Posted by terrepruitt on February 14, 2022

So, I was listening to a song the other day and it reminded me that I like the cover better. Then I started thinking about the songs I could name off the top of my head that I like the covers better. Some I didn’t even know were covers at first. I bet there are a lot more songs that I like the cover better and a lot of songs that I don’t even know are not the original artist’s version. Here is my short list with more info below.

Tainted Love
XO
Beggin’
Big Yellow Taxi
The Tide Is High

It was Tainted Love that sent me down this path. I was in an online class listening to the original artist, Gloria Jones. I don’t remember having heard that version before, but I imagine I have since it was recorded in 1964! But I am familiar with (and love) the Soft Cell cover from 1981. I have a vague recollection of hearing the Soft Cell version and thinking, “Hmmm sounds different. I like it.” So I bet I had heard the original version first, but forgot and went with the Soft Cell version. Love it!

XO, is one of the songs that makes me laugh because the first version I heard was John Mayer’s and when I heard Beyoncé’s I thought, “Eww, she ruined John’s song.” When I was exposed to a collection of Beyoncé’s songs and XO was in it I realized that it was HER song and John had done the cover. This is a case where I don’t like the original and I love the cover. I think that may happen with me more often than not, but I am not sure. At least with the songs on this list I am sure. Since Beyoncé released it in 2013 and John covered it in 2014, it is completely understandable that I had never heard Beyoncé’s version before I heard (and fell in love with) John Mayer’s version.

Now Big Yellow Taxi is another song that I cannot imagine not having heard the original version/artist before. I think that with some songs I hear them but I don’t like them and then when I hear a cover that I do like, then I like the song. Joni Mitchell wrote and released Big Yellow Taxi in 1970 and I am sure I had heard it back then. As I mentioned I bet I heard it and didn’t like it so I never thought about it, but then in 2003 when the Counting Crows covered it, I liked it.

Beggin’ I have been seeing videos of the cover by Måneskin all over and didn’t even know it was a song from 1967. The Four Seasons originally recorded it. And I can’t say I remember having heard it. Like many songs there has been several versions done. So, like many songs, I can’t say for sure if I have heard the original or a version after, but I can say I like Måneskin’s version.

Now, most might be familiar with Blondie’s version of The Tide Is High, not sure if many people have heard the original version by The Paragons from 1967. Sometimes I feel bad for original artists because sometimes it could just be the time at which the song is released was just not ideal, but not always.

Anyway, those are the songs right off the top of my head that I know I like the cover better than the original version.

What about you? Do you have opinions on these songs? Do you have songs that you like the covers of better than the original versions?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Remove Green To Be More Green

Posted by terrepruitt on April 1, 2016

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitToday is April Fool’s Day.  I am not one to play pranks or enjoy pranks played on me.  But today, I wished so hard that I was the victim of a cruel joke.  I pulled into the parking lot where I teach Nia three days out of the week and I was so sad to see that ALL the trees are marked for removal.  So the tree-lined parking lot that one must drive down to enter the main parking lot will no longer be tree-lined.  There will no longer be trees and sky to look up at.  I was running late today, but the supervisor of the center was walking by as I was getting ready for class and I asked him about the trees.  I believe he said that they will be removed and relocated.  I really was in a hurry so I was unable to get more details, but I think he said if they can’t fit in the parking lot most of them will go to parks.  But that doesn’t change the fact that the trees will no longer be at the center.  They are putting up those solar parking canopies.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitSo, I saw the solar parking canopies go up in school parking lots and I thought it was ridiculous that they need to add shade for cars.  But then I was informed that they are solar.  So I thought that was cool.  The few school parking lots that I have seen them go up in were just barren plots of asphalt.  That makes sense to me.  But at this center they are taking down trees.  This makes me sad.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitThere just seems to be so much metal and concrete around, I think it is so sad when a tree gets taken down/moved/removed to put up more metal and concrete.  A comment made was “it is being done to be green”.  I am just not convinced that removing green trees is the way to be green.  It just seems so wrong.  Also, I was told that now there will be shade for cars, more than there is already provided by the trees that they are taking down.  Again . . . not convinced that cars having shade is more important than birds having homes and places to eat.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitAs I was standing in the parking lot talking to one of my students who was equally sad that the trees were going away we were listening to the birds and watching them flit around in the trees.  While we enjoyed it, it was somewhat bittersweet because at one point, there will be parking canopies going up in place of the trees.

No April Fool’s joke here.  Actual live trees, green trees are being removed so we can be green.  Places that birds and bugs live and feed will be removed so we can have shade for our cars.  Makes me sad.

The center is quite large and so I am bummed that trees have to be removed instead of some type of roof top installation of solar panels.  I mean, solar panels are great to help with energy.  It makes sense: sun, power — good.  But it is so sad that the trees have to go.  It is so sad that they will be replaced by metal and concrete.

It was even more prophetic that when I got in my car the radio was playing, “It’s The End Of the World as we know it.”  I am not even certain that a more appropriate song would have been Big Yellow Taxi, ya know the one that says “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.”

Sigh.  Good-bye pretty tree-lined parking lot.  I’ll miss you.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit

Posted in Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »