Welcome to SeeDarkly Sunday DisCOVERies:
a weekly exploration of goth, industrial, & dark alternative cover songs!
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It's the end of February and so we reach the final entry in this four-part "Dark Valentine's" series called "Love Songs to Beautiful People You Think Are Sexy But With Whom You Are Not In Love!"
We wrap up with the final part of the titular tale and though there is definitely some unfortunate heartbreak in the story of the featured duo, you might be surprised by the origins of their most popular single from a band with whom you are not in love... yet.:
Crystal Castles - Not In Love (Platinum Blonde)
Platinum Blonde, a Canadian new wave pop-rock band with glam style, got their name from the 1931 romantic comedy film starring Jean Harlow. They released their debut album, Standing In the Dark, in 1983. Derivative of the sounds of Elvis Costello, Duran Duran, and Icehouse, the band was considered something of a underground success in their country where the album earned triple-platinum sales, but were effectively a "no-hit wonder" anywhere else. Not In Love was their fourth single from the album, released October 1984.
While it might be expected they would vanish into obscurity, in recent years they have instead found themselves with a newfound and even more global audience thanks in no small measure to those kindred Canadians who covered this track.
Ethan Kath, one half of Crystal Castles, a electronic duo among vanguards in the witch house style, worked as a resident DJ at Toronto’s Mod Club, owned by Platinum Blonde frontman Mark Holmes. The band performed some of its first shows on live-to-air radio broadcasts from the venue with Holmes as host going by the alias "DJ MRK."
The duo were forced to release their second album in April 2010, earlier than planned because it had been leaked to the internet. Crystal Castles II featured their cover of Not In Love, originally with the duo's former member, Alice Glass, on vocals. That version however was not released as the single. They instead released a version with Robert Smith of The Cure on vocals in November 2010, also making it available on later digital issues of the album. Smith's prestige elevated both the track and the band to a broader international audience, scoring them their first major hit.
Thanks to the success of the single, (and the occasional guest appearance by Holmes filling in as vocalist for the track at Crystal Castle shows,) Platinum Blonde has experienced a resurgence of fan interest and went on to record and release the 2012 album, Now or Never, their first album in 22 years.
The cover featured here spotlights the original take on the track. All due respect to Robert Smith and fans of that version, Alice Glass left Crystal Castles claiming a number of problematic issues in her relationship with Kath, not the least of which was the diminished recognition she received from him for her contributions to the project. While Glass (who is currently working on a solo album) is not the same kind of vocalist Smith is and her vocals are filtered through electronic effects, given the circumstances of her departure from the band some might agree that representation matters and her role should not be dismissed or forgotten.
The Cover:
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The Original:
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Next week:
What goes around, comes around... just give it time and you'll hear this nefarious industrial cover. ^_^
Comments, suggestions, discussions, etc... welcome! (You do NOT need a LiveJournal account to comment, but all comments are screened for spam prevention.)
I'm scheduled to spin twice in March.
My schedule will be updated soon to provide more details.
Until next time, explore the darkness,
-
Xero Previous DisCOVERies
Feb 19 -
Revolting Cocks- Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? (Rod Stewart)Feb 12 -
Roniit - The Beautiful People (Marilyn Manson)Feb 05 -
Leæther Strip - Love Song (Simple Minds)Jan 29 -
Rammstein - Stripped (Depeche Mode)Jan 22 -
Avarice In Audio - Welcome To Paradise (Front 242) Directory of All Previous DisCOVERies