My second bardcore selection is a cover of a much more contemporary song — Lady Gaga’s ‘Bad Romance.’
In her early posts, Hildegard Von Blingen’ added vocals over other people’s instrumental tracks, but on this one she created the whole thing from scratch, using a Celtic harp and wooden recorders to achieve the distinctive sound.
My kids recently introduced me to one of those projects that makes the internet seem like a good idea. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s bardcore!
This genre finds well-known songs covered in the Renaissance style, with traditional instruments and styling recreating modern melodies. The lyrics, too, get an era-appropriate makeover, with the inclusion of lots of thees and thys.
I recently wrote about the Billboard Hot 100 for the week of July 21, 1984, today’s Throwback Weekend focus.
This was one of the weeks that Prince’s ‘When Doves Cry’ topped the chart, relegating Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Dancing in the Dark’ to #2 and depriving The Boss of what would have been his only #1 hit.
Throwing back to the week of July 20, 1974, we find soul singer George McCrae with ‘Rock Your Baby.’ This disco track, McCrae’s first single, became a worldwide hit, reaching #1 in ten countries.
There’s really not much to this song, other than a silky groove and the falsetto repetition of the title phrase. I guess that’s all you need sometimes.
As I bring to a close this three-week look at major artists who failed to achieve a #1 hit, I wanted to save a big one for last.
Journey has released two Platinum, five multi-Platinum, and one Diamond studio album. They also lay claim to two Platinum or multi-Platinum live albums, and a greatest hits collection that went 18X Platinum. That’s a lot of platinum!
And yet, despite releasing some of the most iconic pop rock songs of the 70s and 80s, Journey has never reached the top of the Hot 100.
Meet Me In Montauk 