Since U Been Booooooooooring

I had an interesting conversation with Matt Corley while catching up (since I been gone for so long) about Ted Leo's cover of Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone," which I'm going to have to go ahead and call the best single of the year. What comes close? Amerie? Jamie Lidell? "Wait"? "Heartbeat" again, since now it really counts? "Arena"? OK, the last one came out like two years ago, but I'm giving it another chance. Hey, if you haven't Googled your way to Alan Braxe and Fred Falke yet, check out The Uppercuts or at least download "Arena." Only up for seven days, so get it while supplies last.

Alan Braxe and Fred Falke - "Arena"

Anyway, Ted Leo covered "Since U Been Gone" and it leaked to the internet. This is not shocking. My point to Matt was that this cover is inherently pointless, because as a meticulously crafted pop song, Kelly Clarkson already made any future tampering redundant. My position (which Matt disputed) is that "Since U Been Gone" (Ted Leo Remix) is a flimsy attempt to indie-fy a perfect piece of mainstream pop (booooooring), an act that, sorry Matt, I think comes across as pointlessly ironic. He maintains that Leo is just having fun with the song. I feel like this can only prove that either 1) Ted Leo "gets" fun or 2) it's OK to like Kelly Clarkson, provided you can prove you liked Ted Leo first.

The first statement is true. Ted Leo seems like a fun enough guy. But if this is the song's only value (hey, Ted Leo listens to the radio, and he kind of likes it sometimes!), then my casual assessment (boooooooring) stands. The second statement is debatable, but I still feel like this is a stab at making mainstream pop, a format commonly vilified intellectually (but appreciated in a more immediate sense, leading to condescending qualifiers like "guilty pleasure") among many in Ted Leo's audience, acceptable to an indie rock purist mindset. But indie rock purism as a reaction to mainstream pop is like Wendy's purism as a reaction to McDonalds, a petty distinction. In a completely bullshitless world, Kelly Clarkson would have more "cred" than Ted Leo -- she writes better songs (Leo can't even perform a Kelly Clarkson song convincingly) and has admirably found a way to infiltrate the system, i.e. the supermarket. (NB: I heard "Mr. Brightside" in the supermarket yesterday and my respect for the Killers increased considerably.) Also, my whole family likes Kelly Clarkson. And so does yours. No one really likes Ted Leo, though many people like the idea of Ted Leo.

I don't mean to say that this sort of thing can't be done successfully (check out the previous post's Darnielle-ified "The Sign," which at least provides some humor and context to the cover), just that it can be done better, and should usually be avoided, if not always. Leo's cover plays like a tepid tongue-in-cheek in-joke, and if it's not meant to be even a little ironic then it's...what's that word again? BOOOOOOOOOOORING.

Ted Leo - "Since U Been Gone" (live)