Jellyfish tribute

On the day which will be forever known (to me) as Kurt Vonnegut Day, my friend Tom Gale informed me that there is a tribute album to one of my all-time favourite bands: Jellyfish. When I was finally able to check out the album's website, I was a bit disappointed that I didn't recognize any of the bands paying tribute. While Jellyfish wasn't exactly a huge band, they weren't exactly toiling in obscurity, either. Their fanbase is still strong, and their influence can be seen in the "smart rock" of people like Ben Folds. So, why no big artists? Just smaller artists like "Gluttons of Sympathy" (a tribute band, if ever there was one), Mike Elgert, and a host of other unknowns.

The difficulty in paying tribute to a band whose songs and arrangements approach musical perfection is, how do you improve upon them? The answer is, you don't. But you can offer new interpretations which could open new doors to old songs we love so much. But hearing Readymade Breakup thrashing gems like "Joining a Fan Club," it's just not right. Here's who I would have recruited for the project if I was the producer:

Spilt Milk:

Hush- Imogen Heap. She has shown great talent at a cappella work.

Joining a Fan Club- Radiohead. Strange choice, but Paranoid taught us that these boys know bombast, as well as melodic beauty.

Sebrina, Paste and Plato- Tori Amos. Cornflake Girl has a similar strangeness and nostalgia as this Jellyfish classic. I think Tori would kick ass here.

New Mistake- Ben can't sing like Andy can (who can???), but he's got the energy and charisma that would be perfect for this song.

The Glutton of Sympathy- This is one example where I think Sarah could actually improve on the song, somewhat. This one always sounded just a teensy bit schmaltzy, which I think Sarah would fix.

The Ghost at Number One- Rooney is a great band that has the energy for this awesome song. They're not as talented as the Jellies, but they could make this song fun. Tough thing to do for an anti-religious song.

Bye, bye, bye- Counting Crows. If Adam could avoid his habit of constantly reinventing melodies, I think they might pull this one off.

All is Forgiven- Hawksley Workman. This is a bit of a tough one. Almost no one because Jellyfish themselves could actually pull this off live. Even so, I think Hawksley Workman has a great voice and could do something really interesting with this song.

Russian Hill- Deathcab for Cutie. This isn't my favourite song on the album, but it's still a great song. Deathcab all the way.

He's my Best Friend- Barenaked Ladies. The Ladies aren't my favourite band, but they proved their chops when the recorded "Brian Wilson" live. Great song. And who is better suited to do a masturabation song than the Barenaked Ladies?

Too Much, Too Little, Too Late- Sheryl Crow. She's already got a former Jellyfish member in her band. Naturally, she'd be good at this song.

Brighter Day- Muse(?) This is probably the hardest choice in the bunch. It's a strange, caleidescope of a song, yet still exciting. Muse could probably do something interesting and energetic. Barring that, you could do a crazy, double-time rendition with The Mars Volta. That'd be interesting.

Bellybutton:

The Man I Used to Be- Coldplay. I can just picture them playing this song.

That is Why- The Shins are fun and so is this song. They also have a keen eye for melody, and so does this song.

The King is Half Undressed- I think Better than Ezra would be perfect for this song. Their drummer is phenomenal, and the singer is great. They have just enough energy to pull this off, while still having a great sense of melody, developed from being avid Radiohead fans (which is obvious).

I Wanna Stay Home- Fiona Apple could do a cool piano thing here.

She Still Loves Him- Jet. Some of their material actually sounds Jellyfish-inspired, so they would be a natural fit for this song.

All I want is Everything- Crazy, double-time energy... Foo Fighters could probably pull this off. Not live, mind you, but they could pull it off.

Now She Knows She's Wrong- Aimee Mann. Just because I'd love to hear her sing the line, "He juggled his honesty with two balls and an alibi." Perfect line for Aimee.

Bedspring Kiss- Beck. The song has a mysterious latin feel to it that just screams Beck.

Baby's Coming Back- Keane. Just because.

Calling Sarah- The Killers. This is one of the best bridges that Jellyfish has ever written. It's awesome. I think The Killers could pull it off without screwing it up.


So that's it. That's who I would choose to honour these sacred songs. Perhaps you agree with me, perhaps you don't. Maybe you don't even know who Jellyfish is. If that's the case, why did you read this?