T or F: If Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers had written and recorded "You May Be Right" instead of Billy Joel, it would have been among their best songs and greatest achievements

If Black Sabbath had written and recorded “moby dick” it would be among their best songs and greatest achievements

If Led Zeppelin had written and recorded “fairies wear boots “ it would have been among their best songs and greatest achievements

If Neil young had written and performed “a horse with no name” it would have been among his best songs and greatest achievements

If America had recorded "Abracadabra" instead of "You Can Do Magic"...

If Magic! had recorded "America" instead of Simon and Garfunkel

If Simon and Garfunkel had recorded "Rude" instead of Magic!

now we're back on track - that would actually be a substantial improvement (though maybe not one of their signature accomplishments)

If Nirvana had written and performed “Unsatisfied” it would have been among their best songs and greatest achievements

If Tony Orlando had recorded "Master of Puppets"

"Knock three times, and I'll hear ya scream!"

The Lemon Pipers' Green Tambourine album has at least four of these!!! Through With You for Devo, Ask Me If I Care for Buffalo Springfield, and Turn Around Take A Look for Three Dog Night.... and Rainbow Tree for the Monkees. i think it'd be a SUPER beloved Monkees song if they'd done it in their psychedelic moment (not saying it'd beat out Porpoise Song, but people would love it).

I've always really liked the songs on this, album but I feel like I don't see them talked about that much... how is it rated by folks here who listen to a lot of stuff at the psychedelic/bubblegum interzone?

This might be too obvious: When I hear "High and Dry" by Radiohead (without the Saturday Night, apologies to Def Leppard), I imagine "Mayonaise"-era Billy Corgan absolutely crushing that vocal.

Years ago on the Billy Joel listening thread, one of you mentioned an alternative universe where Neil Young wrote and performed "Allentown" and I haven't gotten that version out of my head since.

how is it rated by folks here who listen to a lot of stuff at the psychedelic/bubblegum interzone

i have a friend who's really into this stuff, i'll ask him.

i know they were anthologized on some early '80s bubblegum comps on Rhino. i was almost about to say they were on "Nuggets", but that was the Lemon Drops.

imo it's the songwriting that's lacking here and i don't like the aesthetic enough to look past that -- not when there's so much more fun to be had wading through tommy james and paul revere deep cuts.

"fifty year void" is kind of fun in an "up in her room" sorta way

I feel like I don't see them talked about that much

I was recently thinking of the Lemon Pipers as an example of "bands where you love one song, and never even tried to hear another".

I imagine "Mayonaise"-era Billy Corgan absolutely crushing that vocal.

There's no way he could ever have hit those notes in "High and Dry".

...in the chorus, that is, he could manage the verses.

Pink Floyd's "Not Now John" as written and recorded by Guns N Roses

(Axl singing it an octave higher obv)

I can hear Billy doing "High and Dry!" "Drown" would be basically the template.

re: Lemon Pipers: that's interesting, budo jeru! I just listened to the album again and I do think they're short on songs; it's a real drop-off after the ones I mentioned, the title track, and "Blueberry Blue." Somehow there are two different shoe-themed filler character sketches. But that top tier is pretty strong IMHO, just sometimes a more muscular vocal, and definitely more engaged drumming, would be more to my taste. I guess that's why I thought of this thread for them...

to me, the most promising thing about AI is the eventual realization of all the ideas in this thread

and being able to instantly generate all of the covers and mashups that come into head throughout the day.

what would i even need my records or my spotify account for at that point??

thought that originally brought me here was Roger Waters and Dark Side-era Floyd performing an epic downtempo version of the Family Guy theme song, lol

If Talkings Heads had written and recorded Rusted Root’s “send me on my way” , it would have been among their best songs and greatest achievements.

someone's gonna literally make the Sinbad Shazam movie now aren't they