It Isn't Feist, But the Music Still Sucks, OR Hall & Oates Shouldn't Have to Go For That (No Can Do)

Driving to run errands about a week ago, I was listening to WBNY 91.3 FM out of Buffalo State College when I heard a painfully bad, or at the very least uninspired, cover of the Hall & Oates classic "Private Eyes."

The wretchedness of the song, with the now way overdone, cliched affectless female lead vocal, apparently annoyed me enough to make me check for the song on YouTube. It turns out that the band is The Bird and the Bee, and this was one of what I would guess is too many songs off of "Interpreting the Masters Volume 1 - Hall  & Oates."

It's bad enough that this recording reminded me of the enormously overrated Feist, but I have now discovered that there is an entire CD of Hall & Oates covers by these two and, by the looks of the title, a threat to record more "tributes." I also noticed a certain indie pop pedigree of "The Bee," producer, keyboardist, etc., Greg Kurstin involving bands that are very least irritants (Beck may be the exception).

And yes, as you might imagine, I fall on the "you've got to be kidding me, where is the talent?" side of the Feist question, which each song of her's I hear causing one or more of my arm and hand hairs (forget my bald skull) to turn to grey or fall off altogether. Frankly, I am not sure that Apple Computers use of Feist's music in its advertising wasn't an even worse move than the company's calisthetics to avoid paying US taxes.

Also, I am a major Hall & Oates fan from the 1970s, and if I have the radio on in the car, absolutely crank any of their songs I hear. No, I do not consider enjoying Hall & Oates' music a guilty
pleasure, because there is nothing to be "guilty" or ashamed of; indeed, that is a topic for an upcoming post here.