Bowie Cover of the Week: Matte Martin performs “Blue Jean”

I was actually looking forward to this week’s cover of the week, Matte Martin’s version of “Blue Jean,” because Martin ran a promotional teaser video last week. What he delivered was a genuine video in which he appears to play all the instruments as well as sing the song. Other than creating the illusion of seeming to be playing next to himself, this is a pretty straightforward video. That said, I usually prefer crafted visual content over static image audio uploads or live performance bootlegs, so overall this one stood out compared to most of the other covers posted this week.

That said, Martin’s video was not without competition. His main rival was a cover of “Let’s Dance” by The HSCC featuring Danny Lopresto (click on the bolded words to see that video). I like that cover, too, but I chose Martin’s in part because he chose a slightly more obscure song, I admired his playing all the different parts, and hey, his advertisement from the week before worked. But the “Let’s Dance” cover is pretty good, so watch that, too.

I mentioned that, “Blue Jean” is slightly more obscure than “Let’s Dance” and that’s true, but I still think its a fairly well-known song, off the much-maligned album, Tonight. Bowie’s original video for the song was released as a 20+ minute mini-movie, with his musical performance as the centerpiece. In that respect, Martin took a risk by inviting the comparison. And, yes, Bowie’s version (even his shortened version, simply featuring the song) is bigger, more interesting and more innovative. I remember its release as an event back in the 80s, and it holds up today. But Martin wisely decided to go with a different type of video and I think it works well enough on its own terms.

Martin describes himself on his YouTube page as an art rock, baroque pop singer songwriter, who plays in the bands, The Zap Guns and the Bikini Complex.