#covers that are better than the original

[weaversweek]

11 points to "With or without you"

Part of the #FearOfMu21c project, crowdsourcing the greatest singles of the 21st century. Here’s an index post.

The best five singles get bonus marks, and this is one of them.

With or without you - Scala & Kolacny Brothers

Back in 1987, U2 released "The Joshua Tree" album. They tried to channel their messiah in an album that was very very very big. Huge, it sounded like the whole Sonoran desert, all the saguaro and mountains and flood valleys. No album released in 1987 was bigger.

The only problem was that "The Joshua Tree" was so earnest it was dull. We thought Bon Jovi were tedious and repetitive, and then we heard U2 and really knew boredom.

Covers only work if they improve on the original. This cover really works, it takes Bono's near poetry and leaden vocals and puts them on the wings of angels.

The Scala choir was formed in 1996, under direction of Stijn Kolacny and accompanied by the piano of Steven Kolacny. They won Belgian Choir of the Year in 2000, and have toured and released albums ever since; the members of the choir rotate out after a few years.

This U2 cover was included on the 2003 album "Dream On". Xfm played it quite a bit when new, this and their crisp take on The Divinyls' "I touch myself". "With or without you" is the perfect song for an autumn morning, a little sunlight playing on dewey grass, a hot pot of coffee and some warm croissants.

"With or without you" that caught the ear of ITV's promo makers, it soundtracked the Downton Abbey trail in 2011, and that gave the choir a new audience. Tours! Live appearances! Fame! Fortune! A number one in Ireland!

Scala continue to record, and tour. Their most recent album, "Dusk", features a version of another Uncool50 nominee… but more on that soon!

[marciaillust]

Asterism book cover

[eobard-thawne]

BY WHITE_6606

[nicstylus]

The Necromancer Trilogy is done!

Masterpost || First || Next

[sudokuplayer]

[vertigoartgore]

1981's Amazing Spider-Man Vol.1 #219 cover by artist Frank Miller.

[tiredandoptimistic]

Right before One More Shot, Curt says "I have an idea! Let's see what Barb thinks," and it's played as a joke about how he's bad at making decisions for himself, but honestly it's character development for him to admit that Barb is more qualified than him to know what to do. Compare it to the opening scene, when he ignores her plan in favor of blowing the whole facility and gets Owen killed as a result.

[petrovna-zamo]

[thesunnyco]

sunny and the sea🌊

[levbolton]

I am in awe how amazing the German Atelier of Witch Hat alternative covers for the special editions look, I mean look at this

[cataclysmicamomile]

The new kadokawa editions for the lotm physical books... NEED

ince zangwill... love those glass cracks on tingen. and the eyes. always beware the spectator

also this first edition justice card

it's gorgeous

and seeing as part 2 is marked as 中, i guess it's safe to assume there are three parts

[moe-broey]

Fellas can you take this somewhere else. Maybe. Just not in the fucking halls. Thanks 🫡

I couldn't resist drawing out these tags I wrote on a dif post LMFAO

Moe just has...... SO many problems.......

Close-ups of my fave shots!

The elusive Líf...

[giantkillerjack]

Uh-oh! You are like, SOOO awkward!!

You're so awkward that it is occasionally mildly uncomfortable for people!

You're so awkward that sometimes people are confused by you and then there are awkward silences!

You're so awkward ...... that ultimately no one is harmed!!

Oh damn!!! What a vile crime you have committed! What an unforgivable thing it is to make a fellow human briefly confused!

Why, if *I* were ever briefly confused and kind of uncomfortable as a result, I'd be devastated.... by the absolute net zero change in my happiness and health! - From which I might never recover!! Yes indeed! No punishment can ever be enough for you!!

So you better absolutely hate yourself for it.

Better be SO MEAN to yourself about every single missed social cue so you don't forget your horrible crime! Meaner than you'd ever dream of being to someone else for the same thing! This is YOUR responsibility!

You need to show the world that you KNOW you are bad by punishing yourself constantly! After all, think of all the people who BENEFIT from you punishing yourself! - No, really! Think about it! Think about who benefits from your pain.

Think of alllllll the definitely-good people that your definitely-necessary self-torment definitely helps! I mean, you can't just cut off their definitely-life-sustaining supply of your suffering, right?? Sure, everyone else has a breaking point, but you're probably the only person in human history who doesn't, right? Best not to question it probably. Sure, it's a symptom that billions of people with trauma have had, but who knows? You could be a one-in-seven-billion exception. Anything's possible!

Instead, better just accept that idea that bullies carry like guns in holsters - the idea that people who have trouble with social cues deserve to suffer. Better carry on the burden they placed on you until you drop. Aid the cause of the callous by enforcing shame and suffering upon yourself extra hard; try your best to do their work for them. They're very busy.

Better not recognize that you need patience and kindness to heal from your trauma. Better not find out that it was trauma rather than personal weakness filling your head with self-hating thoughts. Better not find out it wasn't your fault.

Better not find out that awkwardness is not inherently harmful or unkind, and, in fact, the people who act like it is *are the ones enacting harm and being cruel.*

Better not get righteously angry when you realize just how much unnecessary damage this has done to you. After all, if you get mad, you might realize you deserve better. You might even feel brave enough to DEMAND better! You might build boundaries that keep you safe! You might make other people think they deserve to feel safe too! And we obviously can't be having that, so...

Better not show yourself even a little kindness a little bit at a time.

Better not make a habit out of it after all that practice.

Better not get confident.

Especially if you can't first wipe out every trace of awkward. (And you probably never will. Because people who experience absolute social certainty at all times tend to be insufferable assholes that enforce the status quo. And you just don't have the stock portfolio for that.)

Better not be confident and awkward because then you might confuse and delight people

- you might accidentally end up making other people feel less shame for their social difficulties

- you might make isolated, traumatized, and shy people feel like they deserve to be included in social situations

- you might even make them feel they can be themselves around you

- you might start loving the effect you have on a room

- you might enjoy conversations more

- you might forgive yourself and bounce back from shame more easily and frequently

- you might come to enjoy some of those moments of harmless confusion you cause because NOBODY expects the Confident Awkward, and that can genuinely be an advantage in social situations

- you might stop apologizing so much.

- you might find that socializing is like a video game: it requires practice but also a safe space for it to be fun and positive.

Or if you can't become assertive and confident, better not remain awkward and shy and quiet, and then love and forgive yourself anyway!

Why, it would be carnage!!

In either scenario, you run the risk of finding out that it's not your fault that safe spaces full of kind people can be really hard to find, create, and nurture. You could end up building a skillset that helps you do those things if you're not careful!

If you start giving yourself even the tiniest amount of grace at a time, you will find that you've accessed a gateway drug with extreme long-term side effects:

- You might realize that it was never your fault that it took so long to like yourself.

- You might realize that you were always worth talking to, even when you didn't like yourself and communication felt impossibly difficult.

- You might realize that you'll still be worth talking to even if communication becomes harder as you age and/or experience disability.

- You might come to know that you deserve to be heard even on bad days when words come slow and blurry.

You might discover that you were always deserving of kindness, first and foremost from yourself.

So. As you can see, it's FAR too much of a risk to start granting your awkward self free pardons for your many heinous and harmless crimes. Better to just leave it there.

[kvroii]

Book Divider (3/3) - Poison World

[blujayonthewing]

it really is a thing of beauty; I'm so glad I already had enough paint to fill it