Music Notes

Blank Space (ID cover)

My eighteenth and final choice is a cover, by Imagine Dragons, of… you'll never guess: Taylor Swift's Blank Space! In 2015 they appeared at the BBC 1 studio to perform her infamous song.

I got such a chuckle out of this when I first saw it on YouTube in 2017. I couldn't believe a male band would even think of singing a female song, and lead singer Dan Reynolds didn't do me any favors by keeping the female pronouns: "you're the king, baby I'm your queen!"

Blank Space was the first song I ever learned from Taylor Swift, and, being ultra fastidious, I was appalled at her apparent declaration of looseness. I didn't understand she was making a parody out of how others see her. So it bothered me every time I heard it. After watching the Dragons covering it, I felt more comfortable with it and eventually began to appreciate Taylor's expressive voice and sense of humor. And besides, "I can make the bad guys good for a weekend" sounds like a rather intriguing story prompt…

It's been at least seven years since I watched this video. When I was recalling it as I compiled my list of six covers for Jeff's "Resurrection Jukebox"  challenge, I couldn't remember if Dan sang Taylor's original bridge or not. You know, "boys only want love if it's torture… don't say I didn't warn you!" I couldn't imagine him saying that.

Well, he didn't. Instead, the Dragons mashed up the bass melody of Ben E. King's Stand By Me and used those words as the bridge. Delightfully perfect and unexpected. I'd completely forgotten. If you take it seriously, it gives Blank Space an entirely different meaning. Either that, or it's just a band having fun mixing up other people's songs.

The young Dan keeps his voice on a natural, even keel with this performance, avoiding the exaggerated yelling type of vocal he uses for his own work. In that regard, I've frequently seen him pressing a finger under his nose as he holds the mic, apparently a technique to recreate his studio sound.

And no, his voice is not usually electronically modified unless the result is obviously intended to sound that way (ie, distorted). I know I wondered why he never sings the chorus of Believer live in quite the ferocious way he did on the original. Then he released a video sample showing him bellowing out the original chorus vocals a capella in studio. Yikes. I don't know how he did it, and I don't think he could ever duplicate it.

Overall, this "Resurrection Jukebox"  project has been a fun challenge for me. I've revisited old favorites, discovered new facts about artists long gone, and added a few tracks to my playlist. It gave me something to take my mind off Hurricane Milton. I hope you enjoyed reading (and listening to) the series as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

Words: 503.