Ada - Maps
Ada's cover of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Maps" has long been a favorite--even though I love the original, I think Ada's version is more affecting. The music is definitely 'cheerier' in a way--the chiming, tinselly bell sounds woven into the track take some of the edge off--but I think the way Ada sings Karen O's lyrics is devastating. Ada has a voice that's not quite as superficially interesting as Karen O's, but her take here is so, so resigned. Where Karen O might have been yelling to someone, "Wait! they don't love you like I love you!", Ada is saying all that to herself, after that person is well out of earshot, like a reminder, or like the way you'd quietly protest a shitty state of affairs ("this is fucked," whispered many times).[BUY Blondie]