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Music

Battle of Bennie and the Jets: Elton John, Biz Markie & Miguel (Plus Wale But Whatever)

Who did it best?

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Miguel and Wale teamed up to cover “Bennie and the Jets.” It’s pretty good, which shouldn’t be a surprise given Miguel’s knack for grown-up, futuristic R&B. Wale does his Wale thing, contributing a light critique of industry/scene destructiveness which sticks to the original song’s theme. Say what you will about the dude, he’s been chewed up and spit out by the industry a couple times and knows of what he speaks.

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“Bennie and the Jets” is a tough song to cover because Elton John’s original version still goes super-duper hard 40 years later. As if that weren’t enough, there’s also the Biz Markie version, which is secretly one of the finest moments of his legendary career. Biz probably wasn’t the first rapper to sing badly with enough swag to keep him on stage but he definitely pioneered the style, as anyone who has drunkenly sang “Just A Friend” in a packed bar can attest. His cover of “Bennie and the Jets” is the same idea writ large: full-fledged, voice-cracking, falsetto insanity in a wifebeater.

The three versions of “Bennie and the Jets” are a great case study in how different artists use creative space in a simple song. John handled it by turning the original studio recording into a fake “live” version with extra reverb and crowd noise. Miguel’s version fills out the low end with not-not-dubstep-inspired synth bass and adds all kinds of harmonies (not to mention Mr. Folarin). But Biz just shows out over a reasonably faithful rendition of the song. Instead of studio tricks or musical flourishes, he relies on charisma. This is the IRL version of the silent studio scene from Pootie Tang.

None of these approaches is objectively the best way to make good music, and that’s especially true with rap. At its core, hip-hop is about the idea that you can do whatever you want on stage or in the studio as long as you’re confident and having fun doing it. That can take the form of lyrical wizardry, technical obsession or straight-up weirdness. Usually it’s a combination of those things and some other intangibles: sometimes Soulja Boy could use a ghostwriter instead of another Ferragamo belt and sometimes Raekwon could benefit from three more dust blunts and another viewing of Iron Monkey.

In this context, the Miguel and Wale version is kind of boring. “Bennie and the Jets” started as a rock song a few kick drums away from being reggae, made by a man who insisted on wearing prescription glasses despite having perfect vision strictly for swag purposes. A giant, egg-shaped man with a single about picking your nose took it to new, silly heights. We should be happy with the very creative Miguel making “Bennie” his own when it could have just as easily been a Bruno Mars schmaltz-fest or an inappropriately sexy Trey Songz rendition. But in a perfect world, Rich Homie Quan would have gotten the call.

All praise to Skinny and the Vets—he has some really cute cats and is on Twitter - @skinny412

For more Sittin' Sidewayz… With Skinny Friedman, go here.