Kittie Ruin David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”

Unlike a lot of the writers at MetalSucks, I’m not a Kittie hater. I remember liking Spit when it came out, and I genuinely consider Until The End to be a great record (the title track rules). I thought they were going in a really cool, weird, doomy direction for a while, and hey, they obviously have a dedicated fanbase. So it’s not in my immediate nature to hate this band.

But man, The PRP just streamed Kittie’s cover of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” from the upcoming Bowie tribute A Salute To The Thin White Duke, and it suuuucks. They don’t do the countdown in the background (SEVEN…SIX…), Morgan Lander seems to be singing in one third of a British accent, and the vocal harmony is dumbed down. They leave out that little shimmer during the first big chorus–“Really made the gra-A-ade” and “Stepping through the doo-O-oor.” Basically, they sap the spaciness from “Space Oddity” and make it any radio rock song.

Here’s the thing–I’m no Bowie purist. I think David Bowie is one of the most overrated rock musicians out there. Most people who adore him don’t love Bowie’s music, they like the lightning bolt over the eye and all that shit. But “Space Oddity” is one of Bowie’s truly great songs. It has a lot of atmosphere and character, so it should be easy to pull off in new and interesting ways. I guess Kittie thought, “What if, instead of making the song more interesting, we go against the grain by making it boring and uninspired?”

You can listen to the poorly-covered track below. The album came out Friday and also features Electric Six and The Muff, so why one of Bowie’s few great songs was given to Kittie, I have no idea. Hell, the Rogue Wave cover of “Modern Love” is better than this.