Deftones, etc. guitarist Stephen Carpenter made yet another appearance on ‘The Dr. Greenthumb Show‘ last week, sitting down with Cypress Hill‘s B-Real and co. to chat on a variety of topics, all while indulging in various herbal delights. The matter of covers came up early in the discussion, including a brief mention of Deftones‘ past penchant for covering Weezer‘s 1994 single “Say It Ain’t So” live from the mid 90s through to its last inclusion in a Deftones set back in June of 2007.
While there wasn’t too much said about the significance of that rendition, Carpenter did shoutout a past take a band did of one of Deftones‘ own songs. It was Bad Rabbits‘ version on “Sextape” from Deftones‘ sixth studio album “Diamond Eyes” that caught Carpenter‘s ear in particular. The soulful post-hardcore/funk hybrid released that rendition all the way back in January of 2011. Carpenter elaborated on that [transcribed by theprp.com]:
“I’ve heard lots of actually good covers. There’s a band that does one of our songs, I can’t remember their name right now, I would only mess it up… They did “Sextape“, I want to say they’re from back East, I can’t remember. There’s some people out there that do some really good versions. Some people do it exact and some people really mix it up, and do like, you know, a whole ‘nother version of it. It’s dope.”
Carpenter later went on to confirm the cover he was talking about was done by Bad Rabbits. When co-host C-Minus brought up Failure‘s 1998 cover of Depeche Mode‘s “Enjoy The Silence“, Carpenter shared his admiration for the space rocker’s take on that new wave staple, saying:
“I love their covers, because they have a signature style of chord progression that they kind of do. Like they do all the progressions that you’re familiar with, except for they bend one part, and you’re like “ahh!”… So when they do covers that’s how it is. You’ll hear the song, you’ll know the song, but then they bend it.”
With a whole new generation of fans flocking to the music of Deftones these days thanks to viral fame on TikTok, covering the works of the aforementioned alternative metal greats remains an ongoing concern. Some 23 artists took to doing just that on last month’s “For The Song You Saved: A Tribute To Deftones“, putting the proceeds towards charity. Mac Glocky‘s 2023 Deftones-inspired covers album “Defstyle” is also another rather inventive tack on the band’s signature sound.
However, a personal favorite remainsy the hauntingly solemn version of “My Own Summer (Shove It)“ done by Winnetka Bowling League. That take came about as part of studio challenge issued by Musora earlier this year, and is also available on leading digital service providers.
