Three times Personal Jesus

If someone would tell me at 90's that both Johnny Cash and Marilyn Manson will make cover version of Depeche Mode's Personal Jesus, I'd probably laugh. However, all versions seem to work very well. Is it matter of song being good to vary, or matter of artists that can interpret laconic, melancholic lyrics and quite catching simple melody? Perhaps both. Also, even though making cover versions isn't all new innovation, perhaps nowadays doing cross-overs from different genre is easier: as Ted Polhemus said already in early 90's, we are going to Supermarket of Styles, where individuality is emphasised by picking personally suitable elements in order to build own image.

Taking the Supermarket of Styles, the classic model of how fashion spreads must be widened a bit. Traditionally, the fashion has been seen either "trickle down" or "spring up": the ideas and elements are recycled hierarchy. The middle, the main-stream may got ideas from either above or below. Now, perhaps third pollution-referring term could be added: ideas and fashion can, nowadays, also be spilled around. Instead of hierarchical changes there's different sub-cultures picking ideas from each other – all you have to do is reach out and touch.

riku