Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away) – Deftones

Deftones more recently has become one of my favorite bands. I have always been aware of them, but it wasn’t until my junior year of college that I began to really listen to them as I was getting into heavier styles of music. They actually have a pretty interesting history and faced some real tragedy when their bassist Chi Cheng passed away. If you’re into heavy stuff, I highly encourage you to check out their work, and if you’re not, check out some of their acoustic renditions!

For me, “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)” is the perfect song to let out some frustration. It’s very angry, and I interpret it as wanting to escape from whatever problems one has to deal with on a daily basis. I have to say, while a song I featured earlier this week, “49 Winchesters – Hays, Kansas”, deals with a similar sentiment, the energy expressed in this one seems more spur of the moment, as if someone has just snapped and is barreling down the interstate without much or any regard for anything or anyone. “Hays” to me is more of a build-up, finding solace in an escape. That being said, the acoustic version is absolutely beautiful and gut-wrenching at the same time. The same feelings are expressed, but in a totally different, haunting manner. I would highly, highly recommend listening to both versions.

In one of the most interesting, surprising, and cool performances, members of the Deftones, Incubus (another one of my favorites), and P.O.D teamed up with none other than The Sandman himself, Adam Sandler, to do an awesome acoustic rendition and also jam to a not-so-beautiful version of “The Joker” by Steve Miller! The acoustic version of the song is featured on the soundtrack to the Sandler movie “Little Nicky,” and some scenes from the movie are somewhat hilariously cut into the performance.

Link to song – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvknOXGPzCQ

Link to the acoustic version – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl_810fWawM

Link to live performance, check out the crowd! – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2unbugWvLPo

Link to Acoustic version with the Sandman – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es9NY4Sx3io