Odd Choices for Cover Songs

[funes]

The greatest one I can think of is Husker Du covering the theme song to the Mary Tyler Moore Show. It's pretty rockin'. I also think there must be some in Gov't Mule's catalogue, 'cause Warren will play almost anything.
I wish I could think of more.
Some of the Johnny Cash covers were bizarre. Hurt, though, was very intense, particularly the video.
The Cowboy Junkies do a really nice version of Thunder Road which is very different from the original (in feeling).

 

[jenn]

ooooooh i know a great one. a one hit wonder but still kickin'
animal ant farm's version of smooth criminal. brilliant.

krys thanx, that's what i was thinking of.

 

[Stewart]

Nick Cave's cover of Leonard Cohen's Tower of Song is a complete reworking of the track - he plays the thing in about 6 different musical styles as it develops.

Other covers: Nine Inch Nails' versions of Get Down, Make Love and Physical. Smashing Pumpkins' version of Landslide, and Tori Amos' version of Famous Blue Raincoat.

 

[lenny nero]

The Cowboy Junkies do a really nice version of Thunder Road which is very different from the original (in feeling).

I love their cover of Darkness, Darkness, so much better than Robert Plant's recent version.

 

[demetrio]

RATM covers of Kick Out the Jams, Beautiful World and How I Could Just Kill a Man are nice. Ben Folds cover of Twin Falls.

 

[Slacker]

I forgot. White Zombie's cover of "Boogie Man" cracked me up.

 

[Kookamoor]

marilyn manson's cover of sweet dreams by the eurythmics.

Oh, I didn't like that at all - it was WAY too freaky. Annie Lennox was freaky enough.

I'm going to put myself in the firing line here: I'm not the biggest fan of cover songs at all. There are some good ones, that's for sure - some are even better than the originals. But there are a number of things I hate:

1. Punk 'cover' songs: Playing a song really, really fast and pretending you've somehow changed it

2. Playing the song in exactly the same way as the original and pretending you've somehow 'interpretted' it (ie: making a buck off a song that was already a hit).

3. Madonna - need I say more?

4. When the original band/singer/writer doesn't get the credit they deserve. This goes for sampling too, actually. It really ticks me off when people put down any artist - everyone has their own taste. But it particularly annoys me when fans of rap/hip-hop put down 'mainstream' music... not realising that that is where a lot of the samples and hooks for the music they enjoy come from!!!!!!!

Okay, rant over.

 

[Kookamoor]

I should also add some covers that I did enjoy...

Janis Joplin - Me and Bobby McGee (originally Kris Kristofferson)
Travis - Hit Me Baby One More Time (originally Britney Spears)
Guns N Roses - Knockin' on Heavens Door (originally Bob Dylan)
Counting Crows - Big Yellow Taxi (originally Joni Mitchell)
Santana - Black Magic Woman (originally Fleetwood Mac)
Pearl Jam - Last Kiss (originally Wayne Cochran - I thought it was the Cavaliers, but apparently Cochran wrote the original back in 1961).

 

[lies]

1. Punk 'cover' songs: Playing a song really, really fast and pretending you've somehow changed it

They're fun at concerts though.

Here's a great website for you cover lovers by the way. (That almost rhymed.)

 

[Motokid]

Uh...hello...how bout Metallica's Garage Inc.??????

Blue Oyster Cult's Astronomy
Turn The Page from Bob Seegar (spelling?)
Whisky In The Jar
Tuesday's Gone
Sabra Cadabra.....

and a few really great lesser known songs like Die Die Die My Darlin, Lover Man, and Merciful Fate

damn the whole double CD is great stuff...

 

[Zolipara]

Some other good covers:
Jimi Hendrix : All along the watchtower (Orig. Dylan)
Johnny Jenkins : I walk on gilded splinters. (Orig. Dr. John)

The funny thing about the Johnny Jenkins cover is that the guitar riff were used for the Beck song Looser.