And I’m not saying that the original is bad. You have to have a good song to have a good cover in my opinion. But sometimes the cover artist just understands the mission and takes what the original song did and expands on that a hundred times over.
What’re some of your guys’s favorites?
I will survive by cake.
My first high school dance freshman year they played the original and i belted out every word from memory because i spent all summer listening to Fashion Nugget.
Against All Odds by The Postal Service
my mind was blown when I learned that was Ben Gibbard from Death Cab For Cutie on vocals
this live version is especially fantastic, from an album of covers by them, I think the Baby One More Time cover is more popular but I prefer the recontextualization of this one
ridiculously emotional, can really feel his pain in it. I would never have thought this was a Black Sabbath cover had it not been mentioned at the top of the video
no notes. perfect cover.
never would have thought this would work as a duet but it’s perfect, 10/10
Someday I Suppose by Drug Church
Boston.
I love a good cover, the best covers recontextualize the meaning of the song imo
Do mashups count? Chris Cornell’s One (Metallica and U2) https://youtu.be/uTJxAdrnkP4
U2’s With or Without You cover by April Meservy and Aaron Edson. It infuses the original with raw emotion - you can feel the pain and exhaustion.
Edited to add: And Marilyn Manson’s version of Tainted Love. It sounds sickening and toxic, making the song about much more than a breakup.
Save Ferris’ cover of Come On Eileen, by Dexy’s Midnight Runners.
While I love the original version, Seethers cover of Careless Whisper is one of my favourite songs ever.
I’m not sure Last Kiss by Pearl Jam is actually better than the original but it definitely deserves honorable mention.
Eleanor Rigby by Pain
Saw that one live in 2002. Amazing show.
Last Resort by Falling in Reverse. This band has quickly become one of my favorites. Them and I Prevail can really throw down some emotions.
Very cinematic! It’s not really my thing, but damn that dude can sing his ass off!
Right? I’m not normally a screamo fan, but I tend to overlook that when there’s some real emotion in a song. Their other stuff is pretty amazing, also. Some of my favorites are The Drug In Me is Reimagined, Voices in My Head, Popular Monster, and I’m Not a Vampire.
Last Resort as in Papa Roach’s Last Resort?
That would be correct. I was in junior high or high school when Last Resort by Papa Roach was released. This version is so much more emotional, and given the lyrics, it fits!
faith no more’s easy
Cardigans, Burning Down the House with Tom Jones. Of course the original is incredible, but this version slaps.
I find the original Talking Heads version to be too whiny. I don’t find it enjoyable to sit through. The Cardigans/Tom Jones version I have one note, one change I’d make: Nina’s vocals seem to have a band-pass filter applied, it sounds like she’s literally phoning it in. I wouldn’t have done that.
Love roller coaster covered by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, originally by the Ohio players I think, unsure because there’s been a few covers, but RHCPs is the best. The problem is they did it for the movie Bevis and Butthead do America, and I’m now there are weird license rights so you can’t stream it, but can be found on you tube.
Small town boy by Paradise Lost. https://open.spotify.com/track/0jfNgP8sP2tnOloYDw0HoM?context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A1lvVqodR4aT3R8WemeIgDN
The original is iconic, and there are almost too many covers of it to take it in. But Paradise Lost takes it in a different direction.
Same as Wicked Game by HIM. https://open.spotify.com/track/5XenUjG7cRnTkUe8AVuuMX
My personal favorites that I like better than the originals and I LOVE the originals:
Whiskey in the Jar - Metallica
Take On Me - Reel Big Fish
99 Red Balloons - Goldfinger
Land of Confusion - Disturbed
La Isla Bonita - Twilight Guardians
Spaceballs - Majestica
Black Betty - Spiderbait
Thriller - Scandroid
Electric Avenue - Skindred
For as long as I’ve known it I’ve preferred the version of Ghost’s Cerice done by Saint Raven, a much less known band out of Utah.
