― alix ure campbell, Thursday, 22 March 2001 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― the pinefox, Friday, 23 March 2001 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
BEST COVER SONG: KILLING ME SOFTLY (Roberta Flack) by THE FUGEES. Took a song that was rather slow and dreary and breathed new life into it.
― Luis Stiglitz, Sunday, 26 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― karmik guy, Friday, 23 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Lord Custos, Friday, 23 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― David Raposa, Friday, 23 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Dan I., Friday, 23 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― stevo, Friday, 23 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― alex in mainhattan, Friday, 23 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― mark s, Friday, 23 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― bob snoom, Saturday, 24 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― dave q, Saturday, 24 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Worst: 'Creep' ~ Mark Owen 'Here's Where the Story Ends' ~ [can't remember who]
― DavidM, Saturday, 24 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Jeff W, Tuesday, 27 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― michael, Tuesday, 27 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― phil, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
"proud mary" - ike and tina turner (orig. credence clearwater revival)
― eclectomaniac, Saturday, 2 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Damian, Sunday, 3 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
its credited as a Costello composition but i'll take your word for the Wyatt one being the original. But can you really consider the Costello one to be a cover? Is Prince's version of Nothing Compares 2 U a cover? i dunno.
'Cattle and Cane' ~ The Wedding Present (which I actually prefer to the original, which will get me into trouble I know)
more perplexed than anything else. Gedge is a terrible singer so why he thought he should ruin so many of other peoples songs is beyond me. okay i guess he did a good version of Falling.
some other good covers: Alastair Galbraith - Getting Older Dead C - Light my Fire Gastr del Sol - Dry Bones in the Valley Sonic Youth - I wanna be your dog Minus Two - High Tension House Six Volts - Black Dog Axemen - Pulsing Jesus & Mary Chain - Mushroom Head Puddle - Lacsydaisical Cat Power - Fate of the Human Carbine
Worst cover songs:the entire Jandek tribute CD Roy Montgomery - Its Cold Outside Push Push - I Love my Leather Jacket PumpkinHead - Adults and Children Frank Black - Hang on to Your Ego Muttonbirds - Nature
― hamish, Monday, 4 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― alex in mainhattan, Monday, 4 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
other bad ones: 10,000 maniacs more than this (the orig., roxy music, is one of my favourite songs) hole - gold dust woman r.e.m. - pale blue eyes ub40 - \red, red, wine + everything else they've ever done urge overkill - girl you'll be a woman soon
good: bryan ferry - help me make it through the night by kris kristofferson. and i saw daniel mancini do a good version of it live a few years ago too. Actually i like quite a lot of Ferry covers, especially two from his recent-ish covers album "As Time Goes By": I'm In the Mood For Love, and Where and When. Louis Armstrong Mack the Knife Chris Knox S.O.S. also quite like The Shaggs doing the Carpenters' Yesterday Once More though it's not that remarkable. Einsturzende Neubauten doing Lee Hazlewood's Sand even though I like the Nancy & Lee much more. hmmm maybe "funky Town" by Psuedo Echo [they were my first concert]
that's all i can think of whilst away from my records.
― elizabeth anne marjorie, Monday, 4 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Lord Custos, Tuesday, 5 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― helenfordsdale, Tuesday, 5 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― dan, Wednesday, 6 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Sterling Clover, Wednesday, 6 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Mo-dettes "Paint It Black" Ben Watt "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" Sally Timms "Half Past France" Marisa Monte "Pale Blue Eyes" Marianne Faithfull "Working Class Hero"
A further question: what makes some songs especially cover-able? Are there particular formal qualities that inspire interesting reimaginings
― Marcel Post, Wednesday, 6 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― di, Wednesday, 6 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― anthony, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Kris England., Tuesday, 12 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Dave225, Tuesday, 12 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Best covers: Soft Cell's version of "Tainted Love" (specially the Club 69 Remix). Siouxsie and the Banshees: "Helter Skelter" (Beatles), "Dear Prudence" (Beatles) and "Hall of Mirrors" (Kraftwerk). The Creatures: "Venus In Furs" (Velvet) Matmos: "Disco Hospital" (Coil) (Is it a cover or should I call it a remix?) Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: "Black Betty" (Leadbelly) Pachuco Cadaver: "I Am The Fly" (Wire) Suarez: "EXplosión Madonna" (cover version of Madonna's "I Rather Be Your Love") Ciccone Youth: "Into The Groove" (Madonna) Gus Gus: "Monument" (Depeche Mode) This Mortal Coil: "Holocaust" (Big Star) Spiritualized: "Born Never Asked" (Laurie Anderson)
― carlos, Wednesday, 13 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― AP, Wednesday, 13 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
worst: ian brown murders billie jean.
― dbini, Friday, 15 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Tim DiGravina, Saturday, 16 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― carlos, Sunday, 17 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― elizabeth anne marjorie, Monday, 18 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― OleM, Monday, 18 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Cass, Saturday, 30 November 2002 20:31 (twenty-one years ago) link
― webcrack (music=crack), Saturday, 30 November 2002 20:58 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Curtis Stephens, Saturday, 30 November 2002 21:02 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Duncan Myers, Thursday, 13 February 2003 02:59 (twenty-one years ago) link
Oh yeah: Jonathan Richman - The Rose, Back In the USA
― ImprovSpirit, Wednesday, 11 August 2010 21:33 (fourteen years ago) link
The thread originator nailed it.
Husker Du's "8 Miles High" .
I could support this claim with some pointless words...
― Fer Jessie the Drunk Dutch Mountain Ark (Mobbed Up Ping Pong Psychos), Wednesday, 11 August 2010 21:46 (fourteen years ago) link
another worst:
Blood & Chocolate - the killing moon
― meisenfek, Tuesday, 28 December 2010 22:45 (thirteen years ago) link
Best:I see people mention Devo's "Satisfaction" a lot, so I have to point to Polysics' "My Sharona" cover, which is kind of the same idea, just crazy and coolHappy Mondays - "Step On" (a John Kongos cover, kind of)Ween - "Hot For Teacher"...it's been mentioned before here, but I have to mention it again, it captures the ridiculousness of the tune better than Van Halen ever did, but it still gets really down and dirty, just great great stuff
Worst:On youtube there's a video of Crazy Town doing Refused's "New Noise", it kind of feels like a 5-minute "brown note"
― frogbs, Thursday, 30 December 2010 16:03 (thirteen years ago) link
best of worst:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlTWpDav0FM
― Mangrove Earthshoe (herb albert), Thursday, 30 December 2010 16:40 (thirteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O4puKyRiiY
Judas Priest - Johnny B Goode. Priest, dudez, I love you but that song is the worst thing ever.
― VegemiteGrrrl, Thursday, 30 December 2010 22:17 (thirteen years ago) link
i found William Hung's rendition pretty solid, if not true to the original. nice 'best of worst'!too bad the vid stops at the solo.
― meisenfek, Friday, 31 December 2010 01:04 (thirteen years ago) link
The original isn't so bad:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ2RvSHK_B8
The cover is fucking incredible:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUBcqs0Z9QA&feature=related
― (kelpolaris) (kelpolaris) (kelpolaris) (kelpolaris) (kelpolaris), Friday, 31 December 2010 01:37 (thirteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59aKzRbxFV8
― =(^ • ‿‿ • ^)= (corey), Friday, 31 December 2010 01:44 (thirteen years ago) link
Reviving ILM's least contentious thread about covers, these are all from the rolling fuck this shit worst songs of 2015 thread :
Elle King's "My Neck My Back", from 2012 https://youtu.be/VZgg9SIWfI0
Ed Sheeran does "Dirrty: The Polite Version"! https://youtu.be/Pf_ldxntwJg
William Singe does "Trap Queen: The Heartfelt Version"! https://youtu.be/s10gMglvYXo
Disturbed do "The Loud Sound of Silence" https://youtu.be/u9Dg-g7t2l4
Also Aretha's controversial "Rolling in the Deep" and Sam Smith's Hotline Bling, woohoo. Adding one that I enjoyed, Mo Kolours's "Golden Brown", but it's not so much bad as "wtf?".
Off the topic of best/worst (hopefully)... how would you cover an artist like Grimes? The Kiwi band Shunkan did "Flesh without Blood" in a stripped-down acoustic version, which does put a different spin on it, but seems inappropriate when the original was made in such a meticulous detail-obsessed way. Although they could complement it with a club banger version of "Life in the Vivid Dream".
― sbahnhof, Tuesday, 5 January 2016 22:49 (eight years ago) link
chromatics - ceremony/into the blackcardigans - iron man/sabbath bloody sabbath
― Week of Wonders (Ross), Thursday, 24 August 2017 19:02 (seven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTsW30Ur0sg
― ArchCarrier, Wednesday, 19 June 2019 17:52 (five years ago) link
^ obv one of the best
Some of the worst obv.
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 30 December 2019 01:39 (four years ago) link
I came across these two stinkers in the wild, both from acts that should really know better:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5u-yoaxaMY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RVWSSSLZN8
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 27 August 2021 17:28 (three years ago) link
^ ugh...at a certain time that Diana Ross rendition was unavoidable.
Bardcore - creep
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeFiIjMIlRw
― meisenfek, Friday, 27 August 2021 19:04 (three years ago) link
Thalia Zedek's "Dance Me to the End of Love" (L Cohen)
― keen reverberations of twee (collardio gelatinous), Friday, 27 August 2021 19:17 (three years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6jF0aK5b90
― xzanfar, Friday, 27 August 2021 19:21 (three years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBBQcCf-gn4
― xzanfar, Friday, 27 August 2021 19:24 (three years ago) link
The Main Ingredient - summer breeze
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AXlaMJVOQw
― meisenfek, Wednesday, 15 December 2021 20:45 (two years ago) link
Sigourney Weaver - back in the USSR(undecided)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUWhlqItgus
― meisenfek, Wednesday, 15 December 2021 22:10 (two years ago) link
worst:
Eydie Gorme - the look of love [Bacharach / David]
(obscenely loud vocals)
― meisenfek, Saturday, 26 August 2023 14:43 (one year ago) link