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Worst Cover Song. Ever.
There are a lot of terrible cover songs out there. There are a lot of great ones (like Juno’s cover of DJ Shadow’s “High Noon” and Ted Leo’s cover of “Since U Been Gone”), but there are a lot of really, really awful ones. And guys, I think I’ve found the worst.
The most terrible, most ridiculous, most insulting cover song in the world is… Reel Big Fish’s take on Morrissey’s “We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful.”
Gross. It’s so bad that I can’t let the crime be ignored. I also don’t want to suffer alone, so you can hear the song yourself (and see a dumb video) by clicking here. Or you could also save your three minutes and trust me when I say it’s bad. B-A-D.
What covers do you love or hate?
Comments
i love the a camp version of daniel johnston's "walking the cow." it's the one i heard first, and while it retains the original's (at least i think it's the original) lightness, nina's voice and band give the song a different sound that feels more full and works amazingly well.
I have to say I'm not too fond of the Violent Femmes cover on the Gnarls Barkley album. Kinda boring.
The Power Station's version of T. Rex's "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" is heinous. Talk about bludgeoning all the sly sexiness out of a song...
Great covers that totally reimagine the originals:
Devo's "Satisfaction"
Talking Heads' "Take Me to the River"
Slits' "Heard It Through the Grapevine"
Raincoats' "Lola"
There are only a couple that spring to mind, but I think both are better than the originals.
Brad Mehldau covering "Paranoid Android" solo live is frenetic and textured-- the studio recording he did with his trio is much plainer and far more conservative in comparison.
Converge's cover of "Snowblind" is just fucking killer. It may be my favorite song that they've ever recorded. I gave away my copy of this when I was moving a few years ago and have regretted it ever since. Especially since I've seen the 7" I've had it on listed for almost $50!
Yeah, ska covers of anything can't help but suck. It's a law of nature.
My pick: The Fiery Furnaces cover of the Fall's "Winter" is nothing short of a tragedy, really. It's an ungodly, sprawling mess.
Speaking of Ted Leo, his crazy, dubbed-out, echoplex-drenched version of the Beatles' "I'm Looking Through You" is electrifying.
I love the Mountain Goats, I love Neutral Milk Hotel, but the MG's cover of Two Headed Boy is just horrible, awful, painful to my ears.
As if it weren't bad the first time around - Limp Bizkit doing "Faith"
Mettalica doing "Whiskey In The Jar"
GnR doing "Sympathy for The Devil"
Puff Daddy doing anything, especially that "Kashmir" thing he did, fuckin shit
Telly Savalas singing the Beatles' "Somewhere." I know, Telly was always Kojak first and a musician second, but if you've ever wanted to hear that bald lollipop sucker sing like he'd just chugged a bottle of Nyquil I suggest you seek out the mp3.
The Rolling Stones cover of Just My Imagination is great. The few Rolling Stones covers by the Who are great.
Nirvana's cover of Man who Sold the World is great. Come to think of it, all 3 of the covers on the unplugged album are great.
All Beatles covers, especially covers of Come Together, suck. Period. Don't argue.
Ted Leo's cover of Jimmy Cliff's Too Many Rivers to Cross is brilliant. Ted Leo's cover of I'm Looking Through You is bogus.
I might have to say that Devo's cover of Satisfaction takes the proverbial cake as best cover of all time.
I can confidently declare that the Bowie/Jagger cover of Dancing in the Streets is the worst cover ever. Seriously. Ugh.
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I usually love covers, but I heard the Decemberists' cover of Björk's "Human Behaviour" this morning on KEXP, and I can't decide if I love or hate it. I like the two artists independently of each other, but I don't know about the marriage.
Blood Brothers' "Under Pressure" is fucking amazing, as is the Gossip's "Are U That Somebody," and I posted here about DEP covering Justin Timberlake.