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[nitewulf]

we did this before, but lets try to get abit more eclectic here, covers that are like way different than the originals for instance.

groove armada - light my fire
muse - feeling good
santa esmaralda - don't let me be misunderstood (actually nina simone's version is fantastic as well)
everything but the girl - corcovado
eva cassidy - autumn leaves (and also coldcut's version)
deep dive corp - summertime

 

[Property of Jumpship]

My favorite has always been the Deftones cover of Weezer's Say it Aint So.

 

[Guzim]

Pixies - Winterlong

 

[Great King Bowser]

You Are Always On My Mind - Pet Shop Boys

 

[Jason]

sarah slean - climbing up the walls

yum

 

[RedDwarf]

The Breeders - Happiness Is a Warm Gun (Beatles)
The Pixies - Head On (Jesus and Mary Chain)
Tricky - Black Steel (Public Enemy)
Firehose - Sophisticated Bitch (Public Enemy)
Superchunk - Girl U Want (Devo)

 

[OneFiftyOne]

Run DMC - Walk This Way

Social Distortion - Under my Thumb

Most covers I hear aren't nearly as good as the originals. These two, though, definately are.

 

[Star Power]

sarah slean - climbing up the walls

yum

aaahh.... my ears. She should be hung for butchering such a fantastic song.

 

[TAJ]

There should be a law against anyone but Metallica or Social Distortion doing covers.
This does NOT apply to the dead. Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, and a few others would be allowed to record covers if they were still alive.

 

[Star Power]

Rufus Wainwright - Across the Universe (Beatles)
Big Black - The Model (Kraftwerk)
Patti Smith - Gloria (Van Morrison)
Sonic Youth - Hot Wire My Heart (Crime)
Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen)
Jeff Buckley - Lilac Wine (Nina Simone)
Cat Power - Psychic Hearts (Thurston Moore)
Devo - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (Rolling Stones)
White Stripes - I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself ( Dusty Springfield)
Nirvana - Where Did You Sleep Last Night? (Lead Belly)
Nirvana - Molly's Lips (the Vaselines)
Nirvana - The Man Who Sold the World (David Bowie)
David Bowie - China Girl (Iggy Pop)*
Bjork - It's Oh So Quiet
Bjork - Vokuro (Jorrun Vidar)
No Doubt - It's My Life (Talk Talk)
Elliott Smith - Chelsea Girls (Nico)



*= not sure if this counts, since Bowie co-wrote the original with Iggy

 

[SlickWilly223]

Any Guns N Roses cover, namely:

Knockin' On Heaven's Door
Since I Don't Have You
Live and Let Die

 

[Coin Return]

AFI - Head Like a Hole



Yeah, I said it.

 

[Jason]

Star Power is now dead to me.

 

[Quadrophenic]

The Who - Young Man Blues, Eyesight for the Blind, Summertime Blues, and probably more.

 

[Semblance]

The Blood Brothers - "Under Pressure."

 

[goomba]

Sweet dreams, tainted love, personal jesus - Marilyn Manson

Heart shaped box - Evanescience

 

[Manabanana]

Seu Jorge - Life on Mars? (Bowie)
Seu Jorge - Changes (Bowie)
Seu Jorge - Starman (Bowie)

Yeah...I really like The Life Aquatic.

 

[spliced]

Audioslave - 7 Nation Army

It's the best one I can think of right now.

 

[SD-Ness]

Jimi Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower (Bob Dylan) [By far the best one.]
Talib Kweli - For Women (Nina Simone)
The Get Up Kids - Alec Eiffel (Pixies)
Shadows Fall - Welcome to the Machine (Pink Floyd)
Tool - No Quarter (Led Zeppelin)
Outkast - My Favorite Things (John Coltrane) [I'm not sure if you can consider this a cover...]
Johnny Cash - Redemption Song (with Joe Strummer) (Bob Marley)

 

[Baconäger]

SR-71 - In Your Eyes

 

[kablooey]

Thom Yorke - After the Goldrush (Neil Young)

 

[iapetus]

Istanbul (Not Constantinople) - They Might Be Giants

 

[Malakhov]

Nirvana - The Man Who Sold the World (David Bowie)

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

Big Black - The Model (Kraftwerk)

Yes!

No Doubt - It's My Life (Talk Talk)

No!

but Gwen Stefani's "Almost Blue" is incredible. (Elvis Csotello)

Also:

Elvis Costello's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding"
(originally by Brinsley Schwartz, and meant sarcastically/snidely)

Jump by Aztec Camera (Van Halen)

Frente's "Bizarre Love Triangle" (New Order)

Siouxie and the Banshee's "Dear Prudence" (Beatles)

 

[Macam]

-blip-

Change of heart.

 

[Dilbert]

everything but the girl - corcovado

Tricky - Black Steel (Public Enemy)

Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen)

If you're quoted, I like your pick...especially "Corcovado," which absolutely OWNS. Well, with one exception, I guess:

Jimi Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower (Bob Dylan) [By far the best one.]

Sorry, but Bob's original trumps ALL other versions of this song.

Some other nominations, trying to keep in mind nitewulf's idea of "very different:"

Big Star, "Femme Fatale" (original by Velvet Underground)
Christopher O'Riley, "Let Down" (original by Radiohead)
Steely Dan, "East St. Louis Toodle-oo" (original by Duke Ellington)

 

[Jak140]

Blood Brothers - Under Pressure
John Cale - Hallelujah
The Pixies - I Can't Forget
Cat Power - I Found A Reason
Calexico - Alone Again Or
The Bad Plus - Heart of Glass
My Bloody Valentine - Map Ref 41N 93W

 

[MaverickX9]

Cream's version of Crossroads is my favorite cover of all time. Clapton's guitar solos are nuts on that song.

Others I like:

Elvis - Maybellene
Elvis - Blue Seude Shoes
Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower
The Doors - Backdoor Man
Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love (yes, it is a cover)

 

[Star Power]

Christopher O'Riley, "Let Down" (original by Radiohead)

Oh my god. I don't support the death penalty, but I'd make an exception for him. He has butchered countless Radiohead songs, and now he's doing a Elliott Smith 'tribute' album.

 

[Dujour]

Just a few great ones off the top of my head.

Die, Die My Darling - Metallica

Hallelujah - Rufus Wainwright

Beck - Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime

 

[Star Power]

Hallelujah - Rufus Wainwright

I love Rufus, but come on...

 

[Jason]

I think you should leave the thread now, Hater McHate A Lot.

 

[Kon Tiki]

All Along the Watchtower Jimi Hendrix -I prefer Dylan's voice. I love guitars more
Hurt Johnny Cash -The song was written for him. So perfect.
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You Led Zeppelin
Black Magic Woman Santana
Cum On Feel The Noize Quiet Riot
Heard It Through The Grapevine Creedence Clearwater Revival
Hey Joe Jimi Hendrix
I Put a Spell on You Creedence Clearwater Revival
I Shot the Sheriff Eric Clapton
Knockin' On Heavens Door Guns N Roses
Last Kiss Pearl Jam
One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer George Thorogood
Piece Of My Heart Big Brother & Holding Company
Sweet Dreams Marilyn Manson
The Man Who Sold The World Nirvana
Turn The Page Metallica -One of my personal favorite covers.
Voodoo Child (slight return) Stevie Ray Vaughan
Whiskey In The Jar Metallica
With A Little Help From My Friends Joe Cocker - Wonder Years RUINED THE ORIGINAL FOR ME!

 

[etiolate]

Cake - I Will Survive
Joan Jett and Paul Westburg - Let's Do It

 

[bonesquad]

Pennywise - Stand by Me (awsome!!!)

Social D - Ring of Fire

They Might Be Giants - sun is a ball of incandescent gas

 

[robochimp]

Rockapella- Sweet Child of mine

 

[scorcho]

Cat Powers - Sea of Love. makes you want to rape your speakers.

 

[Kenobi]

I always thought that:

NIN - Metal
NIN - Get Down Make Love

Elvis Presley - Always on My Mind


are great.

 

[Triumph]

Gary Jules- Mad World
Rufus Wainwright- Across the Universe and Hallelujah
Johnny Cash- pretty much everything he covered on the American recording albums, but especially Hurt

 

[Dilbert]

Oh my god. I don't support the death penalty, but I'd make an exception for him. He has butchered countless Radiohead songs, and now he's doing a Elliott Smith 'tribute' album.

"Butchered?" I think not. His solo piano rendition of the song brings out the contrapuntal structure that was lurking under the surface all along.

I've actually seen him playing his Radiohead covers in concert -- it was an amazing experience.

 

[Rorschach]

Styx- I Am the Walrus (live) :rock

 

[Tarazet]

I mostly listen to classical music - everything is a "cover song." Recordings of composers playing or conducting their own work are out there, but they're the minority by far... and in almost every case, most aficianados agree that the composers - Rachmaninoff, Bartok, Prokofiev, Messiaen, Boulez even - are NOT the ideal interpreters of their own works. Other musicians have gotten more out of their music than they did. So the case for cover songs is very strong.

My favorite kind of cover song, though, is the Weird Al variety...

 

[hobbitx]

I don't know about best, but I really like this. Ring Of Fire

 

[gollumsluvslave]

dig - fearless (pink floyd)
orbital - the saint theme
u2 - satellite of love (lou reed)
faith no more - easy, midnight cowboy theme
buffalo tom - going underground (the jam)
jimi hendrix - all along the watchtower

just a few that ain't been mentioned

 

[Substance]

The Kingsmen - Louie Louie
The Beatles - Please Mr Postman
Big Star - Nature Boy

 

[mightynine]

May not be the best ones, but some of my favorites off the top of my head:

The Gourds - Gin and Juice

Afghan Whings - Creep and Miss World

 

[Prospero]

Bryan Ferry--I Put a Spell On You

 

[speedpop]

Beck - Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime

Yes thank you.

There was a local band from Sydney in Australia that did a cover of Bjork's Army of Me. It was literally fucking awesome and some of the most insane shit I have ever heard live.

 

[Manics]

Manic Street Preachers - "Been a Son" (Nirvana)

 

[Hooker]

Faith No More - War Pigs
Marvin Gaye - Heard It Through The Grapevine

Tool - No Quarter