You may remember a few weeks back I did a Musical Throwback Thursday to the year 1997. I’ve decided this is a new thing I’m going to try to remember to do every week, because hey… you guys are all good people, and I like talking about music, especially when there’s not much going on in the way of actual hockey.
So, this week’s theme is “Cover Songs”. Covers are, in their own way, a “throwback” in and of themselves, as an artist felt inspired by the work of another to cover the song and offer their own spin to it. Sometimes you’ll hear a song, and it’s so good that you don’t even realize it’s a cover until you look it up. Sometimes the cover version becomes the “seminal” work in and of itself (think Hendrix’s cover of Bob Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower” for reference… and yes, it made the playlist, of course). Special shout-out goes to two of my mates (Craig and Andrew) over at my old haunt Waiting For Next Year, as our old music e-mail discussions were legendary. Those two still do regular music podcasts, as well.
So, here’s my list of several of the best covers I’ve ever heard, either for their originality in making the song their own, their homage to the original (and in the case of the NIN song, his use of actual Queen music as an interstitial by playing a CD song of theirs on fast-forward), or in the case of one or two, for the comedic genius of the project entirely. I provided the artist, song, and original artist for reference if needed. Honorable mention goes to the God Is An Astronaut cover of The Moody Blues’ “Nights In White Satin” which would have appeared on this list could I find it on Spotify.
Enjoy!
1. Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Higher Ground” (Stevie Wonder)
2. Alien Ant Farm – “Smooth Criminal” (Michael Jackson)
3. Johnny Cash – “Rusty Cage” (Soundgarden)
4. Nine Inch Nails – “Get Down, Make Love” (Queen)
5. Jonathan Coulton – “Baby Got Back” (Sir Mix-A-Lot)
6. Jimi Hendrix – “All Along The Watchtower” (Bob Dylan)
7. The Ataris – “The Boys of Summer” (Don Henley)
8. Primus – “Have a Cigar” (Pink Floyd)
9. A Perfect Circle – “Imagine” (John Lennon)
10. Disturbed – “Land of Confusion” (Genesis)
11. Pearl Jam – “Fuckin’ Up” (Neil Young)
12. Faith No More – “Easy” (The Commodores)
13. Jeff Buckley – “Hallelujah” (Leonard Cohen)