There are thousands of places musicians gather inspiration, from political events to drug overdoses. Riffs and melodies are lifted and stolen then sold to naïve, younger generations who do not know what they are listening to. But the strangest act of creation that seems to be so popular is the art of covering. Artists like Weird Al have made fortunes spinning spoofs of our favorite songs. Some covers are hilarious and some are breathtaking; some end up becoming more famous than the original; some are more bone chilling than the original, yet unknown to the public. Each cover was put onto this list because it has one of these qualities.
10. Nirvana – “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” (Various Artists)
This song delves into the history of music itself. Before recorded music, there were not many artists, and one set of chords could have ten or twenty different sets of lyrics. An author of unknown origins wrote “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” about a supposed lynching in the South during the late 1880s, hence the “sleep in the pines” lyric. It has been covered by many people throughout the years and Cobain himself in his MTV Unplugged performance says “this song is written by one of my favorite performers,” referring to Lead Belly. However, even Lead Belly lifted it from someone else and the cycle repeated itself. Nirvana covering this song took it to the style that it was meant to be performed—long, drawn out, grungy and cascading, as it grows quiet to a whisper before Cobain is screaming the last chorus bringing the song to its emotional peak. Cobain sings this song with more energy, passion, and pain in his voice than any other artist has to date.
9. Stereo Total – “Drive My Car” (The Beatles)
The Beatles may be one of the most covered bands of all time and naturally, a Beatles cover would have to make it onto this list. The reason French band Stereo Total’s cover works so well is because they took the song out of context. They changed the lyrics to French, changed the tempo, and changed the sound of the entire song. They blended their own influences from the Beatles and their own personal sound and revamped the song, by adding samples of cars skidding and crashing. Stereo Total’s lo-fi approach to this clean-cut Beatles song adds distortion on every instrument and puts the keys on center stage, driving the melody of the song. Stereo Total put so much of themselves into this cover that an average listener would think it was an amazing original song.
8. Elliott Smith – “Thirteen” (Big Star)
What makes a cover good is the cover artist bringing something unique that the original artist didn’t. Sometimes, adding to the sound, adding more instruments, and making it more complex isn’t what the artist needs to do. What Elliott Smith does to make this cover immensely better is stripping the song to its bones. He takes away the layered acoustics Big Star had recorded. He takes away the extra vocals and the shimmering effects Big Star used in the studio. Instead of adding more (which we know Elliott Smith has the capabilities to do) he made the song personal. He recorded it just him and his guitar in an analog studio in which you can hear the fuzz of the silence. It is soft and sounds more like what the song was trying to be in the dance; it sounds like how a teenager would record it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdDrZtOREcE
7. Anal Cunt – “American Woman” (The Guess Who)
Sometimes in the ska/punk/metal genres, bands will cover songs by artists in the same genre creating an inbred cover that doesn’t change much from the original. What Anal Cunt achieved is a cover that took the original and turned it on its head. Anal Cunt defiled The Guess Who’s version: Taking away the quality of the instrumentation and the vocals, Anal Cunt breaks away from the atonal approach to music and use a conventional pop-song structure and riffs which make this a fun song for anyone, whether you like metal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy9qktoiwHE
6. Devo – “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (The Rolling Stones)
“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” has been covered by everyone from Britney Spears to garage bands. This song is undoubtedly a crowd pleaser. Devo took this song into another dimension by breaking away from the original in every stylistic way they can aside from the actual riff, in which they altered the strumming and punctuation, making it an amazing, stand out Stones cover.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e75BUYdZq-g
5. Pearl Jam – “Walking the Cow” (Daniel Johnston)
For those who can’t stomach Pearl Jam, you may be delighted to know Eddie Vedder gave back to the music community by introducing as many as he could to Daniel Johnston by covering his song “Walking the Cow” solo on the guitar. This cover takes away from the frantic insanity of Johnston, and Vedder turns it into a personal, emotional and absurd experience. Whether Vedder was trying to pay homage to Daniel Johnston, the cover still comes across beautifully.
4. Creedence Clearwater Revival – “Heard It Through the Grapevine” (Smoky Robinson & the Miracles)
This song was originally written and performed by Motown artists exclusively, and CCR has always been known for their poignant songwriting skills. Their other hits had major political and social themes that many could relate to during their career, like class issues in the USA and the war in Vietnam. When CCR sings this song the meaning is not lost as the style of music changes. CCR did their duty as musicians to preserve a classic song that will always have universal themes to a generation that may have never heard it.
3. Tom Waits – “Heigh Ho” (Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves)
Without being told this was the Disney song, nobody would know Waits was singing one. This song is almost a political statement to the culture we live in of “dig dig dig all day through” without looking at what is going on around us. The way Tom Waits changed the tone of this song when he sings the chorus makes it sound like a lament for the workers he is singing about. The line “but we don’t know what we’re digging for” contrasted against the dark trumpets and war like drum beats throughout the entire song makes you think twice about what you’re doing at your day job.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4_zaZ3utUY
2. Xiu Xiu – “Ceremony” (Joy Division)
Xiu Xiu is a noise-rock band that won’t appeal to the average listener. This cover brings emotions and feelings that weren’t heard in the original version. With new instruments (and a cacophony of sound effects) this song is taken from the typical bass/guitar/drums combo that Joy Division (later New Order) created it in, and paints a picture in the listener’s mind of what the lyrics are about. They kept what they needed (that classic Joy Division bass line) and put more passion, energy, dynamic volume and sonic shifts than Joy Division ever could have with their instruments. With only two members, Xiu Xiu has created a larger and more tearjerking song than Joy Division did with four.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNTzGwbxaIY
1. Converge – “Disintegration” (The Cure)
This song is a departure from a conventional Converge song. Being the frontrunners of the new hardcore sound, one would not expect a vocalist like Jacob Bannon (who does not have vocal chords left from the screaming) to whisper into the microphone. The original Cure song was dissonant, repetitive and essentially a loop over and over that had no climax. The cover, however, builds into a torrent of emotion that one would not expect to hear. Converge added a narrative to this song. One is left with a powerful emotional experience when listening to the story Converge tells in this song. One cannot be anything but deeply moved by the raw emotion that was loaded up like a syringe and shot into your veins by Converge on this track.
