Cover Up

The other day I was listening to the radio and heard the original American Pie by Don Mclean and immediately switched the channel. I hope I am not offending anyone when I say that I find that song to be one of the most annoying songs ever made. Not only is it FOREVER long, but it also has only one real chord which makes the song even more boring than it already is. This got me thinking about the Madonna version which is also equal in its generic blandness. Yet, her cover of the song was a major success with the critical and judgmental tweeny American radio listeners. “But why?” I thought to myself. The song was just as boring and repetitive, then, as it is now. Then it hit me. If Rhianna did a cover version of Richard Harris’ Mac Arthur Park (sorry mom but this is one of the weirdest, most trippy, songs of all time) it would be a smash success. Or if Justin Bieber decided to take a stab at America’s Horse With No Name, also one of the most boring songs of all time, it would probably go platinum. So apparently star power is what makes a popular cover, but there are about 100 great covers of songs that aren’t popular and are incredibly fabulous. Here are my all-time less popular favorite covers.

1) Matt Pond Pa’s cover of Champagne Supernova (originally sung by Oasis)
Matt Pond’s Pennsylvania formed band covered this song specifically for the O.C. As you already know I was extremely fond of the O.C. and all it had to offer- musically of course. Yet, this cover brought something new to the table. Oasis’ song as you know is bizarre lyrically yet is extremely exciting to listen to. There are waves in the background but no one knows why, and then there are the melodic voices of the band members. Matt Pond slows down the song a bit and makes it a little more haunting. On the surface they sound the same, but they are vastly different once you listen to the subtle nuances that Matt Pond places within the song that weren’t there before.

2) New Found Glory’s cover of Don’t You Forget About Me (originally sung by Simple Minds)
New Found Glory did an interesting thing. They decided to do punky covers of our favorite screen songs and this happens to be my favorite of their projects. The original Don’t You Forget About Me was made specifically for The Breakfast Club- a movie that defined the 80’s in many ways. So it is no surprise that this punk cover has a very different take on the song. Most covers still resonate the superb quality of the original but update them slightly to appeal to a younger crowd. This cover succeeds in doing just that.

3) Chris Cornell's cover of Billie Jean (originally sung by Michael Jackson)
Chris Cornell the former front man of Soundgarden and Audioslave (two awesome bands) has had quite the solo career. He was nominated for his awesome hard-rock inspired James Bond Theme Song You Know My Name (Casino Royale), and he came out with a cover of this great Michael Jackson song. Chris changed the song completely; he slowed the tempo down and turned it into a stellar rock song. I’m sure when MJ first sang Billie Jean that he couldn’t imagine it being sung in this way. That is what makes this cover so genius. It turns the original on its head and creates something completely new and interesting.


4) David Cook's cover of Always Be My Baby (originally sung by Mariah Carey)
Oh David Cook. Thanks to you American Idol will always be about changing the song in some way and making it your own. Your shining moment on that show for me was your cover of Mariah Carey’s Always Be My Baby. Always Be My Baby is a song I had heard a hundred times but never actually liked until you sang it. You turned what was a frothy pop song into a haunting “stalker anthem” (as Paula called it) and made me believe that you were something great.


5) Ben Folds' cover of Such Great Heights (originally sung by The Postal Service)
Anyone who knows me knows of my immense love for Ben Folds. For me he is musically perfect; he plays the piano, writes his own material, has a unique sound all to himself and can play 3 instruments at once using his feet! So it should come, as no surprise that I love his cover of The Postal Service’s Such Great Heights. Most people would put Iron and Wine’s version popularized by the movie Garden State as the best cover, but I beg to differ. Ben doesn’t stray to far from the synthetic original, but still manages to make it his own because of his expert skill and his odd but familiar voice.

6) Lenny Kravitz's cover of American Woman (originally sung by The Guess Who)
Every time I hear the Guess Who’s version of this song I rock out to it. In my mind there was no one better to cover this song then Lenny Kravitz. Best known for his hit Fly Away and short marriage to Lisa Bonet, Kravitz broke out with this cover of the classic song. It was used in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, but will forever be known to me as a more rocked out version of the classic rock song.

7) Joe Cocker's cover of Come Together (originally sung by the Beatles)
Across the Universe is a strange and wonderful movie tribute to the Beatles. There are parts that are brilliant (see I’ve Just Seen a Face), and others that are downright bizarre (see Being for the Benefit Mister Kite). Yet the shining moment in this film for me is Joe Cocker’s version of Come Together.  Joe and his racially indefinable voice soar on this Beatles number. Take it from someone who has Beatles rockband and consistently ends up singing Come Together, it is quite a bizarre and difficult song to sing and Joe really hits the mark. (Also check out the awesome busy business street displayed in the video- it’s really amazing)


8)Keane's cover of Enjoy the Silence (originally sung by Depeche Mode)
Enjoy the Silence is one of Depeche’s most successful singles. Known for their super synthetic pop Depeche didn’t stray far from type on this single. What Keane did was change this 80’s pop song into something much more suitable for the gen-y-ers. Keane, also known for their melodious piano indie-pop, removed all synthetic properties from the original song and let the music really speak for itself in this cover. 

9)Chase Coy’s cover of I Will Follow You Into the Dark (originally sung by Death Cab for Cutie)
Chase Coy is a relative newbie to the music scene, and I must say, I am a little in love. He is adorable, over the age of 18 (so I don’t feel bad about saying that) and he is a singer-songwriter, so what could be bad? He is extremely talented and shines on this ode to Death Cab.  I know no one can match the purely hypnotic melodies that are produced by Ben Gibbard but Chase definitely does this song justice. In fact it even made me tear up a little, just like I did when I heard the original for the first time.



What are your favorite covers?