Cover songs are a strange beast. Both adored and reviled with equal fervor, cover songs wield the double-edged sword of potential. You average local rock band that plays at your average local bar swears by them. I personally have seen lines snaking out the door and around the building for a Sublime cover band. If that isn't a testament to the power of the cover song, I don't know what is. However, I kinda hate most covers. Bands tend to just play the song and do little to make it their own. It's a best a novelty and at worst does a disservice to the original. Example:


Hello. I want to drown you in piss.


I don't need some extreme version of a song that totally departs from the source material, like a trip hop remix of Freebird (someone make this a real thing in my life please). I think that a good cover version is one in which the musician adds his/her own personal touch to the song. So in that spirit, I want to share with you today a few covers of songs that I think are pretty neat. I like them and hope that you will too.





1) Johnny Cash - Hurt

Apparently some band called NiN did this song originally? I don't remember that happening but I do know that when I hear Johnny Cash sing this song, I feel it in my heart that it's his. The sadness, pain, and experience in his voice makes the lyrics come to life. The song becomes more than just lyrics set to music, it becomes one man's journey through love, sadness, and regret. Couple that with the video of Johnny Cash sitting in an empty house filled with mementos and memories of his life and you realize that this isn't him just covering a song. This is Johnny Cash pouring his fucking guts out the only way he knows how and we are all lucky bastards to bear witness to it. So yeah, he owns this song forever.








2) Crispin Glover - Ben

Crispin Hellion Glover is a fun guy. Most people know him for being George Mcfly and almost kicking David Letterman in the face but he also is a prolific author and has put out a few albums. In 2003, he starred in a movie called Willard. It's a good movie worth checking out but my favorite thing about Willard is that he covered the classic Michael Jackson song "Ben" on the soundtrack. His creepy, love-you-with-a-knife voice makes my love of this version rival my love of the original. Plus, drill instructor and tough old bastard extraordinaire R. Lee Ermey is in both the movie and the video. Double plus good!







3) Nick Cave - Avalanche

Nick Cave is the scorpion skittering around the desert of my heart. Bluesy, ballsy and fucking badass is about the best way to summarize his music. Then he went and covered my favorite Leonard Cohen song. This match is as close to perfect as one can get without bringing in religious symbolism. With this version, Nick Cave shows that he respects the source material while at the same time pouring his soul into the performance.






4) Scissor Sisters - Comfortably Numb

So, many moons ago I used to love Pink Floyd. That love involved black light posters, suspicious glass sculptures, and more than a few bottles of Visine. However, cut to my adult life and I now find Pink Floyd....lacking. Now that's not to say they are bad, they just aren't my thing anymore. You still love them? Badass. Piper at the Gates of Dawn your jam? Rock out. Now, all the being said, if you are a fan of Pink Floyd currently, chances are you will hate this cover. It is about as extreme as you can get in terms of differentiating from the source material. Personally, I think this cover is brilliant.






5) William Shatner - Common People

Over the past few years, William Shatner has reached Bea Arthur levels of pop culture love from the masses. So it's no surprise that when he decides to cover Pulp's smash hit/youth anthem “Common People”, it goes over like a bottle of Boone's Farm at an after prom party. Shatner's spoken word style singing and rhythmic, deranged cadence makes this cover an amazing thing to behold. The fact that the video for it is from the Star Trek cartoon only adds to the joy.




So those are some covers I love. Now I leave you with this picture:



Have a pleasant day.