How do you feel about cover songs? - VGF

Serial Miller · 01-26-2005, 12:30 PM

The topic just sprung up in an off-hand conversation in Nameless, and I realized it made sense to bring it to this audience. Here is what I had to say:

Quote:

As far as covers go, I'd rather hear that artist's interpretation. Not some worthless attempt at reaching the same point. This is a good example as to why I hate it when people do ****e covers of NIN. There are so many of them. The good are few in far between. Perhaps this should be a topic in the Music forum? I think so..

And, as far as decent covers of NIN go, I'd like to make a nod towards Pig, Razed in Black, and Apoptygma Berzerk. Those boys own at it. No, I didn't care for AFI's version of Head Like a Hole.

***CaptHayfever*** · 01-26-2005, 03:15 PM

Sometimes they work; sometimes they don't. When they don't work, it's usually the cover artist's fault for somehow violating the song.
I shall use 2 Dons to illustrate.

Example: "Boys of Summer"
Original By: Don Henley
Original Quality: Excellent, Classic, Rock-able
Covered by: The Ataris
-Alterations: Changed "Deadhead" to "Black Flag" to match time frame
-Cover Quality: Excellent, Rock-able
Covered by: DJ Sammy
-Alterations: Sung by a woman, reason unknown
-Cover Quality: Nauseating, Head-throbbing

Example: "American Pie"
Original By: Don McLean
Original Quality: Excellent, Classic, Touching
Parodied by: 'Weird Al' Yankovic
-Alterations: Full lyrics to match subject, 2 less verses for time.
-Parody Quality: Excellent, Hilarious, Modern Classic
Covered by: Madonna
-Alterations: 3.5 less verses for time, instrumental & fade for pop format, sung by a woman for obvious reasons
-Cover Quality: Horrifying

Then of course there are times when the cover is BETTER than the original, but those are extraordinarily rare, so there's not much point in talking about it.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

Nekoscat · 01-27-2005, 08:35 AM

sometimes it works, just look at smoothe criminal ^^

Neko^^

Koga · 01-27-2005, 12:05 PM

Here's what I said:

Quote:

The problem with covers, in my opinion is that they don't have the sound (i.e. lead singer) you are so familiar with. Like AI I really dislike covers that are just an exact recreation of the song.

As for live performances, I do think it can be interesting to hear another singer sing a familiar song. I really liked some of the interpretations at the Freddie Mercury Tribute concert.

Of course my first point depends on what you hear first. Usually I do prefer the original even if I heard it after I heard a cover, but not always.

PenguinMan · 01-27-2005, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CaptHayfever:
Covered by: DJ Sammy
-Alterations: Sung by a woman, reason unknown
-Cover Quality: Nauseating, Head-throbbing

I like covers provided that they change enough of the song to justify a reinterpretation, like a change in genre or changing the lyrics.

***CaptHayfever*** · 01-27-2005, 08:07 PM

I'm sorry, man, but I really couldn't stand that version. In addition to having a girl sing those lyrics (which makes zero sense unless they were trying to make it about a bisexual), it was a girl with a bad voice. And I've discussed my dislike for throb-beats in the past.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

PenguinMan · 01-28-2005, 04:12 PM

^ I really didn't notice anything gender-specific in that song. "Boys Of Summer", however...

Bomby · 01-31-2005, 09:08 PM

Anyone who hates the Fugees' verstion of "Killing me Softly" should be killed softly.

Sen. Brak Obama (FACE) · 01-31-2005, 11:24 PM

Some covers are good.

Cee-Lo did a terrific job of covering Al Green's "Let's Stay Together"

***CaptHayfever*** · 02-01-2005, 03:00 PM

^^Honestly, I like that version better than the original.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

Vinny · 02-01-2005, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tuxedo Gin:
I like covers provided that they change enough of the song to justify a reinterpretation, like a change in genre or changing the lyrics.

Yeah, that's what I think. Some covers can be better than the original. Look at Hendrix's take on Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" for the classic example.

Bomby · 02-01-2005, 06:28 PM

Roger's version of "Heard It Thru the Grapevine" is funky as hell. Catchy, too.

Nabooru98 · 02-02-2005, 08:17 PM

Overall I approve of covers (Metallica's Garage Days album) but when I heard Korn's version of "Brick in the Wall" I wanted to cry.

**Sean P Kelly** · 02-22-2005, 12:23 AM

Some cover songs that I have in my CD collection that I like:
Oasis - I Am The Walrus (Beatles Cover)
Finger Eleven - Walking In My Shoes (Depeche Mode Cover)
The White Stripes - I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself (Burt Bacharach cover)

Some over covers I like:
Limp Bizkit - Faith (George Michael cover)
Limp Bizkit - Behind Blue Eyes (Who cover)
Wheatus - A Little Respect (Erasure Cover)
Gob - Paint It Black (Rolling Stones Cover)

**Dylan** · 02-25-2005, 08:29 PM

Songs that have been ruined by samples/covers:
"Back In Black" by AC/DC (Ruined by Nelly's "Work It")
"You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC (Ruined by Celine Dion. I kid you not.)
"Dream On" by Aerosmith (Ruined by Eminem's "Sing For The Moment")
"Walk This Way" by Aerosmith (Ruined by Run-DMC)
"Sugar, Sugar" by The Archies (Horrendously reinvented by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (If they can be called a band))
"Car Wash" by Jim Croce (Ruined by Christina Aguilera)
"Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac (Ruined by Dixie Chicks)
"Sweet Child Of Mine" by Guns 'N Roses (Ruined by Sheryl Crow)
"Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin (Ruined by P. Diddy)
"Another Brick In The Wall (Parts 1, 2, and 3)" by Pink Floyd (Ruined by Korn)
"Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne (Ruined by Lil Jon and the Eastside Boyz)

Good covers:
"Roll Over Beetoven" by The Beatles (Originally by Chuck Berry)
"Twist And Shout" by The Beatles (Originally by
"Knockin' On Heaven's Door" by Guns 'N Roses (Originally by Bob Dylan)
"Live And Let Die" by Guns 'N Roses (Originally by Wings)

Aaand I'm lazy. Add more if you want.

~Dylan

Vinny · 02-26-2005, 09:33 AM

And let's not forget Cream, they did quite a few good covers of blues standards. "I'm So Glad" by Skip James, "Rollin' and Tumblin'" by Muddy Waters, and, of course, "Crossroads" by Robert Johnson.

[ February 26, 2005, 08:41 AM: Message edited by: Disraeli Gears ]

OcarinaMan · 06-01-2005, 10:26 PM

"Unchained Melody" covered by the Righteous Brothers
"Ghost Riders In the Sky" covered by Johnny Cash

**Dylan** · 06-15-2005, 02:17 PM

"Baby, Please Don't Go"- AC/DC. I forgot who originally sang it.

~Dylan

[ June 16, 2005, 12:02 AM: Message edited by: Dylan ]

01-31-2005, 11:24 PM	#9
Sen. Brak Obama (FACE) Polk/McLaughlin '08: The Greatness You Already Knew Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Birmingham, AL Gender: Posts: 12,956 Thanks: 918 Thanked 646 Times in 378 Posts Points: 49,249.76 Bank: 453,716.50 Total Points: 502,966.26 Donate	Some covers are good. Cee-Lo did a terrific job of covering Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" __________________

01-26-2005, 03:15 PM	#2
*CaptHayfever* Smash Supermod Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: (n) - the place where I am Gender: Posts: 19,117 Thanks: 151 Thanked 701 Times in 453 Posts Points: 102,527.07 Bank: 804.22 Total Points: 103,331.29 Donate	Sometimes they work; sometimes they don't. When they don't work, it's usually the cover artist's fault for somehow violating the song. I shall use 2 Dons to illustrate. Example: "Boys of Summer" Original By: Don Henley Original Quality: Excellent, Classic, Rock-able Covered by: The Ataris -Alterations: Changed "Deadhead" to "Black Flag" to match time frame -Cover Quality: Excellent, Rock-able Covered by: DJ Sammy -Alterations: Sung by a woman, reason unknown -Cover Quality: Nauseating, Head-throbbing Example: "American Pie" Original By: Don McLean Original Quality: Excellent, Classic, Touching Parodied by: 'Weird Al' Yankovic -Alterations: Full lyrics to match subject, 2 less verses for time. -Parody Quality: Excellent, Hilarious, Modern Classic Covered by: Madonna -Alterations: 3.5 less verses for time, instrumental & fade for pop format, sung by a woman for obvious reasons -Cover Quality: Horrifying Then of course there are times when the cover is BETTER than the original, but those are extraordinarily rare, so there's not much point in talking about it. And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

01-27-2005, 08:35 AM	#3
Nekoscat Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: http://www.theafterlifels.com/ Gender: Posts: 2,690 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Points: 3,631.00 Bank: 500.00 Total Points: 4,131.00 Donate	sometimes it works, just look at smoothe criminal ^^ Neko^^

01-27-2005, 08:07 PM	#6
*CaptHayfever* Smash Supermod Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: (n) - the place where I am Gender: Posts: 19,117 Thanks: 151 Thanked 701 Times in 453 Posts Points: 102,527.07 Bank: 804.22 Total Points: 103,331.29 Donate	I'm sorry, man, but I really couldn't stand that version. In addition to having a girl sing those lyrics (which makes zero sense unless they were trying to make it about a bisexual), it was a girl with a bad voice. And I've discussed my dislike for throb-beats in the past. And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

01-28-2005, 04:12 PM	#7
PenguinMan Spin the Disc Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: THE ARCTIC CIRCLE!!!!1 Gender: Posts: 10,732 Thanks: 1 Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts Points: 5,139.00 Bank: 500.00 Total Points: 5,639.00 Donate	^ I really didn't notice anything gender-specific in that song. "Boys Of Summer", however...

01-31-2005, 09:08 PM	#8
Bomby Song 2 : Whoo Hoo Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Mad City, WI Gender: Posts: 14,430 Thanks: 192 Thanked 420 Times in 299 Posts Blog Entries: 4 Points: 1,289.40 Bank: 1,677,553.97 Total Points: 1,678,843.37 Donate	Anyone who hates the Fugees' verstion of "Killing me Softly" should be killed softly.

02-01-2005, 03:00 PM	#10
*CaptHayfever* Smash Supermod Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: (n) - the place where I am Gender: Posts: 19,117 Thanks: 151 Thanked 701 Times in 453 Posts Points: 102,527.07 Bank: 804.22 Total Points: 103,331.29 Donate	^^Honestly, I like that version better than the original. And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

02-01-2005, 06:28 PM	#12
Bomby Song 2 : Whoo Hoo Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Mad City, WI Gender: Posts: 14,430 Thanks: 192 Thanked 420 Times in 299 Posts Blog Entries: 4 Points: 1,289.40 Bank: 1,677,553.97 Total Points: 1,678,843.37 Donate	Roger's version of "Heard It Thru the Grapevine" is funky as hell. Catchy, too.

02-02-2005, 08:17 PM	#13
Nabooru98 Member Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Puerto Rico Posts: 1,989 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Points: 11,205.00 Bank: 500.00 Total Points: 11,705.00 Donate	Overall I approve of covers (Metallica's Garage Days album) but when I heard Korn's version of "Brick in the Wall" I wanted to cry.

02-22-2005, 12:23 AM	#14
Sean P Kelly SMBHQ Mod Movies Mod Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Toronto, ON, Canada Gender: Posts: 3,218 Thanks: 9 Thanked 40 Times in 31 Posts Points: 172,686.99 Bank: 55,506.27 Total Points: 228,193.26 Donate	Some cover songs that I have in my CD collection that I like: Oasis - I Am The Walrus (Beatles Cover) Finger Eleven - Walking In My Shoes (Depeche Mode Cover) The White Stripes - I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself (Burt Bacharach cover) Some over covers I like: Limp Bizkit - Faith (George Michael cover) Limp Bizkit - Behind Blue Eyes (Who cover) Wheatus - A Little Respect (Erasure Cover) Gob - Paint It Black (Rolling Stones Cover)

02-25-2005, 08:29 PM	#15
Dylan Banned Mod Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Teenage Wasteland Gender: Posts: 6,014 Thanks: 815 Thanked 819 Times in 380 Posts Points: 27,587.03 Bank: 0.00 Total Points: 27,587.04 Donate	Songs that have been ruined by samples/covers: "Back In Black" by AC/DC (Ruined by Nelly's "Work It") "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC (Ruined by Celine Dion. I kid you not.) "Dream On" by Aerosmith (Ruined by Eminem's "Sing For The Moment") "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith (Ruined by Run-DMC) "Sugar, Sugar" by The Archies (Horrendously reinvented by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (If they can be called a band)) "Car Wash" by Jim Croce (Ruined by Christina Aguilera) "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac (Ruined by Dixie Chicks) "Sweet Child Of Mine" by Guns 'N Roses (Ruined by Sheryl Crow) "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin (Ruined by P. Diddy) "Another Brick In The Wall (Parts 1, 2, and 3)" by Pink Floyd (Ruined by Korn) "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne (Ruined by Lil Jon and the Eastside Boyz) Good covers: "Roll Over Beetoven" by The Beatles (Originally by Chuck Berry) "Twist And Shout" by The Beatles (Originally by "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" by Guns 'N Roses (Originally by Bob Dylan) "Live And Let Die" by Guns 'N Roses (Originally by Wings) Aaand I'm lazy. Add more if you want. ~Dylan

02-26-2005, 09:33 AM	#16
Vinny Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: The Fletcher Memorial Home for incurable tyrants and kings Posts: 7,262 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Points: 14,635.86 Bank: 500.00 Total Points: 15,135.86 Donate	And let's not forget Cream, they did quite a few good covers of blues standards. "I'm So Glad" by Skip James, "Rollin' and Tumblin'" by Muddy Waters, and, of course, "Crossroads" by Robert Johnson. [ February 26, 2005, 08:41 AM: Message edited by: Disraeli Gears ]

06-01-2005, 10:26 PM	#17
OcarinaMan Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Ikana Castle Posts: 2,482 Thanks: 1 Thanked 5 Times in 3 Posts Points: 7,102.77 Bank: 500.00 Total Points: 7,602.77 Donate	"Unchained Melody" covered by the Righteous Brothers "Ghost Riders In the Sky" covered by Johnny Cash

06-15-2005, 02:17 PM	#18
Dylan Banned Mod Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Teenage Wasteland Gender: Posts: 6,014 Thanks: 815 Thanked 819 Times in 380 Posts Points: 27,587.03 Bank: 0.00 Total Points: 27,587.04 Donate	"Baby, Please Don't Go"- AC/DC. I forgot who originally sang it. ~Dylan [ June 16, 2005, 12:02 AM: Message edited by: Dylan ]