# Covers of Songs That Radically -- And Successfully -- Re-interpreted the Work **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 31, 2010, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-of-songs-that-radically-and-successfully-re-interpreted-the-work/565927 "2010-12-31T08:05:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![eno801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c2a13f/32.png) [@eno801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eno801)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-of-songs-that-radically-and-successfully-re-interpreted-the-work/565927/201 "2011-04-11T02:21:43Z")
i kinda prefer Boss Hoss’s version of Hey Yeah [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQVWXAlEUB8&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQVWXAlEUB8&feature=related) ---
**Author:** ![medicated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@medicated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medicated)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-of-songs-that-radically-and-successfully-re-interpreted-the-work/565927/202 "2011-04-11T02:40:21Z")
I’d have to vote for three, and in no particular order: “Bring the Pain” - Mindless Self Indulgence, originally by Method Man “Get Down Make Love” - Nine Inch Nails, originally by Queen, and “The Fiddle And The Drum” - A Perfect Circle, originally by Joni Mitchell. All three are very, very different in genre compared to the original. And they work. ---
**Author:** ![JessMagic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c0e974/32.png) [@JessMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JessMagic)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-of-songs-that-radically-and-successfully-re-interpreted-the-work/565927/203 "2011-04-11T11:35:32Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > [Wonderwall](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzZhtrsbJzs) by Ryan Adams is head and shoulders above the original Oasis version if you ask me. Mike Flowers Pops did a successful re-invention of said Oasis standard back in 1995: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Vy1ueZf1WMQ/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGHIgUyg4MA8=&rs=AOn4CLACsuvSJ24B94Z2hqPhY1Ita2HXog "The Mike Flowers Pops - Wonderwall") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vy1ueZf1WMQ) Beaten to the UK number one by Earth Song? There is no God. Worth a watch, if only to check out that barnet… [Great thread BTW] ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-of-songs-that-radically-and-successfully-re-interpreted-the-work/565927/204 "2011-04-11T12:00:56Z")
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain’s tinpan alley-styled cover of Kate Bush’s [Wuthering Heights.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmBaE7ozWow) ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-of-songs-that-radically-and-successfully-re-interpreted-the-work/565927/205 "2011-04-11T12:35:37Z")
How about a country cover of [Raspberry Beret (by the Derailers)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbzKQLEQ3Cg)? ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-of-songs-that-radically-and-successfully-re-interpreted-the-work/565927/206 "2011-04-11T14:04:15Z")
> [@JessMagic](#): > > Mike Flowers Pops did a successful re-invention of said Oasis standard back in 1995: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vy1ueZf1WMQ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vy1ueZf1WMQ) I’d always wondered what that was. I flipped by the video one time and couldn’t figure out the rhyme or reason. Thanks for pointing it out. ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-of-songs-that-radically-and-successfully-re-interpreted-the-work/565927/207 "2011-04-14T20:25:48Z")
I liked the cover of “I want to hold your hand,” from the film Across the Universe. I like the use of a female vocalist, and I like that they slowed it down and turned it from a happy little song into a song of longing. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DaNQ3Fze-c) ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-of-songs-that-radically-and-successfully-re-interpreted-the-work/565927/208 "2011-04-14T21:06:19Z")
That reminds me of this Australian Beatles tribute band, The Beatnix, performing _Stairway to Heaven_ as done by the 1962-64 Beatles: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/3WfoccRna6I/hqdefault.jpg "Stairway To Heaven - The Beatnix") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WfoccRna6I) ---
**Author:** ![moldmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@moldmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moldmonkey)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-of-songs-that-radically-and-successfully-re-interpreted-the-work/565927/209 "2011-04-15T03:49:06Z")
I didn’t see Marianne Faithfuls version of Working Class Hero yet. [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N_rNz2oAGA&feature=related) ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-of-songs-that-radically-and-successfully-re-interpreted-the-work/565927/210 "2011-07-13T07:35:44Z")
Zombie music thread anyone? Scala & Kolacny Brothers is a Belgian girls’ choir that cover rock and pop songs. Their cover of Teenage Dirt Bag [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ENUFuv7yPA) There’s dozens of other covers done by them that you can link to from that video. ---
**Author:** ![Roseanne\_Valerie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e95f7d/32.png) [@Roseanne\_Valerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roseanne_Valerie)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-of-songs-that-radically-and-successfully-re-interpreted-the-work/565927/211 "2011-07-13T12:52:12Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > Sinead O’Connor’s 90’s hit “Nothing Compares 2 U” is actually a cover of a Prince song (not a single, just album fodder). > > I’ve heard the Prince version once - it’s…boppy is probably the best way to describe it. Sinead’s version blows it out of the water. You mean [this version](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LBc7-v5exY)? This was actually the first version released to the general public. Good album it came from, too. Nevertheless, I agree that Sinead’s is the absolute best version, by a country mile. ---
**Author:** ![Fourtyfold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f475e1/32.png) [@Fourtyfold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fourtyfold)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-of-songs-that-radically-and-successfully-re-interpreted-the-work/565927/212 "2011-07-13T15:27:24Z")
The [Isham Jones version of Stardust](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWQit9LHk3I) is a good example. Hoagy Carmichael wrote the [the original](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vy1ueZf1WMQ) (and gets all the credit these days), but it was Jones’s version that really made the song famous. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-of-songs-that-radically-and-successfully-re-interpreted-the-work/565927/213 "2011-07-20T15:39:18Z")
Just heard this on the radio and was reminded of this thread. [Isley Brother’s Summer Breeze.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T88fbHOmvRk) I think they’re almost all dead. Maybe one or two Isleys left. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-of-songs-that-radically-and-successfully-re-interpreted-the-work/565927/214 "2011-07-20T16:03:54Z")
DeVotchKa’s cover of [Venus in Furs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVPbykzzNFE)is a fairly radical departure from the original, and I’d say that I prefer it to the original. (The above link is a live version; I recall it being pretty damn good, but I can’t actually listen right now. So, [here’s the studio](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4CQEruH1JQ) as well.) ---
**Author:** ![Clawdio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d07c76/32.png) [@Clawdio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clawdio)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-of-songs-that-radically-and-successfully-re-interpreted-the-work/565927/215 "2011-07-20T18:34:03Z")
I don’t think anyone has mentioned the Blanks covering Somewhere over the rainbow as an acapella group. Also, back in the late 90’s / early 2000’s Barenaked ladies used to do an accoustic version of Prince’s “When doves cry” on tour that i thought was pretty awesome. Not sure if you can find it on the internet but i can’t really search while i’m at work. ---
**Author:** ![StrangeBird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e480ec/32.png) [@StrangeBird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StrangeBird)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-of-songs-that-radically-and-successfully-re-interpreted-the-work/565927/216 "2011-07-20T18:53:28Z")
For any Aussie Dopers out there, Boy and Bear did a cover of Crowded House’s Fall at You Feet which I really like, and which seems to have been generally well received: You can hear it here: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/wJwjKL2dxXo/maxresdefault.jpg "Boy & Bear - Fall At Your Feet") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJwjKL2dxXo) ---
**Author:** ![otternell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecc23a/32.png) [@otternell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/otternell)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-of-songs-that-radically-and-successfully-re-interpreted-the-work/565927/217 "2011-07-20T18:57:25Z")
> [@medicated](#): > > I’d have to vote for three, and in no particular order: > > “Bring the Pain” - Mindless Self Indulgence, originally by Method Man > > “Get Down Make Love” - Nine Inch Nails, originally by Queen, and > > “The Fiddle And The Drum” - A Perfect Circle, originally by Joni Mitchell. > > All three are very, very different in genre compared to the original. And they work. amazing - I was just thinking APC when I came in here! You can almost add that entire album - their reinterpretation of When the Levee Breaks is just wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Unexpected\_Okapi\_Debacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_unexpected_okapi_debacle/32/7702_2.png) [@The\_Unexpected\_Okapi\_Debacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Unexpected_Okapi_Debacle)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-of-songs-that-radically-and-successfully-re-interpreted-the-work/565927/218 "2011-07-21T15:07:19Z")
What about Klaus Nomi’s version of “The Twist”? [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBLKUvyIR0o](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBLKUvyIR0o) ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-of-songs-that-radically-and-successfully-re-interpreted-the-work/565927/219 "2011-07-21T15:18:24Z")
> [@Tanbarkie](#): > > There’s a near-endless array of “white dudes covering hiphop songs as ballads” out there, but for my money, the best is Jonathan Coulton’s “Baby Got Back.” You can’t get much whiter than [Gilbert and Sullivan](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkJdEFf_Qg4). ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-of-songs-that-radically-and-successfully-re-interpreted-the-work/565927/220 "2011-07-23T23:00:06Z")
Ryan Adams’ version of Oasis’s “Wonderwall” is hauntingly elegant. Or elegantly haunting. I much prefer it to the original. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-of-songs-that-radically-and-successfully-re-interpreted-the-work/565927.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-of-songs-that-radically-and-successfully-re-interpreted-the-work/565927.md?page=12)