I rather enjoy listening to foreign covers of popular rock songs.
I have somewhere around here a wonderful version of Ring of Fire by a mexican accordian player to a tejano beat.
On the EuroTrip soundtrack, there is a cover of My Generation done in french by a band I can’t remember at the moment.
I would love suggestions of something similar, whether an entire album ( soundtrack or otherwise) to classic songs re-done either in another language or just a new spin on a goodie.
Mucho Gracias.
Try Laibach’s version of Sympathy for the Devil sometime. Entirely different timbre, but somehow more fitting. Laibach is a German band, but they sing Sympathy in English.
There are two compilation discs from Cost Plus World Market (“Rhythms in Common” and “Handful of Rhythms”) that have a bunch of these. Mostly, they are pretty crappy, but there are some good ones, like the aforementioned Ring of Fire by Mingo Saldivar. Also, Angelique Kidjo covering Gershwin’s Summertime, Sade’s Sweetest Taboo by Les Nubians, and Alabina covering The Animals’ “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.”
The life aquatic soundtrack has some great acoustic David Bowie covers in what I believe is portuguese, but I’m not certain on the language.
Laibach is a Slovenian band, taking their name from the German translation of Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital. But, yeah, they do most of their songs in either German or English.
Anyhow, they have a whole album of Beatles covers. Actually, they cover pretty much the entire Beatles album Let It Be. It’s pure mad genius.
I found by Social Distortion Ring of Fire which is quite good.
I can’t find, t hrough Napster, Sympathy for the Devil. Nuts.
I can find SFTD, but not that version. :smack:
[quote]
Rhythms in Common**
This is the CD that I have that I cannot presently find. I **love ** it.
Shonen Knife has done some interesting covers - the 3 that best fit the topic are the 2 Ramones covers (I Wanna Be Sedated, and Suzy is a Headbanger), and Joan Jett’s Cherry Bomb.
Ooo! I’ve always like their cover of “On Top of The World.”
Stereo Total does some interesting Beatles covers, including a version of the Beatles’ “Drive My Car” called “Tu Peux Conduire Ma Bagnole.”
Paging Freejooky Please pick up the white courtesy phone 
I’m not sure which came first, but Claude Francois did a French version of the Temptations’ “Oh What A Night”. Or The Temptations did an English version of Claude Francois’ “Cette Annee-La”.
To be honest, if it is originally an English song, I’m not even sure if the Temptations were the first. In any case, nice song, in both languages
:wally (on me)
I’ve got a version of The Doors’ “Light My Fire” by a Japanese group called The Mops. It’s sung in phonetic English ("…*you know that I would be a ri-ya…"). It’s part hilarious and part trainwreck.
Absolutely the greatest of these is ‘Norwegian Wood’ by Cornershop. They’re an Indian (london-based) band and put the Beatles sitar-loving pretensions to shame with this one. And it’s in punjabi (I think).
Absolutely brilliant. I’ve driven Beatles freaks out of my house with it it’s so good.
Sie lieb Dich and Komm Gib Mir Diene Hand are exactly the way the Beatles wanted their songs in German. 
Theres always the Gypsy Kings version of Hotel California, from the Big Lebowski soundtrack. I like that better than the original.
hey shirley would that be wally gonzales’ version of ring of fire?
Some of my faves:
Shonen Knife - Daydream Believer
Balzac (Korean Misfits wanna-bes)- Ace of Spades
Pizzicatto 5 - Girl from Ipanema
I also have some unknown Korean band covering “Out of Touch” by Hall and Oats in Korean.