# Ironic soft covers of harder songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 4, 2009, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironic-soft-covers-of-harder-songs/508819 "2009-09-04T02:47:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironic-soft-covers-of-harder-songs/508819/41 "2009-09-04T15:37:29Z")
David Byrne singing “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironic-soft-covers-of-harder-songs/508819/42 "2009-09-04T15:41:01Z")
My favorite is Ben Folds covering “[Bitches Ain’t Shit](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_N3CK-6CHk)” (Dr. Dre). ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironic-soft-covers-of-harder-songs/508819/43 "2009-09-04T15:55:25Z")
Cowboy Junkies’ version of “Sweet Jane”? (This one is particularly interesting as the original Velvet Underground version was relatively soft, then came Lou Reed’s hard live version, then the Junkies’ almost catatonic cover.) ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironic-soft-covers-of-harder-songs/508819/44 "2009-09-04T16:23:01Z")
> [@HelloNinja](#): > > Nickel Creek does a fantastic cover of Britney Spears’ “Toxic.” Here’s[a video of it.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWQo0bktuAI) > > I don’t know if it’s meant to be ironic though, as it’s already a pretty decent song. Local H has a [version](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8XK0AZZlug) as well. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironic-soft-covers-of-harder-songs/508819/45 "2009-09-04T16:28:00Z")
> [@Student\_Driver](#): > > Not quite ironic, but noteworthy: Young@Heart, a choir of senior citizens, covers songs such as the Ramones’ [I Wanna Be Sedated](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de2vnEkFZM8). Pure awesome. I’m not sure this counts but theres something haunting about Bruce Springsteen’s acoustic [Born in the USA](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8TwMqpBeL4) ..and sexy about Nelly Fertato’s version of Gnarls Barkley’s [Crazy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDiNd3uhwJo) ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironic-soft-covers-of-harder-songs/508819/46 "2009-09-04T16:29:11Z")
Here’s the Cowboy Junkies: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHRFZFmEq9o](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHRFZFmEq9o) But this isn’t a novelty cover like some of the others. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironic-soft-covers-of-harder-songs/508819/47 "2009-09-04T19:53:51Z")
> [@Mahna\_Mahna](#): > > Phish also do a pretty hilarious southern-fried cover version of [Gin And Juice](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bakWKHj051I). I believe that cover was done by the Gourds, not Phish (as it’s commonly wrongly attributed to). ---
**Author:** ![Gomi5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8491ac/32.png) [@Gomi5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gomi5)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironic-soft-covers-of-harder-songs/508819/48 "2009-09-04T20:11:47Z")
The wonderful Red House Painters did a cover of Kiss’s “Shock Me”. It’s not funny or ironic, but it actually turns it into a beautiful song. [Original](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2rZun97AOk) [Cover](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAcJrPQwaH8) ---
**Author:** ![Jettboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@Jettboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jettboy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironic-soft-covers-of-harder-songs/508819/49 "2009-09-04T20:17:47Z")
I have Zwan/Billy Corgan’s soft and creepy cover of Iron Maiden’s _The Number of the Beast_. ---
**Author:** ![Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f19dbf/32.png) [@Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Only_Mostly_Dead)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironic-soft-covers-of-harder-songs/508819/50 "2009-09-04T20:24:22Z")
Not that the original was all that “hard,” but Daughtry’s [Poker Face](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t90dFkM9acg) is actually listenable. Unlike the Lady Gaga original. ---
**Author:** ![Neverending\_Elbow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e274bd/32.png) [@Neverending\_Elbow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neverending_Elbow)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironic-soft-covers-of-harder-songs/508819/51 "2009-09-04T20:29:52Z")
I just love this version of _Don’t cha_ by the Baseballs. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBUtkGefqtk) (Original for those who would like quick comparison 🙂 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4XgP5tnI4c&feature=fvw](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4XgP5tnI4c&feature=fvw) ). ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironic-soft-covers-of-harder-songs/508819/52 "2009-09-04T20:51:02Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > Jose Feliciano’s cover of _Light my Fire_ by the Doors. Which may have inspired Dion to cover [Purple Haze](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCi3t7Ufa2s) a few months later. ---
**Author:** ![Slade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Slade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slade)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironic-soft-covers-of-harder-songs/508819/53 "2009-09-04T20:58:17Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Don’t know if this fits as I never actually heard the recordings- [Pat Boone](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Boone#Recent_career) _No More Mr Nice Guy_, an entire album of heavy metal covers. I’ve got that Pat Boone album and it’s wonderful. He also does Enter Sandman, Smoke On the Water, Paradise City and Stairway to Heaven, all in a Rat Pack/Nelson Riddle style with big band arrangements and a trio of female backing singers. Worth $13.98 of anybody’s money. More details here: > **[In A Metal Mood - No More Mr Nice Guy: Amazon.co.uk: CDs & Vinyl](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Metal-Mood-More-Nice-Guy/dp/B000005KOE)** > > Product Description Pat Boone spent much of the '80s and '90s out of the secular media spotlight, but in 1997 he made a splash - charting at #125 on the Billboard Top 200 chart - with In A Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy, a... ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironic-soft-covers-of-harder-songs/508819/54 "2009-09-04T20:59:35Z")
Ray Lamontagne did a good version of “Crazy” too: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mEfDSP4g\_U](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mEfDSP4g_U) ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironic-soft-covers-of-harder-songs/508819/55 "2009-09-04T22:53:47Z")
> [@Ro0sh](#): > > I believe that cover was done by the Gourds, not Phish (as it’s commonly wrongly attributed to). Huh. Waddaya know. Ignorance fought (and MP3 renamed). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironic-soft-covers-of-harder-songs/508819/56 "2009-09-04T23:11:27Z")
[Mad World](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZRib_aAQFQ) by Tears for Fears, is not exactly a hard song, but it is quicker and “dancier” than the slower more emotional [version](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N3N1MlvVc4) by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews. Its not particularly ironical. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironic-soft-covers-of-harder-songs/508819/57 "2009-09-05T05:56:19Z")
I thought David Cook’s rendition of [Billie Jean](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUfbLtZHrog) was amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironic-soft-covers-of-harder-songs/508819/58 "2009-09-05T06:23:39Z")
Sissy Bar’s cover of [Gin & Juice](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDq2FGsEGd8) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironic-soft-covers-of-harder-songs/508819/59 "2009-09-06T02:15:39Z")
> [@Mahna\_Mahna](#): > > …and just for the hell of it, Nostalgia 77 does an awesome 70s funk remake of [Seven Nation Army](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNpidAAMQSo). It’s still pretty hard, but it’s miles away from the original. Very interesting, but doesn’t sound like '70s funk at all to me. I was imagining something like “Brick House” or a P-Funk track. This is more like an Amy Winehouse ‘neo-soul’ kind of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironic-soft-covers-of-harder-songs/508819/60 "2009-09-06T05:13:27Z")
There are a couple of slow, mellow versions of the theme to the old TV show _Hawaii Five-O_, my favorite of which is the Blue Hawaiians’ _Martini Five-O_. Great surf instrumental. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironic-soft-covers-of-harder-songs/508819.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironic-soft-covers-of-harder-songs/508819.md?page=4)