# Most Useless Cover Songs
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Tags:** music
**Created:** [August 27, 2023, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174 "2023-08-27T11:03:09Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2023, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/1 "2023-08-27T11:03:09Z")
i.e.; songs that sound so much like the original that you wonder why they they were made.
311- Love Song
Weezer- Africa
To me, both of these sound so much like the original The Cure and Toto, respectively, versions that they are essentially useless.
Any others?
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### Author:  [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2023, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/2 "2023-08-27T11:13:03Z")
I used to have some covers albums (LPs) which were along the lines of top 40 hits from 1974, sung by bands that did a passable job at producing reasonably exact copies of the originals. At the same time you could also buy 1974 Top 40 compilations by the original artists.
While I agree that there seems to be no point, I thought it had something to do with royalties. Perhaps cheaper to pay for public or commercial use of the fake band’s cover of Abba songs than to pay the royalties for the real thing, or to get licensing approval? A fairly meaningless exercise now with instant streaming, perhaps it was different back then.
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### Author:  [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2023, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/3 "2023-08-27T12:40:26Z")
I’m sure I’ve mentioned this here, but when I’m in charge, a lot of things will change. Every bar will be able to make a decent Old Fashioned, a batter won’t get to hit an unlimited number of foul balls, and…
… a band won’t be allowed to do a cover unless it’s different, and better.
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### Author:  [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2023, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/4 "2023-08-27T12:52:52Z")
I haven’t found confirmation but I have to assume that Weezer’s _Africa_ cover being a carbon copy of the original was part of the joke. It exists because a Twitter user decided, for unknown reasons, that Weezer should do it. It became a meme, and Weezer responded by covering _Rosanna_ by Toto. A little tongue and cheek. They eventually did do the _Africa_ cover but it was memes all the way down.
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2023, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/5 "2023-08-27T13:04:25Z")
> [@digs](#):
>
> … a band won’t be allowed to do a cover unless it’s different, and better.
Does this apply to classical music too? How many more covers do we need of Beethoven’s symphonies?
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### Author:  [@Jay\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jay_Z)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2023, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/6 "2023-08-27T14:14:38Z")
Well, when I’m in charge, bands will be required to do whatever covers their fans demand! Whether they are good at them or not!
See you at the debate.
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### Author:  [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2023, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/7 "2023-08-27T14:32:48Z")
When I first heard the Ataris’ version of ‘Boys of Summer’ I wondered what was the point of covering it. Other than changing the line “I saw a Dead Head sticker on a Cadillac” to “I saw a Black Flag sticker on a Cadillac” it just sounded like a cover performed by the numbers, by a mediocre bar band.
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### Author:  [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2023, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/8 "2023-08-27T14:54:54Z")
Is a cover ever really useless? It’s an exercise in musical skill, and something most musicians do.
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### Author:  [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2023, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/9 "2023-08-27T15:02:26Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#):
>
> Is a cover ever really useless?
Ehhhhh, learning the cover is the exercise in skill. Recording and releasing it, not so much. I know lots of cover songs I’m not willing to play live, much less record and release. Most of the time, that’s because we’re not doing anything new with the song.
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2023, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/10 "2023-08-27T15:34:55Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#):
>
> Is a cover ever really useless? It’s an exercise in musical skill, and something most musicians do.
Yeah, I assume “useless” for the purposes of this thread means useless to listeners (as opposed to musicians).
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### Author:  [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2023, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/11 "2023-08-27T15:59:16Z")
I wouldn’t call it useless, in fact I like it, but Tom Petty’s cover of the Byrds’ “I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better” is very close to the original. Both the instrumental and vocal arrangements are identical and even the guitar solo is intact.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to-RVV_3anw)
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZxHLkA5EcU)
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### Author:  [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2023, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/12 "2023-08-27T21:10:37Z")
Todd Rundgren’s 1974 cover of [Good Vibrations](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjhYBKZK65E). Rundgren is a masterful musician and producer, and the work is technically brilliant, and just slightly different enough to have you asking, “Wait, is that the Beach Boys???” But not different enough to really add anything to the song.
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### Author:  [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2023, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/13 "2023-08-27T21:24:29Z")
Per the intent of the OP, I think the only truly useless covers are of Christmas songs. Does everyone need to make a Christmas album? How many copies of White Christmas do we need? Or god help us, Santa Baby.
Covers that are different, even if you or I don’t like them, aren’t really useless. Manfred Mann made a career out of covers. Judas Priest has some killer covers of songs no one would associate with the metal genre… If you don’t like metal, one might say they are useless. I wouldn’t even if I didn’t like them, because thy bring something new.
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### Author:  [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2023, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/14 "2023-08-27T23:31:19Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#):
>
> ….Covers that are different, even if you or I don’t like them, aren’t really useless…
That was my point. The two examples I gave aren’t different from the originals, IMHO. In fact, I like both covers since I liked the originals.
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### Author:  [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)
#### Post date: [August 28, 2023, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/15 "2023-08-28T00:09:32Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#):
>
> I wouldn’t call it useless, in fact I like it, but Tom Petty’s cover of the Byrds’ “I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better” is very close to the original. Both the instrumental and vocal arrangements are identical and even the guitar solo is intact.
Tom & crew were the ultimate covers band! I’m a fan, not like a diehard I know all his catalog fan, but I tried to see him live whenever I could. He put on a great live show, and always played some great covers, often garage rock songs.
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### Author:  [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)
#### Post date: [August 28, 2023, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/16 "2023-08-28T00:12:30Z")
> [@steronz](#):
>
> I haven’t found confirmation but I have to assume that Weezer’s _Africa_ cover being a carbon copy of the original was part of the joke.
That [Weird Al Yankovic did lead vocals for the song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk5Dwg5zm2U) should be a hint.
Weezer’s Africa is the Leslie Neilsen of cover songs.
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### Author:  [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)
#### Post date: [August 28, 2023, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/17 "2023-08-28T00:51:42Z")
There was a period in the late 90s where every single boy band or solo kids artist did a cover of “Kids in America” presumably because that was the thing to do and they all sounded alike.
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### Author:  [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)
#### Post date: [August 28, 2023, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/18 "2023-08-28T02:37:43Z")
> [@wguy123](#):
>
> Tom & crew were the ultimate covers band! I’m a fan, not like a diehard I know all his catalog fan, but I tried to see him live whenever I could. He put on a great live show, and always played some great covers, often garage rock songs.
The Heartbreakers are at their garage/cover band best on the _Live at the Fillmore 1997_ box set. Highly recommended.
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### Author:  [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)
#### Post date: [August 28, 2023, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/19 "2023-08-28T04:03:22Z")
Pearl Jam did a lackluster **Last Kiss** , a song I heard on the radio when it first came out, and thought would never go away.
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### Author:  [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)
#### Post date: [August 28, 2023, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/20 "2023-08-28T04:08:07Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#):
>
> Pearl Jam did a lackluster **Last Kiss** , a song I heard on the radio when it first came out, and thought would never go away
I remember that song. That song was really, really bad.
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