# Offbeat/Unusual Versions of Music that you still consider good **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 18, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offbeat-unusual-versions-of-music-that-you-still-consider-good/539912 "2010-05-18T17:24:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offbeat-unusual-versions-of-music-that-you-still-consider-good/539912/21 "2010-05-19T12:59:53Z")
I like the folk version of The Rolling Stones’ [“Start Me Up” as performed by The Folksmen](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzkILGr2-Ok) from the soundtrack to “A Mighty Wind”. I always get a chuckle from listening to it! ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offbeat-unusual-versions-of-music-that-you-still-consider-good/539912/22 "2010-05-19T13:47:04Z")
The version of [Close to You](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaYC6top31g&feature=related) from the film Mirrormask. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offbeat-unusual-versions-of-music-that-you-still-consider-good/539912/23 "2010-05-19T14:46:55Z")
I kinda like this Finnish cover band called Leningrad Cowboys. Here’s a clip of them rocking _Sweet Home Alabama_ with a Russian army choir: [Link](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1uhee_leningrad-cowboys-sweet-home-alabam_music) It’s obvious they do not get a lot of the references in the lyrics, but that’s ok, somehow. Just nobody tell Bill Watts I like these guys. He already thinks I’m a liberal. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offbeat-unusual-versions-of-music-that-you-still-consider-good/539912/24 "2010-05-19T14:52:25Z")
[Wuthering Heights](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF0VaBxb27w) as performed by The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offbeat-unusual-versions-of-music-that-you-still-consider-good/539912/25 "2010-05-19T14:58:32Z")
Devo, [“Are You Experienced”](http://www.spike.com/video/devo-ru-experienced/2791984) [“Baby Got Back”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkJdEFf_Qg4), Gilbert and Sullivan style. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offbeat-unusual-versions-of-music-that-you-still-consider-good/539912/26 "2010-05-19T15:16:53Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I kinda like this Finnish cover band called Leningrad Cowboys. Here’s a clip of them rocking _Sweet Home Alabama_ with a Russian army choir: > > [Link](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1uhee_leningrad-cowboys-sweet-home-alabam_music) > > It’s obvious they do not get a lot of the references in the lyrics, but that’s ok, somehow. Their cover of [These Boots Are Made For Walking](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRvL11JdNBE) is truly bizarre, but spectacular. Balalaikas! ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offbeat-unusual-versions-of-music-that-you-still-consider-good/539912/27 "2010-05-19T15:39:03Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > My favorite transformative cover ever is the Afghan Whigs’ version of “If I Only Had a Heart” from _the Wizard of Oz_. They turned it into a smoky lounge song as sung by a psychopath. [Listen here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph_yW2OHKFE). I could listen to this over and over. Thank you for introducing me to the Afghan Whigs. I wasn’t familiar with the group other than the name. ---
**Author:** ![palindromemordnilap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@palindromemordnilap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palindromemordnilap)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offbeat-unusual-versions-of-music-that-you-still-consider-good/539912/28 "2010-05-19T15:44:04Z")
The Cardigans’ version of Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” – in this slow dreamy version, the big metal guy comes across as woefully misunderstood rather than angry and vengeful (makes me think of the cover of the Queen album _News of the World_) Speaking of the Cardigans, they do a duet with Tom Jones of “Burning Down the House” that is better than the Talking Heads version, if that is possible. This is not a major reconstruction of the original though – the others on my list here are virtually unrecognizable without a lyric sheet. Andy Prieboy of Wall of Voodoo released an EP called “Montezuma Was a Man of Faith” which contains a hillbilly blues version of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” (apparently featuring an uncredited Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde). Altho I love the Zep version a whole lotta, Prieboy totally takes the piss out of it. It’s wonderful. Another great LZ reconstruction is A Perfect Circle’s version of “When the Levee Breaks” on the eMOTIVe album. eMOTIVe is entirely made up of reconstructed covers but most of them range from dumb to horrifyingly bad. This one works. The “Two Rooms” album of major artists re-recording songs by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. It’s a good album as The Who, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins and many others redo EJ-BT songs in ways that make you think the songs were written for them. But only a couple of artists actually re-think the songs and give them an entirely new spin. The best of these is Kate Bush doing “Rocket Man.” ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offbeat-unusual-versions-of-music-that-you-still-consider-good/539912/29 "2010-05-19T21:13:09Z")
I’ve got my fair share of covers—some of them mentioned here—but the one that comes to mind is [We’ve Got All the Time in the World, by the Puppini Sisters](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKg5WNpe_Hg). Somewhere between the Andrews Sisters and Parisian street music. After that, I’d say [Kashmir as performed by the London Philharmonic](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsD8f-N8gzg)…but from what I understand, this is what the song _always_ sounded like to Zeppelin fans. 🆒 ---
**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:** [May 19, 2010, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offbeat-unusual-versions-of-music-that-you-still-consider-good/539912/30 "2010-05-19T21:34:52Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > After that, I’d say [Kashmir as performed by the London Philharmonic](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsD8f-N8gzg)…but from what I understand, this is what the song _always_ sounded like to Zeppelin fans. 🆒 I LOVE this. And I’m not really into orchestral music. And the Afghan Wigs-- that should be Dick Cheney’s theme song. ---
**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:** [May 19, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offbeat-unusual-versions-of-music-that-you-still-consider-good/539912/31 "2010-05-19T21:47:18Z")
You’ve probably seen this but I still love Mat Weddle’s acoustic Hey Ya [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8-8nkkOA_AM/hqdefault.jpg "Hey Ya Cover") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-8nkkOA_AM) ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offbeat-unusual-versions-of-music-that-you-still-consider-good/539912/32 "2010-05-19T23:20:30Z")
I adore [David Cook’s version of Billy Jean](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKPg7gWMmms) (it’s based off a cover by Chris Cornell, but it’s better than that one.) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offbeat-unusual-versions-of-music-that-you-still-consider-good/539912/33 "2010-05-19T23:35:03Z")
Rolf Harris’ cover of _Stairway To Heaven_ was great partly because of the outrage it provoked in those people who take the Led Zep original far too seriously, and partly because in response to that outrage, Rolf pleaded complete innocence, claiming he’d only seen it as sheet music and never actually heard the original, incensing them even further. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offbeat-unusual-versions-of-music-that-you-still-consider-good/539912/34 "2010-05-20T02:46:42Z")
[Bigmouth Strikes Again as Ukrainian folk music](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZPtnuPKyu4) ---
**Author:** ![wunderkammer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ed8c4c/32.png) [@wunderkammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wunderkammer)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offbeat-unusual-versions-of-music-that-you-still-consider-good/539912/35 "2010-05-20T03:08:39Z")
Lately I can’t stop listening to Evelyn Evelyn’s [“Love Will Tear Us Apart”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh2uTV-nB8A). They’ve turned it into this halting, fragile, beautiful little thing with just a ukulele and a bit of piano. (Speaking of Amanda Palmer and the ukulele, she also does a minimalist [“Creep”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RJHF0Tug4I) that’s frankly kind of silly but also has something very right about it.) ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offbeat-unusual-versions-of-music-that-you-still-consider-good/539912/36 "2010-05-20T03:21:11Z")
Janis Joplin, with _Big Brother and the Holding Company_’s version of Gershwin’s _Summertime_. Not so much for Janis’s vocal (though she was a genius, and everything), but for the amazingly raunchy guitar. ([This YouTube version](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTFF-BaT0MM) does not quite live up the one on the original album, I fear, but you get the idea.) ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offbeat-unusual-versions-of-music-that-you-still-consider-good/539912/37 "2010-05-20T03:27:37Z")
_Ace of Spades_ as covered by Hayseed Dixie. Right up there with the Motorhead version and leagues better than Metallica’s. They do a number of covers of metal songs, but this one is my favorite [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-xxh492o2aM/hqdefault.jpg "Ace of Spades (Official Music Video) - Hayseed Dixie") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xxh492o2aM) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offbeat-unusual-versions-of-music-that-you-still-consider-good/539912.md?page=1)