# The Unholy Grail of Cover Songs - Share Yours! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 17, 2004, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856 "2004-06-17T13:39:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/21 "2004-06-17T19:46:36Z")
> [@Olentzero](#): > > You wanna try that link again, Chuck? All I got was a small page about some author named Jo Devlin. Oops. Copied the wrong site. Coxhill can be found [here.](http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/2887) Again, scroll down. You won’t be disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![nitroglycerine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nitroglycerine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nitroglycerine)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/22 "2004-06-17T19:56:42Z")
> [@plnnr](#): > > Didn’t Joan Jett and the Blackhearts do this originally? That was by a band called The Arrows originally. While watching TV the other night, I saw a commercial for some movie and a really crappy white-boy-suburban-ska-mallpunk version of The Cure’s “Friday I’m In Love” was playing in the backround. Ugh. I Don’t much like that new Cypress Hill song that uses The Clash’s Guns Of Brixton as its foundation either. I only heard it once, but that was one time too many. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/23 "2004-06-17T20:29:36Z")
> [@Dr. Rieux](#): > > And who was the buttmunch who recently had the nerve to murder Don Henley’s “The Boys of Summer”? Unlike most remakes out there, I liked The Ataris take on that song. How about the new, annoying version of “Your Eyes” ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/24 "2004-06-17T20:35:51Z")
> [@slortar](#): > > Laibach seems to specialize in horrifying covers. Didn’t they also do “Like A Virgin”? > “NNNOOOOOWWWWW I’M DAAAANCING!!!” > _thud thud thud thud_ That was actually Bi-god 20 ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/25 "2004-06-17T20:37:34Z")
I love me a good cover. However Tori AMos’s Heart of Gold was awful, oh and I think it was Courtney Love who did Gold Dust Woman… ugh. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/26 "2004-06-17T20:38:28Z")
> [@Brainiac4](#): > > Already noted, but worth more detail… I have, right here next to me, a copy of Pat Boone’s metal album, entitled “In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy”. It is awe-inspiring. > > The track list (metal standards all): > > You’ve Got Another Thing Coming > Smoke on the Water > It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n Roll) > Panama > No More Mr. Nice Guy > Love Hurts > Enter Sandman > Holy Diver > Paradise City > The Wind Cries Mary > Crazy Train > Stairway to Heaven > > My personal favorite is a toss-up between Enter Sandman and It’s a Long Way to the Top. Note that these are not just minor makeovers of the songs – they are re-scored to fit the Pat Boone style, which makes them sound like mutant inbred distant cousins of the original songs, with the same lyrics, delivered in that inimical Pat Boone white-shoes-singsong style. > > Plus, the cover art shows him bare-chested in a leather vest with an earring. > > Yep, this feeling is definitely awe. Or perhaps primal horror. I’m not sure which. 😃 DINGDINGDINGDINGDINGDING!! We have a winner! Johnny, tell him what he’s won! _SHUDDER_…the mere idea of Pat Boone even _humming_ Enter Sandman under his breath is enough to give me the heebie jeebies. I’m a huge Metallica fan. I had to get the ipod and listen to this song 3 times just to erase the sounds my overactive imagination was making. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/27 "2004-06-17T20:46:45Z")
I have yet to hear any cover worse than Crispin Glover’s constipated rendition of “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’”. ---
**Author:** ![Sweetums](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Sweetums](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sweetums)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/28 "2004-06-17T21:11:22Z")
> [@Nutty Bunny](#): > > That would be _Will to Power_ in 1988 and they did it as a medley with “Baby I Love Your Way”, which makes it even more unholy. ``` Yes they called it the "Free Baby Medley". I called it justification for homicide! I once walked out of someones house at a party when they insisted on playing it. How about Metallica's "Whiskey in the Jar". I realize that Metallica were covering Thin Lizzy, but I wonder if they knew how old the song really is. Still I prefer the tradition versions. ``` ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/29 "2004-06-17T22:20:38Z")
I cannot top these! I was going to nominate Santana’s version of the Zombies “She’s not there” (complete with the obligitory “Soul Sacrifice” breakdown in the middle) but I realize now that it is in a slightly higher ring of Hell the the above mentioned pieces of “music”. Why, but WHY would anybody cover “In the year 2525”? Thank god I haven’t heard it! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/30 "2004-06-17T22:36:32Z")
> [@BurnMeUp](#): > > I love me a good cover. > > However Tori AMos’s Heart of Gold was awful, oh and I think it was Courtney Love who did Gold Dust Woman… ugh. I like Tori a lot, but the majority of her covers sound alike. ---
**Author:** ![look\_ninjas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/31 "2004-06-17T22:47:46Z")
> [@nitroglycerine](#): > > While watching TV the other night, I saw a commercial for some movie and a really crappy white-boy-suburban-ska-mallpunk version of The Cure’s “Friday I’m In Love” was playing in the backround. Ugh. Are you sure that isn’t 311’s cover of “Lovesong”? Just the thought of it makes me want to punch people. The reality… Let’s just say I’m not too fond of that particular cover by that particular band. ---
**Author:** ![nitroglycerine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nitroglycerine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nitroglycerine)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/32 "2004-06-18T04:37:02Z")
> [@look!ninjas](#): > > Are you sure that isn’t 311’s cover of “Lovesong”? Just the thought of it makes me want to punch people. The reality… Let’s just say I’m not too fond of that particular cover by that particular band. No, I’m sure it was “Friday”. Damn, I hope I never hear the Lovesong cover. I didn’t see the Limp Bisquick cover of “Behind Blue Eyes” mentioned. I don’t much like the original version, but The Who were cool. There’s nothing cool about Limp Bisquick. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/33 "2004-06-18T05:04:09Z")
Ladies and gentleman, I give you, in ascending order: The Talking Heads’ “The Book I Read” by _David Cassidy_ Klaatu’s “Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft” by _The Carpenters_ Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” by _Rolf Harris_ Truly, the desperate musical lightweight searching for serious artistic cred is more dangerous than a wounded buffalo. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/34 "2004-06-18T05:05:59Z")
Oh, how could I forget? Jon Anderson & Vangelis’ “State of Independence” by _Donna Summer_ ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/35 "2004-06-18T05:13:38Z")
I once heard Sammy Davis Junior doing a cover of Isaac Hayes’ “Theme from Shaft”. It’s pretty much what you would expect: The Candyman, he’s one baaaad muthafuckah. Thing is, I have a hard time calling that one an unholy cover because A) It’s just such a trip, and B) It made me laugh my ass off, and that’s never a bad thing. ---
**Author:** ![nitroglycerine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nitroglycerine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nitroglycerine)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/36 "2004-06-18T05:46:48Z")
Hey, how 'bout that country cover of “I Want You To Want Me”? Now THAT is about as unholy as it gets. Don’t get me wrong, I’m punk, but I respect and like a lot of country. REAL country. But this was a corporate country version of a fucking CHEAP TRICK song done purely in the interest of making a buck from worn out 40 year old bar hogs who haven’t listened to rockandroll since 1983, who play it on the jukebox when they pick up white trash assholes wearing cowboy boots and wifebeater shirts. At least, that’s the impression that I got when I herd it. ---
**Author:** ![Freejooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ba8739/32.png) [@Freejooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freejooky)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/37 "2004-06-18T06:14:21Z")
Easy- Paul Young’s cover of Joy Division’s “love will tear us apart.” Considering that JD made some of the most beautifully dark music ever recorded, Paul Young’s Michael Bolton by way of Richard Marx version of it is vomitous. Apparently, he later raped the Chi-Lites’ “Oh Girl.” ---
**Author:** ![LorieSmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a587f6/32.png) [@LorieSmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LorieSmurf)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/38 "2004-06-18T10:02:16Z")
> [@Jeff Olsen](#): > > I have yet to hear any cover worse than Crispin Glover’s constipated rendition of “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’”. Crispen Glover? Singing? The mind bogglers… ---
**Author:** ![LorieSmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a587f6/32.png) [@LorieSmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LorieSmurf)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/39 "2004-06-18T10:04:10Z")
Um…i mean: the mind boggles… sorry…drunk on Crown Royal at this moment… ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/40 "2004-06-18T12:47:05Z")
Unholy as in BAD: Eddie Vedder’s cover of the Beatles’ “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away.” There is a special circle of Hell reserved for people who violate Beatles songs that badly. Unholy as in AWESOME: Kompressor’s cover of “The Girl From Ipanema.” Imagine a cheesy MIDI-esque version of the song with vocals by a yelling German robot. So cool. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856.md?page=3)