# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Mal\_Adroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@Mal\_Adroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mal_Adroit)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/41 "2004-06-18T13:22:03Z")
> [@Knowed Out](#): > > Toad the Wet Sprocket - Rock and Roll All Night (anybody for a funeral?) You-are-insane. 🙂 That cover is BRILLIANT. Gave the song a level of depth that never existed previously. And you’re taking to a Kiss freak of 25 years! The Lemonheads’ version of “Plaster Caster,” now that was bad. . . ---
**Author:** ![RAWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@RAWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RAWDuke)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/42 "2004-06-18T13:33:43Z")
Who was the metal band who covered “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay”? Gawd, that was awful. They hammered all of the feeling right out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/43 "2004-06-18T13:45:15Z")
> [@nitroglycerine](#): > > No, I’m sure it was “Friday”. Damn, I hope I never hear the Lovesong cover. Nitro, I heard it too and it sucks. I looked it up on [www.allmusic.com](http://www.allmusic.com) and it’s done by Dryden Mitchell. He’s the lead singer for Alien Ant Farm, who did a cover of “Smooth Criminal” a few years back (which I liked, by the way). Check out the [soundtrack](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=UIDSUB040406171234322319&sql=Ai30e4jj76waq) “Friday I’m in Love” is on. I think we could have some new contenders. Mark McGrath doing “Ghost in You”? ::shudder:: Someone (I’ve never heard of) covers “Slave to Love”\*? My Og! \*Okay, maybe I shouldn’t prejudge this one, since I’ve never heard of Elan Atias, but I can’t help it. Don’t cover Bryan Ferry. There is no improving on his voice. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/44 "2004-06-18T14:18:09Z")
> [@nitroglycerine](#): > > 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. I hear ya there. Especially with the way LB added a few whiny lines about the way girls and boys fight all the time at the end. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/45 "2004-06-18T14:23:11Z")
> [@Moody Bastard](#): > > You-are-insane. 🙂 That cover is BRILLIANT. Gave the song a level of depth that never existed previously. And you’re taking to a Kiss freak of 25 years! DEAPTH??? WHat depth? It’s a party song and they made it into a dirge. The only depth I got out of it was 6 feet of dirt after shooting myself in the head! ---
**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 18, 2004, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/46 "2004-06-18T15:06:12Z")
> [@LorieSmurf](#): > > Crispen Glover? Singing? Sounds like he was singing while on the throne, trying to push out a huge log. This might give you some idea: > [@](#): > > These boots are made for walkin’ > and that’s just what they’ll do > one day these boots will walk all over you! _sob_ ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/47 "2004-06-18T16:21:26Z")
A few of the worst: 1. Tiffany’s “I Saw Him Standing There.” I should have known my first marriage was doomed when my then-wife told me she thought Tiffany’s version was better than the Beatles’. 2. I’m a huge Yes fan, but I HATED their cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “America.” ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/48 "2004-06-18T17:06:16Z")
> [@Already in Use](#): > > 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. I owe you big. I Googled and found this track … wow. ---
**Author:** ![spiralscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@spiralscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spiralscratch)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/49 "2004-06-18T17:29:10Z")
> [@BurnMeUp](#): > > However Tori AMos’s Heart of Gold was awful… I’ve always been on the fence with her music, but each cover I hear her do pushes me closer towards “can’t stand her”. Her butchering of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and REM’s “Losing My Religion” are inexcusable. My contributions to this list: Fine Young Cannibals, “Ever Fallen In Love”, originally by the Buzzcocks Orgy, “Blue Monday”, originally by New Order Love Spit Love’s, “How Soon Is Now”, originally by the Smiths Marilyn Manson, “Sweet Dreams”, originally by the Eurythmics ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/50 "2004-06-18T19:37:32Z")
> [@LorieSmurf](#): > > Um…i mean: > > the mind boggles… > > sorry…drunk on Crown Royal at this moment… Don’t sell yourself short > [@](#): > > The mind bogglers… worked pretty well for me. It has that…“different is good” kinda feel to it. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/51 "2004-06-18T20:23:03Z")
t.A.T.u. - How Soon is Now I’m no huge Smiths fan, but this is one piece of dreck. Seconding Fine Young Cannibals’s cover of “Ever Fallen in Love?” I heard it once and couldn’t even finish it. The new version of it by Pete Yorn is surprisingly not bad, though. As far as “The Mind Bogglers” goes, I’m stealing it for a band name. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![nitroglycerine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nitroglycerine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nitroglycerine)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/52 "2004-06-19T02:04:52Z")
RE:“How Soon Is Now”… You haven’t heard this song untill you hear the version done by Tesco Vee of The Meatmen infamy. It’s actually pretty great though. And then there’s Mojo Nixon’s cover of “Girlfriend In A Coma” that just rules. ---
**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 19, 2004, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/53 "2004-06-19T03:06:52Z")
> [@nitroglycerine](#): > > Damn, I hope I never hear the Lovesong cover. I hope you don’t either. It’s pretty wretched. The cover of “Friday I’m in Love” doesn’t sound like it would be any better. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/54 "2004-06-19T04:13:45Z")
> [@Already in Use](#): > > 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. Wow. I just listened to this; does it remind anyone else of a Strongbad e-mail? ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/55 "2004-06-19T07:21:11Z")
> [@BurnMeUp](#): > > That was actually Bi-god 20 Bigod 20 covered _Like A Prayer_, KMFDM and Marilyn Manson (among others) covered _Like A Virgin_. ---
**Author:** ![spiralscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@spiralscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spiralscratch)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/56 "2004-06-19T21:18:23Z")
> [@eunoia](#): > > KMFDM and Marilyn Manson (among others) covered _Like A Virgin_. I always liked the version Lords Of The New Church did. Yeah, it’s a silly version, but that’s what i like about it. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2004, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/57 "2004-06-20T05:33:36Z")
> [@Already in Use](#): > > 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. Must try to resist. Can’t resist. Must. Try. Curse you! _shakes fist_ ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2004, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/58 "2004-06-20T06:04:35Z")
Back in the Good Old Days of Napster, there were all kinds of cover versions that could be dredged up. One of the finest sources was an album released by “Spy Magazine” entitled “Celebrities Butchering Songs”. **Sebastian Cabot - "It Ain’t Me Babe"** **Joel Grey - "White Room"** Yes that’s right - the Cream song. Wow does it seem anemic and lifeless when Joel Grey steps up to the musical microphone for that one. And of course _ **ANYTHING** _ by Shatner is a musical travesty. I can’t believe Crispin Glover actually sings? Can Armageddon be far away? ---
**Author:** ![Tazmanian\_Devil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@Tazmanian\_Devil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tazmanian_Devil)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2004, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/59 "2004-06-20T14:01:29Z")
Dwight Yoakam’s cover of ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ made me absolutely CRINGE. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856/60 "2004-06-21T14:22:40Z")
> [@Knowed Out](#): > > Especially with the way LB added a few whiny lines about the way girls and boys fight all the time at the end [of their cover of The Who’s “Behind Blue Eyes”. That’s nothing. If you can stomach it, listen to the bridge again - the part where the lead singer starts chanting letters of the alphabet like the Caterpillar from Disney’s _Alice in Wonderland_. Listen carefully to the backup vocals there. Recognize it at all? That’s right - a freakin’ **Speak & Spell**. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unholy-grail-of-cover-songs-share-yours/250856.md?page=4)