Please cover me.

[Rantz]

Covers on other artists' songs, what is your opinion on them? Is liking a song reason enough to do a cover on it? Do you have to produce it in a whole new way or is a slight variation good enough?

What covers are good/bad, or just plain weird?

Wait, that last part I can answer myself. Naing Naing's cover of Eva Cassidy's "Fever", with the new, and quite appropriate, name "Toad Fever", is one of the strangest things I've heard for a long time.

Edit: Sorry about posting it in General, I forgot that there was a forum for this stuff

[Leeza]

This belongs in The Lounge. *moves*

I don't mind covers if they're done well. Some are even better than the originals. One of my favourites is Pink Floyd's <a href="http://leezas.com/MarilynManson-AnotherBrickintheWall.mp3">Another Brick in the Wall</a> redone by Marilyn Manson.

[Jowy]

Speaking of Mr. Manson, his cover of "This Is Halloween" from the Nightmare Before Christmas is quite excellent. Guns and Roses also made "Sympathy for the Devil" sound much better.

[Rantz]

One of my favourites is Pink Floyd's <a href="http://leezas.com/MarilynManson-AnotherBrickintheWall.mp3">Another Brick in the Wall</a> redone by Marilyn Manson.

In this particular case, I definitely think the cover is justified, since it's pretty much adapted to another style and whatnot. I do prefer Pink Floyd's version though

[DK]

I like cover songs, especially when it's in a different style of music, like RATM's cover of Cypress Hill's "How I could just kill a man".

[XxSephirothxX]

It really just depends on the song. I've heard some that are awesome and better than the original, like The Misfit's "Ballroom Blitz." But others just can't live up to the original--for instance, practically any cover of a Beatles song.

[Rantz]

I like cover songs, especially when it's in a different style of music, like RATM's cover of Cypress Hill's "How I could just kill a man".

Ah yes, there's an improvement. I'm not a big fan of Rage Against the Machine, but even less of a fan of Cypress Hill.

It really just depends on the song. I've heard some that are awesome and better than the original, like The Misfit's "Ballroom Blitz."

I haven't heard that one. Sounds interesting though

But others just can't live up to the original--for instance, practically any cover of a Beatles song.

You speak true words, at least in my ears.

[Ethanol Dreams]

It can be ok sometimes, but most of the time I prefer the original. McFly's cover of Don't Stop Me Now, originally by Queen, for example. I think Queen's version was much better:

Queen Version
McFly Version

[Rantz]

Queen Version
McFly Version

See, that's my opinion of an unjustified cover. Or rather, would have been if McFly hadn't done it for a good cause. Still though, they didn't really add anything to it, they mostly tried to imitate Queen.

[starseeker]

I don't like straight covers but I like remakes of a song.

[charliepanayi]

Most released covers I hear aren't very good, but then most covers are done at gigs etc rather than being released, so there's plenty I can't know about. Will just say that covers I enjoy include Feeling Good by Muse and Highway 61 Revisted by PJ Harvey. Awful ones that come to mind include All Saints' woefully misbegotten cover of Under The Bridge and that horrible version of Lady Marmalade with Pink, Lil Kim, Christina Aguilera etc a few years back.

[Roto13]

Gary Jules' version of Mad World > Tears for Fears' version of Mad World.

Don't deny it.

[jrgen]

Laibach is the greatest cover band ever.

Especially the way they managed to make Queen's One Vision sound like nazi propaganda by translating it to German. Video.

Their cover of Life is Life is brilliant too.

[Kirobaito]

Covers are a huge part of folk music, because kinda the point is making music that anyone can perform. I think it's better if you take a different perspective of a song, but as long as you don't try to sing the same way as the original artist, it's all good.

Tom Paxton has made a ton of songs that other artists have performed... "The Last Thing on my Mind", "The Marvelous Toy", "Forest Lawn"... and many many others.

[Xander]

Covers I don't much care for include when boybands or people who have just won Pop Idol or something, cover an old, great song for their first single, get to number 1, and don't do crap but stand there and look pretty while having an ok voice. Especially when that's 90% of what they ever release. Stop stealing!

Covers I do like, are when good bands with plenty of original stuff, do their *own* take on another band's song. I love the Live Lounge on Radio 1 for that. Examples include:

Arctic Monkeys - Love Machine (Girls Aloud)
It was really funny hearing them sing this in their own way, and when they laugh in the middle of it. I prefer their version over Girls Aloud, and it was the top of my LastFM chart for a good while (now 2nd).

The Boy Least Likely To - Faith
This song is SO cute. They just completely make it the boy least likely to. The way the little things kick in, and the gentle, softness and cuteness. It is a lovely cover. They played it live and the crowd loved it. <3

We Are Scientists - Hoppipolla
It's great to hear a band doing a really different style to their usual stuff. WAS are really diverse, their new EP and their old tracks show that.

That's just a few, but there are more good ones.