(Heavy-weight coverers and coverees the Morning Benders)
In an attempt to add a sense of spontaneity to this blog, I've created a list of my favorite cover songs, new and old. The songs range from classics to more modern hits, as well as a handful of tracks you may not be familiar with. I tried to stay clear of live covers, as they usually don't have the same effect as the well thought out studio versions. I also tried to avoid filling the list up with tracks from the Dark Was the Night compilation, as every single cover on there was wonderful. Enjoy!
25. "Blitzkrieg Bop" The Films covering The Ramones (2007)
I've never been a fan of the Ramones, or even the Films. But this was the first song I'd heard by the band, and for some reason it's very different from all of the rest. "Blitzkrieg Bop" has always been one of those songs I've tried to like, but just can't stand. The Films not only made the song more enjoyable, but also put a very unique spin on it.
24. "Knives Out" The Flaming Lips covering Radiohead (2002)
This is the closest thing to a live track I put on here, but I'm pretty sure it was done live in a studio which makes it okay, I guess. "Knives Out" is easily one of my favorite Radiohead tracks, and I was surprised at how well the Lips did with it. After being disgusted with Vampire Weekend's version of "Exit Music" I'm glad I had this to turn back to.
23. "I Luv the Valley OH!" Her Space Holiday covering Xiu Xiu (2007)
Another one of my favorite songs, Xiu Xiu's "I Luv the Valley OH!" seems like it would be a difficult track to cover. Her Space Holiday did a pretty decent job, but my only concern is that it sounds too much like the original. It may have been hard for him, since the song wasn't much of a stretch for him, but without hearing the original, it'd pass off as being pretty decent.
22. "All My Life" The Walkmen covering Harry Nilsson (2006)
I'll admit right now that I've never heard the original version of this song, nor have I heard any other song by Harry Nilsson. But the Walkmen have this sort of retro vibe to them that always made me think that the two artists were rather similar. I believe the Walkmen covered the whole album, so I'm curious to hear the entirety of both versions.
21. "Temptation Inside Your Heart" The Morning Benders covering The Velvet Underground (2008)
Yet another song I've never heard the original version of, I've never been a huge Velvet Underground fan either, so I don't think I'd enjoy it much. I didn't even know this was a cover until I realized that it was from a covers EP. I guess it just sounds very Morning Benders-y.
20. "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea" Matt Pond PA covering Neutral Milk Hotel (2005)
I think I was disgusted the first time I heard this song, as the original version is obviously one of the greatest songs ever written. Obviously I've grown to like this version, especially in comparison to every other cover, which all sound exactly the same. Matt Pond PA gives it a very wintery vibe, which makes sense since it's on the Winter Songs album.
19. "Act Nice and Gentle" The Black Keys covering The Kinks (2004)
I guess I should have done some research beforehand. No, I have not heard the original version of this song, but I am a fan of the Kinks. I'm not surprised to see that the Black Keys covered them, since the two bands have the same kind of energy to their sound, although it may not be evident in this song. I can definitely picture this song being in a Wes Anderson film...
18. "Take On Me" A.C. Newman covering A-Ha (2009)
I'd heard this song a few times on the local alternative station this summer, completely oblivious to the fact that it was a cover. As you can imagine, it was a quite odd and a bit confusing to hear the original version on the radio, as I thought it was a cover of Newman's version. Well, now I know, and I still think Newman's version wins a-hands down.
17. "Lua" Conor Oberst & Gillian Welch covering Bright Eyes (2009)
I don't know if this is technically a cover or not, since Conor Oberst basically is Bright Eyes. But I could definitely hear a huge difference between the two songs, Bright Eyes' version being much whinier and more, well, Bright Eyes. This may be too much to ask, but I'd appreciate it if he went back and redid the entirety of the album.
16. "Neverending Math Equation" Sun Kil Moon covering Modest Mouse (2005)
I could never really get into Red House Painter or even Sun Kil Moon until he released the Tiny Cities EP. I guess it was because I was already familiar with all the songs, but I was really impressed with this and "Ocean Breathes Salty," two of my favorite Modest Mouse songs. If it weren't for the lyrics, you'd have no idea they were covers.
15. "Crown of Love" This is Ivy League covering The Arcade Fire (2007)
They haven't been the same since I found out they were a side project of Cobra Starship, but I still love their cover of the Arcade Fire's "Crown of Love." I guess I wasn't really able to fully appreciate the lyrics until I heard this version, since it's so much more straight forward and less focused on instrumentals. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that Cobra Starship listens to Arcade Fire...
14. "Waiting For a War" The Submarines covering The Morning Benders (2009)
This is definitely one of the lesser known songs on this list, but great nonetheless. Unfortunately, I heard this version shortly before the original so now it feels like the original should be the cover. They're actually quite similar, despite the difference in the singers' genders.
13. "Seven Nation Army" Hard-Fi covering The White Stripes (2005)
This is an odd one. I've heard all sorts of bad "Seven Nation Army" covers, including a live version by my hardly talented eighth grade class years ago. I really liked the way this song fits in with all the songs on Stars of CCTV, which was released the same year. This is the way cover songs should be, no matter what band it is or what song they're playing.
12. "Hallelujah" Rufus Wainwright covering Leonard Cohen (2001)
The only thing I dislike about this song is, obviously, that it was written for one of the Shrek soundtracks. But I've gotten over this sad, sad fact and learned to enjoy it anyway. I don't listen to Rufus at all, but I've always really liked this song, even more than the original. The song itself almost makes up for ten years of stupid little kids quoting Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy.
11. "Heart Shaped Box" Lovedrug covering Nirvana (2006)
I really haven't listened to Nirvana since about seventh grade, and even then I hated this song. I always liked Nirvana for being loud and obnoxious, and this song was only obnoxious. It works much better as a softer song and Lovedrug is probably the best band to cover it. Although somewhat similar to Nirvana, Lovedrug has a softer side that never sounds forced.
10. "The Giant of Illinois" Andrew Bird covering The Handsome Family (2009)
This song must have been pretty good originally, because it's the only Andrew Bird song that I'll listen to. It may be his songwriting abilities that I just can't stand, but this song is simply beautiful. Bird really has a great voice and I'm glad there's finally a song that I can stand to listen to in which it is displayed. Yet again, DWTN works miracles.
9. "Lithium" The Polyphonic Spree covering Nirvana (2006)
It seems that Nirvana's problem wasn't songwriting, clearly, but they just sucked. I've never heard a bad cover of a Nirvana song (except for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" of course...Weird Al). This one, much like Lovedrug's, is much calmer and the band seems to be enjoying themselves while playing it, God forbid. You'd never expect two bands so dissimilar to sound so alike.
8. "Sunday Sun" The Cinematics covering Beck (2007)
I always thought it was weird that this song was on the band's debut full-length album, as covers are usually meant for EPs and compilations. But it really blended surprisingly well with all of the other songs on the album, with the band's signature dark, catchy flow. I really liked Beck's version, but I think The Cinematics may be the winners here.
7. "Postal Blowfish" Albert Hammond, Jr. covering Guided By Voices (2007)
Guided By Voices freak me out a little bit. Like Nirvana, I'm always glad when a band covers their songs because they really are well written. This is probably my favorite GBV cover, as well as one of my favorite tracks from Albert's debut, even if it was a bonus track. You can still here a bit of the original song if you listen closely to the deep guitar parts.
6. "Debaser" Rogue Wave covering The Pixies (2006)
It's always unfortunate when a song like this is written for the sole purpose of appearing in an awful movie or a stupid TV show like The O.C. This was the case for this brilliant Pixies cover, one of my all time favorite Pixies songs. As much as I like Rogue Wave, the Pixies' version sounds much more comfortable. It's still a great cover, despite the fact that it sounds nothing like a song Rogue Wave should be playing.
5. "Love Will Tear Us Apart" Jose Gonzalez covering Joy Division (2004)
This is easily one of the most covered songs of all time, as well as one of the most unsuccessfully. I actually hated the song for a while after hearing Fall Out Boy's version, but good ol' Jose Gonzalez changed my opinion yet again. One of the best singer-songwriters of our time, Gonzalez put a very interesting spin on it, making it sound like one of his own songs. Honestly, I like this one more than the original.
4. "You Are The Blood" Sufjan Stevens covering Castanets (2009)
Not only have I not heard the original song, but I've never even heard of the Castanets. I assumed they were a band my parents listened to back in the day, but apparently they're quite modern. Either way, Sufjan's cover blew my mind. Like Bird, I've never really been able to get into Sufjan, but this song was completely unlike any other song I've heard by him. At ten minutes, the song never even gets old.
3. "We Will Become Silhouettes" The Shins covering The Postal Service (2003)
Oddly enough, "We Will Become Silhouettes" was one of the two songs on the Postal Service album that I really didn't enjoy. I wasn't expecting much from a Shins' cover, as I expected it to be sort of mellow like the original song. But the song proved to be better than any of the songs on the actual album and possibly even better than anything else in the Shins' catalogue. Very impressive.
2. "Luno" Death From Above 1979 covering Bloc Party (2005)
This may be a bit bias since DFA has been my favorite band for years, but this song is truly brilliant. Even though there is no such thing as a bad Death From Above song, this ranked among the greatest, as it was sort of a collaboratin with Bloc Party. "Luno" wasn't even one of the stand out tracks on Silent Alarm, but DFA gave it the boost it needed to gain my seal of approval. I guess this is technically a remix, but we'll let it slide.
1. "Where Is My Mind?" Nada Surf covering Pixies (1999)
Yes. I found this song before I had even heard of Nada Surf as it was tagged as being by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on my old downloading site. I was disappointed at first, but I'm so glad I came across this. It's so similar to the original, one of the greatest songs of all time, only backed with a groovin' beat. And Matthew Caws' lovely voice only adds to the beauty of the song as it almost sounds like he was born to sing this song. I'd never expect to find a song this great on an album of bad covers by stupid '90s bands.
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