Cover to Cover

You know what's the worst?  When you finish something, and you feel really good about it, and then you start to think of more you could have added?  Well that happened to me a few days after publishing my last post about cover songs.  And I thought about just going through and adding on to the previous post and adding a post published note, but why would I do that when I can come up with just as much content in a second post?  So here we go.  More cover songs. 

Goldfinger:  '99 Red Ballons'.  Originally done by the band Nena, it always sounds so cheerful even though it is sung in German.  New wave music always sounds so fun and happy.  Goldfinger brought a new punk feel to the song, and it's in English.  Except for the third verse, sung in German (awesomely). 

Save Ferris:  'Come on Eileen'.  Another punk/ska band covering an 80s song.  Dexys Midnight Riders, notorious overall wearing band that they were, get overshadowed (in my opinion) by Save Ferris.  Ska will always have a place in my heart from my high school days. 

The Beatles:  'Twist and Shout'.  The Beatles did cover songs?!  Yes.  A few years after the band The Top Notes released the song, the Beatles covered it on their debut album.  The strained vocals of John Lennon, as legend has it, were from recording this song at the end of the session for the album after he had been singing.  It works perfectly.  And if you can't imagine anyone else singing it, we will always have Ferris Bueller. 

Hanni El Khatib:  'You Rascal You'.  You know you've heard this song even if you cannot pronounce this guy's name.  It's been on several commercials over the past couple of years.  The original, recorded in 1931, was done by Sam Thread and has been covered time and time again.  Which seems to happen with songs or music that is that old.  Different artists in different genres have covered this song, which adds to the entertainment of it.  Sure, the song will be the same, but the interpretation of it can make it so much different.  Honestly, when I first heard this version of the song, I thought it was Jack White.  The singing and guitar playing is so similar. 

Nirvana:  'The Man Who Sold the World'.  Originally done by David Bowie, Nirvana famously did this cover during their 'Unplugged' set.  If I had to make a top five list of live performances to have seen in person, Nirvana Unplugged would have to be up there.  A very iconic set.  And when you impress the original artist with your version, you know you've done something right. 

Rage Against the Machine:  'Kick Out the Jams'.  With the famous live line 'Kick out the jams, mother fucker!', you know that if this song were a person it would be moshing clockwise 24/7.  MC5 were met with resistance with that line and were censored for it, but then again it was 1968.  In Detroit.  So you know Rage would love to cover this song.