Cover Songs

Rebecca Black from Youtube Sensation "Friday"

In all honesty, there are some songs that come on the radio that you hear once and wish would just disappear.  (*Cough Cough* "Friday" by Rebecca Black.) But surprisingly, the right song redone by the right band can make even the worst songs into something fresh and new. "Friday" by Crash City for instance took a cookie cutter pop song with questionable lyrics and vocals and made it into a decent, self respecting song.

                            Original                                                                          Cover

     Another so-so song with an amazing cover is "Single Ladies" by Beyonce. The original song was catchy and quickly went viral with some mechanic wrist movements, but A Rocket To The Moon's version is sweet, slow, and sung from the perspective of their lead vocalist, Nick Santino, as a guy rather than a diva.

                            Original                                                                        Cover

     As for a rap song that went screamo, "Lollipop" by Lil' Wayne was popular a few years ago, but was briefly resurrected as a cover by Framing Hanley. With less autotune and drum machines and more screaming and guitars, "Lollipop" becomes a whole new experience. The song loses none of it's appeal, rather changes to a new genre that reaches a different listener group.

                          Original                                                                        Cover

     Although the original for "Such Great Heights" by The Postal Service is a great electronic song, if the Owl Cityesque melody does not suit your taste, try Confide's version. They start off with the normal intro, but once the vocals come in, it is no longer Ben Gibbards smooth singing but Ross Kenyon's signature screaming and the trademark loud guitars of Confide's metal sound.

                            Original                                                                        Cover

     A rather unique cover that includes beer bottle percussion, homemade marracas, and one very small accordion is "Womanizer" a song made by Britney Spears but perfected by the All-American Rejects. Another cover of the same song is done by Franz Ferdinand which has a solid guitar solo and bluesy syle, which makes it well worth a listen as well.

   Original          

             All American Rejects  Cover                                               Franz Ferdinand  Cover

     Lastly, "Umbrella" by Rihanna struck a chord with both avid R&B and pop listeners, but left rock fans with something to be desired. Fortunately, pop punk Baltimore based band All Time Low took it upon themselves to fill that void. Their version is fast moving with All Time Low's usual, pop with a punch sound, but Rihanna's catchy lyrics.

                             Original                                                                         Cover

So, just as the cliche goes "don't judge a book by it's cover", don't judge a cover by it's original.


Please tell us what you think...which do you think is better, the original or the cover?


If you would like to hear more on each of the bands mentioned follow these links:


Crash City: http://www.facebook.com/CrashCityMusic
A Rocket To The Moon: http://www.myspace.com/arockettothemoon
Framing Hanley: http://www.myspace.com/framinghanley
Confide: http://www.myspace.com/confide
All-American Rejects: http://www.myspace.com/allamericanrejects
Franz Ferdinand: http://indiealternativerock.blogspot.com/2011/03/franz-ferdinand.html
All Time Low: http://www.myspace.com/alltimelow


Rebecca Black: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Black
Beyonce: http://www.myspace.com/beyonce
Lil' Wayne: http://www.myspace.com/lilwayne
The Postal Service: http://www.myspace.com/thepostalservice
Britney Spears: http://www.myspace.com/britneyspears
Rihanna: http://www.myspace.com/rihanna