These are MY top ten favorite covers. Feel free to disagree and, better yet, share your own favorite covers with me.

To me, a great cover takes the original song, flips it on its head, and somehow makes it better than the original. Some do just the opposite. I don't need to hear Marilyn Manson singing "Sweet Dreams" and I DEFINITELY don't need to hear Aaron Carter singing "Stayin' Alive." Likewise, what's the point of Pearl Jam covering "Last Kiss" if they're not going to try to make it their own? Come to think of it, why make music if you're Pearl Jam?

The ten songs that follow succeed in that task:

10. Ben Folds and Rufus Wainright - Careless Whisper

A decent live recording of the duet.


This is a karaoke night staple for me thanks to this cover. The Wham version is two pink margaritas away from being the Gay National Anthem, but this duet between Rufus (quite gay) and Ben (not so much the gay) embraces it and milks it for what its worth (pardon the unplanned-but-not-bad-enough-to-be-deleted pun). It definitely feels like karaoke night with this particular version of the song, but their voices have a really interesting blend despite a few sour notes. Ben does a different take on the epic sax riff but its equally satisfying here.

9. Reel Big Fish - Take On Me

Fun video from the horrible movie "Baseketball."


I'm not a big Reel Big Fish fan, but I gotta respect this cover. The horn line alone puts this above some other covers I've heard (Rockapella fails miserably). The vocals are a little slurry, but the guy definitely has the notes (which is no easy feat). They take it at a break-neck tempo which helps keep the song fun.

8. Alien Ant Farm - Smooth Criminal

A cover and Spanish lesson all in one!


This is a great cover and a reverent tip-of-the-hat to one of the most talented performers of the 20th century (if you disagree, I have some videos for you to watch). The riff kicks ass on the electric guitar. I usually don't like it when new bands break in with cover songs, but if they're as good as this one, no harm no foul.

7. De Nye Gitarkameratene AND/OR The Ataris - Boys of Summer

De Nye Gitarkameratene's version


The Atari's version


I'm a sucker for this song and almost all of its renditions, but this DJ Sammy cover is like sodomy of the ears.


Anyhoo, De Nye Gitarkameratene is a Norwegian super group (it roughly translates as "the new guitar companions"....I'm sure that sounds much cooler in Norwegian). They cover a lot of classics and play the occasional live concert. I have to take a few points off for lowering the key of Don Henley's cheestastic rock ballad, but the harmonies and folk feel fit the song nicely. Great voices as well.

The Ataris are a bit arrogant for my taste and another example of a small time band that got big on a cover, but this rendition does the original justice. Great vocals by the lead singer and a formidable tribute to the Eagles star.

NOTE: The lyric in Henley's original is "out on the road today I saw a Dead Head sticker on a Cadillac," but The Ataris change it to "Black Flag sticker." Apparently he changed it because he thinks the Grateful Dead sucked. He also has a song called "Ben Lee Sucks." Big talk for a little band.

6. Ben Folds - Bitches Ain't Shit

Ben's cover of Dr. Dre's song. Some dude making his own music video. It's inoffensive (as inoffensive as a music video for a song called "Bitches Ain't Shit" can be anyway) and even sorta funny at times.


This speaks for itself.

5. Rufus Wainright - Hallelujah

I'm not a big Rufus Wainright fan, I'm not. With one other exception (the best part of the Moulin Rouge soundtrack: "Complainte de laButte"), his work doesn't do much for me. He sings like his jaw is broken. I saw him live a few years back and left pretty unimpressed...but I can't resist this song. His enunciation is slightly better than usual in this track so you can hear Leonard Cohen's poetry clearly and his beautiful voice tugs at the heartstrings through all FIVE verses.

Leonard Cohen's and Jeff Buckley's versions feel weak and, worse yet, repetitive around the fourth verse. Some people object to Rufus singing "do you, through you, etc." as opposed to "do ya, through ya, etc" and compromising the rhyme with "hallelujah," but I don't mind at all.

4. Marilyn Manson - Tainted Love



Apparently this song has been covered by everybody. It was written in1964 and recorded by Gloria Jones, though the most popular rendition of my generation is the Soft Cell version.

This cover, recorded for the "Not Another Teen Movie" soundtrack, kicks copious amounts of ass. The slamming bass and the crazy NIN synth draws you in right away and Manson actually does a decent job of singing (as opposed to the hissing and shouting that dominates his "Sweet Dreams" cover).

He owes his career to his producer Trent Reznor, but there is no doubting that the man is a rock star. Enjoy the weird SIMS video, it's hard to find a version of the real video without nudity.


3. Jonatha Brooke AND/OR Noa - Eye in the Sky

So I went through an "Alan Parsons Project" phase, so what?? Does that make me a nerd? NO. “Sirius/Eye in the Sky" is one of my favorite songs (Sirius is the extended intro of the song, often found as a connected but separate track. If you've ever been to a professional basketball game, you'll know it as the Chicago Bulls entrance music). The sung portion of the song makes me choke up from time to time. Though the members of Alan Parsons Project are TOTAL nerds (anyone who has an album called "I, Robot" goes to their fair share of Star Trek conventions), the lyrics are so moving. "I've heard the accusation before/And I ain't gonna take any more/Believe me, the sun in your eyes/Made some of the lies worth believing." This gets a reaction from me every time. Then again, so does the Mr. Rogers Theme Song so don't look too much into it.

Jonatha Brooke, one of my future wives, does a beautiful acoustic cover of the song. The way she pulls back before "I can read your mind" is so unexpected and beautiful. But now that you know about it, it will just be beautiful. Damn.

This Noa girl is new to me, but I like her cover as much as Jonatha's. The strings are a particularly nice touch. I'll take Jonatha Brooke as an artist (and wife as I said), but she does a damn good job.

2. Mandy Moore - Can We Still Be Friends

The song underscores some terrible montage but it's the best I could find.


A beautifully sung and full version of Todd Rundgren's song. The harmonies are gorgeous and Mandy Moore makes it her own without desecrating the original. The girl has pipes. She sings it with more balls than Todd did and she tops herself with her last verse.

A killer break-up song AND my 2 favorite cover.

1. King's Singers - And So It Goes

Another unrelated montage.


Wow. The Billy Joel original is pleasant, but this cover takes it to anew level. The harmonies are incredible and the lyrics are heart breaking. To put it plainly, this is one of my favorite things ever. I'm surprised more people don't know this cover (I've introduced it to avid Billy Joel fans). I'm glad I can share it.

So those are my two cents. Post your own favorites if you're so inclined.