7:10 pm - 03/23/2013
10 Terrible Covers That Made Brilliant Songs Boring
There must be something in the air this week, because on the same morning that Glee‘s flaccid attempt at Radiohead’s “Creep” did the rounds on various music blogs, World of Wonder reposted Barbra Streisand’s bewildering cover of David Bowie’s “Life on Mars.” This double dose of ghastliness got us thinking about the singular hubris of so many covers that purport to “improve” a song by removing exactly what made it special in the first place. The history of music is littered with these boring renditions of great songs, so for a laugh on a Friday afternoon, here’s a roundup of the most egregious. Try not to throw your computer out the window before you get to the end.
The Cast of Glee — ”Creep”
You could argue that “Creep” has been dead for years, but honestly, we’re still partial to it — the fact that it’s been overexposed for two decades and even the band has disowned it doesn’t change the fact that it’s still a pretty great portrait of the self-loathing and alienation that come with unrequited love. But still, this may well have been the shotgun salvo that finally blasted the shambling zombie into a shower of quivering lurid giblets.
Barbra Streisand — ”Life on Mars”
And, yes, this really happened. Why, we can’t begin to tell you. But it happened.
Sixpence None The Richer — ”There She Goes”
See also: chart-topping Christian wetbags Sixpence None the Richer deciding to cover The La’s’ love song to heroin. Oh, wait, you didn’t know it was about heroin? GOD WILL NOT BE PLEASED.
Sheryl Crow — ”Sweet Child O’ Mine”
It’s perfectly possible to do a beautiful understated cover of this song — see Victoria Bergsman’s minimalist interpretation, for instance — but the problem with Crow’s version is that it’s neither one thing nor the other: it strips away the muscular charm of the original, but still tries to “rock out,” in a suitably PG-13 kind of way. The result is a tepid interpretation that pleases pretty much no one (except Sheryl Crow fans, perhaps).
Take That — ”Smells Like Teen Spirit”
No, you’re never going to able to unsee this now. We’re really, really sorry.
Source.
The Cast of Glee — ”Creep”
You could argue that “Creep” has been dead for years, but honestly, we’re still partial to it — the fact that it’s been overexposed for two decades and even the band has disowned it doesn’t change the fact that it’s still a pretty great portrait of the self-loathing and alienation that come with unrequited love. But still, this may well have been the shotgun salvo that finally blasted the shambling zombie into a shower of quivering lurid giblets.
Barbra Streisand — ”Life on Mars”
And, yes, this really happened. Why, we can’t begin to tell you. But it happened.
Sixpence None The Richer — ”There She Goes”
See also: chart-topping Christian wetbags Sixpence None the Richer deciding to cover The La’s’ love song to heroin. Oh, wait, you didn’t know it was about heroin? GOD WILL NOT BE PLEASED.
Sheryl Crow — ”Sweet Child O’ Mine”
It’s perfectly possible to do a beautiful understated cover of this song — see Victoria Bergsman’s minimalist interpretation, for instance — but the problem with Crow’s version is that it’s neither one thing nor the other: it strips away the muscular charm of the original, but still tries to “rock out,” in a suitably PG-13 kind of way. The result is a tepid interpretation that pleases pretty much no one (except Sheryl Crow fans, perhaps).
Take That — ”Smells Like Teen Spirit”
No, you’re never going to able to unsee this now. We’re really, really sorry.
Source.
the only cover I have liked from glee was when santana and mercedes performed a mashup of Adele's rumor has it/someone like you
Also, that cover of There She Goes is amazing.
IA
Edited at 2013-03-23 05:26 pm (UTC)
I found out an old middle school friend of mine just got married. She posted pictures of her honeymoon at a Sandals resort and I couldn't help but lose some respect for her. I wonder if she got her ring from Kay Jewelers and her dress from David's Bridal.
Whenever I think of horrible covers, this is the first thing to come to mind.
D=
D=
...this easily tops my list of worst covers ever...
THEY ARE WINNING THE AUDIENCE OVER WITH THEIR KARAOKE COVER OKAY?
I stopped watching after s2 though. But I have to through in Hit Me Baby One More Time
I hate watched s1/2 of Glee because it was on netflix, and sometimes I had to fast-forward songs because it was so embarrassing and awful.
That is almost an Hiroshima stain on mankind; a blight on our existence.
Must find and prove myself wrong.
There she blows again
Pulsing through' my vein
There she goes, there she goes again
She calls my name, pulls my train
No-one else could heal my pain
There she goes
There she goes again
Chasing down my lane
And I just can't contain
This feelin' that remains
Not as a "how could you not know!!?!!" I didn't know either then I read the lyrics and it became clearer lol
But yeah that Creep cover was atrocious and i can't stand the faces Lea Michele makes when she sings. I am just glad they didn't sing my Radiohead favs Let Down or Fake Plastic Trees.
I CAN'T
I liked Sheryl Crow's cover of Sweet Child O' Mine tbh. It wasn't anything amazing but it wasn't terrible imo, just a normal, average cover in her own style. I don't think it ~sullied~ the original or anything.
Could we PLEASE all collectively agree that, if we're posting five items of a list, that we won't say "10, 15, 100" or whatever in the title? You don't have the whole list, so change it from the original article. It's part of why I'm always so mad about it, the titles CLAIM they will show you more but #nope.
xoxo
Liz
not to mention the list rule makes no sense. we can't post lists because other sites got angry that we did, but we can post entire articles?? logic....where has thou gone??