radical cover versions

[se3_uk]

i know there's a cover versions thread lower down but it's so general that i think things might get lost.

i've been collecting cover versions on my iPod for a while now and they can be broken down into several categories, for example punk covers, 'serious' musicians covering pop, radical re-workings etc.

i might start threads on the other categories later but for now, i'd be interested in hearing from anyone with some radical cover versions in their collection.

please post the singer, song and original artist plus a few words on why it's such a radical cover.

here's some from my collection to get us going:

frente, bizarre love triangle (new order cover)
this is an acoustic version that totally reinvents the electronic original. the girl's vocal is beautiful and she brings a real fragility to the song that i didn't notice in the original.

david byrne, sock it to me (missy elliot cover)
this is a live version - although the recording is so clear that you'd never know. david byrne, formerly of talking heads, takes his live band through a breathtaking take on a hip hop classic.

roots manuva, yellow submarine (beatles cover)
this is certainly radical. british rapper roots manuva completely reinvents yellow submarine as a dubby piece of haunting electronica. worth hearing at least once for the sheer bonkers-ness of it.

over to you, folks....

[allforcarrie]

stretch armstron - get this party started. A punk p!nk song...... its actuly cool of a compilation album called pop goes punk.

[raine]

Any time Thom Yorke covers a pop song, it's freakin' awesome. But my favorites are his Neil Young covers, one from the Bridge School Benefit concert. It's After the Gold Rush, and he plays a piano that is the same style as Neil Young's piano, or so he says. Really cool song, though.

[asnamara]

Marilyn Manson - Sweet Dreams
Gotta love his cover of Eurythmic's song

[iPod Master]

the bad plus covered nirvana's smells like teen spirit...very interesting. the bad plus is a jazz band, they do a good job of turning the grunge song into jazz.

[JeffsJeep04]

Anything by Johnny Cash (rusty cage, hurt, and all the others from when the man comes around)

Mexican Radio by Authority Zero

Word Up by Korn was fun the first few times I heard it

[lightintodark]

"Never Let Me Down" by Depeche Mode is covered beautifully by The Smashing Pumpkins!

[djte]

well Me First and the Gimme Gimmes have made a career out of doing punk covers of songs you'd never expect (i.e. "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" and "I Am a Rock" and "I Believe I Can Fly", etc.) but my absolute favorite is the Darkness' cover of Radiohead's "Street Spirit". it's completely irreverant and the blazing guitar solo in the middle of one of the most depressing songs ever clinches it. i love the cover even though i love Radiohead.

[mndtrp]

I'm not going to list all of the tracks, nor endorse anyone to listen to them, but

Six Feet Under - Back In Black (AC/DC)

A death metal reworking of the entire classic album. While it is radical in every sense of the word, it is not very good.
I think you can get an mp3 of one track from their website. I would seriously consider checking that out before even thinking about picking this album up. I like Six Feet Under, but this is an abomination.

[seedubxj]

John Mayer doing Kid A by Radiohead

Maroon 5 doing Closer by NIN

Thrice doing Send Me an Angel from the "Rad" soundtrack (Badass cover BTW)

Any version of DMB doing Watchtower, but the versions with Tim Reynolds or the guy that plays the "stick" are the best ones.

Pearl Jam doing Dock of the Bay

Type O Negative doing Day Tripper and also, Cinnamin Girl... Peter Steele is a stud...killer voice

[CrzyCanuck72]

Joe Cocker's With A Little Help From My Friends is pretty much a total re-working of the song. It stands up just as well as the original.

[Cdammen]

The Knife - Heartbeats (original)

Jose Gonzales - Heartbeats (acoustic)

Such a GREAT difference. Jose's version is much better, I think. Two different genres, the same song.

[allforcarrie]

stretch armstrong - get this party started (pink cover)

[adox]

Tori Amos - Smells Like Teen Spirit.

Obviously a cover of the Nirvana classic.

Its radical because she takes rock classic and turns it into a very moving ballad

[non_zero]

Wow, those are a lot of covers that I'd like to hear.

Is that Rusty Cage by Soundgarden that Cash covered?

NOFX doing Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way" with Greg Graffin from Bad Religion was pretty surprising, and awesome.