Saturday Song To Celebrate Covers To

"Reckoner" covered by Gnarls Barkley
The cover song has been a mainstay of the contemporary music scene for as long as music critics can remember. Just like anything in popular music, it can have a polarizing effect; plenty of careers and lawsuits have been launched from the performance of cover songs. However, for the most part, covers are a valuable experience that helps keep music fresh.


A cover song is a tangible demonstration of an artist's appreciation for music. It's easy to forget that our favorite singers and bands are fans of music too. When a band performs a cover song, it should be viewed as a tribute to the artist they're covering. It can be a unique, refreshing take on a classic song. Marilyn Manson's cover of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" helped launch the shock rocker into the mainstream because it did what any good cover song should do: highlight what made the original such a great song while also showcasing the talents and uniqueness of the covering artist. 

He still freaks me out, though.

In some cases, a cover is so well done that it becomes more popular than the original. Johnny Cash's stirring rendition of "Hurt" was a smash hit when it was released, but many people have forgotten that it was actually a cover of a Nine Inch Nails song. Trent Reznor's reaction to Johnny Cash's version is further proof of how powerful and poignant a cover song can be: "I pop the video in, and wow... Tears welling, silence, goose-bumps... Wow. [I felt like] I just lost my girlfriend, because that song isn't mine anymore... It really made me think about how powerful music is as a medium and art form. I wrote some words and music in my bedroom as a way of staying sane, about a bleak and desperate place I was in, totally isolated and alone. [Somehow] that winds up reinterpreted by a music legend from a radically different era/genre and still retains sincerity and meaning — different, but every bit as pure."

Covers can also be a fickle beast, though. Fans of the original artist occasionally get angry that someone else "attempted to play the song" or "failed to do it justice." Unfortunately, many people get locked into their dogmatic, defensive view that nothing can be as good as the original, and it's a shame that they equate "different" to "inferior." I enjoy covers because they're different; if I wanted to hear a straight copy of the original, I would just listen to the original. This is why I enjoy listening to Limp Bizkit's tongue-in-cheek butchering of George Michael's "Faith" and Killswitch Engage's cover of Dio's "Holy Diver" (R.I.P. Ronnie James Dio). Killswitch even took it a step further by spoofing the original music video with a hilarious knights-and-wizards video of their own, starring Mike D'Antonio as the knight, Justin Foley as the king, Joel Stretzel as the wizard, Adam D as the princess, and Howard Jones as the self-proclaimed "African-Americansmith."

However, I will begrudgingly admit that there have been a few horrible covers that even I can't find the heart to love.

Pfffffffft

Many of my favorite bands have performed covers that caught me by surprise; I guess it's just proof of how artists aren't  pigeonholed into listening to only the type of music that they make. I was shocked to learn that, for the most part, the members of Lamb of God (the preeminent, dominant patriarch of the modern metal tree) don't really listen to metal that often. Deftones recently put out an album of only cover songs, many of them from artists that greatly influenced the band; the record features covers of bands like The Smiths, Duran Duran, The Cure.... and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Don't be confused though; cover songs are no gimmick. If they were, then bands wouldn't regularly perform them live. Aaron Lewis, the legendary frontman of Staind, goes on a solo tour and does acoustic covers of songs by his band and others like Bob Seger, Pink Floyd, Smashing Pumpkins, and Alice in Chains. "Holy Diver" became so popular among Killswitch fans that the song is now a staple of their live show, usually as the closing song. Mastodon regularly covers Melvins' "The Bit" to close out their shows. 

An Aaron Lewis solo show is still the
elusive white whale of my concert resume.

I recently stumbled upon YouTube videos of Gnarls Barkley performing Radiohead's "Reckoner." I was admittedly skeptical at first. Don't get me wrong, I loved their first record, St. Elswhere, but I was doubtful that the pairing of Gnarls Barkley and Radiohead would work. Well, I was wrong. Cee Lo Green's incredible voice does wonders in replicating Thom Yorke's haunting tone, and the backing band also does a fantastic job. I'm pretty sure that this is my favorite cover of any song by any band. Check out the video and decide for yourself. Enjoy.

"Reckoner" by Gnarls Barkley