THE 10 BEST UNEXPECTED COVERS
by Adam Perry for Westword 1/11/2016
When Radiohead demanded public access to Prince’s fantabulous cover of “Creep” recently, I couldn’t help but recall falling in love with creative covers as a teenage drummer and finishing all my own shows in the clubs, bars and garages of Pittsburgh with the punk trio Falling Short by blazing through“Riverbottom Nightmare Band” from Jim Henson’s Emmet Otter. Later, with the Yawpers, I grinned through our double-time version of “Sweet Emotion.”
If you’re going to do someone else’s song, do something different with it. And if you’re going to something different with it, for God’s sake, make it fun.
We all know the most beloved covers in popular music history, from Jimi Hendrix’s timeless “All Along the Watchtower” to Nirvana’s emotive “Where Do You Sleep Last Night?” to Jeff Buckley’s immortal version of “Hallelujah.” In art, stealing is a compliment when you do something new—and, as Frank Zappa said, “Everything’s one note.”
It’s fun when a great band launches into an unexpected yet faithful cover, like the War On Drugs’ surprising “Touch of Grey” or Tool’s majestic, spot-on “No Quarter.” But the MVPs of musical tributes are usually those willing to effectively transpose a classic song for another genre, sometimes going so far out that listeners (in the case of, say, Alt-J’s 2014 cover of “Lovely Day”) don’t know it’s a cover until the vocals kick in. To be that successfully, slyly creative—paying enjoyable homage while still maintaining your own unique voice—is quite an accomplishment. Read our top 10 here.
Adam Perry 