The Worst Cover of a NW Song in Modern Times

[NuWaveRx]

Ok, I admittedly watch almost no network television anymore--I apparently lack the neuronal cogs necessary to "appreciate" reality tv. But I do occasionally catch "Chelsea Lately" on E. On today's show she (appropriately) railed against the following crime against humanity known as the Jonas Brother's cover of "Take On Me"

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/jonas ... /391736170

Which got me to thinking--what new (say, since the turn of the century) artist's cover of a NW song would you rank as a total waste of decibels? It might be hard to top the above.

[birdmadgirl]

*speechless*

I don't even know what to say. That was ... so awful. I feel like one of my favorite songs has been molested.

I have a dumb question: Can a band just cover any song? Do they have to get some sort of permission? Like, could the guys from a-ha have said, "Hell, no, we don't want your stupid asses playing our song!"

[MARV]

Good grief. I don't know if that can be topped. Wow.

[i_like_lectric_motors]

Wow ... that really did suck. In fact it sucked so much it just bumped No Doubt's butchering of "It's My Life" out of my all-time top 3 most horrendous cover songs and replaced 311's version of "Lovesong" at #2.

The worst, IMO?

I don't know if it's the changing of the lyrics in the 2nd line, the obese monstrosity on bass, or the kazoo solo that pisses me off the most, but there's just no excuse for:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDOPlf0uAmM

<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v604/motors/?action=view¤t=andysahomo.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/motors/andysahomo.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[SynthesizerMan]

[quote][i]Originally posted by birdmadgirl[/i]
<br>I have a dumb question: Can a band just cover any song? Do they have to get some sort of permission? Like, could the guys from a-ha have said, "Hell, no, we don't want your stupid asses playing our song!"


[/quote]

When an artist/band wants to cover a song they get a license from The Harry Fox Agency. It is unusual for the license to be denied but it can be. I remember an instance where the estate of a symphonic composer denied the license for a synthesizer cover version of a famous work.

world of noise

[birdmadgirl]

[quote][i]Originally posted by i_like_lectric_motors[/i]
<br>Wow ... that really did suck. In fact it sucked so much it just bumped No Doubt's butchering of "It's My Life" out of my all-time top 3 most horrendous cover songs and replaced 311's version of "Lovesong" at #2.
[/quote]

Those two are truly horrible covers. (I once saw a cover of the Gwen Stefani cover at a bar. I remain convinced that it is what made me barf all over the place, not the beer.)

I hate this. Now, there will be a whole generation of tweens running around blathering about this "new song" by the Jonas Brothers. When my own daughter began to talk about 311's song called "Love Song," my head nearly exploded. I set her straight and made sure she had the proper version on her iPod.

[Jefe]

I don't know if it's the changing of the lyrics in the 2nd line, the obese monstrosity on bass, or the kazoo solo that pisses me off the most
[/quote]

I just can't fathom being in a band, sitting around with my fellow band members, and uttering the phrase "You know what that song needs. Some kazoo"

[i_like_lectric_motors]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Jefe[/i]
I just can't fathom being in a band, sitting around with my fellow band members, and uttering the phrase "You know what that song needs. Some kazoo"
[/quote]

Really. Or being in a band that reaches the consensus that out of the millions of things you could do to that milf in the video when you "stop the world", the best choice is to steal her lipstick and use it to draw on the face of the goofy bastard seated next to her. That's just not very rock and roll.

<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v604/motors/?action=view¤t=andysahomo.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/motors/andysahomo.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[wherewereuin82]

[quote][i]Originally posted by birdmadgirl[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by i_like_lectric_motors[/i]
<br>Wow ... that really did suck. In fact it sucked so much it just bumped No Doubt's butchering of "It's My Life" out of my all-time top 3 most horrendous cover songs and replaced 311's version of "Lovesong" at #2.
[/quote]

Those two are truly horrible covers. (I once saw a cover of the Gwen Stefani cover at a bar. I remain convinced that it is what made me barf all over the place, not the beer.)

I hate this. Now, there will be a whole generation of tweens running around blathering about this "new song" by the Jonas Brothers. When my own daughter began to talk about 311's song called "Love Song," my head nearly exploded. I set her straight and made sure she had the proper version on her iPod.
[/quote]


I had to do the same with my son and Orgy's cover of Blue Monday (even though secretly I didn't mind the cover for what it was)

Holy Criznap!

[djcraig]

Those were pretty bad. The Jonas cover was more unexceptional and forgettably lame than anything.

I would like to nominate the immortal Jack Jones, who stole Bill Murray's bad lounge act parody and parlayed it into a career of impressive crapsuckiness, for his version of "Every Breath You Take".

<embed src="http://www.djcraig.net/01 Every Breath You Take.mp3" height="60" width="145" autostart="false" loop="false" width="0" height="0"></embed>

<img src="http://www.producersinc.com/Artists/jackjones/Pictures/jackjones-copy.jpg">
"You're a beautiful crowd and I mean it!"




<a href="http://www.djcraig.net/los_angeles_dj">DJ Craig</a>

[BigBri]

I immediately thought of that Bowling for Soup disaster when I saw this thread.

Incidentally, the movie soundtrack on which that tune appears ("Sky High") consists entirely of new wave covers. You can hear snippets of them throughout the movie, but I haven't heard any of these songs all the way through:

1. "I Melt With You" - Bowling For Soup 4:03
2. "Through Being Cool" - They Might Be Giants 3:17 [TMBG?!!]
3. "Save It For Later" - Flashlight Brown 2:49
4. "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" - Christian Burns 4:28
5. "One Thing Leads To Another" - Steven Strait 3:10
6. "Lies" - The Click Five 2:58
7. "Voices Carry" - Vitamin C 4:16
8. "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" - Elefant 2:53
9. "True" - Cary Brothers 5:11
10. "Just What I Needed" - Caleigh Peters 3:38
11. "Can't Stop The World" - Ginger Sling 3:25
12. "And She Was" - Keaton Simons 3:49
13. "Twist And Crawl" - Skindred 2:31

I tried to explain to my Disney Channel crack-that-it-is addicted 7 year old daughter that the original versions of these songs which daddy grew up with are far superior...

[wherewereuin82]

Can't believe no one's mentioned this piece of musical mutilation:

Fallout Boy's cover of Roxanne

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Holy Criznap!

[plagiarism]

Sorry to do this to everyone.

<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mfUW28pdyD4&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mfUW28pdyD4&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

[wherewereuin82]

Was that a potato or a diseased penis at 20 secs?

Holy Criznap!

[coop41]

The Jonas Brothers are Hot!!!!