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[Jackie Blue]

Brought about by the Elliott Smith thread... we all know there are some things you just don't cover.  Ever.  For any reason.

The Smiths (also: note to shitty emo bands: stop naming yourselves after Smiths songs.  Morrissey hates you.)
REM
Sonic Youth
Bob Dylan
I was about to type "The Rolling Stones" but then I remembered that totally awesome Inspiral Carpets cover of "Gimme Shelter"
Stone Roses
Spiritualized
Nirvana
Slint
My Bloody Valentine
Radiohead
Front 242 ("Headhunter 1969" doesn't count as a cover)
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Jane's Addiction
Dead Kennedys

Who else?

[SeanBateman]

What about Hendrix covering "All Along The Watchtower? Or Johnny Cash covering It Ain't Me Babe.

[est]

I disagree with every entry in that list.  It's just that shitty bands need to stop making shitty covers is all.

[NiMRoD420]

Nothing is ever off limits.

I desire VERY MUCH to make a big long cool epic version of "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" by Dylan.

[Jackie Blue]

Those Dylan covers are acceptable because of the Legend Rule: Legends Can Always Cover Legends.

This is why Siouxie and the Banshees are permitted to cover "The Passenger".

Add to list: Bob Marley.
The Clash.

Because the place I work had a white reggae band last night who covered both of those and it hurt.  It really hurt.

[KharBevNor]

I have great cover versions of every band on that list which isn't shit except Front 242, which to my knowledge no one has ever covered anyway.

Admittedly that is only three bands.

The Ukrainians did a whole EP of awesome Smiths covers in a semi gypsy-punk style, Placebo have a great version of Bigmouth Strikes Again (Molko is just about the only mainstream musician going still camp enough to pull such a thing off). Entombed's version of The Ballad of Hollis Brown, 16 Horspowers take on Nobody 'cept You, Fairport Conventions version of Percys Song and Ladysmith Black Mombazos cover of Knockin' on Heavens Door do for Dylan. Dead Kennedys comes up into the fairly large wall of Napalm Deaths cover of Nazi Punks Fuck Off,

I'll admit no one should ever cover Radiohead or Nirvana especially because they're shit.

[Jackie Blue]

There is a Tribute To Front 242 album on (what else?) Cleopatra and it is FUCKING EPIC FAIL.

[Ernest]

I'll admit no one should ever cover Radiohead or Nirvana especially because they're shit.

INFLAMMATORY

Anyway, in my mind, nothing is really off limits.  Oh, and the original post listed The Smiths, but At the Drive-In covered "This Night Has Opened My Eyes" and it was a lot better than The Smiths version.

[Inlander]

I contend that Smiths covers are acceptable, because the Smiths wrote a few good songs and I'm all for getting to hear them without having to put up with listening to Morrissey.

[Johnny C]

I would much rather see a list of individual songs which shouldn't be covered anymore. Topping the list for me is "Love Will Tear Us Apart."

[KharBevNor]

There is a Tribute To Front 242 album on (what else?) Cleopatra and it is FUCKING EPIC FAIL.

If a band so much as puts on a pair of sunglasses, grimaces and sells over ten thousand records Cleopatra will put out a gut-wrenchingly bad tribute album to them. This is not a case against covers so much as a case against Cleopatra records.

[SeanBateman]

People should only cover 99 Red Balloons for all eternity, with occasional breaks for brown eyed girl.

[Yakob]

I like a couple Dylan covers..........Guns N Roses version of "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" and The White Stripes' version of "One More Cup Of Coffee"

[David_Dovey]

Radiohead

Radiohead

Radiohead

Also, Nick Cave.

[ekmesnz]

I would actually love for a post-rock band to do a thoughtful cover of something from Spiderland. Slint is the shit.

[Johnny C]

A friend and I had an idea for a benefit concert that we feel is the best idea ever. A 24-hour cover of "Right Before My Eyes" by The Snitches would be performed, with two caveats.

1) It would only be the totally awesome chorus, ad nauseam.
2) The bands would perform in shifts by trading members one-by-one.

[MusicScribbles]

In reply to Johnny...Hahahahahahahah. Nice. As in cool. Or awesome. Yay.

[SilentJ]

I'll admit no one should ever cover Radiohead or Nirvana especially because they're shit.

Hopefully you're saying the covers of these guys are shit, because Nirvana were fucking brilliant and I've no problem with Radiohead.

Covers of these guys are utter shite though.

[Gridgm]

um no nirvana we're shit it's just they had a very good marketting department as kurt said himself "we're corporate rock sellouts"

whitlams have quite a good version of tangled up in blue on eternal nightcap

2ndly richard cheese proably outdid radiohead with his version of creep...of course i'm not a radiohead fan so maybe i'm biased

[Beautiful Maladies]

Nirvana can be covered exceptionally well, if done in the right way.

I bring before the court Exhibit A:

The Polyphonic Spree's cover of "Lithium"

[Storm Rider]

Nirvana

I disagree!

[Johnny C]

There is an excellent cover of "Just" around somewhere by Mark Ronson. It appeared on some kind of tribute album. It's absurdly good.

So uh, I guess that makes all of y'all wrong.

[Kai]

I'll admit no one should ever cover Radiohead or Nirvana especially because they're shit.

Stormtroopers Of Death totally covered Nirvana's Territorial Pissings.

[SilentJ]

In my opinion, Nirvana never sold out too bad until Kurt Cobain died and Coutney Love sold them out like HELL.

[Inlander]

From reading scores of (repetitive) comments about Nirvana in this forum, it's become increasingly apparent to me that Nirvana were one of those "generational" bands that don't mean half as much to people who weren't kids when the music was still being made.

As far as Nirvana covers goes, as far as I'm concerned it begins and ends with the Charlie Hunter Trio's cover of "Come As You Are". There's a (fuzzy and truncated) version on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I65WyzA1lf8. (For those of you wondering, Charlie Hunter was also the guy who played guitar on the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy's "Music and Politics".)

[KharBevNor]

I disagree!

Oh man I'd forgotten that. Yes, I agree, this makes the existence of Nirvana worthwhile. The Territorial Pissings cover was ok, but I've honestly never heard the original so hey. The cover of Ministry's 'Thieves' on that album is pretty fucking bitching though. I shudder to think what the moshpit for that song must have looked like.

As for Nirvana not 'meaning' much to me because I wasn't around when they were making music, I don't think that applies. I don't personally rate any of what could be called 'my generations' seminal mainstream bands either. Nirvana had a few OK songs, which have been overplayed for the last decade. They ushered in a wave of music I consider almost universally shit compared to what had come before: I'd take even the shittiest eighties cock-rock over Silverchair any day of the year, and even the very best of grunge, in my opinion, is easily eclipsed by any Dio song you could care to mention. I don't dislike Nirvana because I wasn't around to feel their magic, in fact, if I had been, I'd have probably hated them a lot more.

Anyway, back to the thread. There are some bands that, whilst they should not never be covered, shouldn't be covered so much, but should be covered a lot less becuase they're so done, or should at least have less obvious songs covered. Prime examples are Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden. I must have about a hundred Iron Maiden covers on my computer, and about three that I consider interesting enough when compared to the originals to actually listen to (Sculptureds cover of 'Iron Maiden',  Graveworms cover of 'Fear of the Dark', Therions cover of 'Children of the Damned'). Cover a Running Wild or Accept track or something, for fucks sake! With Sabbath the problem is more the lack of inspiration as to choice (though that's also a problem with Maiden). Everyons done fucking Children of the Grave and Hand of Doom. Why not try something a little more interesting or unusual for a change? I'm yet to hear a decent cover of Heaven and Hell, Wheels of Confusion/The Straightener or The Wizard.

Also, there are indeed more definite songs that should not be covered, or should at least be covered very carefully. Bohemian Rhapsody and Comfortably Numb instantly leap to mind.

[Johnny C]

I would much rather see a list of individual songs which shouldn't be covered anymore.

Mike should add an option to the stock responses that reads "I agree with the opinion previously expressed by Johnny C."

Inlander, that might not be the case. Unlike Khar, I definitely enjoy Nirvana, and I like their music beyond Steve Albini's production or Sonic Youth's championing of them or Cobain's fetish for Pixies. I think they were purveyors of some really fine, rule-breaking rock music, and that in breaking said rules they created some compellingly listenable music. I'm not the only one, either. On any given day in a North American high school somebody is listening to, wearing, reading or thinking about something Nirvana. Being a now-nonexistent band their presence is a little less overpowering but Nirvana's appeal has transcended generation, at least slightly.

[KharBevNor]

The only rules Nirvana ever broke were rules about t-shirt sales established by a mister Che Guevara.

[Inlander]

Yeah yeah yeah, blah blah blah. Do you think some time soon you might express an opinion in the music section that you haven't voiced a hundred times before, Khar?

[Rizzo]

I have great cover versions of every band on that list which isn't shit except Front 242, which to my knowledge no one has ever covered anyway.

The Mercy Cage-Head Hunter
Fucking good cover I think. Not too similar to the original and much more grim and cyberpunky.

Gary Numan covers are almost always on par with the original but then again that's not too much to expect...

[KharBevNor]

Yeah yeah yeah, blah blah blah. Do you think some time soon you might express an opinion in the music section that you haven't voiced a hundred times before, Khar?

And you are the doyenne of unbridled originality in the field of music criticism? Should I change my opinions every week in order to satisfy your desire for a fresh reading experience, oh worshipful grand vizier of all that is good and pure?

Everyone repeats their fucking opinions here, because there's a huge scarcity of genuinely interesting and original threads. You just remember my opinion because it doesn't agree with yours.

@Rizzo: Replace 'on par' with 'practically identical'. Though to be fair I can't really think of many ways to take most of Gary Numans material that wouldn't be excessively gimmicky (acoustic versions, extreme metal versions, etc.).

[Inlander]

Everyone repeats their fucking opinions here, because there's a huge scarcity of genuinely interesting and original threads.

Sounds like putting the cart before the horse to me. Do you not think that the scarcity of interesting and original threads in the music section might be linked to the tendency of everyone who frequents this part of the forum to repeat the same old weary opinions, ad nauseum?

EDIT: As a first, hopeful step towards alleviating this problem, I beg everyone's indulgence in making the following announcement:

I really fucking hate Morrissey.

And now that I've made that perfectly clear, and hopefully everybody who frequents this part of the forum is aware of my opinion in this regard, I will never mention it here again.

[ImRonBurgundy?]

2ndly richard cheese proably outdid radiohead with his version of creep...of course i'm not a radiohead fan so maybe i'm biased

How about instead of a list of artists that shouldn't be covered, we make a list of artists who should never cover anything ever again.  I'll start it off:

Richard Cheese
Me First & the Gimme Gimmes

[The extra letter]

I'll most definitely second/third/fourth/fifth Radiohead.

I expect everyone's looking forward to Korn's version of "Creep".

I'd also like to add The Sisters of Mercy to the list of bands that should never be covered. Ever. By anyone.

[Thrillho]

Nick Cave is better at doing covers  - 'What A Wonderful World,' 'Rainy Night In Soho,' - than is at covering; although I prefer Shane MacGowan's vocal on 'Lucy' than Cave's.

[amok]

REM

Stochastic Theory do a great synthpop version of Losing My Religion. It's the kind of thing that sounds like a terrible idea on paper but somehow works.

I'd also like to add The Sisters of Mercy to the list of bands that should never be covered. Ever. By anyone.

Especially not Cradle Of Filth 

[TheFuriousWombat]

no one should ever, ever cover sigur ros. in any way.
want proof why? listen to the mp3s here: http://www.sigur-ros.co.uk/news/
just scroll down to the 'covers and remixes' section.


edit:
i'd like to add that no one should cover neutral milk hotel. mainly b/c i've heard several attempts and they just....hurt.

[Will]

For the record, Richard Cheese covers are entirely exempt from these rules.  Richard Cheese can cover whatever the fuck he wants.

[Ernest]

See, it's easy to make blanket statements like "Nobody should cover _____," but there will always be a way to make a good cover of anything.  End of story.

[Thrillho]

Tommy did you write that, or copy it from somewhere?

[ScrambledGregs]

I love Nirvana and I was too young to like them back in the day. I think the box set they released awhile ago is pretty great, particularly for the noisy material. They're great in their own right, but they are definitely a gateway band like Tommy said. You know how I know who the Pixies are?? Because Kurt Cobain mentioned them in interviews. This was before they reunited and were on the front page of every indie rock magazine and internet site about three years ago.

There are no 'off limits' artists to me, though I think the cover your band has chosen better damn well match your style or be malleable enough to fit your style. I once saw a clip of Tom Waits singing 'Silent Night', which I would never have thought he would sing, and it worked marvelously, like a drunk with a bad voice trying to cheer himself up on Christmas. At a Shins show I saw Rogue Wave do a cover of Nirvana's 'On A Plain' which they had transformed into a strange, keyboard driven dirge, such that I didn't even know what song it was until they got to the chorus. It was pretty terrible, to be honest. I'm all for transforming songs and whatnot, but this just didn't work for me.

[Johnny C]

#8

Seriously, Tommy, I have to thank you. I honestly assumed that most of that was implied within my pithy, short post, but apparently it wasn't, and it's good to see it articulated so well.

[Caspian]

no one should ever, ever cover sigur ros. in any way.
want proof why? listen to the mp3s here: http://www.sigur-ros.co.uk/news/
just scroll down to the 'covers and remixes' section.


edit:
i'd like to add that no one should cover neutral milk hotel. mainly b/c i've heard several attempts and they just....hurt.

Didn't Thursday do a cover of Sigur Ros's Ni Batteri? (I haven't heard it, I've just heard people complain about it.) I kind of want to hear it, just to see how bad the song would be. It was never a really good song to begin with, but with Thursday covering it, it should be especcially bad!

[Johnny C]

We Are Scientists did a cover of "Hoppipola" or whatever. It was awful.

[TheFuriousWombat]

it was one of the worst covers of any song by any band i've ever heard.

[Merkava]

I think it would be hilarious if someone tried to cover anything done by Microphones.

[Jackie Blue]

Thursday also ripped off A Silver Mt. Zion.  ASMZ have a song that repeats the line "take these hands and throw them in the river" and a couple years later, Thursday did a song with the exact same line.  At first I assumed it must be from a Bible verse or something, because the sheer weirdness of a band as bad as Thursday both liking ASMZ and ripping them off was too much for me to parse.  Unfortunately I've never been able to find that line used in anything but both songs, so I have to conclude that really is what happened.

Last night one of my bandmates and I were discussing this and I said that no one should ever cover Mogwai, because if you're competent enough to cover a Mogwai song, you might as well just write a Mogwai rip-off of your own instead of covering them.

[ImRonBurgundy?]

Radiohead

LOL.

[Johnny C]

Thursday also ripped off A Silver Mt. Zion.  ASMZ have a song that repeats the line "take these hands and throw them in the river" and a couple years later, Thursday did a song with the exact same line.  At first I assumed it must be from a Bible verse or something, because the sheer weirdness of a band as bad as Thursday both liking ASMZ and ripping them off was too much for me to parse.  Unfortunately I've never been able to find that line used in anything but both songs, so I have to conclude that really is what happened.

Alternatively it's a coincidence.

[TheFuriousWombat]

yeh, i don't consider simply using the same line as another song to be the same as covering that song. if i did than many songs would be covers i think. were the two songs similar musically or was this the only similarity?

yeh, i don't consider simply using the same line as another song to be the same as covering that song. if i did than many songs would be covers i think. were the two songs similar musically or was this the only similarity?

Radiohead

LOL.

wow, that is so incredibly awful. i honestly couldn't get through a whole song. granted i only tried a couple but i think that was more than enough. radiohead ska is bad bad stuff.