-
1 of 10
-
2 of 10
-
3 of 10
-
4 of 10
-
5 of 10
-
6 of 10
-
7 of 10
-
8 of 10
-
9 of 10
-
10 of 10
PopRocks! presents:
Top Five Greatest Covers
Archive
Comments
Story
So, Char was sitting in her Tuesday afternoon communication class, watching one boring PowerPoint after another, when suddenly, the clouds parted and God threw her a damned bone. One of her classmates chose to show a series of awesome cover songs for his presentation. And thus, a PopRocks! top five was born! When looking for great covers, we tried to think, “Is this better than the original?” We think the songs on our top five make the grade, and so, PopRocks! presents the top five greatest covers:
5 Alien Ant Farm – “Smooth Criminal”
It sounds sacreligious to say anyone could do Michael Jackson better than Michael Jackson, but AAF updated the song and made it appealing to a new generation. And they did it the right way, by choosing one of his lesser-known hits. In the office poll, this song got the most votes, probably because it was released when many staffers were in junior high or high school. You go, AAF, way to take a classic and improve it with some rockin’ new beats and video images that we’ll always remember.
4 Israel Kamakawiwo’ole – “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World”
After being featured in several movies and TV shows, this ukulele cover attached itself to the hearts of many, including Char who gets all sappy when she listens to it. It’s just a really sweet, pretty song that makes us feel like everything will be all right. Although Judy Garland’s version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” was mega-popular when it was released, this cover has something more to it that makes it endearing to the PopRocks! girls.
3 Soft Cell – “Tainted Love”
One of the most iconic one-hit-wonders of all time, complete with a haunting synth, Soft Cell’s version of “Tainted Love” has been sampled and covered by everyone from Marilyn Manson to Rihanna. Gloria Jones recorded the song as a B-side in 1964 in a Motown style. The difference in the two recordings is crazy. Seriously – YouTube it. The Soft Cell cover of the song is darker and sexier than the original, which absolutely improves it in our eyes.
2 Cake – “Mahna Mahna”
Had anyone even heard “Mahna Mahna” before Cake covered it? We spent an entire day trying to figure out where the original . well, originated. Apparently, the song – written by composer Piero Umiliani – was featured in a 1968 pseudo-documentary about sexual experimentation in Sweden. Jim Henson’s Muppets took “Mahna Mahna” mainstream on The Ed Sullivan Show, only to have the ditty stolen by Sesame Street in 1969. The Cake cover would eventually be featured on “For the Kids,” a charity album to raise money for VH1’s Save the Music Foundation. From porn to preschoolers?
1 Mat Weddle – “Hey Ya”
This is the song that started the “cover craze” in our office. Slowed down, the lyrics to the Outkast original are sad and bittersweet, making Weddle’s folksy acoustic version oddly appropriate. One editor reported “getting chills” listening to the Obadiah Parker frontman croon, “If what they say is ‘nothing is forever’ . then what makes love the exception?” This cover’s popularity on the Web catapulted Weddle to YouTube stardom, leading NPR ’s Robin Hilton (and the PopRocks! Girls) to dub it “the best cover tune ever."
BY CHARLOTTE TAYLOR AND LAURA ROGERS
Arbiter Staff
