My Top 10 Cover Songs of All Time

I’ve been hearing a lot of cover songs on the radio as of late (nakikita ko rin ung mga videos nila, kadalasan olats). A lot of Filipino acts do cover songs (MYMP, Paolo Santos etc.), some even come up with whole albums of them (Nina and Regine Velascuez).

Some people hate cover songs, but I don’t. Don’t get me wrong though, siyempre naasar din ako pag me nambababoy ng mga astig na kanta (e.g. Britney Spears and her rendition of I love Rock ‘n Roll comes to mind). But there are instances when artists take songs and make them their own, sometimes even making them, in my opinion better. Sometimes an artist can take a song and introduce it to a whole new generation.

So I came up with this list of my favorite cover songs of all time. They are ranked from 10 to 1 (one being the best, duh!). Some people may disagree with my list, that’s perfectly fine, it’s my list dammit!

10. I DON’T WANNA BE YOUR FRIEND by Nina
-This song was big a few months back. Nina did her Mariah Carrey thing and took this new wave song by Cindy Lauper and added some diva-ish flavor.

9. BABY CAN I HOLD YOU TONIGHT by Boyzone
- I’m not really a fan of boybands, but I think Ronan “Mr. I’m-singing-through-my-nose” Keating and co. (bading ung isa sa kanila dib a?) did a great job rendering this Tracy Chapman original (Sobra stupid lang nga ng video).

8. WAITING IN VAIN by MYMP
- Doobie music! Accoustic style! Bob Marley should be saluting MYMP with his weed pipe for the great job they did on his song (ganda ng boses ng girl ng MYMP, simple lang pero swabe).

7. WITH OR WITHOUT YOU by Utada Hikaru
-I saw this J-Pop princess’ version of my favorite U2 song in a MTV Unplugged show. I like her voice and she’s pretty cute too. Her song Automatic made it to the Philippines around 2000. For those of you who are wondering, Utada Hikaru is not the chick who hangs out with Dice & K9.

6. SMOOTH CRIMINAL by Alien Ant Farm
- I don’t know if they were paying homage or mocking the King of Pop with this cover song, but Alien Ant Farm’s smooth criminal rocks (eto nga lng cool nilang kanta eh)! They took one of Wacko Jacko’s greatest songs (we sometimes forget that this wierdo made a lot of great tunes), and added some punk flavor. Plus, the video is hilarious!

4. TAINTED LOVE by Marilyn Manson
- When I heard Marilyn Manson’s version of this Cure classic, a got a whole new meaning to the term “Tainted Love”. He (or she) makes it sound so… evil (but in a good way). Manson’s version of this song reminds me of the Vampire Lestat (The rock star vampire in Anne Rice’s “The Vampire Chronicles”).

3. TORN by Natalie Imbruglia
- Yep, this song is a cover. It was first sang by Edna Swap (cno un!?) from an album called Wacko Magneto (Ano un!?). That’s the reason this song is on my list! Apparently Natalie Imbruglia took a song that nobody cared about and made it such a monster hit!! Edna Swap probably wants to rip her head off and piss on her skull…

2. THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD by Nirvana
- Kurt Cobain and company did an unplugged version of this David Bowie original a few months before he blew his freakin’ brains out. He probably thought of the song as sort of a pre-death eulogy or something. It’s my favorite Nirvana song, and God knows how I loved Nirvana growing up! PUNKS NOT DEAD Woohoo!!

1. KNOCKIN’ ON HEAVEN’S DOOR by Guns and Roses
- Guns and Roses were the last of a dead breed of Rockstars. They were the last of a breed of musicians who depicted themselves as “larger than life”. They were the last of the Rockstars who drew themselves up to be gods among men. Yes, Axel Rose and Slash were the gods of my youth, and Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door was my anthem. I loved this song even before I knew Bob Dylan was behind it. In my mind, Guns and Roses took a great song by a great musician and made it their own. In my opinion, that is truly something great.