I never planned on making this. There was never supposed to be a third list, but here we are. I stumbled onto a cover that mewithoutYou did and then I fell into a rabbit hole of bizarre covers, and here we are again.
Pray that I don’t make a fourth list.
As I mentioned prior in my other lists, “I have to inform you that the songs on this list are covers that were recorded for a compilation, an album, or as a single. There will be no live covers on this list.” Who knows if I’ll ever do a list for strange live covers.
Before I start, I would like to thank the people in Midwest Emoposting on Facebook for helping me find some songs to put on this list.
Well, here we go. This is part one.
1. mewithoutYou – In Bloom (Originally by Nirvana)
Nirvana are one of the most influential bands from the 90s. With that being said, numerous artists have covered their songs. Case in point, “In Bloom” from their sophomore record Nevermind. That track has been covered by several artists and bands such as Four Year Strong, Torche, Sturgill Simpson, Hooverphonic, and So They Say. But when mewithoutYou covered it for Come As You Are: A 20th Anniversary Tribute To Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’, every other cover got blown out of the water. The simplistic take by mewithoutYou features an acoustic guitar, a kick drum, an accordion, an electric guitar, and Aaron Weiss’s haunting vocals. It just doesn’t sound like how you would expect “In Bloom” to sound like. mewithoutYou were able to transform this song into one of their own, and that’s impressive. Also this album features covers done by Civil Twilight, Hawthorne Heights, Story Of The Year, Finger Eleven, and Anthony Raneri of Bayside.
2. Roses & Revolutions – Sugar, We’re Goin Down (Originally by Fall Out Boy)
I found out about this cover from an unlikely source: my mom. She showed me this cover that apparently played on her Sirius XM radio and I had to look it up. Glad I did. This haunting acoustic version from this indie duo from Rochester is beautiful and bizarre at the same team. Alyssa Coco’s vocals are soft and fit well with guitarist Matt Merritt’s equally soft strumming, turning this pop-punk classic into something you’d hear in a Starbucks.
3. New Breed – Raise Your Glass (Originally by P!nk)
I’ve talked about the Japanese Punk Goes Pop albums before, and they’re either hits or misses. Mostly misses. This is one of those misses. The Japanese screamo act New Breed butcher the fuck out of P!nk’s party jam “Raise Your Glass”. There has to be a rule for having way too much blast beats in your song. It’s just a messy cover that never seems to calm down and needs some adderall to relax. Overall it’s a hot mess. Dear lord.
4. Clivillés & Cole – Pride (In The Name Of Love) (Originally by U2)
Oh fuck. I’ve dreaded talking about this cover. Clivillés & Cole, who would later become C+C Music Factory (you know, these guys), covered this song by U2 for the movie Gladiator (no, not the Russell Crowe film, this one). It’s a horrible techno version that stretches out the track from the original 3:48 minutes to nearly eight minutes. That’s almost double the original version. For your safety, avoid this track like the plague.
5. Everclear – I Will Follow You Into The Dark (Originally by Death Cab For Cutie)
Why? On their greatest hits album, 90s punk rock band Everclear ruined the sacred acoustic song “I Will Follow You Into The Dark” by Death Cab For Cutie by making it a punk track. No, fucking no. Oh, and that’s not the only cover on that album. They also did “I Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty and “Brown Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison. Also, I’ve been meaning to put this cover on the previous lists but I kept forgetting. Or maybe it was subconscious trying to save me from making the world remember this cover.
6. Wind Rose – Diggy Diggy Hole (Originally by Yogscast)
To quote iiZach Gaming, “From a Minecraft clip… to a fan made song… to an official song… to a metal version of the song. Wow.” “Diggy Diggy Hole” originated as a joke from Yogscast, then it became a song made by a fan, then a real song by Yogscast, and then redone by a fucking metal band. Many were shocked when Italian folk metal group Wind Rose made their own version of this song. The band explained why they did this, saying, “Mining is one of the most important activities for a Dwarf, naturally Wind Rose needed a theme song for this great honor of collecting these jewels from the soil, so sing with us with pride!!” I honestly have no idea what to say. Dig on.
7. Act As If – Pathetic (Originally by Blink-182)
What if Coldplay wrote “Pathetic” instead of Blink-182? That’s what indie pop group Act As If answered back in 2011 with their lovely rendition. The fast punk track gets redone as a beautiful, heartfelt pop song. Peter Verdell’s vocals are so soothing while backed over a gentle guitar strumming, Sara Lindsay’s voice, and a xylophone. It even got Mark Hoppus’s seal of approval when he shared it on his Facebook page.
8. Hidden In Plain View – Mr. Jones (Originally by Counting Crows)
In 2004, indie label Vinyl Summer Recordings released a tribute album called Dead And Dreaming: An Indie Tribute To Counting Crows. On it, bands like The Rocket Summer, Between The Buried And Me, Punchline, Houston Calls, and The Junior Varsity, covered their favorite songs by Counting Crows. The odd one that takes the cake has to be Hidden In Plain View’s rendition of “Mr. Jones”. The emo act add electronic elements and some autotune into their version. It would be a good cover if it weren’t for the autotune. And if you’re wanting to buy this album, it’s incredibly rare. You can purchase it here.
9. Biffy Clyro – Modern Love (Originally by David Bowie)
One listen to this cover and you’ll say, “That’s supposed to be a Bowie song?” When Howard Stern recruited several musicians for his tribute called The Howard Stern Tribute to David Bowie. It featured 25 musicians like Greta Van Fleet, The Struts, Car Seat Headrest, Lisa Loeb, and Garbage, paying tribute to the legendary British musician. Scottish rock trio Biffy Clyro go all out on their take of “Modern Love”, making it sound unrecognizable. The screams, jangly guitar parts, and heaviness of the cover are eyeopening, and it’s a beautiful tribute to the late Bowie.
10. Skip The Foreplay – Champagne Showers (Originally by LMFAO)
Remember when every metalcore band covered a pop song? I do. Back in 2011, Quebec based trancecore group Skip The Foreplay covered LMFAO’s “Champagne Showers”, being a minor hit for the group. It had over a million views on YouTube and was included on their only album Nightlife, which Epitaph Records (The All-American Rejects, Mannequin Pussy, Quicksand) released. Oh, and this cover was the reason they got to tour with Lamb Of God, We Came As Romans, blessthefall, Falling In Reverse, and Abandon All Ships, plus an appearance on the 2012 Vans Warped Tour with Tonight Alive, Hostage Calm, and Impending Doom. If you’re curious about where they are now, they went defunct in 2014 and renamed themselves Now And On Earth. They went defunct again in 2015.
Part two will be posted later.
Punk Goes Prenatt 