So I made you all a little mixtape. Mix file? That sounds lame. Anyway. Here are some good, bad, and interesting cover songs. Why cover songs? Well, I think it’s an interesting study of how performers relate to music. Can music succeed without its originator? How far can an audience tolerate change and reinvention of something they are familiar with, perhaps even love? Many of the tracks below are genre-bending, gender-bending, or just great collaborations compared to the original or most famous versions of the songs. Some work better than the original, some don’t. Some suggest new dimensions, while others follow old paths. Which is your favorite?
Tracklist:
#. Song Cover artist Original/better known artist
1. Burning Down the House Tom Jones & The Cardigans Talking Heads
2. Long and Winding Road Aretha Franklin The Beatles
3. When You Were Mine Cyndi Lauper Prince
4. Islands in the Stream Feist & The Constantines Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers
5. I Love How You Love Me Neutral Milk Hotel The Paris Sisters (Phil Spector prod)
6. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea Matt Pond PA Neutral Milk Hotel
7. I Wanna Be Where You Are Erykah Badu & The Roots Michael Jackson
8. Bad Moon Rising Rasputina Credence Clearwater Revival
9. Toxic A Static Lullaby Britney Spears
10. My Girl John Hiatt & Loudon Wainwright The Temptations
11. Everywhere Vampire Weekend Fleetwood Mac
12. Comfortably Numb Dar Williams Pink Floyd
13. Nobody Does It Better Radiohead Carly Simon & Marvin Hamlish
14. I Need Love Sexton Blake LL Cool J
15. One Aimee Mann Harry Nilsson
16. I Hope That I Don’t Fall in Love with You 10,000 Maniacs Tom Waits
17. What a Wonderful World Nick Cave & Shane Macgowan Louis Armstrong
18. Redemption Song Johnny Cash & Joe Strummer Bob Marley
19. My Boyfriend’s Back The Raveonettes The Angels
20. Danny’s Song Me First & The Gimme Gimmes Loggins & Messina
21. Mother Luther Wright & the Wrongs Pink Floyd
