New Music Game

The Sandbox Games
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208

Can’t speak for anyone else, but I have avoided voting for songs I already know, even if I think it is the “best” song of that round.

2 Likes
209

That’s how I’ve been voting as well.

210

I haven’t been not voting for artists I know, but novel/interesting gives a couple points on the 1-10 scale in my mind. But if somebody has that perfect song by a huge artist I’m still down for voting for it.

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211

Yeah that’s how I kinda feel

212

bumping for more entries!

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A Song where the cover is better than the original

0 voters

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Crow Jane Skip James sings "Crow Jane" - YouTube
Hallelujah Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah (1984) - YouTube
Hurt Hurt - YouTube
Last Kiss J Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers - Last Kiss - YouTube
Mad World Tears For Fears - Mad World (Official Music Video) - YouTube
Tainted Love GLORIA JONES- "TAINTED LOVE" (1964) - YouTube
With a Little Help from my Friends With A Little Help From My Friends (Remastered 2009) - YouTube

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Just an FYI- the original of Hurt was Nine Inch Nails, not Hurt. Probably just an oversight on the cut and paste.

216

This will be a tough one as one of the very best covers of all time was obviously submitted. However I’m pretty familiar with both the original artist and the cover artist.

Had Crazy Mary been submitted for Pearl Jam instead of Last Kiss it would be even harder.

217

First thoughts on this round:

  • there’s only one song here that I’m not familiar with either the cover or the original (2 covers I’ve never heard), so my vote might be really simple.
  • there are a couple that I knew were covers but I had never heard the originals
  • we have 2 different covers of one of the most covered songs in history
  • at least 2 of the covers were commonly performed in a medley with another cover (Buckley combined “Hallelujah” with his cover of The Smiths’ “I Know It’s Over”; Soft Cell did a medley version of “Tainted Love” with “Where Did Our Love Go”). Interesting that neither of these entries is the medley version.
  • imo, many covers struggle to live up to the original, but based on the ones in this list that I do know, we might have a list where all of them are arguably better than the original. Nice work everyone!
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I just typed the song name and included the link, which this website tends to change to the title of the youtube video automatically. This video happens to not have the artist in the title.

I don’t make the rules!

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219

I don’t think I had heard the original “Hallelujah” before. It’s considerably worse than the covers imo

220

The original is terribly over-produced. That said, not all “Hallelujah” covers are created equal: for example, don’t check out the one by Bono on the “Tower Of Song” Leonard Cohen tribute album. :face_vomiting:

221

I’m probably being dense, but it’s not obvious to me to which submission this refers.

I see at least two entries (maybe more) that are both iconic as well as associated at least as much with the cover artist as with the original artist, so could be regarded as “one of the very best covers of all time.”

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Crow Jane - enjoyed, definitely an update to the song but also liked the original, hard to really vibe with originals that old though, gave it a nice punker rock vibe. Tempted to vote for this just for the slick megaphone brought in.
Hallelujah Bon Jovi - Good
Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley - Perhaps slightly better than Bon Jovi, on a first listen?
Last Kiss - Just not my style I suppose, not bad, was a good update from the original though
Mad World - Definitely a very good update from the original. Had no idea it wasn’t the original, they did good to remove that (what I am assuming was) early 80s synth and make it more serious
Tainted Love - Iconic, but I like the original almost as much honestly
Little Help from My Friends - Good feels, I’d say it’s better for sure, feels like what I would have liked The Beatles to be today, same vibes but without being so dated.

Hoping that @YankeeTripper is referring to mine as the best of all time, lol. I definitely feel it is.

(Bonus submission not for voting, it was my number 2 and I almost picked it out: Obadiah Parker - Hey Ya Cover - YouTube)

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223

Not better than the original, imo, but I did really like this. Better marriage of music to the lyrics, but the “cognitive dissonance” of the original is a big part of its charm.

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This comment is a little funny to me, because the Beatles version is from 1967 while Cocker’s cover is from 1969. Joe’s has definitely aged better, imo.

This will always be the “Wonder Years” theme song to me.

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Wow - did zero research on any of these songs. It gave me a vibe of somebody in the 80s mixing Jimi Hendrix and Beatles vibes retrospectively, did not realize it was essentially the same time period.

226

I see this cover come up a lot and I honestly think its overrated. The original just bops and is one of the greatest songs of thr 2000’s from my perspective

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I agree they don’t sound like they’re from the same period at all. :+1:

I’ll comment on the one cover you didn’t… :wink:

This may come across as sacrilege, but I don’t think Cash’s version of “Hurt” is objectively musically better than the original (disclaimer: I was a big NIN fan back in the day) but while one caps off a brilliant concept album, the other caps off a brilliant 71 year life in such a poignant way, it hits me in the feels every single time I hear it. The bareness of it, & then the crescendoing dissonant piano chords at the end. Cash absolutely owned this song.