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.
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.
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.
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. 
I’ll comment on the one cover you didn’t… 
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.
Sort of agreed, but I love it for that specific reason. He’s not trying to be “technically accurate”, his voice is consistently just a bit flat and has a crackle that is really indicative of his old age, and I’m sure he was aware of himself being flat but was using that intentionally. The way he holds his throat and keeps the tone nearly at a whisper for much of it really hits. I liked how he made it just prior to his death, which he was fairly sure was imminent, under a label that was letting him just record anything he wanted instead of controlling what would be allowed.
(I’m not trying to argue for points here - if we should be more hush-hush about our choices before votes then I’ll be more quiet in the future).
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I think the thing about Cash’s cover is it is so well known that now when Trent Reznor plays the song some people think he is covering Cash and not the other way around.
My biggest problem this round is I am familiar with either the original, the cover or both of every song.
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Thoughts after a first or second listen:
- imo these are all solid covers, where the originals are all quality songs, too. I realized I had also not seen videos for some of these songs before.
- “Crow Jane”: had never heard of either, really enjoyed. Samantha Fish rocks. Nice touch with megaphone.
- “Hallelujah”: Original had way too much 80s production but is a brilliant poem. we have the two main branches of covers represented here: the earnest Bon Jovi version seems from the John Cale branch while Buckley’s is more raw.
- “Hurt” - comments above
- “Last Kiss” - agree this is a good update sonically. Eddie Vedder’s vocal fits the lyrics much better than the clean original, imo, but not sure Eddie could have made it in the 50s/60s, so might just be the times.
- “Mad World” - I’m a fan of the 80s sound & having depressing lyrics over dancey synths, but some of those synth fills are cringey. Roland’s inexplicable dancing in the video while Curt sings is…interesting. similar to the “Hey Ya” cover, Gary Jules strips off that ‘cognitive dissonance’ to reveal a sad ballad
- “Tainted Love” - had never heard the original. Soft Cell emphasizing the “1-and” in the vocal pauses with the bass, snare & hand claps (?) is what really makes the cover, which doesn’t sound as dated as some of the other early 80s songs in these lists.
- “With a Little Help From My Friends” - this was the other song I thought YT might mean by “one of the very best covers”
Keeping with how I’m voting in this game, my vote was simple.
Im just gonna throw this out there because it seems like people think well known - i have never heard of the song ‘Hurt’ before. Cash’s version or NIN version. 
I think you’re also the same guy who has never seen Star Wars.
Its not my fault I was introduced to the series by seeing Episode 1 in theaters at Shawn G’s birthday party.
My son was a big fan of the 2nd trilogy as a kid. He had a Lego figure of Quigon when we were traveling from LA to SF when he was really little and kept screaming in his car seat “Quigon’s Hair!” At full volume every time he knocked off his hair and lost it in his car seat. It was not a fun trip. And Lego hair is not easy to find in a car.
Full disclosure, I saw Episode 1 when it came out and liked Jar JarBinks. I saw most of episode 2 on dvd a few years later. I then saw the original episode 4 in 2012 I think. Thats about it for me.
Bump for more votes. I accidentally ended this poll early today, so looks like we have 2 more hours
Who do you think you are, the CAS?
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Not sure exactly when I stumbled upon Samantha Fish but I liked her instantly when she came up on YouTube for me. Think it was around the time the pandemic stated.
I asked my kids what song to submit and my sons first choice was Jimi Hendrix All Along The Watch Tower but his second was Hurt. I think Hurt by Cash is one of the most iconic crossover covers of the past 20 years and figured someone else would submit it.
My daughter suggested I will Always love you, but while it’s an iconic song, it’s not one I’m particularly fond of. Nothing against it, just not a favorite of mine.
I liked the Samantha Fish version but I also liked the original a lot so I was conflicted and didn’t vote for it.
YT winner two weeks in a row!
Many players earn something on the scoreboard this week too. Hmm looks like the mod struck out this week again! 
I’ll post the next topic sometime later today and allow only til Friday early AM to submit.
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I liked the Samantha Fish cover. I hadn’t heard of the original either, so that steered my vote.
I nominated Mad World. I was actually debating on nominating a Richard Cheese cover of a heavy metal or rap song, but based on entries of previous rounds, I don’t think anyone would vote for it. It would have been more for the LOLs (he has a lounge version of Cardi Bs song WAP that popped up in my recommended playlist that had me keeled over laughing).
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Mad World was an interesting one. The cover was one of the few songs I hadn’t heard, possibly the only one of the songs submitted that I didn’t. But I must be getting old because the 80s synth bands is disliked back in the day now bring a nostalgic reminder of HS & College and I actually preferred the original on that one.