Which shitty artist did most unholy, God awful abomination of a cover of a classic song?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

Poll question: Which shitty artist did most unholy, God awful abomination of a cover of a classic song?

Your choices (warning: this gets ugly....very very ugly):



James Blunt, "Where is My Mind?":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tQL2vOhzf0

John Mayer, "Free Fallin'":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20Ov0cDPZy8

Korn, "Another Brick in the Wall":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3Ki2DJfhns




You tell me, which one of these bastards deserves to be tried for war crimes in The Hague?

[edbermac]

1. William Shatner singing Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.

He makes fun of himself now but back then he was 100% serious.

[arbusto_baboso]

4. Aw, c'mon, that was pure performance art!

And for my definition of performance art, refer to the joke below:

What's the difference between performance art and standup comedy?

With performance art, nobody laughs.

[Quantess]

35. I actually liked it.

Mister Tambourine Man is even better!

[mochajava666]

82. I was going to say the exact same thing, so...Ditto.

Hearing Mr Tambourine Man by Shatner always cheers up my day. I wish he could do a Priceline commercial in that beatnik performance art style.

[bluesbassman]

2. Kid Rock - Feel Like Making Love

I shit you not. You've been warned!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZYD4BjECOc

[Common Sense Party]

63. If you'd like to hear a nice cover of that song, here you go:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNafX8U2HUA

[tango-tee]

122. Thanks for the warning. My toenails are curling.

Holy shit. I never realized anything could be so... so.... so lousy.

[SoxFan]

3. Any of Nouvelle Vague's atrocities

[AllenVanAllen]

47. I kinda' like their version of Heaven 17's

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0zk10n8-BE">Let Me Go

[SoxFan]

110. What they did to "I Melt With You" was criminal

And don't get me started on the castration of Echo & the Bunnymen!

[abq e streeter]

5. i'm sure I could probably think of dozens, but Rita Coolidge's Higher and Higher comes to mind.

I don't necessarily think of her as a shitty artist, but this one was inexcusable.

[Jade Fox]

115. I'll go with yours choice.....

That might not be the worst, but it's sure up there.

[Throd]

6. Metallica's cover of "Turn thePage" by Seger sucks rancid shark anus

[Iggo]

65. Turn the paaaaage-eee-yah!

[SoxFan]

107. Seger's version sucked to begin with

Not exactly a song that cried out for a remake

[flvegan]

7. Limp Bizkit doing "Behind Blue Eyes"

Not even going to link to it.

The only highlight, is the use of a Speak 'n Spell.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

61. Yes, the speak and spell part was a nice break from having to listen to Fred Durst.

Actually, if all of Limp Bizket's songs were done via speak and spell, that might be kinda cool.

[elehhhhna]

8. Marilyn Manson : Sweet Dreams. Suckyriffic!

[Dr. Strange]

9. Does it count if it's deliberately bad?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wM58YXp2x0

[timtom]

10. Sorry.

Winner can only be Little Richard, who stole Pat Boone's "Tutti Frutti".

(Sigh). Pat had such soul in those days.

[Yavin4]

72. Pat Boone's "Aint That A Shame"

A nice, White, Christian, heterosexual, Republican interpretation of that song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8dx0oE--VI

Get ready to rock, Teabaggers!

[muffin1]

11. Michael Bolton "Georgia On My Mind"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTbwpxtMB6Q

Or, Michael Bolton "Yesterday"
Or, Michael Bolton "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay"


:scared:

[av8rdave]

13. Michael Bolton, any sound that escapes his lips

[Initech]

28. Why should I change? He's the one who sucks!

[tango-tee]

123. Amen, brother.

Arrgh.

[jmm]

21. The Isley Brothers became my heroes when they sued him for sampling one of their songs. (n/t)

[LisaM]

12. You left off Lenny Kravitz singing "American Woman"

The main reason it sucks and that he can't cover it is because HE'S AMERICAN! It loses all of its meaning.

[LearnedHand]

14. **GASP** No! That's a WONDERFUL cover of that song

I know, I know. To each his or her own.

[LisaM]

15. I can't bear it!!!!

Of course, I love the original and I don't like Lenny's tweaks. That said, it wouldn't be the worst cover ever - if it made sense for him to sing it. It's supposed to be a Canadian reaction to American warmongering. It makes ZERO sense when a rather privileged American singer does it.

[cherokeeprogressive]

45. +++10

[GreenPartyVoter]

54. I like it too.

[mitchum]

70. It's a terrible cover of a terrible song

[BeachBaby]

16. Any cover by the Scissor Sisters.

[BlueStateGirl]

97. Their version of Comfortably Numb is vile.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

17. Mayer. Fuckin' MAYER.

I resisted listening to Mayer for a L-O-N-G time because...well, he was John Mayer, and I can't think of a bigger douchebag.

But then I listened to him, and I heard his fake-ass Dave Matthews thing (and I can't stand Dave Matthews) and thought:

"If there's one thing I like less than listening to Dave Matthews, it's listening to some little self-absorbed douchebag Dave Matthews wannabe."

Regarding his "guitar chops"...Stevie Ray did it first, and he did it BETTER.

:toast:

[Lucy Goosey]

18. Michael Bolton covered "Yesterday"

Yes, Lennon/McCartney's "Yesterday."

There should be some way to arrest him for that, I think.

[Mojambo]

19. "You Shook Me All Night Long" by Celine Dion

Don't click this link.

Don't do it.

Don't

Don't

Do

Not

Do

It.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yp4sjNdhaU

[Robeson]

22. You've got to be kidding me....

...and don't worry, there is no way I'm going to watch that one.

[Ishoutandscream2]

23. Oh my God

Wow, shocked, I tell ya!

[Schema Thing]

26. guess I can't say you didn't warn me.

[blue neen]

31. You are so right.

I saw that one time a couple of years back and thought I was having hallucinations.

Incredibly, amazingly, bad.

[RoyGBiv]

43. Thread over ...

I'm done.

Will never listen to music again.

[Radical Activist]

50. Oh my god kill me. just kill me now.

If you're a major performing artist and you want to play guitar then learn to play the fucking guitar. Don't play air-guitar like a 12 year old girl at a goddamn slumber party.

[peekaloo]

60. the masochist within me couldn't resist.

fuckin' hilarious!

[Tommy_Carcetti]

62. I can stomach listening to it more than some of the others, albiet barely...

....but watching it and seeing Celine Dion attempt to, um, strut....that was bad.

[snooper2]

73. That is in the top 3 of all time....period

end of discussion

[DevonRex]

81. I am smart enough to take your advice NOT to click on that link.

No way in HELL will I EVER click that link.

[carlyhippy]

85. Celine should have worn tennis shoes, and an outfit more like Anastacia

she could've broke an ankle and would have been taken more seriously not looking like a soccer mom......they have kind of a "Heart" sound going on there, Celine Dion just is not the heavy metal rocker chick, overall it was not all THAT bad

[Lucy Goosey]

86. That's almost so bad it's good...

...almost.

[dana_b]

96. you're right - that was vomit inducing. n/t

[SoxFan]

113. This could be the new RickRoll

[LNM]

126. We have a winner!

That was god-awful!

[lightningandsnow]

129. D:

[Zomby Woof]

20. Guns -'n- Roses doing "Knockin' On Heaven's Door"

Only because I have heard this one, and have been fortunately spared the poll results. (although the Pixies already suck, so it would be hard to ruin one of their songs)

[EastTennesseeDem]

44. +1

[Fire Walk With Me]

24. John Ashcroft really butchered the classic "Let The Eagle Soar" track.

:hide:

[NoPasaran]

25. Gail and Dale (Lawrence Welk Show) One Toke Over The Line

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye3ecDYxOkg

[mikeytherat]

66. It's a "modern spiritual."

:rofl:

mikey_the_rat

[NoPasaran]

69. I had a friend who got far enough over the line at a concert he swore he met Jesus

If that ain't spiritual I don't know what is!

[Mopar151]

92. So what's the J-man up to these days? n/t

[NoPasaran]

98. The way I heard it, being mellow. n/t

[Initech]

27. Madonna's complete fucking butchering of "American Pie".

Seriously hers is so bad it ruined the original song for me. :puke:

[Quantess]

30. The original was terrible enough to begin with.

Madonna actually managed to make it worse!

[Jade Fox]

116. Bingo!!!

What you said.

[Radical Activist]

52. I thought it was an improvement

I'm just so sick of that waaaaaay overplayed piece of boomer nostalgic crap and everyone talking about its "hidden" meaning, as though its not perfectly obvious and trite.

[mitchum]

71. That song was the first offering in the boomer nostalgic crap industry

it is tripe

[Quantess]

84. A real improvent on that song would be a moratorium to never play it again, in any form.

[WCGreen]

121. As a late stage boomer, i always thought that song just sucked...

I was born in '57 and thought it was as overly dramatic as a lot of songs.

One I really hated was Turn the Page by Bob Segar. If touring is such a bummer, then become a shoe salesman...

[BlueIris]

29. Had to go with the massacre of "Free Fallin'" from Mr. White Supremacist Genitalia.

I could not possibly hate John Mayer anymore if I tried.

[Urban Prairie]

32. Kittie-Run Like Hell-Pink Floyd cover

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLvtkb3KuRs

No!!....No!! and NOOOO!!

:puke:

[blue_roses_lib]

33. "Total Eclipse of the Heart"

by Nicki French. Absolute crap...

[JaneQPublic]

34. Dolly Parton doing "Stairway to Heaven"

For real.

[DevonRex]

68. Gotta go with that. OTOH at least she recognizes a masterpiece

when she hears one. Bless her heart. :)

[SoxFan]

111. She's been on the receiving end, too...

Whitney Houston turned the sweet "I Will Always Love You" into a ridiculous exercise in vocal histrionics.

[DevonRex]

125. I've never been able to stand Houston's voice. It's like driving

an ice pick into my eardrums. How DARE she ruin that song? Grrr.

[mwooldri]

117. Though Rolf Harris's version IMO is pretty good.

Amazingly Rolf Harris had never heard the original Led Zeppelin song before he recorded this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwlcYhZ99KQ

I like the dude a lot - talented artist all around, music, paint, etc... and he's still at it at 79.

[Orrex]

36. You're all wrong and terribly wrong.

The all-time worst cover of a classic song is Whitney Houston shrieking to Dolly Parton's I Will Always Love You, and I don't even have particularly strong feelings about Dolly's version, either.

It's not just that Whitney's extraordinary rendition is horrible--which it is; the problem is that she set the benchmark for karaoke wannabe professional singers to test their pipes, and the world is that much poorer for it.


For shame, Whitney. Shame.

[HughBeaumont]

76. I thank you for not linking to it.

That rendition is an abomination in the form of an abortion. Whitney . .. turn off the air raid siren! You're scaring the children!

[TZ]

90. I like that song.

Just because someone hits a high note or two is NOT screaming--it actually is called having RANGE. I saw her perform it live years ago pre-Bobby Brown. Very nice...I guess you don't like the Righteous Brothers "Unchained Melody"? Same kind of high notes...

[Orrex]

102. If it were just "a high note or two" I wouldn't call it screaming, and anyway I called it shrieking

In fact, I was being merciful: I could as readily have described it as four and a half minutes of a braying air-raid siren.

[donheld]

118. -199

I will always love it

[Maru Kitteh]

37. no! - I SO WIN THIS. The answer is:

Anything on

[GoneOffShore]

38. Peter Gabriel covering Paul Simon's "Boy In the Bubble"

Shut up Pete!

[XemaSab]

39. Orgy's cover of "Blue Monday"

I don't know what's sadder: making a cover that sounds just like the original, or making a cover that suckers little kids into getting your album because they think you've made something new and hip.

[Quantess]

42. That's what happened when Gwen Stefani covered "It's My Life".

Which was actually a pretty good cover, but none of the kids had even heard of the 1980s band Talk Talk.

[carlyhippy]

87. I liked Gwen Stefani's cover better than the original myself

that is one of the few songs that I think sounded better the 2nd time around.

[old mark]

40. From the past to the present- PAT BOONE singing songs by

Alice Cooper, Deep Purple and Ozzy Osborne:

http://techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=102&threadID=301741&messageID=3014514



The absolute worst versions of all these artist's work, ever, ever, ever!!!


mark

[abq e streeter]

78. been looking for an excuse to post this cover of Jay and The Techniques:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IUU7Vq3Mcg

:rofl:

[old mark]

89. Jesus wept.

Jay Procter would piss himself.
Unless he was collecting royalties, which I somehow doubt.

Thanks for the memory, I think....

:fistbump:

mark

[donheld]

119. Pat Boone should have had his lips sewn together for that.

[pokerfan]

41. David Hasselhoff - Love Me Tender

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaaFt-n61DM

[krispos42]

46. I don't dare click on a single link in this thread

:scared:

[tango-tee]

124. You're a wise man.

I clicked and regret it. Kid Rock. Arrgh.

[rcrush]

48. This thread is full of suck

I wouldn't touch any of those covers with Bigfoots Dick.

[AllenVanAllen]

49. Dream Theater's version of

Comfortably Numb

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2K-Zb-g1Xc


I don't think they're a shitty band but they really shouldn't have gone there.

[Radical Activist]

51. Britney Spears covers Satisfaction

That's what I thought of when I saw the thread title but now I think Celine Dione takes the cake.

[Bucky]

53. Marilyn Manson butchered "The KKK Took My Baby Away"

The Ramones didn't take the song seriously. No one takes Marilyn Manson seriously.

[GreenPartyVoter]

55. Some country singer taking Janis' "Piece of my Heart," and making it an upbeat mess.

[hobbit709]

56. That was Faith Hill and it makes you hurl.

[Arkansas Granny]

59. Yes, it's horrible. So much so that the first time I heard it I didn't even

recognize it right away.

[GreenPartyVoter]

101. Same here. Then all of a sudden the words started to sink in and my jaw dropped open in shock. It

was definitely a surreal experience!

[carlyhippy]

88. Sammy Hager covered that song too, it was not too bad, but no one can top Janis

:)

[Mopar151]

94. Definitely the bottom of worst.

She confessed that the producers would NOT let her listen to the original first.

[GreenPartyVoter]

100. I wonder what she thought when she finally did hear Janis' version?

[GreenPartyVoter]

104. Wikipedia says that after she heard Joplin's version it influenced her and she sang it with

a more rock tone to it.

[hobbit709]

57. Andy Williams singing Hey Jude.

[HughBeaumont]

74. Makes it even worse that Andy's a wingding of the worst kind.

[asdjrocky]

58. Rolling Stones, Ain't Too Proud To Beg-

Worse guitar solo ever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFshYgyTrd4

[abq e streeter]

80. As a big Stones fan, I gotta agree...and their cover of Just My Imagination may have been even worse

Of course the OP said shitty bands; I don't know if we disagree on this, I think the Stones have been anything but shitty for most of their career, but they should have never attempted to do Temps songs; just mangled em.

[asdjrocky]

105. I'm a fan too.

I've seen them four times, the first time at Winterland in 72 I think, I was all of twelve, my first concert ever, but yeah, all the Motown stuff that they tried is terrible. Mangled is a perfect word.

I say give me the real Funk Brothers any day of the week for Motown.

[radiclib]

93. You think that's bad?

This one was actually ATONEMENT for what they did to MY GIRL. :puke:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toVfUMbWILw

[Iggo]

64. Disturbed -- Shout (the Tears For Fears one)

I didn't even like the original. Then I heard the cover and it was so bad I decided to love the original just so I could hate the gawd-awful cover.

[hamsterjill]

67. If You Could Read My Mind

I don't know who it is, but some female artist (or group) has done a remake of the Gordon Lightfoot song, and she butchers it! I heard it on the radio the other day and could not believe anything could be done so badly!

Feel free to educate me if anyone here knows who the female singer is, so that I can avoid her at all cost in the future.

[Yavin4]

75. American Idol Winner, Taylor Hicks, "Living for the City"

Thread over. I win.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5Hgt5meGHg

[HughBeaumont]

77. Far Corporation - "Stairway to Heaven"

A studio-created band by the guy who made Milli Vanilli. Unbelievable.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Far_Corporation

Honorable Mention -

Unkle Kracker - "Drift Away". That's gotta be the most sucktastic piece of garbage next to Kid Rock, who he was hatched from.

[LeftinOH]

79. Whitney Houston's "I will always love you". It makes my head hurt.

[mochajava666]

83. I'm sorry to feel this way, but I don't like Superstition

done by Stevie Ray Vaughn. I always get a lot of shit about that comment.

Best remake? "All Along the Watchtower" by Hendrix

[SoxFan]

112. "Watchtower" is a remarkable song

I've heard versions by Dylan, Hendrix, U2, and an obscure janglepop band from New Jersey called Winter Hours. All did a nice job and gave it a different spin.

[racaulk]

91. Fergie covers Heart's song "Barracuda"

You know, if you're going to do a cover of a Heart song, you need to have the pipes to pull it off. Fergie may be able to dance, but she is nothing close to Ann Wilson when it comes to the quality of her singing. There is just absolutely no comparison.

Hearing that tripe makes my ears bleed.

:puke:

Edited to add this link. You're been warned.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuaRH8sSXhM

[HughBeaumont]

109. Wow, that was . . .. well, that was bad.

Only adequate at the beginning, massively off key near the end. And WHY the G'N'R nod at the end? SO lame.

[jmowreader]

95. The 69 Eyes absolutely TRASHED GG Allin's "Gimme Some Head"

Whether you think GG Allin sucks or not...well, these guys suck 10 times as hard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCImlPyPXg8

[Mopar151]

99. How about a really good cover to get the taste out of your mind?

Waitin' for the Bus/ Jesus Just left Chicago by "Spike and the Impalers" (Don Rivers radio show side project)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IgSiX2KDxM

Bonus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAbb_MzHfOQ

Grand funk bonus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M9E7BsbHd0 1997! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zflwb4YgAUM

[SoxFan]

108. Here's another good one

Radiohead's version of "Ceremony":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xliP7OdBtM

[GreenPartyVoter]

103. Here's a list I found of 12 more. (Well, some have already been mentioned, but others I

didn't know existed and are cringe-worthy even before listening to them.)

[Skittles]

106. Gwen Stefani "It's My Life"

:puke:

[namahage]

114. "My Generation" by Hilary Duff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvC6jDrxT-U

[Tabasco_Dave]

120. Velvet Revolver - No More No More

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWG7D9dJjj0

[graywarrior]

127. I've never heard John Mayer's version of Free Fallin' but just the idea of it pisses me off

[KamaAina]

128. Roseanne, The Star-Spangled Banner

:scared: