[Music]
even musicians have some quirky
favorites that you have to hear to
believe
welcome to watchmojo and today we're
counting down our picks for the top 10
unlikely cover songs
[Music]
for this list we're looking at covers
from the last bands you'd expect
we're basing our choices on a mix of
unusual musical pairings
the major changes made to each song and
how the cover artists inject their
personalities into the mix
if you like what you're hearing be sure
to check out the full song at the link
[Music]
below
[Music]
number 10 wichita lineman by rem
originally by glenn campbell
rem became huge stars in the college
rock circuit with their lyrically
powerful take on alternative rock
wichita lineman however is a country hit
written by jimmy webb about the working
man
which was quite a departure for the band
since much of rem's music on monster has
allowed rock energy
their quiet approach to webb's song is
the most surprising part
[Music]
this said the track's exploration of a
man's desires and struggles is a great
match to the stories they were telling
at the time
with michael stipe's intimate vocals rem
gave wichita linemen an update
even glenn campbell could enjoy
number nine cesudio by old dirty bastard
originally by phil collins
[Music]
in 2001 there was enough demand from the
hip-hop community to make an entire
album of phil collins covers
[Music]
despite his major stylistic differences
from collins old dirty bastard tackles
cecilia with a surprisingly smooth tone
i was thinking about dropping this
single on the trucks
rather than a straightforward cover odb
creates an entirely new rap
while another vocalist reinterprets the
chorus to fit the times
even the primitive vocoder sounds of the
era helped transition the upbeat dance
track
into the world of hip-hop
sounds around
though odb is certainly going wild with
his boasting lyrics
he pulls back just enough to avoid
feeling out of place on cesudio
[Music]
number eight faith by limp bizkit
originally by george michael
oh i guess it would be nice if i
could touch your body for their debut
album lim bizkit decided to expand the
possibilities of new metal by covering
george michael's faith
the band stripped their sound down to
rhythmic guitars
while fred durst offered surprisingly
soft vocals
this changed in the chorus however where
durst howled out every repetition of
faith
painfully while the guitars got equally
grimy
the ending was particularly harsh as
fred groaned so hard it sounded like he
coughed from it
their version however has amassed over
22 million views on youtube
pretty good for a counterfeit though it
couldn't sound farther from the original
track
faith was the only single on limp
bizkit's debut to chart
[Applause]
number seven always on my mind by pet
shop boys
pop standard
[Music]
to honor elvis's legacy on a live
tribute show pet shop boys brought their
synth styling to a dance version of
always on my mind
[Music]
[Applause]
their take was so well received that the
duo recorded it and quickly had a hit
though the song had been covered
endlessly since its release
it had rarely ventured outside of
conventional pop and country
pet shop boy's additional harmonies and
electronic undercurrents
also helped the song feel less cookie
cutter than other renditions
as strange as it was for pet shop boys
to approach always on my mind
they completely reinvented it
number six pride in the name of love by
clavilles and cole
originally by you too after gaining fame
through party hits like gonna make you
sweat
covering youtube was an unexpected move
for the brains behind cnc music factory
[Music]
credited to clavilus and cole the duo
had the added challenge of remixing
pride as a techno track rather than just
adding a dance beat
[Music]
the song's tempo and industrial drums
gave the original a futuristic edge but
their use of original vocal melodies and
guitar tracks worked surprisingly well
considering the change of pace
the cover even managed to move over
halfway up the billboard hot 100 chart
at the time
despite its heavy subject matter
[Music]
number five my way by sid vicious
popularized by frank sinatra
[Music]
sid vicious usually critiques culture
through actions but his version of my
way
focuses on the music itself
vicious spends an entire verse putting
on a voice to mock the nature of frank
sinatra's original
sid also makes tons of silly faces and
poses during the live version in the
great rock and roll swindle
[Music]
but when the drums and guitars kick in
the song turns into a gritty punk rock
cover
that could start a mosh pit vicious even
adds a line about killing a cat
both parodying and updating my way sid's
covergirl is a lot to take in
number four africa by weezer originally
by toto
[Music]
it took a lot of tweeting but a 14 year
old weezer fan convinced the band to
cover toto's hit song
africa
while rivers cuomo and company stayed
pretty faithful to the original track
they gave the synthesizers and drums a
loud update
weezer gave their own spin to the
keyboard solo and then brought weird al
and his accordion out for good measure
[Music]
this wasn't just a live one-off either
they even released the cover as a single
instead of using a banned photo however
weezer framed the incendiary tweet as
their artwork
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number three the sound of silence by
disturbed
originally by simon garfunkel
[Music]
with decades of screaming and thrashing
behind them disturbed took a soft turn
when they remade a simon and garfunkel
classic
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though their cover of the sound of
silence was undoubtedly louder
disturbed never went into all-out rock
singer david draymond instead used his
commanding shouts to make the song's
climax more intense
with pounding drums and an orchestra the
band also gave the track an
epic feeling without dishonoring what it
stands for along with praise from paul
simon
the cover has remained the band's
highest performing single on the
billboard hot 100.
while unexpected disturbed showed their
tender side on the sound of silence
number two i can't get no satisfaction
by devo
originally by the rolling stones
the rift to the rolling stone
satisfaction was so iconic
that devo cut it out when they remade
the song and replaced the main hooks
with angular melodies and off-kilter
takes of the old vocals
if that wasn't robotic enough the
percussion popped with funky symbols and
a mechanical repetition
quirky delivery was all part of devo's
method of using a universally known song
and deconstructing it
though it was weird enough that devo's
label worried mick jagger wouldn't
approve
mick was reportedly dancing by the end
of his first listen
turning satisfaction upside down was a
risk that paid off amazingly for devo
[Music]
before we unveil our number one pick
here are a few honorable mentions
stairway to heaven by dolly parton
originally by led zeppelin
and she's buying a stairway
to heaven i heard it through the
grapevine by the slits
popularized by gladys knight and marvin
gaye
[Music]
sweet child of mine by sheryl crow
originally by guns n roses
[Applause]
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number one hurt by johnny cash
originally by
nine inch nails i hurt myself
today when trent resner heard johnny
cash wanted to cover hurt
he thought the idea was a cheap gimmick
cash however stripped the song down to
guitar piano and vocals
to focus on the lyrics i focus
on the pain
[Music]
johnny's vocals are rugged and almost
seem to fall apart at times
as he fleshes out how sad the story is
each chorus is heartbreaking as cash
ramps up the intensity of his
[Music]
arrangements
mark romanek's video for the track not
only reflects on johnny's entire career
but also just how fitting the words have
become to him personally
cash's reimagining of hurt was so moving
that reznor believed it wasn't his song
anymore
i would find
a way do you agree with our picks
let us know in the comments and hey if
you're a fan of the song playing right
now
be sure to check out the music video for
it right here