Barstool Personalities Answer The Question: What Is Your Favorite Cover Song? (Bonus: My Personal Top 5)
This all started as most random thoughts do, with a Barstool Chicago Snake Draft debate. The topic was guilty pleasures, and one of the categories was song. I made my pick of Strong Enough by Sheryl Crow, an absolute banger, but some people would be embarrassed to get caught singing along to at a red light, thus it being a guilty pleasure (check out the full draft here).
Anyway, a stoolie sent me this version of HAIM covering it, which I never heard before he sent it and immediately loved. I also have a very funny memory to my roommate in Philly coming back from a HAIM show he got asked to go to and when asked how it was replied "good, but I had no idea this was a women's band going in." Always found that one funny.
Anyway, that got me to thinking ... what are some of my favorite covers, as well as the people we work with.
Here's my Top 5 (judge all you want)
1 - Cruisin - Huey Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow
I still have never seen the movie Duets in which this appears, and I doubt I ever will … ehhh maybe one day. But I'll never forget that in about 7th grade the trailer for this movie started making it's way on TV and it featured this song and I immediately went to my family computer to illegally download it and it's been my favorite song ever since. Obviously on a certain day Levels can jump into the top especially in the summers of 2012-2016 when you were out every weekend dancing and romancing with your best v-neck on, but if given 1 song to listen to the rest of my life, this would be it no questions asked. I just love it. Very soothing, very well done. My top pick forever and ever, judge all you want.
2- Landslide - Dixie Chicks
I may have heard this version more often than the original as it seems to have gotten more radio airplay than the original. Just a banger. All time terrific song anyway, and this is a phenomenal version. Easy Top 5 for me.
3- Friend Of The Devil - Counting Crows
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I'm admittedly not a Dead Head, despite working for Big Cat and being a big fan of Luke and Bill Walton. So to be fair, I may have heard this song like 1 time when I fired up a best of Grateful Dead spotify playlist to give them a shot on a drive home after Big Cat said he was going to a show a few summers back. I went down a rabbit hole of Howard Stern show musical performances (of which there are a ton) and found this version from a band I always liked. I stand by (and Dead Heads don't kill me) this is better than the original version. Just absolutely love this one. They crush it.
4- Fight For Your Right To Party - Coldplay
I'll never forget the first time I heard this. It circulated on Twitter the night MCA of The Beastie Boys died.
What resonated to me the most seeing this was how musicians more than any other industry seems to have a respect for its peers. People who rap are inspired by Blues and like pop ballads, hardcore rockers respect rap etc etc. You never would have expected certain musicians to adore others the way they do. All of that seems to be even more amplified when someone dies. Musicians honor them with tributes or covers and they are all so perfectly done. This one was just unreal for me. My cousins grew up loving the Beastie Boys and although they were a little ahead of my time, I listened to them here and there just because they loved them so much, so I obviously knew Fight For Your Right. Coldplay gives a stunning version and was a beautiful way to honor MCA. Just a fantastic version.
5- I Hope I Don't Fall In Love With You - Hootie And The Blowfish
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I didn't seek this out but in a mass downloading of songs in college when it felt like it was OK to admit you liked Hootie and The Blowfish again. To clarify … Hootie and The Blowfish took the world by storm when they arrived on the scene and as a young kid getting into music of your own for the first time … Hootie became one of my first favorite bands. A lot of other kids my age too. Then it felt like you had to hide that you liked them rather quickly, they became a punchline. Until college when people would fire up music and there was a "oh you like Hootie too" and almost a freeing of the chains that constricted us for the past 7-8 years. Anyway, I downloaded this version and loved the story behind it that they used to play it on the bus and vans touring around early on. I'm lucky enough to see them perform it live twice, and i just love it. Also something charming about the story of the song falling for a girl you see from a distance at a bar, something I feel we've all done too often.
Honorable Mention
Crash - Stevie Nicks
All time favorite artist performing an all time favorite song. Fucking legendary.
Here's some responses from the people I work with on their favorite covers. A ton of stuff i had never heard before, and definitely liked. Others I completely passed on, but hey that's music … everyone's got their own taste. Off we go …
Dave Portnoy
Mad World - Adam Lambert
"One of the best vocals I ever heard"
PFT
All Along The Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
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"Heard it for the first time in Forrest Gump. It's the perfect soundtrack for army helicopters landing in the Vietnam War. It was so good Dylan changed how he performed his own song."
BIG T
What Hurts The Most - Rascal Flatts
God Bless The Broken Road - Rascal Flatts
Tommy Smokes
Closer - Boyce Avenue and Sarah Hyland
"Love when a cover takes a song from one genre and makes it completely different. Also Sarah Hyland (Haley from Modern Family) was a huge childhood crush of mine and I would like to marry her. (Even though I couldn't think of her name on The Dozen)."
Titus
The Promise - Sturgill Simpson
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"Took a synth-pop classic, made it his own (and better than the original), and threw it smack dab in the middle of the best country album of at least the last 25 years. Legend shit."
Cons
All Along The Watchtower - Dave Matthews Band
"All Along The Watchtower by Dave Matthews Band. First time I heard it was senior year of high school when a friend burned a DMB cd for me. Driving around in my cars with the windows down when Dave hits the first “All along the watchtower…” in that gravely voice felt like freedom."
Brandon Walker
Nothing Compares To You - Chris Cornell
Chaps
Lollipop - Framing Hanley
Annika
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"It’s my favorite just cause he’s electric and that song specifically showed his vocal range and he added his own twist."
Clem
The Glory Of Love - New Found Glory
"A Newfound Glory has three albums called From The Screen To Your Stereo that are exclusively covers of hit songs from 80s/90s movies. There are so many gems but my favorite is The Glory Of Love that Peter Cetera from Chicago originally wrote and was featured at the end of Karate Kid. The original is a classic but the cover is a jam like so many slow songs that get remixed with rock."
Spider
Smooth Criminal - Alien Ant Farm
"It's nearly impossible to cover Michael Jackson but these guys put their own spin on it and nailed it.
Honorable mentions: Darius Rucker's Wagon Wheel is way better than the original, same with Call Me the Breeze by Lynyrd Skynyrd"
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Reags
Kiss Me - New Found Glory
"Pop Punk is the best music out there"
Into The Mystic - The Wallflowers
"Shoutout American Wedding, great trilogy"
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - Bruce Springsteen
"Bruce !!!!!"
Kelly Keegs
Will You Love Me Tommorrow (Will You Still Love Me Tommorrow) - Taylor Swift
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"It's hard to pick a favorite but Taylor Swift's version of "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" by Carole King is absolutely at the top of my list. She performed it in an iconic black lace bodysuit at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame ceremony for Carole and it gives me chills to this day. I'd say I like it better than the original, but I'd never disrespect Royalty like that."
White Sox Dave
Angel from Montgomery - Bonnie Raitt
"My favorite cover of all time is sang by the woman with the single greatest voice of all time: Bonnie Raitt covering Angel From Montgomery by John Prine"
One - Johnny Cash
"A close second is Johnny Cash covering One by U2 - straight acoustic and it’s maybe the most beautiful song in his entire arsenal of beautiful songs."
Honorable mentions:
Bold as Love by John Mayer
Also this smoking hot red head covering landslide for obvious reason
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never change dave … never change.
Mike Katic
Hurt - Johnny Cash
"My favorite cover is Johnny Cash’s cover of the song ‘Hurt’. I think it’s so good because I grew up listening to Johnny Cash and I still love listening to his songs but this song was so good and meaningful because it came at the later years of his life and every line and word has a story within itself."
Vibbs
Free Fallin - John Mayer
"It might be blasphemy, but this version is better than Petty's and I'm the biggest Petty guy there is."
Klemmer
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - Devo
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"The first time I heard this song was in the movie Casino. It captures everything falling apart and is almost an anxiety attack in song form. Weird way to say I like a song but I love that movie so much and it brings me back to that enjoyment every time I hear it."
Mintz
Ride Me High - Widespread Panic
"The energy in that song hooked me on Panic at my 1st show in the summer of 2006 in Memphis.
200+ shows & 19 years later they still got me by the nuts."
Kate
Nothing Compares 2 U” - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Robbie Fox
'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' - Tom Petty/Prince/Jeff Lynne/Steve Winwood/RNR HoF Band
"This is probably my favorite cover/guitar solo ever, but I would also shout out Oasis doing 'I Am The Walrus' - and an obscure pick: DMA'S doing 'Believe' by Cher"
Pat
Your Love by Kelly Clarkson
"Every time this song comes on it's immediate good vibes. Reminds me of drinking in the backyard on a hot summer's day. You can't hear it and not be in a good mood."
and finally
Cullinane
Nothing Else Matters - Miley Cyrus
"Miley Cyrus - Nothing Else Matters fucking rules."
(Shoutout to Cullinane for this response to an email I sent to him and Kirk thinking Kirk may not always check his email, and Cullinane would just ask him)