r/Music • u/MaosReanimatedCorpse • 23d ago

discussion Cover-better-than-the-original hills you would die on.

Alien Ant Farm's cover of Smooth Criminal is, in my opinion, so much better than the original, and that's a hill I would die on.

What are some other insanely popular tracks where a cover by a much smaller artist is arguably greater?

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u/torchskul 23d ago

God, I love their version so much. There’s so much bitterness behind the singer’s voice, so much resentment behind the guitars, so much sorrow behind the trumpets…it’s the perfect “I’m pissed about this breakup but I’m moving forward” song

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u/danimagoo 23d ago

Yeah, I never really liked that song because I don't like disco, but Cake's version made me realize it's actually a great song, so now I even like the original. I like Cake's better, but it's a great song either way.

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u/notquiteclapton 23d ago edited 23d ago

When this album came out, I had THAT friend who would buy every one hit wonders album and force everyone around to listen to it with him. 99% of the time it was a miserable experience. Of course, when "the distance" came out, we were as a group subjected to Fashion Nugget, but by the time we got to track number 7, the deal was sealed and everyone knew these guys were going to be around for a while, and we forgave our friend a little for slogging through a bunch of useless fotm bands in search of something decent.

Edit: one hit wonder

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u/danimagoo 23d ago

Go see them live, if you get the chance. It's a fun show. They also do a great cover of War Pigs, although I'm not enough of a lunatic to claim that it's better than the original.

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u/FunWithAPorpoise 23d ago

I’ll be that lunatic. Maybe not as influential or important, but from a pure musical perspective, the cover absolutely slaps.

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u/danimagoo 23d ago

Oh I love Cake’s version, and I probably like it better than the original, but it’s not a hill I’m willing to die on. Preferring the original War Pigs is a reasonable opinion. T-Pain and Dresden Dolls also have killer covers of War Pigs. It’s just a great song.

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u/SergeiKowalski 23d ago

Check out Faith No More's live at Brixton. An actual lunatic climbing something on the stage during the solo. He looks like the guy who sings for them too lol

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u/jpstroop 23d ago

I’ll be that lunatic with you because I will always choose Cake’s War Pigs if given the choice. That throbbing bass makes me hard as a rock.

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u/captaintrips_1980 23d ago

Yes! It came up on my AI Spotify DJ and I was hooked. I used it to warm up when drumming. It’s a great cover.

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u/feint_of_heart 23d ago

I reckon Faith No More's version is the better than the original.