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New Year's Eve: fun with cover versions.

By jstemwedel on December 31, 2007.

There are less than seven hours left in 2007 as I write this post, and as yet, my better half and I have no idea what we're doing tonight.

If we manage to get out, chances are good that a cover band may be involved.

In general, cover bands aren't really my thing, but every now and then a cover version puts a thrillingly unexpected twist on a beloved song. Here are three that I really like:

First, a dancehall version of a Tom Jones song:

Next, a ukulele cover of a Pixie's tune:

And finally, an acoustic take on Sir Mix-A-Lot:

If we happen to encounter a cover version of this caliber, we'll be very lucky indeed.

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I have been reliably informed by someone who's heard both versions that the Alvin and the Chipmunks cover of Bad Day (from the movie Alvin and the Chipmunks) is better than the original. I heard the cover as presented in the movie, and it's actually quite good. It's done a capella by the way.

Here are a few of my favorite covers found online or elsewhere:

1. "Hey Ya" Covered by Matt Weddle:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-8nkkOA_AM

2. "O Holy Night" (from Studio 60) Covered by Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews et al. (I am agnostic re: Christmas and religion, but I absolutely love this arrangement / performance!)

3. "Jeopardy Theme" (synthesized acoustic guitar) by Stephan Carroll. (I don't have a link but the original file was "jep-gtr.mp3". I can send it to you or you can hit up the original author for a copy.) He has some interesting Pink Floyd covers up currently: http://www.stephancarroll.com/music_cont.html)

By David Lauridsen (not verified) on 03 Jan 2008 #permalink

One of my favorites is the van Halen (David Lee Roth edition) cover of the old Roy Rogers signature number, Happy Trails. Done a capella BTW.