Arachne Kallisti

I kind of collect weird cover versions. I love them for the same reasons I love bizarre crossovers and cracktastic AUs where everyone's a gerbil. I want to see exactly how far a skilled artist can push it with a song, how far they can go with making the same tune and lyrics convey something entirely differently. Ideally, I'd want the cover version to be as different from the original as possible, and still awesome.

Top Ten: cover versions
1. Florence and the Machine - "Addicted to Love"
Turns the original's smugness into a dreamy slow build to some blazingly confident vocals and flashy piano work. Stunning.
2. Patti Smith - "Gloria"
Another slow burn here. Patti Smith has this amazing, scratchy voice with this kind of snarl to it, and this is punk as all hell.
3. Marsheaux - "Pure"
The original is sweet in a slightly twee way. This is playful, otherwordly, and lucent.
4. The Clockwork Dolls - "The Final Countdown"
It's a ridiculous, bombastic song, and therefore an ideal candidate for a flamboyant steampunk reworking with lots of violins.
5. The Raincoats - "Lola"
Having "Lola" sung by a female voice, especially one with Gina Birch's frayed round the edges DIY punk vibe, adds a whole new interesting layer of genderqueerness to the whole thing. There's a story in my head here, kind of like Tipping the Velvet updated for the punk era.
6. The Genitorturers - "I Touch Myself"
I think it was one of Kit Whitfield's essays that pointed out the D/s subtext in Twilight. Gen's cover brings out the powerplay in a song about adolescent sexual obsession. The Labyrinth vid was picked to really drive the point home. So to speak.
7. Ecstatic Frog - "On Ilkley Moor Baht 'At"
It's a techno bellydance version of a darkly funny Yorkshire folk song. How is that not awesome?
8. Tori Amos - "Raining Blood"
Tori Amos is good at covers. Really good. Turning a thrash metal anthem into something cold and creepy good.
9. Joan Jett and Paul Westerberg - "Let's Do It"
Y'know, there really is a hidden vein of punk in Cole Porter. The songs may be slick and sophisticated on the outside, but the lyrics are all about sex and drugs and rock'n'roll. I got this one off the Tank Girl soundtrack - much like the movie, it's not deep, but it is fun.
10. Johnny Cash - "Hurt"
The last song Johnny Cash ever released. It's agonisingly perfect for him. Even Trent Reznor admits that this is Johnny's song now.

( Videos under the cut )

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I mean, what do I have to do to make my journal read as feminine? Should I be talking about shoes and cooking more, or something?