And don’t get cute and do songs people don’t know are covers like I Will Always Love You or Torn
There used to be this guy who would always do these really unique remixes and mashups of different songs that you would never think would work, but they were always really amazing.
He would upload them to his YouTube account during the 2010s, but he seems to have disappeared. I’m pretty sure he went by Tae-K and his account was something like TKRmx?
The most memorable ones for me were a mashup of Wale with the 90’s X-men theme song and Ella Fitzgerald with Wiz Khalifa.
Edit: Oh shit NVM, found it!: X-men+Wale
There was this other guy who made an 8-bit remix of Danger Mouse’s Grey album, but I can’t remember his name. It also seems to have disappeared.
Hurt by Johnny Cash - much better than the NiN version, to the point that Trent Reznor basically said “yea, it’s his song now, he nailed it”.
And then I have some more controversial takes…
-Faith by Limp Bizkit (instead of George Michael). Yes, I know, but seriously, it slaps.
-99 Red Balloons by Goldfinger.
-Gin and Juice by The Gourds.
Johnny Cash did a good job with “Hurt”
Trent Reznor himself admitted that it’s Cash’s song now.
And Cash had been skeptical about covering it.
Good for anyone who likes that version, but I could never get into it. It is okay, but will always pale in comparison to the raw emotions of the original, in my opinion.
I dunno, I think Cash is just as rawly emotional, it’s just a different expression of a slightly different emotion. Reznor is expressing bleak despair in the midst of a Downward Spiral of self abuse, Cash is expressing bleak regret bearing the weight of decades of decisions.
Maybe it’s just because I have a soft spot for old, tough men expressing vulnerability, but
Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I am still right here
.
What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
hits way more raw coming from an old guy.
Cash’s version has the same emotion but it’s coming from a completely different place.
I recently learned that the guitar on the original is actually a synth, blew my mind
NiN has Something I Can Never Have for the feels. Give Johnny’s ghost this one.
I think it’s differently good but still prefer the original. I think there’s something more compelling in the arrangement and orchestration of the original.
I’m not saying you’re wrong but I do think the love of this cover is one of the most insane popular opinions in all of music. I will die on the hill that if it was anyone other than the man in black, everyone would agree.
It sounds so, so bad to me. People say you can really hear the hurt in his voice but he sounds no different than any old man who used to sing but hasn’t kept up the practice. It’s warbly and honestly sounds like shit. The instrumentation is equally boring
People (not you) say there’s more emotion than the original but Trent Reznor sounds like he’s actively going through withdrawals, expressing several different emotions as the song evolves.
Sorry for the rant. I’ll cap it off by saying it’s equally dumb to me that the song is about pain and regret but Cash’s music video just…aggrandizes his life with a montage of classic Johnny Cash moments.
You’ve just said what I’ve been thinking all these years. Except the video. I think that might be why people praised it. They knew he didn’t have long to live and the video is pretty heartbreaking when you think he might have chose the song because he was bitter about losing everything he ever worked for.
IMHO, the cover sucked but I do think it was from the heart.
I went back and watched the video and ehhh I dunno, it’s footage of old shows and concerts mixed with some really on-the-nose imagery. Though I don’t disagree with your final point.
I haven’t listened to it in awhile and I forgot the mix is pretty bad, too lol
Social Distortion did a good job with Johnny Cash.
Pretty much any song he covered ended up being the definitive version.
Yeah…but only because he’s Johnny Cash. No way the cover was getting radio play if it was just some random old guy who recorded it
He actually wasn’t an old guy his entire career.
Yeah and he was making good music until he became one
Mercy seat and In my life are masterpieces in the original but his renditions are immaculate. It’s something about his low emotion, speaking from a position of looking back at the events rather than being emotional and in them like the originals.
Also Johnny Cash with “The Mercy Seat”
It’s a toss up between Cave and Cash for me. Both are fantastic songs.
Faith No More’s cover of War Pigs is so much better than the original Black Sabbath version.
I’d say it’s hard to beat original War Pigs, but T-Pain’s version comes close.
Kelly Clarkson covered Taylor Swift’s Better Man in her TV show a couple of years ago and it was an entirely different song. Like she felt it in her bones. She elevated it.
Postal Service turned Such Great Heights from a low-fi, indie-folk coffee shop vibe (originally done by Iron & Wine) into 100% millennial optimism pop.
Hilary & Hayley Duff covered Our Lips Are Sealed and I’m just kidding that one was actually terrible.
Iron & Wine’s version is the cover - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Such_Great_Heights#Track_listing
Wow haha thanks for the info!
- Sinead O’Connor’s version of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U”.
- Joe Jackson’s version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh, Well”.
- The Ramones version of the Spider-man TV show theme song.
Ramones version of California Sun is also better than the original
All along the watchtower covered by Hendrix.
All Along the Watchtower covered by Bear McCreary (Battlestar Galactica).
Cool but disagree
There’s no way you actually like Dylan’s version better. It’s shit compared to hendrix’s version.
Even Dylan preferred Hendrix’s version.
Axel F
That frog lives rent free in my head.
Smooth Criminal - Alien Ant Farm
Came here for this
Thank you, cultured netizen
Same
Alien Ant Farm - Smooth Criminal
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Gimme More (SID) [Machinae Supremacy covering Britney Spears]. MaSu’s vibe strips away the hyperclean polish to deliver something much closer to the raunchy, voyeuristic feel of the song’s lyrics. The fact that they’re a really good band also helps.
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F*ck Tha Police [Dope covering NWA]. I’ll admit, this one is just personal preference. Please don’t crucify me.
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Battle Hymn [Beast in Black covering Manowar].
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Down with the Sickness [Ai Mori & Violet Orlandi covering Disturbed].
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Army of the Night [Amaranthe covering Powerwolf].
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Ballroom Blitz [3TEETH covering The Sweet].
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Got The Time [Anthrax covering Joe Jackson].
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Bring The Noise [Anthrax on the track with Public Enemy]. Going back to the original is like driving a Ford Model T.
It comes close:
- Breaking the Law [Fightstar covering Judas Priest]. Halford is too iconic to beat, but Fightstar’s apocalyptic world-weariness lends itself well to their take on the song, as opposed to the original’s unserious attitude.
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ZOMG, no one has mentioned this version of What’s up by 4 non blondes
Its sung by he-man and friends and is catchy AF, even in 2026
This was my introduction to this song, and for the longest time I thought it was original content.
homelander looking disgusted at “original content”.jpg
Cradle Of Filth - Sleepless, cover of Anathema - Sleepless.
I am an enjoyer of Cradle Of Filth, but objectivly, their version has more color.
Black Magic Woman – Santana. Original by Fleetwood Mac.
Touch and Go – Emerson Lake and… POWELL. Cover of an old folk song called: Lovely Joan
Blinded by the LIght – Manfred Mann original by Bruce Springsteen.
Alone – Heart… Can’t remember the original artist off hand.
It may be a trite answer for this question, but I still gotta go with Gary Jules’ cover of Mad World by Tears for Fears from the Donnie Darko soundtrack. I appreciate both versions, but the cover is truly haunting. I also heard that version first, and I was at the right age when Donnie Darko came out for it to make a lasting impression on me.
Also by the Imagine Dragons version was great.
For me it’s a toss-up between the Gary Jules cover and the Alex Parks cover.
