What covers top Alien Ant Farm's "Smooth Criminal?"

[Skel1ingt0n]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDl9ZMfj6aE

... this has to be one of the absolute best, right? The MJ song is already damn near perfect - and it's Michael - freaking - Jackson, no one should be able to cover this song and do it a modicum of justice. But somehow, AAF makes this semi-one-hit-wonder and just knocks it out of the park. Faster, full of energy, and the vocals are completely different but work great.

 

[SocksAndShoes]

Jimi Hendrix - All Along The Watchtower

Tool covering No Quarter is one of my personal favs

 

[aBarreras]

johnny cash - hurt

 

[platakul]

Bizkit

https://youtu.be/l-EdCNjumvI

 

[GSG Flash]

I hate AAF's cover of Smooth Criminal, it completely ruins the song for me.

 

[Slayven]

Gob's Paint it Black

 

[Dishwalla]

Quite a few I imagine, since the song isn't that good.

 

[Hindl]

The Band - Atlantic City
Steve Miller - Blinded by the Light

 

[Shredderi]

johnny cash - hurt

Yep.

 

[robotzombie]

I love it, but Chris Cornell beat them with his own MJ cover:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xW25VB1Mpw

and speaking of greatest covers and Chris Cornell, here is "I Will Always Love You"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOvH5LSH9Sw

 

[Cody_D165]

Disturbed's take on The Sound of Silence is pretty damn good.

I also was always a fan of Killswitch Engage's cover of Holy Diver but Dio's original will obviously never be topped.

 

[Netherscourge]

Stevie Ray Vaughan's cover of Voodoo Chile

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF2ZqlPNuqU

EPIC

 

[collige]

Rare Essence - Pieces of Me is my go-to pick

 

[Machine]

"Superstar" by the Carpenters blows away the original version by Delaney and Bonnie

 

[SpaceWolf]

Alien Ant Farm's Smooth Criminal is appalling, though.

 

[Ferrio]

I hate AAF's cover of Smooth Criminal, it completely ruins the song for me.

Ya, I came in here thinking we were going to talk about the worst covers.

 

[hoverboarder]

No Use for a Name - Turning Japanese

Alkaline Trio - The Metro

System of a Down - Shame on a Nigga

Reel Big Fish - Take on Me

Dynamite Hack - Boyz in the Hood

Ben Folds - Bitches Ain't Shit

Cake - War Pigs

Smash Mouth - Why Can't We Be Friends

Just a few that come to mind.

 

[Pop-O-Matic]

Nirvana - The Man Who Sold The World
Quiet Riot - Cum On Feel The Noize
Jay Z - 99 Problems

 

[*Splinter]

Johnny Cash - Hurt
William Shatner - Common People
Nirvana - The Man Who Sold The World
and whatever the 4th entry was in that Cracked article, probably.

(Those 3 are seriously good, although the finale of

Spoiler

Rick and Morty

gave me a newfound appreciation for the original Hurt (Nine Inch Nails))

 

[Goretrail]

Celtic Frost covering Mexican Radio.

https://youtu.be/lTy7KqOiBno

 

[MattKeil]

Alien Ant Farm's Smooth Criminal is appalling, though.

Yup. OP could not have picked a worse lead-off example.

 

[jmdajr]

Quiet Riot-Come on Feel The Noise.

Yup that's not their song if you can believe it.

 

[GeordieMark]

RHCP's cover of "Higher Ground" is great, and Nirvana's take on "the man who sold the world" is really great.

Marilyn Manson did a cracking job of "Sweet Dreams" too.

 

[RaidenZR]

I'm sorry OP, but you picked the worst example to lead your thread. That cover is terrible in every way.

 

[CornDogg]

Metallica - Turn the Page

 

[Patrick S.]

Call me crazy, but I love t.a.t.u's cover of What soon is now.

 

[Teh Lurv]

Gary Jules cover of Mad World:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N3N1MlvVc4

 

[Netherscourge]

Jeff Buckley's cover of Hallelujah:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8AWFf7EAc4

 

[collige]

I'm curious as to why people hate the AAF cover so much. Are you guys against the entire concept of a rock cover of the song or is there a problem with AAF's version specifically?

 

[HotHamBoy]

Alien Ant Farm's Smooth Criminal is appalling, though.

It really is.

OP has bad taste.

How about The Animals- House of the Rising Sun?

CCR - Susie Q, Heard it through Grapevine

I'm curious as to why people hate the AAF cover so much. Are you guys against the entire concept of a rock cover of the song or is there a problem with AAF's version specifically?

Bot against the idea, just badly executed. You only like it because the original song is that good.

 

[Straight Edge]

Bauhaus' Ziggy Stardust

 

[*Splinter]

RHCP's cover of "Higher Ground" is great, and Nirvana's take on "the man who sold the world" is really great.

Marilyn Manson did a cracking job of "Sweet Dreams" too.

Had no idea Higher Ground was a cover.

I forgot about Sweet Dreams but it's got to be one of my favourite covers.

 

[Ketch]

I hate AAF's cover of Smooth Criminal, it completely ruins the song for me.

Yep. That cover is trash

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

Alien Ant Farm's Smooth Criminal is appalling, though.

It's the version people listen to the most. When I first heard it I didn't know it was a cover song.

Edit: Guys, I'm young. lol

 

[Jackpot]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDl9ZMfj6aE

... this has to be one of the absolute best, right? The MJ song is already damn near perfect - and it's Michael - freaking - Jackson, no one should be able to cover this song and do it a modicum of justice. But somehow, AAF makes this semi-one-hit-wonder and just knocks it out of the park. Faster, full of energy, and the vocals are completely different but work great.

Gosh that cover was pretty awful. All the great guitar licks lost to generic overly-loud electric guitar echoes and then a random speeding up and slowing down of parts of the chorus, again with generic garage band vocals vs Jackson's soprano voice

 

[HotHamBoy]

Had no idea Higher Ground was a cover.

Profound sadness.

It's also the version people listen to the most. When I first heard it I didn't know it was a cover song.

Except it isn't.

 

[Data West]

 

[aBarreras]

Call me crazy, but I love t.a.t.u's cover of What soon is now.

Gary Jules cover of Mad World:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N3N1MlvVc4

these are great too

 

[peppermints]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBr5FPIL8UU

Ted Leo - Since U Been Gone.

 

[SuperEpicMan]

Valerie - Amy Winehouse

 

[SocksAndShoes]

I'm curious as to why people hate the AAF cover so much. Are you guys against the entire concept of a rock cover of the song or is there a problem with AAF's version specifically?

Michael Jackson's voice > AAF singer's voice.

that's pretty much all there is to it for me personally. The musicianship and instrumentation are fine, but generic rock guy voice kills the song.

 

[Timeaisis]

I can name like a ten better covers. Here are some:.

All Along the Watchtower by Hendrix
Voodoo Child by Vaughn
America by Yes
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You by Zeppelin
Higher Ground by RHCP
House of the Rising Sun by the Animals

 

[pirateluigi]

I'm curious as to why people hate the AAF cover so much. Are you guys against the entire concept of a rock cover of the song or is there a problem with AAF's version specifically?

It's just executed so poorly. Rock covers can be great, but Smooth Criminal isn't.

 

[RustyNails]

I'm sorry OP, but you picked the worst example to lead your thread. That cover is terrible in every way.

This. How can anyone listen to AAF travesty and go "that was the best"?

 

[balladofwindfishes]

Paul Williams "Just an old fashioned love song"

Is it the original? Is it a cover?

Get's kinda weird when the person who wrote the song wrote it for someone else, but ended up performing it themselves.

 

[lightskintwin]

It's the version people listen to the most. When I first heard it I didn't know it was a cover song.

Who are these people? Because I don't believe you.

 

[Teh Lurv]

I nearly forgot because it's easy to forget its a cover, but Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun is probably the GOAT cover:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIb6AZdTr-A


""Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is a song written by and first recorded in 1979 by American musician Robert Hazard. However, it is better known as a single by American singer Cyndi Lauper, whose version was released in 1983."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girls_Just_Want_to_Have_Fun

 

[sixteen-bit]

t.A.T.u - How Soon Is Now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAH0iuua-qI

 

[Kyne]

Mree's Simple and Clean cover, originally by Utada Hikaru.

Her Passion/Sanctuary cover is also quite excellent.

She goes between English/Japanese vocals. It's quite nice.

 

[JimJamJones]

It's the version people listen to the most. When I first heard it I didn't know it was a cover song.

EDIT: Just listened to the AAF version for the first time. That was... not good.