This post marks only the second time that I'm picking a non-80's song over an 80's song, and the first time I'm picking a post-80's cover over the 80's original. "Jump", from Van Halen's 1984 album, was released in December 1983. It was covered on TV's Glee in 2009. The original is classic synth-rock and is one of my favorite 80's Van Halen songs. When I'm listening to it, I can't imagine not hearing a synth line. The cover was one of the first songs I heard on Glee, and it was one of the songs responsible for getting me hooked on that show. Unfortunately, it ended up being of the few Glee songs that I really liked, and I soon grew tired of the high school drama. I no longer watch the show, but I still listen to the song. As much as I enjoy the original, only the cover makes me gleeful. It doesn't make me want to start watching the show again, but it does make me want to jump on a mattress.
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"Dancing in the Street" was released by Martha and Vandellas in 1964. David Bowie and Mick Jagger covered it in 1985. The original is classic Motown; the cover is over-the-top (although not overly over-the-top) 80's dance-rock. Bowie and Jagger may not make the best dance partners, but they make a natural singing duo. You can just hear how much they enjoyed working together. When I hear the original, I want to dance in my chair; when I hear the cover, I feel like actually dancing in the street -- albeit a deserted street like the one in the music video.
I know that some readers still haven't forgiven me for picking Devo's cover of "Satisfaction" over the Rolling Stones' original. Perhaps I've made up for that, at least to some extent, by selecting Jagger as the winner in this battle. Or perhaps I've dug myself an even deeper hole....
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Today's battle comes at the suggestion of one of our readers. In 1985, Tears for Fears released Songs from the Big Chair, one of which was "Shout". Disturbed covered the song in 2000. TFF is one of my favorite bands, but "Shout" is one of my least favorite songs of theirs, largely because the song is overplayed on the radio. But it's still TFF.
I have nothing in particular against Disturbed or their cover; it's just that heavy metal is not my cup of tea. That being said, the lyrics of "Shout" lend themselves to heavy metal, and for a heavy metal song, the cover is not un-listenable. Still, it's just too darn loud. TFF can get their point across without actually shouting. There are two "covers" of the song that are better than Disturbed's....
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"I Fought the Law" was popularized by the Bobby Fuller Four in 1965. It was covered by the Clash in 1979. Although the original is more fun, I prefer the cover, which is still a lot of fun and is one of the Clash's most fun songs. The Clash was a natural to cover a song about the fighting the law. Thankfully they resisted the temptation to take this song and themselves seriously. They don't sound terribly disappointed that the law won.
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"Venus" was released by Shocking Blue in 1969. It was covered by Bananarama in 1986. Not only do I prefer the cover, I don't like the original. It's lazy and unemotional. The Venus they're singing about might as well be a plant -- a drug. But there's no doubt that the Venus about which Bananarama is singing is a woman. Bananarama's signature vocal style -- singing in unison -- lends itself to this song. Who better to sing about the goddess of love (and other related things) than an all-female chorus?
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"It's My Life" was released by Talk Talk in 1984. In 2003, it was covered by No Doubt. The original is one of my favorite 80's songs, and it takes me back to 2003, not because that's the year when the cover came out, but because that's the year when I first discovered the original in college. The cover is my favorite No Doubt song, and it's one of the best covers of an 80's song. It's almost as good as the original -- it comes this close. It manages to sound 80's-y, while still sounding original and modern (for a decade ago, anyway, but it still hold up well).
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