So, to be clear, you will not see “These Boots Are Made For Walkin,” the mindless, over-sexified Jessica Simpson version.

Why the hell is there a sacrilegious salsa beat in the verse? Kill me.

Instead, let’s do this thing right. Ten great songs, that were improved upon. Sometimes it’s inconceivable to improve upon a great, and many of the songs below are true classics, but somehow they are lifted to another level by the uncanny insight and skill of the cover artist, often bringing a new genre, startling twist or jaw-dropping music video to the table.

Sit back, turn up the volume, and listen to how the masters play songs written by other masters.

10. Heartbeats – José González (Originally The Knife)

The reason that this song is only at number ten on the list is that I do prefer the original. There are times when a nice little folk number can satisfy when a throbbing electro beat cannot, but usually it is the other way around.

Regardless, José González can be commended on his version; Firstly his choice of the song – he can thank his move from Argentina to Sweden to help his knowledge of fellow Swedes the Knife – and secondly for his confidence in the song to adapt into a sweet, acoustic version with ripples of sincerity resounding throughout.

Another strong factor must be the fantastic music video/ advertising campaign that accompanied the cover, which features a sloping street in San Francisco being bombarded with thousands of colourful ping pong balls. A simple concept that brings thrilling results, and not least because of the fitting music.

9. William Shatner – Common People

I almost had Marilyn Manson’s Sweet Dreams cover in here, but in the end decided that I couldn’t leave the big guy out. A cover of the Pulp song ‘Common People’ sung, or rather spoken in a convincing rhythm, by anything but a common person.

Captain Kirk himself, Mr. William Shatner, decided to perform several albums of popular songs and extracts from Shakespeare, which resulted in a hoard of cutting remarks from the media. So give his wobbly versions of Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds and Mr. Tambourine Man a miss, and stick with this half-serious, speak-along gem.

8. Here Comes The Sun – Ghost (Originally The Beatles)

It’s not easy to imagine the incessantly smiling George Harrison song as a murky goth ballad, but here it is. The song is certainly of note for managing to convert the summer song to a shadowy creature, but with convincing musicianship and a flowing post-rock element, it deserves recognition as a well-rounded and well-judged effort.

Somehow a Swedish heavy metal band called Ghost (seriously) managed to remove all of the cheer from the summer classic and instead pump it full of dread and searing doubt. Perhaps not what you want to hear to prepare you for your day first thing in the morning, but a fantastic conversion from cheer to fear.

7. Man Who Sold The World – Nirvana (Originally David Bowie)

It’s tough to call Nirvana’s version better than the original, with it simply taking on the aesthetic of the time – minimalist nineties grunge over the layered and synth of the original 70’s version.

Bowie is one of the undisputed master songwriters, but I think Cobain reins in the sprawling song and in keeping it simple condenses its effect. Chewing his own jaw off or not, his low drawl is more convincing, making us feel more involved when it’s him singing “Oh no, not me, we never lost control,” rather than the upstanding gentleman that Bowie now is. Best, as many of their songs are, on the MTV Unplugged stage.

6. Limit To Your Love – James Blake (Originally Feist)

Feist may not be known to all of you. She is a singer and contributor in the Canadian makeshift super group Broken Social Scene, who has been quietly releasing material alongside the group’s more popular records. You know that iPod song, 1, 2, 3, 4? Yeah, that was her.

Quiet or not, however, Feist really has grown into a strong songwriter, with three albums that grow on you, and her song Limit To Your Love is a good example of that. This is especially when covered by the young, handsome, talented songster James Blake.

Blake’s dubstep production incorporates his own startling vocals into the mix and borrows from the success and style of the XX record but moves a step further. I can not say enough about this up-and-coming producer, and his version of Feist’s song is up there with the best things he’s done.

5. Road To Joy – Bright Eyes (Originally Beethoven via Friedrich Schiller)

This is one of Conor Oberst’s greatest songs, and although it is not strictly a cover, Road to Joy uses the Beethoven melody from his Ode to Joy with some of the most all-encompassing and life-affirming lyrics I’ve ever heard.

So while it doesn’t have a true previous version to compete with, the adaptation of a classic composition with references to the 1780’s Ode to Joy poem.

Nothing more needs to be said, just listen.:

4. Wonderwall – Ryan Adams (Originally Oasis)

I do not like the original song Wonderwall. I am not a big fan of Oasis either, (should I have to be wrangled into the tired Britpop argument, yes, I am on Blur’s side,) and I don’t give them time nor credit. So it pains me to have this song in the top ten.

In another context, however, it’s difficult not to warm to the song. That context is Ryan Adams’ cover version from the album Love is Hell.

Adams’ version brings the song to its heartfelt core and brings out what is often overlooked in the original. Noel Gallagher’s song-writing has always been the greatest thing about Oasis, and now it’s great to see him continue on without his waste of space brother to hold him back.

3. Hurt – Johnny Cash (Originally Nine Inch Nails)

Hurt began as a pained rock song with suicidal nuances and signs that all was not well in the camp of Trent Reznor (although in such situations, a low sense of worth can be directly related to the best of such a depressive’s work).

Once again, the music video is a large part of the reason Cash’s cover rose to such prominence, directed by frequent NIN collaborator Mark Romanek. The video shows Cash in his house, but without his recently deceased wife June. The house has since been destroyed in a 2007 fire.

The song transcends the dirty machine-drone of the Nine Inch Nails sound, and though it shouldn’t really translate to the country genre it is now one of the greatest of the past decades. The cover idea sounded a bit gimmicky to Reznor at first, until he saw the cover accompanied by video and began to cry.

The song loses its industrial backbone and instead fits in more with Cash’s back catalogue, but this song is the saddest of his. Many see it as a representation of his wilting state, with many images of withering flowers and decaying fruit, others called it his epitaph. A touching end to a great life.

2. Jimi Hendrix – All Along The Watchtower (Originally Bob Dylan)

Rarely does it happen that a musician converts his own original composition to someone else’s version. This should show the modesty and level-headedness of the folk maestro Bob Dylan when he heard his song All Along the Watchtower covered by the guitar wizard Jimi Hendrix.

The cover song was so impressive that Dylan began to play it in Hendrix’s fashion live, and rightly so. The originally folksy number with long verses and an epic, historic tale became a frantic guitar song with frighteningly ground-breaking solo that still stands the test of time to this very day.

Rolling Stone magazine has the song as the 48th best song of all time, but as you should be sceptical of everything you read (excluding this, of course), I have some ideas of my own for the top spot…

1. Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah (Originally Leonard Cohen)

I have complained before about Hallelujah losing its soul and power by being played and covered to within an inch of its life. There are always exceptions to the rule, and in this case there are quite a few.

Leonard Cohen’s original is a long, multi-versed tale with biblical references, while Buckley’s selection of verse are precise and lead interpretations to brand the song as a sexual lament that easily overshadows the original. Buckley brings a sincerity and musicianship to any material that is dearly missed in this age of modern music pillaging.

It’s difficult not to get goose-bumps when listening to the whole Grace album, but Hallelujah was the pinnacle of his sadly short-lived career.

Fancy coming up with your own list of superlative song covers and emailing them to TBR? Then hop to. But just remember, the kind of covers that would never fall victim to being obnoxiously overplayed are the only kind we care about in these parts.

By Conor O’Hagan

By Michael McLaughlin

I’m a musician who plays all the parts of the songs I record, and I decided I wanted to put one of my songs on youtube. So I figured I’d make a little artwork with the name of the song on it just so there would be a static image on the screen to go along with the song.

At the last minute, I remembered that I had some nature footage I’d shot in the summertime and I wondered if any of it would fit into the song. “I’ll just spend a few extra minutes,” I told myself. Nine days later, I was finished!

I ran out of my own footage quickly enough and then scanned the Internet for free or public domain footage that I could use in my video. As I searched and worked, a definite story unfolded and slowly revealed itself to me. Each and every one of the cuts in this video moves and changes in tandem with the music, which was no small feat! When I watch the video now, it’s hard to believe that my original intentions were so simple.

One of the youtube comments said that it reminded them of Koyaanisqatsi. I had no idea what this was, so I looked it up and watched it. I certainly wasn’t trying to be derivative, but I can see the connection.

Now if anyone enjoys this video and decides to check out any of the other 28 videos on my channel, expecting a bit of inspiration and intelligence, I will have to apologize in advance!

There is a reason why you hear Christmas songs endlessly in every store from mid-November until New Years: People spend more money when they hear them! It’s a proven fact. That is why you are going to continue to hear Christmas songs in every public place you visit for at least 6 weeks a year. Merry Christmas, I guess.

Below are the 10 funniest Christmas songs, in our humble opinion, anyway. These are ones you probably don’t hear every time you walk into a Walmart. Thank God.

#10. I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas!

This classic will be remembered by people in their 50s and older. It was written by John Rox and was sung by a 10 year-old named Gayla Peevey in 1953. It actually made it to #24 on Billboard’s pop charts in 1953.

Other people who sang a version of this amusing tune were the 3 Stooges, and also Dr. Demento.

What can go wrong with a Christmas song about massaging a ‘hippo hero’? Works for us.

#9. Season’s Greetings from Tarzan, Tonto and Frankenstein

The Tarzan, Tonto and Frankenstein sketch featured Kevin Nealon, John Lovitz and the dearly departed and wonderful Phil Hartman. This was from the glory days of Saturday Night Live in the late 1980s. You could never understand what the hell they were singing, but that’s what made it so damn funny. I really don’t know how they could do this without completely cracking up. The only thing that sucks when you listen to this song is knowing that Phil Hartman is no longer with us.

#8. Bing Crosby and David Bowie Singing Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy

Try to think of the weirdest and most absurd situation you can imagine. Say, Hitler hugging a Jew, or something. Is that offensive? Well, sorry! We kind of lose our marbles when we see this completely bizarre video featuring Bing Crosby singing Christmas classics with rocker David Bowie in the mid-1970s. We don’t really get how the guy who sang ‘Space Oddity’ and the man who crooned hundreds of classic songs from the 30s to the 50s can mix….

You might not think this song is ‘funny,’ but the sheer oddity of these two together makes it a classic in our book.

#7. The Night Santa Went Crazy by Weird Al Yankovic

Weird Al has been singing funny songs making fun of pop culture since the 1970s. What you may not know is he has made a crap load of dough doing it. This guy has sold about 14 million albums since his first comedy song aired in 1976.

As for this funny song, how can you not like a Christmas song with blood, guns and Santa behind bars? It’s definitely very similar to most of our Christmases growing up, let me tell you.

#6. Redneck 12 Days of Christmas by Jeff Foxworthy

Jeff Foxworthy has been doing his ‘You might be a redneck’ routines since 1990. As any good Southerner knows, what is Christmas without shotgun shells, flannel shirts, big mud tires, wrestling tickets, hunting, and parts to a Mustang GT? It most certainly would not be any Christmas we would want to be a part of.

#5. Walking Round in Women’s Underwear, by Bob Rivers

Bob Rivers has been doing radio shows for over 20 years. He’s quite well known for his song parodies. Also, he once did an 11 day radio marathon in 1988. This was where he swore he would not go off the air until the Baltimore Orioles finally won a game during a particularly awful year for his favorite baseball team. Fortunately for Bob, they finally did win a game! And we all win with this classic Christmas parody by Bob Rivers.

#4. O Holy Night, by South Park

This is a great Christmas clip when Kyle shocks Eric with a cattle prod for not singing the words right. Good thing this does not apply to us when we sing Christmas songs or our holidays would pretty much suck. I can never remember the words to half the songs Americans supposedly know by heart.

#3. Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, by Dr. Elmo

If there is a classic funny Christmas song, it just might be this great tune from Elmo Shropshire, better known as Dr. Elmo. Elmo is known as a doctor because he is a doctor of veterinary medicine. How many vets sing weird Christmas songs? This one does! He first recorded this song with his wife Patsy in 1979. After he dumped Patsy, he re-recorded the song solo in 1992. After that, this song even was turned into a Christmas special for kids in 2000. You know you’ve made it when your song is a Christmas special.

#2. 12 Pains of Christmas by Bob Rivers

The 12 Days of Christmas is an especially annoying song. It never seems to end. It goes on like the Bataan Death March. That is why it is a great song to make fun of. By the time you have gotten to the 6^th day, you desperately want it to be over so you can move on.  By the 10^th day, you’d rather drink paint thinner than hear anymore. But it just goes on and on….

#1. Christmas Don’t Be Late, by the Chipmunks

This old classic is as fun and funny as it was when first performed in 1958. It was sung by David Seville, but he gave credit to The Chipmunks. This was a fictional group of 3 chipmunks that went by the names of Alvin, Simon and Theodore. This song became a huge hit when it was first released. It even reached #1 on the pop singles chart.

What would Christmas be without these song? Well, frankly, it wouldn’t be Christmas.

By Joseph Pickett

By Grant Woolward

Since I was a child, I’ve listened to the Beatles. I’m not a screaming teenage girl, but I’m definitely a part of Beatlemania. Thanks to this, I actually have something to talk about with the Baby Boomers. Well, practically anyone born after 1940. I mean, everyone loves the Beatles, right?

Every video I make, I try to give myself a new challenge. After creating a mashup using 6 national anthems last month, I decided to apply the same theme to the songs of a popular artist. As for the artist, I was torn between using The Beatles or the Starland Vocal Band, but I decided on the slightly more prolific of the two.

Actually, the Beatles were too prolific. They wrote hundreds of songs, so I decided to narrow the scope down to something more manageable: Beatles love songs. Many of the songs in this mashup are connected by the word “love”. I also found Beatles love songs that shared the same chord progression and layered them on top of each other. I ended up mashing up over 20 songs in a mere 2-and-a-half minutes.

For the video itself, I recreated the covers of four Beatles albums and inserted my own face in place of the Fab Four’s. To my disappointment, since releasing it on youtube, I’ve been told I look most like Ringo.

I challenge you to pick out all the songs in this video. Some are obvious, but others may require a closer listen.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy! If you do like it, please check my other other youtube videos and subscribe.

You may remember the last Michael McLaughlin (yes, that is his real last name) video we featured about the life and times of a bum genius. Well, Mr. McLaughlin is back with a new video about how to stand up to a bully. He opines about his work below:

Being bullied by someone? Well fear not! Here is a video with instructions on EXACTLY what to say to a person who has you cornered, and smiles as he sees the fear well up in you.

Well, not really. Chances are, if you’re cornered in some alleyway, being physically threatened by someone who’s larger than you are, then saying any of these things to him at this particular juncture will probably increase your chances of hospitalization.

No, this is more of a song/video to remind people of the PROFILE of such a person. One of the worst things about being bullied is the blow to your self-esteem. Somehow or other, aside from the hopelessness and powerlessness you may feel, there’s an underlying feeling that you really ARE inferior.

So, this video attempts to remind you of how powerless and hopeless bullies THEMSELVES actually feel. Everyone in the video is speaking TO the bully. I mean, if you didn’t before, don’t you feel sorry for him now?

What a horrible past he has! He NEEDS to pound on you to make himself feel better. So just LET him feel good about himself. Say nothing. Just THINK about this song while he’s bloodying your nose!

Being bullied by someone? Well fear not! Here is a video with instructions on EXACTLY what to say to a person who has you cornered, and smiles as he sees the fear well up in you.

Well, not really. Chances are, if you’re cornered in some alleyway, being physically threatened by someone who’s larger than you are, then saying any of these things to him at this particular juncture will probably increase your chances of hospitalization.

No, this is more of a song/video to remind people of the PROFILE of such a person. One of the worst things about being bullied is the blow to your self-esteem. Somehow or other, aside from the hopelessness and powerlessness you may feel, there’s an underlying feeling that you really ARE inferior.

So, this video attempts to remind you of how powerless and hopeless bullies THEMSELVES actually feel. Everyone in the video is speaking TO the bully. I mean, if you didn’t before, don’t you feel sorry for him now?

What a horrible past he has! He NEEDS to pound on you to make himself feel better. So just LET him feel good about himself. Say nothing. Just THINK about this song while he’s bloodying your nose! Editor’s note: You could also think about how a scene of the blood bath would be perfect in an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Whatever floats your boat, really.

By Michael McLaughlin