Meghan clued me into this whole thing of the top 10 cover songs, which apparently people will be posting tomorrow morning. Whether I'll be coherent enough to actually type on a Monday morning is questionable, so I'm posting my list tonight. In no particular order: - Guns 'n' Roses, "Sympathy for the Devil" (orig. Rolling Stones -- say what you will about the Stones, but they just didn't rock as hard as G'n'R) - Lazlo Bane, "Overkill" (orig. Men At Work -- much more sedate, especially in the beginning, but still with urgent undertones, which is why I think I like the cover better... the song deals with some emotionally distraught subject matter, so it shouldn't sound as happy as the original does, in my humble opinion) - Goldfinger, "99 Red Balloons" (orig. Nena -- punk version of the '80s! Yar!) - Reel Big Fish, "Hungry Like the Wolf" (orig. Duran Duran -- this half-lounge, half-ska version is just all kinds of fun) - Cake, "I Will Survive" (orig. Gloria Gaynor -- and maybe, just maybe, the words in the original should've been "I should've changed that fucking lock"...) - Tom Jones with the Art of Noise, "Kiss" (orig. Prince -- hearing Tom say "Think I better dance now!" is just the best) - Ben Folds, "Tiny Dancer" (orig. Elton John -- just Ben & his piano) - Jimi Hendrix, "All Along the Watchtower" (orig. Bob Dylan -- yes, Hendrix's version is a cover and is not the original, the fact that Dylan has publicly said he prefers Hendrix's cover notwithstanding) - Buckcherry, "Anything, Anything" (orig. Dramarama -- and while the cover is great, part of the reason why I like it more than the original is that KROQ plays the original every five minutes) - A Perfect Circle - "Imagine" (orig. John Lennon -- this almost dirge-like version evokes almost as many emotions as the original... just much different emotions) Honorable Mentions: - The Belle Stars, "Iko Iko" (orig. The Dixie Cups -- you've heard this, it was in Rain Man... but actually, what I really prefer is the 12" remix I have of The Belle Stars' cover) - Travis Morrison, "What's Your Fantasy" (orig. Ludacris -- nothing like a white boy with an acoustic guitar covering a completely outrageous, misogynistic rap song) - The Blue Hawaiians, "Martini Five-O" (orig. The Ventures -- this laid-back tripped-out version of "Hawaii Five-O" is just stellar) - William Shatner & Joe Jackson - "Common People" (orig. Pulp -- it's just odd to hear Captain Kirk do a spoken-word version of this song) And now, a couple of songs to kick-start your week. Right-click and save as, then turn up and blast until your socks are properly rocked off enough to get through your day. Five Eight - "Square Peg" Graham Coxon - "Freakin Out" (yes, Graham used to be in Blur) Edited to add: There's apparently a whole bunch o' people doing this list of songs thing, so check them out too: Alien Fur, Bitchalicious, Brooks Blog, Chapati Mystery, Cheleblog, The Dune Shack, I See Monsters, Sheets & Blankets, Shoulda Said and Write On Megs.