Recommendation for the Week, 10/24-10/30

It was a great tradition at my house on Halloween: I would dress up as the puppet from the Saw movies, and my brother would sit in the rocking chair to my left in the picture. As the young trick-or-treaters would approach our porch, my brother would say to them, "Don't worry, it's just a scarecrow. Take a bag of candy." The blissfully naive youths would all stick their hands into the basket, when I would jump at them, inevitably unleashing a shrill scream. Some were not convinced that it was just a scarecrow, while others were too scared to even take candy from me afterward. Regardless, I'd earned quite a reputation throughout the neighborhood because of it.

As you may have noticed from this blog's title or from your own memory, Halloween is once again on its way. That gives all the high school/college girls the excuse to dress like, um, "classy" sailors, firemen, officials, or whatever else they can come up with to show off some skin for the night. But that's not what I'd prefer to remember about Halloween; I want the innocence back, the days where you would dress up like Spider-Man or Darth Vader, or other fictional characters you'd always dreamed about being. In the music industry, Halloween occurs just about every day, with bands dressing up like other bands or artists to do cover songs. This, unfortunately, rarely produces noteworthy results. Thanks to things like the Punk Goes... series, a breakdown-oriented cover of just about every Top-40 hit of the last decade, and bands solidifying their unabashed (and mostly untalented) love for Jimmy Eat World, the idea of covering a song has gone from a fun way to use your creativity to a hackneyed attempt for young bands to gain notoriety. However, in this bland, oversaturated muck of Ke$ha covers that actually makes Ke$ha look smart, there are still bands and artists out there pushing their limits and producing covers that not only push the band's creative limits, but pay a great homage to the original was well. So with Halloween right around the corner, here are the Top 10 instances of when a band or artist dressed up as another--and actually pulled it off.

10. A Day to Remember- "Since You Been Gone"
Originally performed by Kelly Clarkson
This song was actually mentioned in a previous recommendation (Kelly's version was controversially placed in the "Best Break-Up Songs" list), and I needed another cover to round out the list, so here we are. That being said, this is probably one of the better covers to come out in a while. ADTR's chugging guitar riffs and rough vocal approach to the song were perfect for preserving Clarkson's jaded-girl image and feel to the song, and the song has now become a staple of both artists' sets because of it.


9. New Found Glory- "King of Wishful Thinking"
Originally performed by Go West
New Found Glory should receive some sort of special recognition for being the only band to not only make a covers-only album and pull it off, but have that covers-only album be so successful and well-received by fans that they made another one. "King of Wishful Thinking" is off From the Screen to Your Stereo Pt. 2, and while there are plenty of other covers that could have been selected, it's on "King..." that NFG show their creativity and enthusiasm, taking Go West's cheesy dance-pop song and turning it into a song that sounds like it could have been one of their own. To make things even sweeter, the song features Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump, one of the many artists who looked to cash in on NFG's perfected art of covering songs.


8. You, Me, and Everyone We Know- "Build Me Up, Buttercup"
Originally performed by The Foundations
Before the band's stellar full-length debut was released this October, You Me and Everyone We Know saw fit to grace us with a cover song to hold fans over in anticipation of Some Things Don't Wash Out. The result was the band's pop-punk take on the doo-wop hit that is closer to 50 than it is to 30, breathing new life into the song. This song may be vocalist Ben Leibsch's best vocal performance, and the gang vocals added by the rest of the band add a definitive spin on the track that makes it fit right in with any other song in the band's discography.


7. Pierce the Veil- "Beat It"
Originally performed by Michael Jackson (feat. Eddie Van Halen)
This next two-song block features two covers of two artists who, quite frankly, should never be covered. The King of Pop's second-biggest video ever (there's really no beating "Thriller," even to this day) was accented perfectly with Van Halen's guitar work, and PTV did very little to change that aspect of the song, which causes them to pull the song of nicely. Surprisingly, Vic Fuentes's nasally voice actually keeps the bar set high, even though he's following Jackson's beautiful performance. What's more, Fall Out Boy actually put out a cover of "Beat It" around the same time as PTV did, and fans of both bands will tell you how vastly superior Pierce the Veil's inspired effort is to Fall Out Boy's glammed-out version (even though John Mayer provided the guitar work for FOB).


6. Thrice- "Helter Skelter"
Originally performed by The Beatles
Thrice's originality in post-hardcore has been a recurring theme in the genre throughout the past decade, as the band's extensively creative discography will attest. However, one of their most ambitious ventures was early in their career, when they posted covers of "Helter Skelter" and "Elanor Rigby." Covering the Beatles is often a daunting task (just ask NeverShoutNever!), but Thrice's version of "Helter Skelter" was pulled off masterfully, as the cover is just as frenetic and catchy as the original. And given Thrice chose to cover the band who was recently named #1 on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" special, it should be noted how incredible it is that they succeeded in doing so.


5. Atreyu- "You Give Love a Bad Name"
Originally performed by Bon Jovi
Featured in Mr. and Mrs. Smith, a.k.a. the movie that ended Brad Pitt's marraige with Jennifer Aniston, this song was probably in high rotation on Anitson's iPod as "Brangelina" took off and stole the hearts and eyes of the American public. Atreyu's screamo cover of Bon Jovi's best attempt at hard rock proves to be just as big-sounding and solo-driven as the original, which showed that Jon Bon Jovi wasn't as big of a wuss as many of his fans thought.


4. The Used & My Chemical Romance- "Under Pressure"
Originally performed by Queen & David Bowie
As emo took over the underground punk scene, The Used and My Chemical Romance emerged as the two bands poised for hostile takeover at the beginning of the new millennium. And behold, for one night, the two bands stood side by side to cover the best contribution of the glam-rock era. While Gerard Way and Bert McCracken fell far short of David Bowie and Queen's Freddie Mercury's, fans of either band will attest to the showmanship the two show that may be a poor man's version of the undeniably great original. While the original was surely better, this brief marriage of emo's top heavyweights could not go unnoticed.


3. John Mayer- "Free Fallin'"
Originally performed by Tom Petty
On his DVD Where the Light Is, John Mayer used a trio set, full band set, and an acoustic set to woo fans of all ages. However, it was during the trio set that he floored older fans while introducing younger ones to the music of a past generation, by beautifully covering Tom Petty's classic. "Free Fallin'" is one of the first songs anyone learns in their attempt to play acoustic guitar, but Mayer's trio set gave it a complexity and precision that called for a music video release that quickly took over the radio waves in 2009. I distinctly remember going around my high school asking people if they had heard the cover, then loaning them my iPod to make sure they heard it. Mayer has been known to cover older songs in the past (there are videos on YouTube of him covering The Police's "Message in a Bottle"), but it is through "Free Fallin'" that we are not only introduced to his appreciation for the classics, but his ability to create as well.


2. Gary Jules- "Mad World"
Originally performed by Tears for Fears
As the eerie cult classic Donnie Darko reaches its conclusion and the credits start to roll, the audience was first introduced to Gary Jules, and his dark, simple cover of the 80's pop band Tears for Fears's "Mad World." Jules's dark, almost monotonic voice provides the perfect way to end the movie, and is now one of the perfect teen angst songs (two references to previous blog? man, I'm good). Regardless, the song is still played throughout teenage iPods, college dorms, and even some grown-ups' cars across the world, long after Jules proved he couldn't make another hit of his own. It's a shame that neither artist that recorded this song lasted in the mainstream, but if it took a one-hit wonder from Tears for Fears to make the one-hit powerhouse for Gary Jules, I'm for it.


1. Johnny Cash- "Hurt"
Originally performed by Nine Inch Nails
Before his passing in September of 2003, Johny Cash, one of the greatest artists in American history, graced us with one last gem in his illustrious career that transcended five decades. The gem was a cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt," and while it doesn't stray too far from the original, there is a deeper meaning that needs to be experienced by watching the song's emotional music video. In it, Cash is alone in a house, recalling moments of his life. The video was recorded a year before his passing, which gives it a very ominous feel, and shows how powerful Cash's voice was, even in the months leading up to his passing. This is a rare cover in that both artists continue to thrive, as Cash's legacy continues to live on and influence today's country (and any other genre, really) artists, and NIN mastermind  Trent Reznor was just plugged to score the hit movie The Social Network and continues to make great indie music.

I usually turn this over to debate about music now, but considering how close we are to one of my favorite holidays, I'll open it up more: what are you being for Halloween? Do you have anything crazy planned? And of course, what are some of your favorite covers? Comment if you dare, and if you're going trick-or-treating this Halloween, please be safe.