By Gina TronBrandon Marshall. Full slideshow here. Kid Rock feels like makin' love.
Whenever an artist covers a song he or she takes a risk, particularly if it's a classic or at least already burned into everyone's minds a certain way. Some covers don't feel right because they get mangled, other times it's uncomfortable because a song about love is morphed into something less meaningful. Here are nine cover songs we found funny, strange and unexpected. Some of them aren't necessarily bad, just kind of...uncomfortable.
9. Kid Rock Covers Bad Company's "Feel Like Makin' Love"
In 1975 Bad Company released "Feel Like Makin' Love," and it became an iconic hard-rock song, despite its hints of country.
One artist who prides himself on being both rock and country is Kid Rock, who in 2003 remade the song. The country parts are a little more country, and the screaming parts are a bit more dramatic than the original.
8. Smash Mouth Covers The Monkee's "I'm a Believer"
Technically, "I'm a Believer" is a Neil Diamond song, but the Monkees made it famous in 1967. In 2001, Smash Mouth managed to mangle the cover when the band remade the song and it was used in the film Shrek.
7. Hilary Duff covers The Who's "My Generation"
"My Generation" was a 1965 hit by the Who. It's in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, and it is also in the Grammy Hall of Fame for "historical, artistic and significant" value.
Rumor has it that Hilary Duff covered this song in 2004 because her manager was a fan of the Who. Maybe it was his idea to change the lyric from "I hope I die before I get old" to "I hope I don't die before I get old." The song is squeaky clean and exactly what you would expect a Disney starlet cover to be. 6. Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch Covers "Walk on the Wild Side"
The original version of "Walk On the Wild Side" by Lou Reed is a 1972 song about a few people and their adventures: One may be a prostitute, one is transgender and one is using drugs. It was probably way ahead of its time for the '70s, but it got a lot of airplay and it seems somehow lighthearted. The only really shocking thing about it is the fact that the term "colored" was still being used. It really wasn't that long ago.
Marky Mark's version is kind of like TLC's song "Waterfalls" (which came a few years later), and also kind of like Eminem's "Guilty Conscience." It's a compilation of dark and horrible stories that warn what happen when you walk on the wild side. Spoiler: It mostly ends in death. The first part of the song is about a cheerleader who became a junkie and a prostitute after one hit and a man killing his pregnant wife and himself.
5. Rob Zombie Cover's KC and the Sunshine Band's "Boogie Man"
In 1976 KC and the Sunshine band released the iconic disco tune "Boogie Man." In 1997 Rob Zombie, whose band was at the time still called White Zombie, made a cover of it for The Crow: City of Angels soundtrack. His version was a lot less disco, a lot more distortion and a lot more horror.
4. Necro Covers LL Cool J's "I Need Love"
In 1987 rapper LL Cool released his second single from his second album, Bigger and Deffer. "I Need Love" is considered the first rap ballad, in which he expressed his desire to have a true companion.
Rapper Necro covered this with a harrowing song about a desire for something else: drugs.
When I come home from work/ I'm fiendin' for an eightball/ I got crack on my mind/ I'm hearing cocaine call.
The low-budget video features what seems to be real drug usage, which is fitting.
3. Fred Durst Covers the Who's "Behind Blue Eyes"
In 1971 the Who released "Behind Blue Eyes," a song about a man who aspires to be a better person but doesn't have the strength to be. "My dreams aren't as empty as my conscience seems to be."
"No one knows what it's like to be the bad man," just seems a little less mysterious when it's being sung by Fred Durst. In his music video, Limp Bizkit's frontman looks dramatic while Hallie Barry stands around him for some reason.
2. Korn Covers "Another Brick in the Wall"
The 1979 rock opera "Another Brick in the Wall" by Pink Floyd was a song about rigid schooling, oppression and conformity. Distorted-petal drenched guitars and whiny screams in Korn's unnecessary remake give it more of an angsty feel than the original.
1. Nitty Covers "Sugar, Sugar"
"Sugar, Sugar" was a gushy too-cute, squeaky-clean song recorded by the Archies in 1969. Its first video was created for the television show The Archie Comedy Hour, and it features cartoons characters dancing among floating candy. There is also a kissing booth.
Nitty covered it in 2004, and his version is called "Nasty Girl." The once-innocent song about love is now morphed into a song about girls who want a guy with lots of money. Most of the women sport sexy Halloween costumes. Also, a nurse leaves the old man she's caring for and a housewife leaves her husband to go on a joyride with the rapper.
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