Both covers seem to try and make the song in more menacing directions (likely due to the legacy of the song), which doesnt really work to be honest (I found Motley Crue's cover, not listed here, to be better, though the Beatles version is still superior IMO)
"My Best Friends Girl"
Original by The Cars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkSmLh2Hbi0
Live cover by Nirvana (from their final concert): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikkhmkAH72U
Edited by J79 on Jan 30th 2020 at 6:15:25 AM
This almost doesn't seem fair as the cover is from a live concert with poorer sound and audience wailing. The performance itself overall not that impressive. So, I pick the original.
"Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher"
Original by Jackie Wilson
Edited by Brandon on Jan 30th 2020 at 5:04:33 AM
With all the memes about women choosing a bear over a man, Hollywood might wanna get on an 'East of the Sun and West of the Moon' adaptation
Rita Coolidge produced a nice cover, albeit slightly different in mood. I find its lack of oomph a bit disappointing, so the original wins in my books.
"Песенка про меня (Так же как все)" A Song About Me (Just Like Everyone):
The original by Alla Pugacheva
I don't know who's spreading silly rumors
That I live a life free of sorrow and worry,
That I'm better-off than everyone else on Earth,
And that everything always works out for me.
Don't think that I live in paradise,
and that trouble always passes me by.
I get tired in the evening exactly like everyone else,
And I feel sad and groan from time to time.
Just like everyone else, everyone else, everyone else,
I walk upon the Earth.
And standing before Fate like everyone else, everyone else,
I ask for happiness.
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na,
I ask for happiness.
https://lyricstranslate.com
The original seems more "honest" while the remake looks like they were trying to make a hit single
My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama
Original by Frank Zappa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0Oj-eZqpHE
Cover by his son Dweezil: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nISG72CRP0E
I like noises.
Both versions are great: Frank's is catchier and more inventive, while Dweezil's is delightfully cheesy and heavy. Still, the cover feels a bit empty without the horn and acoustic guitar solos of the original, so I'll stick with Frank's version.
"Pumped Up Kicks"
Nonsense is better than no sense at all.
The darker tone of the cover actually works here.
Lets add some power metal to this thread:
Kingdom Come
Original by Manowar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEGWbO91Lls
Cover by Sabaton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYH6ubNJqck
The two aren't that different, but I think the original better conveys that image of warriors riding heroically in slow-motion sword in hand, if that makes sense. 
The higher voice register probably helps. So point for Manowar.
Now a French rap classic in two versions: IAM's "L'Empire du côté obscur".
The "epic version", which I didn't even know existed until an hour ago.
…Now that I think of it, rappers don't really do covers, do they.
The album version has understandably more grit to it, so I prefer it over the epic version.
"California Dreamin'"
The original by The Mamas & The Papas
Margrave of the Marshes
Beach Boys version is too clean and overproduced. I hate that saxophone and I prefer the vocal tracking on the original. The original by quite a wide margin.
Let's do a Sabbath ballad.
Black Sabbath-Solitude original
I kind of like the vocals on the Ulver version, so I guess I'll go with this (of course, and this may be considered sacrlige by Sabbath fans, I never really much cared for Solitude that much, dont like Planet Caravan either).
Speaking of Sabbath, lets look at a cover song Ozzy did: Pictures of Matchstick Men
Original by Status Quo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yIqbVDf3OU
Ozzy (With Type O Negative) cover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4EVIH1CjZs
Edited by J79 on Feb 4th 2020 at 8:50:44 AM
Ozzy's cover is predictably heavier, but also drags on for too long. I also don't find his and Type O's style particularly fitting to this song. The original wins.
"Белая река (The White River)"
Translated lyrics:
The wind calls me
To ride away to a faraway place
Loneliness of roads, promises and alarms...
The light of my candle is fading
Cold gets through the windows
And the rain falls on roofs
This is the time for farewell,
There is snow between us
Don't look into my eyes
It's hard for me now,
But you can't feel my pain
I won't call you
The white river...
The smoke of the past days...
You'll understand me,
But it's not me with you
For the last time I'll look
At the faded star
And at the morning sunset
Clouds are black
Dawn is grey
Farewell words...
The white river...
The smoke of the past days...
You'll understand me,
But it's not me with you
https://lyricstranslate.com
Edited by Millership on Feb 5th 2020 at 12:42:10 AM
Spiral out, keep going.
A capella can be very hit or miss, but I found myself enjoying that cover a lot (although the original has a nice sound to it too. Very 80s sounding).
And now, one of the worst songs ever made, according to Rolling Stone Magazine: "Honey, I Miss You".
Cover by The Ray Conniff Singers
Putting the lyrics aside, I find the original's minimalism a lot more pleasant to listen to.
"Careless Whisper"
The original, by George Michael
Edited by Millership on Feb 12th 2020 at 2:09:54 AM
Spiral out, keep going.
Not a fan of either version, but I do dig the sax solo of the George Michael version.
Now another 3-way!
(that came out wrong)
I'm Eighteen:
Original by Alice Cooper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ1MdRgU7Hw
Cover by Anthrax: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTb5PDXMR2w
Cover by Creed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZaYvcNchrk
Anthrax's overblown hard rock cover is slightly ahead of the other versions in my books.
"Ой, то не вечер (It's Not The Night Yet)"
Another Russian folk song. Comes in three flavors:
Another one by the Archdeacon of Diocese of Nizhniy Novgorod (!), father Andrey (MMA fans might recognize this version)
Translated lyrics:
It's not the night yet, nor the evening.
I had a little sleep tonight.
Had a little sleep tonight,
I had a vision of my plight...
Had a little sleep tonight,
I had a vision of my plight...
I saw in my vivid dream,
That my trusty raven steed
Started playing, started dancing,
Oh, started sporting under me.
Started playing, started dancing,
Oh, started sporting under me.
But our captain had quick wits,
He deciphered my wild dreams.
And he said: the woe awaits [me],
You'll lose your brash head, it seems.
And he said: the woe awaits [me],
You'll lose your brash head, it seems.
Then the evil winds came roaring,
They came from the eastern side,
And they ripped off my black headdress
From the rowdy head in stride.
And they ripped off my black headdress
From the rowdy head in stride.
It's not the night yet, nor the evening.
I had a little sleep tonight.
Had a little sleep tonight,
I had a vision of my plight...
https://lyricstranslate.com
Edited by Millership on Feb 12th 2020 at 1:25:33 AM
Spiral out, keep going.
I like the sound of the Arkona version. Now, here's a song that's gotten a boost in popularity lately, "That's Life":
Original by Marion Montgomery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaSUXRSxrDU
Cover by Frank Sinatra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnlPtaPxXfc
Another cover, by David Lee Roth (possibly NSFW): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwvPmu_ADUU
Edited by J79 on Feb 29th 2020 at 1:14:20 AM
Well, add "That's Life" to the list of songs where I think a cover (Frank's) is more well-known than the original.
Frank Sinatra's is more familiar to me, and has a very old-timey feel to it that I like. The original is good too, but has too much of a "sinister" vibe to it, almost making it feel like a Villain Song. So I pick Frank's.
"Why Do Fools Fall In Love?"
Edited by Brandon on Feb 29th 2020 at 2:46:45 AM
With all the memes about women choosing a bear over a man, Hollywood might wanna get on an 'East of the Sun and West of the Moon' adaptation
Black Sabbath are the founding fathers of heavy metal, and every flavor of metal can be rooted in their music, including prog-metal, as evidenced in the title track from Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Fist pumping riffs contrasted with flowery interludes set the stage for generations of progressive metal to come.
Compare this with the airy pop-cover by Swedish alt-rock group The Cardigans. The beauty of the lyrics still comes through, and the music sounds dulcet.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Okay. But, which version of "Why Do Falls Fall In Love" do you prefer?
Jer gets all the girls
The Black Sabbath video is unavailable to me, so I guess I'll talk about Why Do Fools Fall In Love instead?
The cover is good, but somehow her voice doesn't seem quite right for this? I dunno, it's nearly right, but it doesn't quite sound to me how these things are meant to. That was pretty distracting for me, unfortunately. Original wins it.
For me, Jailhouse Rock.
Cover from The Blues Brothers soundtrack, sung by John Belushi
Edited by Murataku on Mar 23rd 2020 at 7:03:31 PM
Everybody's all "Jerry's old and feeble" till they see him run down a skyscraper and hijack a helicopter mid-flight.
Prefer the cover's more lively and bombastic implementation.
"I Love You All The Time"
The original, by Eagles of Death Metal
Edit: [Comment removed out of deep embarrassment]
Edited by Brandon on Apr 6th 2020 at 2:43:33 AM
With all the memes about women choosing a bear over a man, Hollywood might wanna get on an 'East of the Sun and West of the Moon' adaptation
Regarding SBS, I'll have to go for Black Sabbath for its sheer atmosphere. The Cardigan version does have a dreamy feel to it but the tone is too… jarring.
Regarding Love You All the Time, the EODM version has that old-school Silly Love Song feel to it while ID and Wolfe bring a sort of "moment suspended in time" atmosphere that's not unpleasant. Buuut Wolfe might go a bit too far in that direction so my vote would go to Imagine Dragons. Though admittedly, that "you don't answer me, tell me why" part rang a lot more tragic after November 13.
But damn, there are actually a lot of covers of this song now that I checked…
Anyway, here's Psychosocial!
I've said it before, I hate heavy metal, so the original is going to appeal to me more.
"Proud Of Your Boy" (cut song from Disney's Aladdin)
Edited by Brandon on Apr 6th 2020 at 2:42:23 AM
With all the memes about women choosing a bear over a man, Hollywood might wanna get on an 'East of the Sun and West of the Moon' adaptation
Judas Priest made a nice cover, but they kinda missed the whole point of the song and made it too energetic. Melvins got it, but overdid it. It's the original's understated bluesy menace that takes the cake.
"Helter Skelter"
The original, by The Beatles
Siouxsie and The Banshees' cover version
Rob Zombie & Marilyn Manson's rendition
Spiral out, keep going.