I’ve been a bit down in the dumps lately. When I get this way, I turn blindly to music. It’s always there for me. It always comforts me. The only consistent, equally miserable arms to wrap around me and shut the world out for a bit. The last couple of weeks I’ve been living in my headphones. And I’ve been obsessing a bit over cover songs. Some people hate covers. I understand that, but I am not one of those people. I love a good cover. My whole thing on covers is simple, if you are going to cover a song, bring something interesting and unique to the table. There’s no point covering a song if you are going to play it just the way you always heard it. That’s really my only requirement, so I decided to put together a little list of some of my all-time favorite covers. Here’s 15 songs you should go and download immediately.

15) SUCH GREAT HEIGHTS—IRON AND WINE
ORIG. POSTAL SERVICE

It’s a shame that there has been such a monumental to backlash to Garden State and it’s soundtrack. It’s actually a very good film that got horribly overexposed, and that exposure soured one hell of a soundtrack…and with it the career of The Shins. This band will not change your life…but they are pretty damn great none the less. However, they weren’t even the best music on that soundtrack. Iron and Wine’s take on this Postal Service track was quite haunting and lovely, and such a departure from the original I was halfway through it before I realized.

14. WALK ON BY—ISAAC HAYES
ORIG. DIONNE WARWICK

In 1963 Dionne Warwick burst onto the music scene with the mammoth hit Walk On By, a three and a half minute pop masterpiece. Nearly a decade later, Isaac Hayes released Hot Buttered Soul, the seminal soul/funk album of the time, featuring his twelve and a half minute version of the song. The result is the saddest/sexiest song you will ever hear. His deep, penetrating voice matched with such melancholy lyrics all sexed up in base lines and one of the sexiest guitar intros ever make quite an impact.

13. SEA OF LOVE—CAT POWER
ORIG. PHIL PHILLIPS

I’m of the thinking that this may be the most debated song on the list. Many of you out there are bigger Cat Power fans than I, and have horribly specific opinions on the merits of her cover albums. For my money, this is the best covers she has ever recorded. And may ever record. Such a mixture of tone, vibe, and voice like this is rarely heard when a band is recording an original song, let alone a smash hit song that was recorded 40 years prior. When Chan Marshall opens her mouth for that first vocal, my heart still skips.

12. ORION—RODRIGO Y GABRIELA
ORIG. METALLICA

Surely this is not what Hetfeild and the boys had in mind when they recorded the metal masterpiece that is this song, but here you have an equally rocking, instrumental masterpiece from a Mexican duo playing acoustic guitars and hand-guitar top percussion. A truly unique re-imagining of a great song.

11. ALL THE WAY—RICHARD HELL AND THE VOIDOIDS
ORIG. FRANK SINATRA

What can I say? On his best days, Richard Hell didn’t even have half the vocal ability that Sinatra carried, but when he sings this song, he brings twice the feeling and emotion that Sinatra ever could while belting out song after song. To begin with, it’s a truly lovely song lyrically and Hell does his best to not ham it up too much. Accented by the amazing guitar arrangement by the late, horribly underrated Robert Quinn, you have a truly different take on an old classic. New York in the mid to late 70’s never sounded so good. The fact that this is the closing track on a punk album that begins with Love Comes In Spurts makes it all the more interesting.

10. I FOUGHT THE LAW—THE CLASH
ORIG. THE BOBBY FULLER FOUR

Originally recorded in the mid-60’s by The Bobby Fuller Four, this rocking little number rocked harder in the 70’s when Joe Strummer and Co. got their hands on it. What can you say? It’s sort of the perfect Clash song, if only it were their own.

9. LET’S DANCE—M. WARD
ORIG. DAVID BOWIE

If you can take a song that I hate and make me love it, you’ve done something truly special. That’s exactly what M. Ward does here. Let’s Dance is sort of a lame song recorded by Bowie in his most commercial period. Hearing M. Ward play it, I feel like I have never heard the song before. Indeed, I could honestly say I had never even listened to the startlingly beautiful lyrics before, and was quite taken aback at their power. When Ward sings the line, “if you should fall into my arms and tremble like a flower,” I almost wept. Seriously.

8. CAN’T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD—THE FLAMING LIPS
ORIG. KYLIE MINOGUE

Leave it to Wayne Coyne to take the peppy, up-tempo dance tune about love and obsession and turn it into a slow, eerie, even dangerous song of lust and obsession. Here the chorus turns from a loving anthem into a bluesy, desperate cry for freedom. And the song will never be heard the same again.

7. WHITE RIOT/HITTSVIILLE UK—HAMMELL ON TRIAL
ORIG. THE CLASH

The Clash is one of my favorite bands ever. So, I was a bit skeptical a few years back when I picked up an album of Clash covers. Some things are, in fact, sacred. But there were several artists on the album I liked, so I gave it a listen. This song jumped out at me on first listen and quickly became one of my favorite covers. It plays sort of like a crack-head with an acoustic guitar on first listen, but becomes more and more interesting with each additional go. The arrangement more complex, the vocals more fevered, and the mash-up in the end near transcendent.

6. HURT—JOHNNY CASH
ORIG. NINE INCH NAILS

This is a no-brainer. I’ve never been a fan of NIN, or the original version of this song, which makes what Cash and producer Rick Rubin do here even that much more special. You’ve all heard this song by now, so there’s not much else to say. When Johnny Cash sings your song…it’s not really your song anymore.

5. I WANNA BE YOUR DOG—UNCLE TUPELO
ORIG. THE STOOGES

Iggy may be my favorite artists of all time. A close second is Jeff Tweedy, currently of Wilco fame. Uncle Tupelo was his first band, and basically the first alt-country act on the planet. His version of one of my favorite Stooges numbers stands alone as a wholly unique take on a rock classic. Fully acoustic, down to the finger-picking opening, this countrified version of punk rock is such a joy to listen to, you will be tapping your toes and singing along almost instantly. And Tweedy’s playfully intense vocals make it all the more fun. Style + Content = Pure Joy.

4. YOU REALLY GOT A HOLD ON ME—SHE AND HIM
ORIG. SOMKEY ROBINSON AND THE MIRACLES

I’m always skeptical when actresses set out to make music. Usually the result is a disgrace and an embarrassment to the actress. Somehow, when I heard Zooey Deschanel was putting out a record, I was very excited. When I heard M. Ward was going to be riding shotgun to her voice, I was extremely excited. The result is a wonderfully playful and heartfelt album of songs sung in Deschanel’s smoky, goofy voice. The highlight for me was this cover. It’s a perfect blend of style and content, and does the original quite proudly.

3. THIRTEEN—ELLIOTT SMITH
ORIG. BIG STAR

I’ve loved this song since I first heard Alex Chilton sing it many years ago. When I heard Elliott Smith was covering it for the soundtrack to the film Thumbsucker, I was more than excited. I was ecstatic. Sadly, Smith did not live to see the song released. This was one of the last completed tracks from one of the greatest artists that ever lived. And it is a testament to his gifts. A more beautiful voice could not have been found to do justice to this song of youthful alienation, love, and loss. I get chills every time I hear this song.

2. NEW YEAR’S DAY—JOSH ROUSE
ORIG. U2

I’m a big fan of U2. And Josh Rouse is one of the most original voices in music today. So, this year, on New Years Day, Rouse took a couple of hours and recorded a fantastic version of one of the seminal songs in the U2 library. The result is acoustic beauty matched with Rouse’s gravely voice and luminous arrangement. You have never heard this song before you hear it this way. Also…he does a cover of Straight To Hell by The Clash that will bring the fucking house down.

1. WONDERWALL—RYAN ADAMS
ORIG. OASIS

HALLELUJAH—JEFF BUCKLEY
ORIG. LEONARD COHEN

I’m copping out on number one here. I can’t make my mind up, so I will let you make up your own. These are both wonderful, intense takes on classic songs.

I don’t believe I will ever hear another cover song that so deftly captures the feel of the original while so completely re-inventing it. Even Oasis plays the song this way now…and that is the true testament to what a powerful take on a great song this is. I won’t say anymore about it. If you haven’t heard it, go download it immediately, and whether you like Adams or not, you owe it to yourself to listen to this song.

If you simply can’t tolerate Adams, give Jeff Buckley’s cover of Cohen’s lovely Hallelujah a try. Again, I don’t want to say much about the song, except that Buckley may well have been the most interesting vocalist that ever lived, and whose voice was silenced too soon by the Mississippi River. His take on the popular Cohen number will literally rip your heart out. Enjoy.

HONORABLE MENTION

Johnny Thunders is one of my favorites, and I don’t know why, but I couldn’t find a spot for his version of DO YOU LOVE ME recorded when he was with The Heartbreakers. It’s a great song. Totally worth checking out.