MetroLyrics Blog » The Covers

The Covers: Jay-Z Doesn’t like the new “We Are The World”

MetroLyrics — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:19:27 +0000

It was all over the Internet this week, but we saw it on USA Today: “I know everybody is gonna take this wrong,” Jay-Z told MTV on Saturday at the annual 2 Kings dinner during NBA All-Star weekend in Dallas, “We Are the World, I love it, and I understand the point and think it’s great. But I think We Are the World is like [Michael Jackson's] Thriller to me. I don’t ever wanna see it touched.”

If you haven’t already seen it, what he’s talking about is the new version of the classic song that’s helping raise funds and awareness for Haiti relief. Jay-Z thinks they should have just written a new song instead of covering a legendary one. Here are both versions for you to consider. What do you think?

The original

The cover

The Covers: Rhianna’s “Umbrella”

MetroLyrics — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 03:34:44 +0000

One song that seems to have the potential to rival The Beatles’ “Yesterday” for frequency of being covered is Rhianna’s “Umbrella.” Although the song is only three years old, it’s already been covered by a variety of artists from a wide range of genres. For your consideration, we present the original and a selection of tributes…

The original

The Mandy Moore version

The Linkin Park (???) version

The Plain White Ts version

Which is your favorite?

The Covers / The Samples: Sweet’s “Ballroom Blitz”

MetroLyrics — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 20:21:25 +0000

Do you remember “Wayne’s World”? Super-hot Tia Carrere fronts a rock band that plays a wild song called “Ballroom Blitz.” The first time I saw Wayne’s World, I recognized one of the lyrics in the song as a sample from The Beastie Boys’ “Hey Ladies,” so I went looking for the original version of the song, which turned out to be by 1970s Glam Rockers, Sweet. For your educational fulfillment, we’ve brought all three together here:

The inspiration

The Beastie Boys

The original

The Covers: “My Humps”

MetroLyrics — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:39:06 +0000

One of the best covers we’ve come across is Alanis Morissette’s melodramatic treatment of The Black Eyed Peas’ “My Humps.” If you haven’t already seen it, you’re missing out. Enjoy!

The Original

The Cover

Alanis Morissette – MY HUMPS from Alanis Morissette

The Covers: Yesterday

MetroLyrics — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:36:03 +0000

Wikipedia says: “According to the Guinness Book of Records, “Yesterday” has the most cover versions of any song ever written. The song remains popular today with more than 3,000 recorded cover versions, the first hitting the United Kingdom top 10 three months after the release of Help!. Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) asserts that it was performed over seven million times in the 20th century alone.”

Here are a few famous covers and the original. Which do you like best? Is there a great cover of this song that we missed?

Here’s Paul McCartney playing the original:

Frank Sinatra does Yesterday

Marianne Faithful does Yesterday

Tom Jones does Yesterday

Bob Dylan does Yesterday