Songs that should be illegal for cover bands to play

Just two more songs, and we're at 50! I think that's a nice round number. "50 Songs Cover Bands Shouldn't Be Allowed To Play Anymore".

Is "Don't Stop Believing" over-covered or just over-played?

Neither, in my experience. I've never heard it anywhere. But perhaps it differs from country to country. For example, in the Netherlands, "Sweet Goodbyes" by Krezip (I KNOW HOW YOU FEEEEEEL RIIIIIGHT NOOOOOOW...) was all over the radio and cover bands' set lists for a year or so, but I can imagine it's not as much of a hit abroad - or at least I hope so for every foreign person's sake.

edited 29th Mar '12 9:15:27 AM by MidnightRambler

It is on this side of the pond, though it's less a "crappy band cover" cliché than a "crappy choral arrangement" cliché right now. Just... you don't want to know. You really don't.

Note also that I said attempt to cover "Won't Get Fooled Again". Also, compared to some other songs by The Who (and any number of other perpetually ripped-off '60s/'70s rock outfits), it's not that complex... on the first listen. So the attempt.

You forget that some people do not know when to quit.

edited 29th Mar '12 9:35:40 AM by JHM

I would also add "piano arrangement" to that. Anybody who knows how to play piano decently ends up playing that at some point. My orchestra even played it. The Glee cover did not help.

Heh, yeah. Perhaps we should also make a list of "Songs that should be illegal to play on a piano".

My nominations would include the Flea Waltz (I have developed the theory that whenever someone only knows one song on piano, it's that one) and Comptine d'un autre été.

Our violist plays it on piano every once in a while to troll our guitarist. It's fantastic.

RE: The piano..."Fur Elise" and "The Entertainer" (much as I love the latter).

If we're gonna talk piano songs too, "Heart and Soul". For the love of GAWD, every time someone sits down at a piano and starts on that one I want to choke a bitch like Wayne Brady.

Dear lord, I was at a religious retreat that my old high school did last year, and at the retreat center there was this really old, really out-of-tune piano in the common room. EVERYBODY who went up to that piano played it. EVERYONE. KILL, KILL!

Same thing happened to me at a church retreat! With the old out of tune piano in the common room! Lol, we even had 2 people playing it at a time (one played right hand, other played left). Luckily a church organist was there so he could play some different songs. Anyway I would also add "Chopsticks" and, to get very basic, "Mary Had a Little Lamb".

I'd add "Ace of Spades" by Motorhead. I swear, there was this one period of time where EVERY opening band I saw performed this song.

Allow me to correct you in the best way possible

Added "Ace Of Spades" and one that I should've thought of right away - "Seven Nation Army". We're at 50 songs now, which is a nice round number.

My faith in that song has been restored.

Can we add "I Fought The Law" by The Crickets? There's been at least five covers of it, and it should have stopped with The Dead Kennedys' version of it.

edited 31st Mar '12 2:33:48 PM by AStrayBard

Meh. Bear in mind that we're talking about amateur cover bands here, not actual recording artists. As far as I know, "I Fought The Law" isn't one of those cliché songs which everyone and their mother has on their setlist.

In that case, "Time For Me To Fly" by REO Speedwagon. It doesn't seem like it would be common, but I hear covered (poorly) much too often.

It really depends, I think; even if it's not a small band cliché, it's still a cliché.

I think nearly every bar band in America has covered certain country songs that are easy. Don't Rock the Jukebox sticks out.

I suppose this is just regional bias here, but more or less any popular Bruce Springsteen song where I am. Yes, I get it, we live in New Jersey, Jersey pride and all that. If you hammer that into my skull anymore through your choice of music I might just take the message of "Born to Run" to heart.

I mean, I love the Boss, but you get absolutely waterboarded by his music if you live near the Jersey Shore.

On that note, and on a completely different subject, I seem to have found a huge lack of Kevin Smith fans here. You'd think there'd be a lot more than the very few I've found that seem to know who he even is (and considering how popular his oeuvre is in general). Maybe I should hang out in Red Bank more often.

I still say "Tainted Love" should be on that list.

Umm... it already is?

Just noticed this in the OP: "The Top Notes - "Twist And Shout". Most covers are based on the Isley Brothers' slower version."

I'd say more that everyone bases it on The Beatles' version (with the aaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAs and all that), since that's generally the only one people remember today.