The original has its atmospheric twilight-y disco club feel replaced by an upbeat anime opening feel of the cover. It all comes down to personal preference, since both of the versions are well-done, so my vote goes to Telephone.
"The Cuckoo"
The lyrics:
How many songs unwritten yet?
How many, tell me cuckoo…
Just say.
Where I should go, where I have to stay...
Whether I’ll fall down or rise up to the stars…
Which way?
Oh, my Sun, take a look at me.
Now my hand’s ready to fight.
And if there’s a fuze, give me a light.
All right.
Who will follow in lonely footsteps?
All the brave hearts left lying on the field.
They’re killed.
Only few there, who are still standing for,
Keeping their heads and struggling at will.
Like steel.
Oh, my Sun, take a look at me.
Now my hand’s ready to fight.
And if there’s a fuze, give me a light.
All right.
Where are you now, freedom of mine?
Who is with you, spending the night right now?
Don’t lie.
Someone is happy and I’m not so fine,
Fighting again and always about to die.
Good bye.
Oh, my Sun, take a look at me.
Now my hand’s ready to fight.
And if there’s a fuze, give me a light.
All right.
Edited by Millership on Apr 25th 2019 at 10:49:04 PM
Spiral out, keep going.
Zemfira version sounds the best, nothing much to say about it though. Now, in honor of the upcoming Detective Pikachu movie, lets look at the (American) Pokemon theme, and two metal covers of it:
The original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuYeHPFR3f0
Powerglove: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev3VwmpBXyo
Johnathan Young and Jason Paige: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyQjVtIGQg8
Fits in Heavy's pocket!
Much as I love Jonathan Young's voice (and good on him for getting Jason Paige in on it!), I still gotta give this to the original. That song was my childhood, and I have far too many fond memories of belting that thing out at top volume with my brother to not put it first.
Also, I wasn't a fan of picking up the tempo so much for the Powerglove version.
For me, we have "Reflections of My Life"
Cover by Jimmy Barnes and David Campbell
The cover is more melancholic than the generic "end of concert" feel of original, but something about the vocals feel grating to me. Original wins.
"Ne Me Quitte Pas"
Spiral out, keep going.
Not a cat
I'll pick original because it sounds like it's done by a professional singer, while the cover sounds like it's being performed by a contestant on American Idol (not in that it sounds bad, but that it sounds like there's "nervousness" or "apprehension" in the singing).
Now for the song "Let it Go" from Frozen:
Cover by indie singer Elizabeth South
Elizabeth South's voice has a very similar timbre to Idina Menzel's, making the cover very redundant, since the intrumentation is also identical to the original. I like when people covering songs bring something new into the arrangement, but here the cover ends up as the Poor Man's Substitute, since while the voice timbres are similar, the quality and emotiveness of respective performances is decidedly not. Original wins. To be fair, it's almost impossible to outperform a Broadway legend at the top of her game.
"Дубинушка (Little Wooden Club)"
Another Russian folk song.
Edited by Millership on May 20th 2019 at 9:42:35 PM
Spiral out, keep going.
I'm not insane, I'm not… not insane!
Both are interesting… the minimalist instrumentation of the former version makes the voice's power stand out more, but the metal version is pretty emotional in its own way. I still think I'll vote for Shalyapin.
Le Paradis blanc :
Live cover by Christophe Willem
(I had initially planned to post "Fire" by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown… but then I made the mistake of reading the comments below the vid and I learned something I didn't want to. It's obviously not Brown's fault that his song was used by a monster, but now I'll have a hard time listening to it for a while…)
Flippé de participer à ce grand souper, je veux juste m'occuper de taper mon propre tempo.
Again, not the type of music I listen to,but the Berger version is better IMO.
Fox on The Run:
Original by Sweet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1Bn3R4gqEQ
Cover by Ace Frehley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzLJODadEGA
What the hell, we'll throw a 3rd version out there:
The Regrettes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvXmtkl4Nmk
Not a cat
I'll say The Regrettes, since they're not screaming the lyrics, and are actually singing.
Now, which version of "Aquarius, Let the Sunshine In"?
Original Broadway version by Ronnie Dyson.
Both versions sound similar but the cover is a bit tighter composition-wise, and works better as a standalone song.
"Nightfall"
The original, by Blind Guardian
Acoustic cover by two YouTube dudes with Greek-sounding names
8-bit version, for shits and giggles
Margrave of the Marshes
The Accoustic one (I'm not a BG fan though 
).
Who's epitaph is best?
Edited by Wabbawabbajack on May 25th 2019 at 10:57:12 AM
The changes in the cover are subtle, but effective, though the original has its own almost minimalist charm. Still, In the Woods wins, even if by a small margin.
"Stay, Time, Awhile Thy Flying", by John Dowland (1612)
The "original", performed by Valeria Mignaco and Alfonso Marin
Edited by Millership on May 26th 2019 at 10:21:48 PM
Spiral out, keep going.
Not a cat
Both sound very nice, but I'll pick the cover for having a nicer tone and pace.
And, now "This Magic Moment":
Original by Ben E. King and the Drifters.
Cover by Jay and the Americans.
The cover by Jay and the Americans is really good, but the original has more soul, so I dont know, I guess I'll take the cover version if I had to choose.
Do You Love Me:
Kiss (original): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ-GDObOIKE
Nirvana (cover) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQZw3Sv5kfU
Edited by J79 on May 29th 2019 at 8:23:32 AM
I'm not insane, I'm not… not insane!
As much as I'm not a fan of KISS, the cleaner production in their version fits the song's tone better. I get what Nirvana was going for, but it doesn't really work that well to me. So KISS wins.
And now for two versions of Avenged Sevenfold's "Hail to the King".
Edited by Lyendith on May 30th 2019 at 6:53:23 PM
Flippé de participer à ce grand souper, je veux juste m'occuper de taper mon propre tempo.
The original is a pretty standard heavy metal piece which the acoustic version, ironically, gives more edge to. There's something about the cover's arrangement that makes it stand out more, so my vote goes there.
"Hurt"
Edited by Millership on May 30th 2019 at 10:40:47 PM
Spiral out, keep going.
It's cliche, but I prefer the Cash version. It sounds more like someone at the end of their life lamenting what's become of them, while the NIN version sounds like someone who's just "accepted" that they've become a junkie and thats how it's going to be. Wow, that was depressing, let's get a little more upbeat
"California Girls"
Beach Boys (original): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmIsdMWzdaE
David Lee Roth (cover): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRqbel7E30A
Margrave of the Marshes
I like the faux-Twilight Zone narration of the cover and I've always had a fondness for DLR, but I'm gonna have to go with the original.
Who's got the better version of I Want You (She's So Heavy)?
Not a cat
As much as I like The Beatles, and as much as I dislike heavy metal, I'll go with the cover this time around. This song doesn't particularly sound like The Beatles best work, in fact I think it's one of their weaker songs, and doesn't really sound like much effort was put into it. Coroner at least tried to make it sound a bit more bombastic.
And now "The Way You Do the Things You Do"
If I had a nickel for every film where Emma Stone falls off a balcony... I'd only have two nickels, but weird that there's two of them.
The original's old school rhythm-and-blues optimism translates very well into the reggae cover. Can't really decide which one I like the most, but I have a slight preference for the cover.
"Feeling Good"
Nina Simone's kinda-sorta original
![[down]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_down.png "[down]"){kind=icon}
it was written and performed for the first time for The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd musical. Nina Simone was the first one who performed it as a standalone song and it's mostly associated with her since then.
Edited by Millership on Jun 9th 2019 at 9:36:33 PM
Spiral out, keep going.
I'm not insane, I'm not… not insane!
Why "kinda-sorta"? Anyway, tough choice. I prefer the cover's musical arrangement, but Simone's voice is freaking untouchable on this track. So much power and sensuality at once. So I gotta give it to the original.
Next, "Still Alive" from Portal. What?
Not a cat
I will pick the cover. I was really digging the Frank Sinatra tone.
And now, after hearing it in the pilot episode of "Umbrella Academy", I offer the song "Istanbul, Not Constantinople".
Apologies if you're thinking of Tiny Toons now.
If I had a nickel for every film where Emma Stone falls off a balcony... I'd only have two nickels, but weird that there's two of them.
I'll pick the cover for its "Same, but more" approach to songwriting.
"Stripped"
The latter's MV is somewhat NSFW.
Edited by Millership on Jun 10th 2019 at 5:09:36 PM
Spiral out, keep going.
Margrave of the Marshes
The original is a great song for snu-snu from probably the only Depeche Mode album I can listen to from start to finish. although I always wondered what smashing cars had to do with the lyrics. I don't care for the cover at all. Rammstein never impressed me.
And now for something a little hazier:
That's a tough one… I feel like Kharitonov's individual vocal performance is stronger, but the second version might have been even better without the choirs? Still, n°2 wins, barely.
Now let's see… let's go with "Un Autre monde".
The original by Téléphone
The cover by Superbus
Flippé de participer à ce grand souper, je veux juste m'occuper de taper mon propre tempo.