Music is one of the greatest things human beings can do. We have been given the gift of being able to create art, and we should cherish that. Sometimes, songs made are so brilliant that they should belong solely to the one who created them.
People are going to cover songs, and that is fine. Many times, these are homages to the original artists. Rarely are they done to make fun.
In the case of the tracks below, these should be done only by the originals. They have a certain character that cannot be repeated. They are magical and excellent, and worthy of being heard only in one certain way.
6 perfect songs that only the brave should try to cover
Tragically Hip - "Bobcaygeon"
The lyrics to this tune are ridiculously good. The song travels along exquisitely with just the right hint of emotion, and the melody is properly not overtaxing. But the words are what make this track great. It also manages to transcend a true Canadian moment to make it one anyone can empathize with.
Singer/songwriter Gord Downie manages to interweave a specifically personal moment into one that parallels the stress of a nation. Brilliant and beautiful, and impossible to replicate.
Tom Waits - "The Black Rider"
There are few artists quite like Waits. He does borrow from Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band, but then Waits puts his spin on things, and they are just...different. He can make delicate tunes as well as much more aggressive ones, and you will like both.
"The Black Rider" is more of an experience than a song. Waits' character tells a creepy tale by painting a scene. One thing is for sure: you don't want to visit the carnival that the narrator belongs to (if he does).
Van Morrison - "Into the Mystic"
This song mixes mysticism with a structure that blends Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" with the folk of Nick Drake. The track kind of goes along seemingly harmlessly, but you will be taken back to a time you never quite knew when you were young, but wanted to.
It's gorgeous stuff, and timeless. It is the kind of music Van Morrison should still strive to make currently.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch musical - "The Origin of Love"
The entire musical is a great one, and much more rock-oriented than this track. This is more like a ballad instead of a rager like "Angry Inch." But that is how it should be. It's tender and hurting, and it emotes everything the narrator wants from love, but a partner is unlikely to understand.
There are references to all kinds of gods and mythological persons, and John Cameron Mitchell makes it all work, despite the assumption that it might not.
The Cult - "She Sells Sanctuary"
Propulsive and steady, this rocker only lets up once before kicking to the finish. The Cult were and are a great rock band, who became a bit more metal as their career continued. They should never have given in to that impulse.
Like with this song, they could blend melody with hard rock without having to strain very much. One might not even know what the lyrics mean, and that is OK. It's the beat that matters.
Indigo Girls - "Leaving"
This was a new song on the duo's "greatest hits" collection, Retrospective. Whether the track was supposed to be a setup for albums that would follow is unclear. Maybe it was just a glorified B-side, and that makes the song even better.
The words are fairly straightforward and given away by the title of the song. But what makes this tune excellent is the harmony between Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, and the orchestration that surrounds them. The song seems almost accidentally wonderful, but wonderful it is. If you have recently gone through a breakup, the song is almost unlistenable.